The twelfth garage vacancy in F1’s pitlane should be reopened if Prodrive fails to join the action in 2008, according to Eddie Jordan.
David Richards’ Prodrive outfit was selected by the FIA last year out of multiple other applicants to debut in 2008.
But with Prodrive’s plans facing serious problems in the form of uncertainty about the ‘customer car’ rules, Jordan – who was among the unsuccessful applicants for F1’s twelfth team slot – says he and others should be given another chance to apply.
“What is disappointing is that several teams – some of proven F1 calibre – applied for this extra slot and the FIA, after careful deliberation, chose Prodrive,” Jordan, who sold his struggling Silverstone based team in 2004, wrote in his latest column for the British magazine F1 Racing.
“David Richards is my friend and mustn’t take this personally, but I’d like to ask questions,” the Irishman added.
“Once, when Toyota told the FIA they were unable to compete in the agreed year, there was a hefty fine.
“Will Prodrive be fined if they don’t enter in ’08?
“And what of the other, rejected, teams? Surely the FIA must now allow them to reapply?”
Interestingly, Jordan says he backs figures like Sir Frank Williams who believe teams should not be allowed to compete with a car that is designed and built by an existing rival.
The Prodrive situation was set to be clarified with a Court of Appeal hearing late last month, but it is understood that the FIA called it off because Williams intended to pursue the case civilly irrespective of the result.
“We can never let teams sell off technology so newcomers can pass themselves off as part of the elite. It’s just not F1,” Jordan agreed.
