13th place: FIA decides against new teams

As expected, the FIA decided against the introduction of a 13th team for the coming Formula One season. At a meeting of the governing body on Wednesday, the FIA rejected candidates Epsilon Euskadi, Villeneuve/Durango and Stefan GP, who had all made a bid to join F1. It was considered that the applicants had neither the financial means nor the organisational background necessary to be granted entry into F1.

The FIA said in a statement, "None of the candidates met the requirements for entry into the world championship. Consequently, the allocation of the 13th team will not be granted." The FIA have apparently learnt their lesson from the USF1 debacle and want to be sure in the first instance that the three new teams, HRT, Lotus and Virgin can find a midfield position and regularly score points.