Sauber secures final 2010 grid slot
Date published : 03 Dec 2009 - 17:14:33
Sauber has been granted the final place on next year's Formula 1 grid finally securing the team's future after months of uncertainty in the wake of BMW's withdrawal from the sport.After the planned sale to investment group Qadbak fell through, BMW announced last Friday that it had sold the Hinwil-based squad back to its founder Peter Sauber, but the deal was contingent on the team being guaranteed an entry in next year's world championship.BMW had initially forfeited its place when it declined to sign the new Concorde Agreement committing teams to F1 until 2012 but Toyota's announcement last month that it would be quitting the sport with immediate effect appeared to have handed it a lifeline.Sauber was still in limbo, however, as the FIA stated on Monday that Toyota had yet to extract itself from its contractual obligations.There were reports that the Japanese manufacturer might try to sell on its entry in a bid to avoid any legal ramifications, possibly to Serbian organisation Stefan GP, which was one of the teams rejected by the FIA in the initial decision over 2010 entries six months ago.But Toyota has instead relinquished its entry and the FIA confirmed on Thursday that it has handed the coveted 13th slot to Sauber.The FIA has written to inform BMW Sauber AG that their application for an entry in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship has been successful, said a statement from the governing body.Subject to their signing the Concorde Agreement, BMW Sauber will be awarded the 13th entry in the championship, taking the place of the departing Toyota team.The FIA has worked closely with the Commercial Rights Holder and the teams involved over recent weeks and is grateful for their support in achieving the best outcome for the sport.An updated Formula 1 entry list will be published in due course.
