Needless to say, a voluntary budget cap for the 2010 season, added to the technical help provided by the F1 manufacturers, would have boosted their chances of creating a competitive operation in Formula One. Considering the Formula One Teams Association's (FOTA) latest stand on the budget cap proposal, the potential new entries are also holding back on their 2010 plans.
According to Ferrari's Stefano Domenicali, none of the teams forming the FOTA will go ahead with the signing of their 2010 campaigns unless the budget cap concept is scrapped for good from the F1 regulations. With FIA late on giving a clear response to FOTA's threat, the new teams are now in doubt also.
Team Superfund – created by Brawn GP's test driver Alexander Wurz – has lodged an F1 entry by the May 29 deadline, but will likely renounce it if the situation is not cleared in due time.
“A lot depends on what happens. We will need to get up and running quickly so we have a plan for both scenarios; either receiving assistance from existing teams or setting up as an independent team. However nothing can be fully decided until it becomes clear what are we allowed and not allowed to do for 2010 and years to follow,” said Wurz in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
On the other hand, some teams have decided to renounce lodging for an F1 entry all-together, given the ongoing dispute between the FIA and the F1 teams, a direct cause of the uncertain environment currently dominating the Great Circle.
“The recent uncertainty regarding the details of the application of the budget cap and participation of the other teams and manufacturers has meant that we were not in a position to lodge an entry prior to the 29 May deadline,” said a statement from Le Mans' and touring car racing's RML team. Their stand was also copied by Spanish team Epsilon Euskadi and GP2 outfit iSport, who preferred not to go through with their F1 plans for 2010.
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