The Serbian Stefan GP team, which failed in their attempts to win a slot on the 2010 Formula One grid, have cancelled their collaborative work with the Toyota company, though still remain hopeful of getting into F1 in the future.
The Serbian team, run by Zoran Stefanovic, linked up with Toyota in a deal that involved the team building their 2010 contender around the planned 2010 Toyota design, after the Japanese company withdrew from the sport at the end of last season.
The team also took on technical support from the Japanese company's motorsport arm, based in Cologne.
But the FIA refused to allow the Stefan team to enter the sport in 2010, despite there being a grid slot free following USF1's failure to make the grid, and have opened up the entry process for the 13th slot for the 2011 season.
And although Stefan GP are still aiming for the F1 grid, they will not be doing so with Toyota's help.
"For 2010, it's not feasible to do it anymore," Stefanovic explained to Autosport, "We have some other [plan] in mind, we will see.
"We are very grateful to Toyota, which is a great company and doing a great job in what they are doing. They are now organising things differently, they are now more profit centered in TMG in Cologne."
When asked whether Toyota might help their 2011 planning, Stefanovic muttered that: "We are not going to discuss it at the moment."
The team, though, is still in discussions with the FIA over a potential 2011 entry.
"We are all the time looking for a solution which is feasible for us," he explained about the team's plans for the future, "At the moment there is no opportunity to organise anything. At the moment we're basically looking to see which direction we will go in the very near future.
"Our intention is to start with the FIA and the process, but we have to wait and make a decision. It is not just [a matter] of saying yes, it is how [we do it]."
Although the team claimed to have built two cars for 2010, neither were ever seen when a planned February test was cancelled after the team failed to source a tyre supply. Sefanovic had said that if his team failed to make the grid, they would spend 2010 testing their car, but no details of this have been forthcoming.
The future of their deal with driver Kazuki Nakajima, which was believed to be part of the Toyota deal, is also unclear.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
