The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), F1's governing body, announced today that it will re-open the selection process for a potential 13th team to enter Formula One for the 2011 season.

The FIA has taken the decision following US F1 Team's failure to be ready to compete for the 2010 season. The American team had asked that it's entry be postponed until next season, but the FIA decided to pull it's entry and open up the slot. There are a number of potential teams which might apply, including teams that did not secure a spot this season: Lola, Epsilon Euskadi, Prodrive and N-Technology, as well as Stefan GP, which was much in the press over the winter.

The FIA also implied that the US F1 Team could face penalties for not making it to the grid. In a statement they said:

"With regard to the USF1 team's non-participation in the 2010 championship, the world council mandated the FIA president, in full compliance with the new code of practice for disciplinary matters, to take forward the most appropriate action."

The FIA kicked off the selection process for any empty entry slots on the 2011 grid with what it has termed a ‘call for expressions of interest.’

Anyone who would like to enter is invited in the first instance to send €1000 to an FIA bank account, which will make them eligible for the next step.

The FIA has been wounded by the US F1 fiasco – and criticized heavily by the likes of Ferrari – and clearly wants to ensure that next time around, no mistakes are made.

Bizarrely though its schedule calls for a decision to be made by July, which is very late. Last year the three original candidates were notified on June 12 and still faced huge challenges. While it’s true that Lotus got the nod officially in September, it had begun the groundwork a lot earlier.

As was announced when the 2010 entry list was issued, the FIA will also select at least one reserve. Logic suggests however that it would be almost impossible to get a project off the ground with such a status, and that any team would need six months or so notice that it is being upgraded to full entry status – unless like Stefan GP last month, it had access to someone else’s unused car.

The full statement reads as follows: “The FIA has decided to open a new selection process to identify a candidate team to fill any vacancy that may exist in the FIA Formula One World Championship at the start of the 2011 season. The FIA may also identify one or more possible ‘reserve’ entrants to fill such vacancies.

“This selection process will be open to all candidates capable of participating in the Championship for 2011 and 2012. The overall long-term interests of the Championship will determine which candidates are selected.

“The precise terms of this selection process, together with the applicable selection criteria, deadlines, legal requirements and other conditions, will be communicated to candidates who have registered a formal expression of interest with the FIA’s Secretariat before 5pm CET Thursday 15th April 2010, together with an administration fee of 1,000 Euros.

“The application process will commence at that time with those who have registered an expression of interest before this deadline (late applicants will be admitted only at the FIA’s discretion). This fee is non-refundable, although it will be offset against the application fee, which the FIA will require from those submitting full applications.

“All applicants will be expected to undergo thorough due diligence. By way of indication only, the applicable selection criteria will 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.

“The timing of this process will depend on the candidates’ responses. However, by way of indication only, the FIA anticipates that full applications will need to be submitted by the end of June, followed by due diligence leading to a decision in July 2010.

“Note: The FIA hereby invites interested parties to send a formal expression of interest and administration fee to the FIA Secretariat together with full contact details and a letter introducing their candidacy.”

It's been 21 years since a turbocharger found its way onto a Formula One racer. In 1989, the FIA banned forced-induction due to the ridiculous power and speed they were generating. For better or worse, things haven't been the same since, but if a report from Pitpass is to be believed, we may see the reign of the turbo return once again.

The site is claiming that the FIA is seriously considering bringing a new turbocharged 1.5-liter engine to F1, but don't expect to see early '80s power from these machines. The four-cylinder engine is being considered for one reason alone – to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

So we won't see over 1,000 horsepower from the 2011 grid, but to make up for the dip in grunt, Pitpass says the FIA is also considering allowing KERS to return. While we're sure the sanctioning body is keen to get the eco-minded off its back, odds are the FIA wouldn't mind spicing up the racing a bit, either. While we were promised heart-stopping action from the 2010 season, so far the racing has been much of the same. Here's hoping...

Jacques Villeneuve is reportedly bidding to return to Formula One next year with his own team.

Germany's authoritative Auto Motor und Sport magazine said "Villeneuve Racing" is one of the three candidates for the 13th and final place in the pitlane.

The 1997 World Champion and now 39-year-old French Canadian wanted to return to the cockpit this year with Stefan GP, but the Serbian outfit was not granted an entry.

The report said some 10 candidates originally made applications to race next year, but now there are only three in the running; with Villeneuve Racing and Cypher Group among them.

Auto Motor und Sport said the third name could be Spain's Epsilon Euskadi or the former GP2 team Durango, after Nicolas Todt's ART failed at the hurdle proving finance for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

The magazine said Villeneuve Racing has cleared all the hurdles so far, including proving an existing infrastructure for a team based in England.

The report said it is rumored that Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds may be involved, as might be a crew made up of former Arrows and Super Aguri staff.

The FIA's decision about the 13th team is expected in late July.

