Carling - British Formula Three Champions - refuse to enter 2011 Formula One Season
Carlin, the British Formula Three champions have confirmed that they have no plans to move to Formula One racing in the next season. It has been reported time and again that in the past few days, the team was planning to participate in Formula One racing for 2011. However, all hopes have been quashed as the team has ruled out all such gossips.
The team reported that they are focused on their performance in the junior category races and do not plan to move forward. Neither is the team in such a position at the moment to make any move. They admitted that Formula One is no doubt a long-term goal for the team however they are not prepared for submitting their applications for 2011. The founder of the team, Trevor Carlin issued a statement on Friday, explaining that Carlin might want to enter in a couple of years. However, at present, they want to safeguard their current titles in order to strengthen the team.
The statement was given by the team owner after the announcement was made by Formula One's governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), for the submission of applications from thirteen teams. All the teams considered are expected to have the potential of participating in the upcoming season. The final decision is expected to be publicized next month.
Carlin, which was previously known as Carlin Motorsport, is the reigning Cooper Tires British F3 champion as well as the Formula Renault 3.5 series champion and now they would be competing in their first GP3 Series.
The Hampshire based squad, is a motor racing team that was created by Trevor Carlin and Martin Stone in the year 1996. The team joined West Surrey Racing in the year 1993, where Trevor Carlin was responsible to oversee the programs carried for racing such as Marc Gené, Cristiano da Matta and Pedro de la Rosa. Later, he was able to negotiate the team's move into British Touring Car Championship sponsored by the Ford Motor Company.
They initially were made to operate a challenge campaign regarding the pit-stop for Williams F1 in Europe. But later, in the year 1997, a three-car-team was formalized by them that entered British Formula Three Championship.
Earlier in t 1998, Carlin Motorsport won the “Team of the Year” title in a voting contest held by Formula Three Association on the basis of their excellent presentations as well as the impressive results shown by Indian newcomer Narain Karthikeyan.
The engineering team at Carlin Motorsport is known to be one the best in motor sports. It is headed by David Lowe, who has been working with the Arrows Grand Prix in the past. Another strong side of the team is their commercial aspect, for which they have recruited Steve Hollman in 1999.
The team applied for the 2008 Formula One season, however, they were rejected by the authorities in favour of Prodrive’s application. Team owner Trevor Carlin was very annoyed with this decision as he clarified that they had applied for an entry two years back.
Trevor Carlin has ruled the International Formula 3 successfully around a decade now. The triumphant team was able to bag the first, second and third positions in their first three seasons in British Championships. A majority of the successes came due to Carlin’s team manager, who was able to group together some of the most talented engineers in the team.
The team that has been proving their potential for such a long time now have rejected the idea of moving to Formula One. They have stuck to the series that they are already leading and also have enrolled for the first GP3 Series, informing that though Formula One is their long term goal. However, at present, they want all their concentration to be devoted in the races that they have already signed.
Tags: