Bernie Ecclestone has stated that any team wishing to join the F1 grid next season will have to pay a deposit of £16 million.
Following the collapse of USF1 and the financial vulnerability shown by some of the sport’s new teams, the F1-supremo has enacted the clause to ensure that applicants have the ability to compete for the long-term, without experiencing early economic problems.
The FIA had previously filtered out potential entries with their own deposit of £24.2 million, however this removed in 2009 due to the uncertain economic climate which had existed and with uncertainty surrounding the sport’s manufacturer teams.
“We have told them that if they can’t put 16 million in now we don’t want them,” Ecclestone told the London Evening Standard. “If they can’t find that now there is no way they are going to run.”
The 79-year-old also admitted his frustration with the competitiveness of the new teams – with all three having failed to score a point this season.
Although GP2 and GP2 front runner ART has withdrawn from the FIA’s bidding process, the likes of Epsilon Euskadi, the Cypher Group, Durango and Stefan GP remain in the running for the coveted ’13th grid slot’.
