the 13th team

[truefan72]

are we ever going to see one, and are there any contenders right now?

I still remember the Max Mosley team selection fiasco/cosworth blackmail along with the epic uselessness that was USF1

I also remember prodrive having its bid rejected and another outfit that was ready to then use the 2010 Toyota's but were locked out by the colluding pirelli and FIA

since then, I find it hard to believe that another outfit has not expressed interest in entering F1 and since the 13th slot was all but promised to us fans, I wonder when we are going to see that become a reality.

[Ninar69]

It should have been given to Prodrive in my opinion. Dave Richards did great things while they briefly ran BAR (until Honda intervened). I think they even managed 2nd overall in the constructors.

[Tazio]

IMHO there are enough cars on the track with 24, any additional cars will facilitate a modification in qualifying, again IMHO

[N. Jones]

Prodrive would be nice.

I am hoping that VW and Pure(?) become engine supplies either next season or 2014. I am also hoping that MCLaren eventually become an engine supplier when they lose the Mercedes in 2015. It would not only bring more choice to teams but it would also give more variety to the fantasy grand prix.

[steveaki13]

I think there has been and always will be a chance of a 13th team, as 26 cars is fine. Anymore and then Qualifying would have to be modified.

[truefan72]

IMHO there are enough cars on the track with 24, any additional cars will facilitate a modification in qualifying, again IMHO
LOL
in my original post I was going to say that "of course they would be the nay sayers and debbie downers who would question the addition of a 23rd team"
But I left it in hopes of not seeing this argument

With respect, I think your argument is a bit of a straw man. If anything it makes qualy that more exciting and properly balanced. And if modifying the qualy is your chief concern when it is a simple matter of dropping 1 more car in Q1 & Q2 then that takes care of that.
26 cars on the grid are not an issue IMO

[Tazio]

LOL
in my original post I was going to say that "of course they would be the nay sayers and debbie downers who would question the addition of a 23rd team"
But I left it in hopes of not seeing this argument

With respect, I think your argument is a bit of a straw man. If anything it makes qualy that more exciting and properly balanced. And if modifying the qualy is your chief concern when it is a simple matter of dropping 1 more car in Q1 & Q2 then that takes care of that.
26 cars on the grid are not an issue IMOYou don't have to be so defensive. JMHO...........bro ;)

[steveaki13]

Last year there was talk of Lola trying again in F1 for 2014 as 13th team (providing no others pull out by then). I assume that was just gossip as I heard very little about it since, but that was the last time I heard of another team entering F1.

[Nikki Katz]

It's not going to happen any time soon, I think it'd be more likely to drop down to 9-11 teams. ART were front runners a couple of years ago, both on the grounds that they have a fantastic short history in other formulae, and that it was run by Jean Todt's son, so they'd get in even if they were rubbish. But they had to pull out because they couldn't do it properly. There were still three entrants after that for the 13th spot, but the FIA rejected them all on the grounds that the teams didn't have a huge amount of sponsorship already. I don't think the 13th slot's even been available since then. Presumably if someone like Audi turns up they'd let them in, but that's not going to happen.

Lola went into administration I think, they won't be entering anything.

[truefan72]

You don't have to be so defensive. JMHO...........bro ;)

lol I wasn't being defensive at all, and for what?
i just replied to your post
jeezums :)

[truefan72]

It's not going to happen any time soon, I think it'd be more likely to drop down to 9-11 teams. ART were front runners a couple of years ago, both on the grounds that they have a fantastic short history in other formulae, and that it was run by Jean Todt's son, so they'd get in even if they were rubbish. But they had to pull out because they couldn't do it properly. There were still three entrants after that for the 13th spot, but the FIA rejected them all on the grounds that the teams didn't have a huge amount of sponsorship already. I don't think the 13th slot's even been available since then. Presumably if someone like Audi turns up they'd let them in, but that's not going to happen.

Lola went into administration I think, they won't be entering anything.

too funny

[rjbetty]

too funny

But that's sad. :(

[zako85]

I think 20-24 cars is enough.. I would have preferred to see the three backmarker teams (HRT, Caterham, Marussia) improve rather than an additional team. It's been very boring to watch the Q1 qualifications because of them. They always end at the bottom unless some other team seriously screws up its strategy. Having said that, I don't think the path into F1 is closed for other players. They could just buy one of the current teams.

[Malbec]

They could just buy one of the current teams.

This.

Any of the existing midfield teams would be much cheaper and a safer bet than establishing a startup.

Caterham which has hired decent staff with a decent budget and infrastructure are, three years into their existence, still a fair way from bothering any of the established teams. Why repeat their problems and difficulties when less money will buy out a team like FI or STR (the two teams in the last three years that have seen a large transfer of ownership rights) which have proven to be at least midfield in terms of performance?

Prodrive had its bid rejected because it was based on customer chassis, something the other teams were not willing to allow. Stefan F1 or whatever it was called wasn't allowed because there were serious questions regarding its finances, borne out by the fact it seems to have disappeared without trace once its bid was rejected.

IMO USF1 shows the difficulty starting up a new team. Their sponsors would only unlock the money once there was a car ready but in order to get the car ready the team needed sponsorship money. The situation couldn't be resolved as they didn't have a sugar-daddy like the other three new teams and that was it.

I don't think there would have been any problems including a 13th team on the grid though, the whole qualifying system was tweaked specifically to cope with 26 and had to be re-tweaked to deal with just 24.