Formula One: FIA set to announce the new team for 2011
The FIA is ready to announce its decision about the 13th team joining the Formula One grid for the 2011 season. The officials will announce this decision within the next few days.
The teams running for this spot most likely are Jacques Villeneuve’s Durango collaboration Stefan GP and Epsilon Euskadi. There is a possibility that the Spanish Le Mans team may unite with the HRT to improve the team’s chances. However, Villeneuve seems very confident as the team is expected to win the most due to the amount of publicity Jacques’ bid received.
“We did our presentation to a panel and there was no immediate reaction, but everyone seemed pleased. We do not know whether another group made a presentation or not. I know we did a good presentation. It is all or nothing; either it works and it is great, or they say no and everything we have done falls into the water. The decision will be made at the end of the month." Villeneuve told La Presse Canadienne.
Jacques was an outstanding driver in the Formula One, as he joined the sport in 1996. Villeneuve started his career with Williams and stayed with the team from 1996-1998. The 33 year old had one of the best debut seasons the Formula One has witnessed, as he finished 2nd in the drivers’ standings with 74 points with the help of 4 wins before winning the championship in 1997 with the help of 7 wins.
The former World Champion had a disastrous season in 1998, as he was not able to win a single race and scored just 21 points to secure a disappointing 5th place. His journey with Williams ended the following year when joined team BAR in 1999 and stayed with the team until 2003. This was not a very good phase of his season, as Jacques could not even score a single point in 1999. The 33 year old recovered from this downfall and scored a decent 7th position with the help of 17 points the following year before repeating a similar run in 2001. Jacques could not perform at his best again after 2001 and finished in a disappointing 12th place and had an even worse season in 2003, as he scored just 4 points to secure the 16th place.
In 2004, Jacques joined Renault as their test driver and only raced in 3 races. He signed with Sauber for a year after that and was not able to pull off a decent performance with them either. Sauber then became BMW Sauber in 2006 and this was Jacques final year. Spectators thought that this will be the last time they will ever see Jacques on the racing track but this might not be the end as things are shaping up recently. The Canadian won a championship title in 1997 and won 11 races with 23 podium positions and 13 pole positions during his period in the Formula One up until now.
The former World Champion is hoping that the decision does not come out this weekend, as he will be racing in NASCAR at Montreal then keeping in mind the FIA’s decision is imminent.
“I hope nothing is announced during the race weekend. I do not want to spend my weekend discussing Formula 1. But if there is a positive outcome, I will put all my efforts into building this team,” the 39 year old stated.
Many people including Ron Dennis supported Villeneuve’s bid. The former McLaren team boss told French Canadian publication Rue Frontenac that everyone in the Formula One world is hoping this deal works out. Former Formula One champions make things interesting hence; it is always good to keep them in the sport. However, Ron warned the former Formula One champion that this would not be easy for him to enter the sport with a team, as it will all depend on his financial package.
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