Villeneuve last raced in F1 with BMW-Sauber in 2006, losing the seat to Robert Kubica mid-season.

The proposed Villeneuve Racing F1 project is actually a partnership with former GP2 team Durango.

The Italian outfit announced its intention to enter some months ago, amid scepticism reflecting the fact that having failed to find enough money to stay afloat in GP2, it seemed an unlikely candidate for an F1 entry.

However, the addition to the mix of Jacques Villeneuve and his manager Rick Gorne – one of the founders of BAR – has clearly made it a more interesting proposition.

"Jacques is an energetic and willing guy," Durango team boss Ivone Pinton told website 422race. "I really hope together we will find a place. For Durango, to work with him is an honor and a privilege. We are talking about the son of a myth and a former World Champion. Even if I know him since he was 16. And I always said that, whenever he's OK, he's a great driver, who won in every series."


Pinton did not reveal anything about potential technical partners, although it’s worth noting that having ended its deal with HRT, Dallara could be available. Durango is also known to have talked to Toyota.

"We still don't know where the car would be built, but the home of the team will be ours, in Italy," Pinton said.

Regarding Villeneuve’s role, Pinton said: “Together with being driver, I'm sure he will actively contribute to the company. I think he's preparing himself the job to do after he quits driving."

The FIA has announced that none of the organisations bidding to become Formula 1's 13th team in 2011 have met its requirements, and that the grid will therefore stay at 24 cars.

The governing body had invited applications from parties interested in filling the slot left vacant by the collapse of the US F1 project on the eve of the 2010 season.

Several teams put in applications, including a partnership between former world champion Jacques Villeneuve and Italian ex-GP2 team Durango, plus a new bid from rejected 2009 applicant Epsilon Euskadi.

But the FIA World Motor Sport Council decided in a meeting today that none of the applicants were suitable.

"Following the press release of 19 March 2010 calling for expressions of interest to participate in the 2011 and 2012 seasons of the FIA Formula One World Championship, a number of interested parties expressed their interest," said an FIA statement.

"It was considered that none of the candidates met the requirements to be granted an entry into the championship.

"Consequently, the allocation of the 13th team will not be granted."

A number of candidates for the entry withdrew their applications during the process, including multiple GP2 and Formula 3 champion squad ART and new American organisation Cypher Group.

Others considered to be potential F1 entrants declined to participate, including Prodrive and Lola, both of which had made attempts to join the world championship in previous years.

Lewis Hamilton has had his first experience of the 2011 McLaren in the team's simulator and reports on Twitter that it is going to be tricky to co-ordinate KERS and moveable rear wings next year, even though he felt at home with the systems.

BBC commentator and analyst Martin Brundle has already said that he thinks the new combinations could be challenging for both drivers and TV viewers.

"I'm concerned that there will be so much going on with the technical side," Brundle said. "God knows how the teams are going to choose a seventh gear when they've got effectively 160bhp extra on tap with the rear wing slot gap and KERS.

"I think it's essential now that the cars have some sort of light on the back, for example, and another light on the front so that the viewers and the fans at the track understand. It's a safety thing as well - if someone is coming at you in the slipstream and then all of a sudden he can change his rear wing and hit the KERS button, you are going to have contact at the worst place on the track, the end of the high speed straight. It's hard to judge -- you're looking in your mirrors, you're doing 200mph and it's quite a judgement call as to how quickly the guy is coming at you.

"I think there has to be a red light front and rear which says he's used his wing option, and a flashing red light that says he's used his wing and his KERS. Whatever they do needs to be very transparent because the first rule is, don't confuse your audience."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he is anxious that the new-for-2011 adjustable rear wing does not prove to be a repeat of 2009's double diffuser controversy, and hopes the rules are 'totally clear'.

The Italian outfit was enraged last year when the FIA ruled that the double diffusers created by Brawn, Williams and Toyota were within the regulations, despite the three teams' rivals believing that their interpretation of the rear-end aerodynamic rules was illegal.

Next season the F-duct will be outlawed and instead all cars will feature a rear wing flap that can only be used when the driver remains a certain distance behind the car he is chasing. When activated, the flap will replicate the F-duct's effect of reducing drag, in theory making overtaking much easier as the driver ahead cannot deploy the wing in defence.

But di Montezemolo fears that this system has the potential for differing interpretations and consequent rows.

"As for the rear wing, I hope we start the season with total clarity as regards the regulations," he said.

"I am not worried about it, but our experience of 2009 still grates."

The sound of champagne corks popping may still be ringing in the ears after Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel’s title celebrations, but Formula One racing waits for no man. And if one was needed, the recent Pirelli tyre test served as a stark reminder of that. The switch from Bridgestone rubber is just one of a number of technical changes for next season, and as we await the publication of the full 2011 regulations, we take a look at the revisions the teams are expecting…

Farewell to F-ducts and double diffusers
Two of the most overused technical watchwords of the past two seasons will be made redundant next year, as both double diffusers and F-ducts are banned. Indeed any system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited from 2011.

