As reported above by SpeedTV.com's Adam Cooper, the FIA has begun the entry process for the 2011 Formula 1 grid. Hopefully, having gone through the fiasco that was the abortive USF1 entry(and subsequent criticism from Ferrari and others), they'll be a lot more attentive to the criteria they've established this time, which include...........
a) the technical ability and resources of the team
b) the ability of the team to raise and maintain sufficient funding to allow participation;
c) the team’s experience and human resources;
d) the FIA’s assessment of the value that the candidate may bring to the Championship as a whole.
As to the fiasco that was USF1...........I see a commentary or rant coming on this one. I mean, seriously, how can a team that would've had its' U.S. headquarters in the heart of the I-77 Corridor(Statesville, NC-Charlotte, NC), one of the most motorsports-laden areas in the world, fail to make the grid is a mystery. All the major components for an F1 team are in that area, from raceshops/paddocks/garages to fabrication facilities to various motorsports-related companies(for instance, Crawford Composites in nearby Denver, NC) are within a decent driving distance from that corridor. Granted, USF1 was on a tight time-line(as was Lotus, HRT and Manor/Virgin) but with the resources that Messrs. Anderson, Windsor and Hurley could've availed themselves of, business schools will be teaching the example of USF1 as a way NOT to succeed in business for years to come.
