F1: Sauber Finally Lands 2010 Entry From FIA

Formula 1

F1: Sauber Finally Lands 2010 Entry From FIA

The FIA has at last confirmed that Sauber has been handed the 13th entry for the 2010 World Championship ...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted December 03, 2009 Balen (BEL)

The FIA has granted Sauber a spot on the 2010 Formula One grid. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The FIA has at last confirmed that Sauber has been handed the 13th entry for the 2010 World Championship – four weeks after Toyota announced its withdrawal.

The team lost its entry because BMW made the ill-advised and very costly decision not to sign the Concorde Agreement in July while at the same time intending to sell the team after its withdrawal. However by not signing the team lost not just its entry but also the commercial rights it had built up since 1993.

Last week BMW confirmed that the team had been sold to founder Peter Sauber rather than the Middle Eastern-backed Qadbak group, giving an apparently stable future. Sauber is known to have paid a lot less than the figure he sold the team for in 2005.

An FIA statement said: “The FIA has written to inform BMW Sauber AG that their application for an entry in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship has been successful. Subject to their signing the Concorde Agreement, BMW Sauber will be awarded the 13th entry in the Championship, taking the place of the departing Toyota team. The FIA has worked closely with the Commercial Rights Holder and the teams involved over recent weeks and is grateful for their support in achieving the best outcome for the sport. An updated Formula One entry list will be published in due course.”

There is no news yet on whether Toyota faces a penalty for signing the Concorde and then withdrawing.

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005.