All ten of the existing Formula One teams have been included in the 2010 entry list, but five are entered only provisionally, and three more have objected to the International Automobile Federation (FIA) describing their entries as unconditional.
Five members of the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) - Brawn, McLaren, BMW-Sauber, Renault and Toyota - submitted conditional entries for the 2010 grid, which was reflected in the official announcement.
However, three other Fota members - Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso - quickly issued statements aligning themselves with the other five, and Ferrari made it plain that they would pull out if their demands were not met. “Ferrari submitted on 29 May 2009 an entry to the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship which is subject to certain conditions. As of today, these conditions have not been met,” the Ferrari statement read.
“Notwithstanding this and despite Ferrari’s previous written notice to the FIA not to do so, the FIA has included Ferrari as a unconditional participant in next year’s Formula 1 World Championship. For the avoidance of any doubt, Ferrari reaffirms that it shall not take part in the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship under the regulations adopted by the FIA in violation of Ferrari’s rights under a written agreement with the FIA.”.
The Fota members were told earlier this week to submit unconditional entries and discuss changes afterwards. However, they object to proposals for a budget cap of around $60 million from next season onwards, and want a say on that and other issues going forward. Fota have written to the World Motor Sport Council, seeking its assistance in resolving the conflict.
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Should discussions stall before a deadline of next Friday, the FIA could look at other candidates, such as Prodrive of the UK, who were disappointed not to have made the initial list.
“We will wait to see how things develop in the next week up to the 19th June deadline set by the FIA and we remain prepared and ready to implement our plans should the circumstances allow,” David Richards, the Prodrive owner, said. “As we have seen before, there are quite often many twists and turns in Formula One.”
“These five [sic] teams have submitted conditional entries,” a FIA statement read. “The FIA has invited them to lift those conditions following further discussions to be concluded not later than close of business on Friday June 19.”
Unconditional entries were awarded to Williams and Force India. A 13-team grid is completed by newcomers Campos Grand Prix of Spain and US F1 and Manor Grand Prix of the United States, who are also entered unconditionally. Manor are a collaboration between Nick Wirth, formerly with Benetton, and Manor Motorsport.