After deciding against entering the sport in 2008, FIA president Max Mosley has said that if Prodrive do want to enter F1 in 2009, there is no guarantee that they will be accepted.
“There s nothing to stop them entering for 2009,†Mosley said in an interview with The Paddock magazine. “At the request of his financial backers, David asked what guarantee could we give that his entry would be accepted in 2009. I had to tell him that he didn t have any guarantee.
“In the normal course of events, Prodrive s entry would be accepted but the situation without the Concorde Agreement is as it was before the Concorde Agreement people submit entries and the FIA accepts or rejects them.â€
Prodrive have already paid a 300,000 Euro ($441,000) deposit to allow them to compete in the 2008 Formula One World Championship however Mosley has confirmed that the team will likely lose this deposit.
Prodrive s problems stem from their initial intention to use engines and chassis from McLaren-Mercedes making them a customer car team. F1 rules were amended last year to allow teams to use cars that had been designed and built by other teams, however teams have yet to officially sign the Concorde Agreement abiding by the rules.
F1 team Williams are the strongest detractor of customer cars and have sought legal action against Prodrive, stating that it is a commercial matter and therefore not within the FIA s jurisdiction. Mosley has said that he understands Williams viewpoint, however with F1 looking to cut costs, there had to be some middle ground.
“There is a huge discussion going on about what it is to be a constructor ,†Mosley continued. “The first item for discussion should be chassis regulations that can offer serious cost savings. Once we ve done that, we can decide what can distinguish one chassis from another and how much of the car should be unique to each individual team.â€