The return of Pirelli
Following Bridgestone’s decision to withdraw at the end of this season after 13 years, the Italian company will take over as the sport’s sole tyre supplier from 2011. The Italian company, last part of F1 in 1991, will provide all teams with rubber for the next three years, in compliance with existing F1 sporting and technical regulations. Last week’s two-day test at Abu Dhabi gave the teams a good gauge as to how similar/different Pirelli’s rubber is from Bridgestone’s, though ongoing development means the compounds they run in Bahrain next March are likely to be quite different. The handling characteristics of the new tyres could be quite different, and the teams and drivers who adapt best will be looking to benefit. One constant across teams, however, will be front-rear weight distribution, which is expected to be regulated to 46.5% front, 53.5% rear.

Adjustable rear wings
Under new moveable bodywork regulations for next season, drivers will be able to adjust the rear wing from the cockpit, with the current moveable front wing due to be dropped. The system’s availability is expected to be electronically governed and under initial proposals it would only be activated when a driver is less than one second behind another at pre-determined points on the track. The system would then be deactivated once the driver brakes. It would be available at all times throughout practice and qualifying and, in combination with KERS (below), should boost overtaking. Also like KERS, it won’t be compulsory.

A comeback for KERS
A badge of honour for some, a bugbear for others on its debut in 2009, KERS is to be reintroduced next season after the teams mutually agreed to suspend its use in 2010. KERS - or Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems - take the waste energy generated under braking and turn it into additional power. This is then made available to the driver in fixed quantities per lap via a steering wheel-mounted ‘boost button’. The systems will be essentially the same as those seen in ’09, with no increase in the maximum permitted power (though that could change in subsequent seasons). The challenge for the engineers this time round will be packaging. Last time KERS was run, refuelling was legal. Now, with it banned, fuel tanks are larger and finding room to accommodate battery packs etc won’t be as easy. Hence don’t be surprised if bodywork grows in places, relative to 2010. On the plus side, minimum car weight will be upped by 20kg to 640kg next season, meaning larger drivers won’t pay the weight-distribution penalty they once did in a KERS-equipped car.

The ban on team orders in Formula 1 will be dropped from next season, the FIA announced following its World Motor Sport Council meeting on Friday.

A number of changes were confirmed in the sporting regulations from 2011, and the governing body said the "article forbidding team orders (39.1) is deleted."

The FIA said, however, that there would still be a rule to allow it to punish teams if it considers they had brought the sport into disrepute with their actions.

"Teams will be reminded that any actions liable to bring the sport into disrepute are dealt with under Article 151c of the International Sporting Code and any other relevant provisions," it said.

A team orders row erupted following this year's German Grand Prix, where the Ferrari team asked Felipe Massa to give way to Fernando Alonso to win the race.

Ferrari was fined $100,000 for its actions, although no further punishment was imposed, with the FIA vowing to clarify team orders rules.

The FIA also said on Friday that all team radio communications will be made available to broadcasters from the 2012 season.

Formula 1 technical chiefs are to keep a close check on whether drivers are struggling with being asked to operate too many buttons on their steering wheels this year - with Ferrari suggesting the situation could have reached an 'unacceptable' level.

A number of drivers have already voiced concerns that safety could be compromised in 2011 because of the number of controls they are now being required to operate in the cockpit - which can be a distraction while they are trying to race their cars at the limit.

As well as the normal car items like radio, differential and brake balance controls that drivers will regularly operate on a lap, for 2011 drivers are going to have to flick switches to power up and activate KERS, as well as make use of the moveable rear wing.

Unofficial Tuesday test times from Valencia:
1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:13.769, 93 Laps
2. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:13.938, 71 Laps
3. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:14.292, 91 Laps
4. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:14.461, 28 Laps
5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:14.553, 98 Laps
6. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:15.621, 64 Laps
7. Jerome D’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:16.003, 71 Laps
8. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:16.351, 28 Laps
9. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:16.450, 15 Laps
10. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:17.214, 19 Laps
11. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:17.335, 77 Laps
12. Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:18.020, 45 Laps
13. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:19.930, nine Laps

Unofficial Wednesday test times from Valencia:
1. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:13.307, 108 Laps
2. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:13.614, 43 Laps
3. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:13.844, 111 Laps
4. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:14.353, 83 Laps
5. Robert Kubica, Renault, 1:14.412, 104 Laps
6. Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:14.472, 80 Laps
7. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:14.645, 69 Laps
8. Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:15.408, 34 Laps
9. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:16.023, 50 Laps
10. Sergio Perez, Sauber, 1:16.198, 42 Laps
11. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:16.266, 29 Laps
12. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:16.359, 46 Laps
13. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:16.474, 64 Laps
14. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:17.365, 17 Laps
15. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:20.649, 15 Laps