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F1:  Stefan GP Won’t Get Toyota Entry
Written by: Adam Cooper   http://www.speedtv.com
11/27/2009
Balen (BEL)
 
Stefan GP will not get Toyota's entry on the Formula One grid for 2010. (Photo: LAT Photographic) ยป More Photos

Would be F1 team owner Zoran Stefanovic will not be able to take over Toyota’s F1 entry, despite rumors to the contrary.

A Toyota source has confirmed that the company has in effect surrendered its entry and has not attempted to sell it on, and has recently re-confirmed its position to the FIA.
A specialist in F1 team takeovers has also told us that the entry can only be transferred if someone buys the company that signed the Concorde, and which thus has the rights to the entry slot. The entry as such is not an asset that can be brokered around.

When Toyota’s withdrawal was first announced there were attempts to ‘do a Honda’ and sell the team as a going concern, but the management in Tokyo was not interested in pursuing that route.

The company is however still interested in selling its technology – in essence the design for the TF110 – and Stefan GP has been a potential buyer. However Stefanovic will have to get an entry in its own right. Bernie Ecclestone is said to be helping him with the process of getting an entry, but it’s hard to see how it can happen.

Sauber was long ago confirmed as the reserve ‘14th entry’ by the FIA, and is clearly lined up to take over from Toyota. For reasons best known to the FIA and Ecclestone that has yet to be formally confirmed, although we understand that new FIA president Jean Todt has personally confirmed to Peter Sauber that
his team will be in.

The only way Stefan GP could get an entry in its own right is if another team withdraws its entry or is bought by Stefanovic. At least one team may be talking to the Serbian, and it’s known that Toro Rosso is up for sale, although the price is said to be high.

It remains to be seen if any of the new teams will be allowed by the FIA and/or FOM to sell their ‘franchise’ and in effect profit by failing to get their act together in their own right. Things would probably be easier if he just took a stake in a team rather than attempted to buy it outright.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel
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