Following the sport’s moves to cut the operating costs of teams and a promise of a £30m aid fund for new outfits, as many as eight new teams are reportedly vying for three additional places on next year’s grid including British firms Lola and Aston Martin.The importance of bringing new teams into the sport has been emphasised by Ecclestone whose Formula One Management will plough almost £7m as seed capital into each new team and then pay at least £3m more for their travel costs for a season.

Aston Martin, under the leadership of David Richards the former Benetton & Renault team principal, have long been linked with a return to the sport. ‘This is a great time to come in. If budgets are capped to a sensible level, everybody will benefit. Instead of F1 being a contest of the teams with the most money, it will become a championship for engineers with ingenuity and great drivers who can show their skill, as it was years ago.’ said Richards.

Additionally Lola, one of a number of organisations considering an entry into F1.‘The announcement that F1 teams may opt for a prudent, financially responsible cost-capped regime from 2010 has resulted in us deciding to fully evaluate the opportunity to develop a car to compete in the FIA F1 World Championship,’ said Lola Group executive chairman Martin Birrane. Lola was a consistent presence in the F1 paddock from the 1960s, and has entered discussions with several parties over the development of a car for next year.

Outside of Aston Martin and Lola, a US-based team is also in the process of being formed while a host of other car manufacturers are eyeing up the opportunity. www.sportindustry.biz