Prodrive and Durango set to apply for F1 team entry
It emerged last month that the Italian outfit, who pulled out of GP2 due to financial problems, has lodged an application to be F1's thirteenth team in 2011.
According to the Italian source Italiaracing, Durango boss Ivone Pinton has confirmed he is in talks with Toyota.
Upon withdrawing from F1 at the end of 2009, Toyota offered its two complete 2010 chassis to hopeful new entrants including USF1 and Stefan GP .
The TF110, later renamed S-01 while rented by the unsuccessful Serbian entrant Stefan, was recently run by Toyota with Kazuki Nakajima at the wheel.
In naked carbon-fiber and with a front end resembling elements of the Red Bull and BMW-Sauber cars, photos of the car were published by Racecar Engineering magazine.
Pinton said recently that "two very big international groups" are backing Durango's F1 bid, and Italiaracing reports that one of them is from Russia.
04/02/10 (GMM) Prodrive could be set to lodge an application to fill F1's thirteenth team spot on the 2011 grid.
Headed by the experienced former Benetton and BAR chief David Richards, the British outfit was granted an entry in 2008 but pulled out due to a row about 'customer car' rules.
Another application was lodged for 2009, but the door was instead opened to F1's current new teams — perhaps due to their commitment to race with the FIA-preferred Cosworth power.
Autoweek now claims Prodrive is "actively evaluating a new bid" to form a team following a board meeting headed by commercial director Tony Schulp.
Spain's Epsilon Euskadi has also indicated it will try again to gain entry to F1, and Autoweek said Lola is expected to do the same.
"Neither intends to make a formal statement until the FIA's closing date for 2011 entries on April 15," read the report.