Lola refuse to give up on F1 dream

Martin Brundle

Lola are refusing to give up on their dream of competing in F1, especially as rumors continue suggesting that not all of the new 2010 teams will make the starting grid. Because two of those teams, USF1 and Campos Meta, could reportedly not make the grid with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone skeptical about their chances. Should either team fall by the wayside, Lola's managing director Robin Brundle says his outfit is hopeful of taking their slot next year.

"I think they're going to have trouble actually getting to the first race, so now we have to wait and see," the 79-year-old said.

"We're still very excited about the opportunity of Formula 1 and remain in a state of readiness," he told Autosport. "Clearly 2010 would be a challenge – we simply wouldn't be ready for the start of 2010.

"The rules at the present time indicate that you have to be there at the start of the year. If there is a change in that, we remain in a state of readiness."

"For us, what would be more appealing would be when the cost caps, as they continue to be described, come into play from 2011, with the number of employees and the expenditure value," he said.

"I think that arena probably suits us better than the open arena in expenditure that is out there in 2010. So we are in a state of readiness. We have evident capacity, and sure, we would love to do that program but it has to be at the right time for us.

"We know what the new teams are going through and their first iterations of car, it will be interesting to see how they perform when they arrive at circuit. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears going into those guys at the moment – and I have sympathy with them. I admire them.

"It's a very exciting time but we have to understand that technically the other teams you're racing against in the open field again have decades of experience and hundreds of millions of dollars invested in their programs.

"So to be competitive with that, is going to be very difficult for any new team."