Villeneuve Disappointed with FIA Decision

After the International Automobile Federation (FIA) released the final entry list for the 2010 Formula One Championship, it was pretty clear that neither US F1 nor Stefan GP would be getting any piece of F1 action through the course of this season. While the guys in North Carolina were rather expecting the verdict, the Serbs from Cologne were bumped by the news, as their efforts of securing a functional F1 operation for 2010 have been very intense through the past couple of months.

However, maybe one person that read the entry list just as disappointed as the Stefan GP officials was 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, who had already prepared himself for an F1 return with Zoran Stefanovic's team for 2010.

Although admitting that starting an F1 season without a single day of testing would have been problematic for the Serbian outfit, the Canadian racer reckoned that this team had plenty of potential in the series. Using Toyota's technology, base and car would have been only a few aces down their sleeve in 2010.

“The car and team looked very promising, but we always knew there was a risk without having the entry, and it was running late. So it's not a full surprise, but it's still disappointing,” said Villeneuve.

“There was a lot of potential with the car. It was built and it was a full blown project. It wasn't something started from scratch, and it was going to be competitive. It's a shame because it would have been a new team which could have run properly, but that's the way it is,” added the Canadian, who insisted that all is not lost for him in F1.

“Who knows, there might be some driver changes during the year, as the teams are not all fully secure. And there's still 2011. It's too early to say anything,” added Villeneuve.

Still no word from Zoran Stefanovic on his team's failure to secure an F1 entry in 2010.