The nascent Campos Formula 1 team has once again claimed that they remain on course for the Bahrain GP grid next month, with funding to guarantee the future of the team set to be announced within the next few days.
Campos are rumoured to have a financial gap of up to 20 million Euros in their 2010 season budget, and have been in talks with potential new investors for some time. Reports that the team, which has signed Bruno Senna to drive for them in 2010, were about to be forced off the grid by Serbian team Stefan GP also seem to have been wide of the mark.
A source from Campos has been quoted by Autosport as saying: "We have agreements in place and we expect the situation to be finalised in the next few days."
The investor is most likely to be the A1GP boss Tony Teixeira, who last month announced plans to make Campos a link between Formula 1 and his own series.
It is also believed that earlier rumours suggesting that the Stefan GP team were planning to buy the intellectual rights to the chassis that the Italian company has built for Campos, effectively leaving the team without a car for the season, were inaccurate.
Stefan GP is in discussions with Dallara, but reports now suggest that this is over a technical link-up to help with the development of their own ex-Toyota designed car.
The announcement of secured funding for Campos would be a big blow for Stefan GP, who have shipped equipment to Bahrain in the hope that a grid slot becomes available for 2010, and their chances of making the grid were further hit when USF1 boss Peter Windsor also clarified that his own team were still on course for Bahrain.
"We're still in exactly the same mode - flat out," Windsor bragged, "Bahrain is the goal - and we are not thinking of anything else. It is just amazing to see the hours and time that everyone is putting in.
"We had a slight bump in the road with a sponsor who was late on payment, but that is typical of what can happen to any new team. We've moved on from that and found a replacement."
But Windsor also implied that USF1 may be forced to skip testing over delays to their car. The team was due to conduct a full private test at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama in February, but Windsor only referred to a "shakedown" prior to Bahrain in an interview with Autosport.
"The car is quite late because we put a massive amount of development time into it," he admitted, "We are taking our time and as a team we are confident we are on the right track.
"As soon as we are through the crash tests, we will be doing a shakedown and going to Bahrain."
Windsor also denied rumours that the team had asked the FIA to be allowed to skip the first three races of 2010 and said that the team would be in Bahrain, adding: "We may not be pretty, but we will be there. And from there we will grow. This is all about belief, passion and people being committed to a very good cause."
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