The FIA could take "appropriate action" against the USF1 team, after the Americans were forced to withdraw from the championship on the eve of the new season, forcing the governing body to re-open their selection process for 2011.
Following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, the FIA today confirmed that the selection process for the now-vacant 13th grid spot was now open, and that they would be considering bids from teams looking to join the grid next season.
The vacancy arose after the USF1 team withdrew just days before the start of the season, after suffering a number of financial blows and delays to their car manufacturing process.
USF1 tried to pay the FIA a 'retainer' to guarantee their slot for 2011, but the governing body chose to go through a new round of tendering instead. It has, though, invited the American team to reapply.
Another likely applicant will be Stefan GP, who missed out on inheriting USF1's spot this season, despite allegedly having their cars ready to race and shipping "equipment" to the first four flyaway rounds of the 2010 championship.
The last tender process for grid spots in 2009 produced applications from a number of teams, including the likes of Prodrive, Lola, Le Mans manufacturer Epsilon Euskadi and the Alex Wurz-managed Team Superfund.
A statement from the WMSC read: "The World Council approved the initiation of a new selection process for a potential 13th entry (and reserve entry) to the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship."
Despite allowing the USF1 team to reapply, the FIA clarified that they could still take action against the team for failing to fulfill their initial obligation to race in 2010.
Their withdrawal effectively counts as a breach of the Concorde Agreement, which the team signed last year.
The statement confirmed that: "With regard to the US F1 team's non-participation in the 2010 championship, the World Council mandated the FIA president [Jean Todt]...to take forward the most appropriate action."
Meanwhile the WMSC meeting also confirmed that rookie HRT F1 driver Karun Chandhok had been issued with the necessary superlicense ahead of his track debut for the Spanish team tomorrow.
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