The FIA has finally broken its silence about the 2010 season entry lists and the future both of USF1 and Stefan GP.
According to an official announcement: "The USF1 Team have indicated that they will not be in a position to participate in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms that it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the Championship at this late stage."
It looks as if it is the end of the road for USF1, as FIA has decided to reject Ken Anderson's request to freeze the team's entry until 2011. Moreover, FIA's announcement ended the hopes of Serbian-backed Stefan GP, who were waiting to grab the entry of the American-based team by the last minute before next week's season-opener race in Bahrain. In the official entry list who has been published at FIA's official site, there is only 12 entries for the 2010 F1 season, Team Campos Meta has been finally renamed as Hispania Racing Team but neither USF1 or Stefan GP entries can be found.
Bernie Ecclestone quoted that "opening the entry for an official tender process so close to the Bahrain deadline makes little sense."
If Stefan had awarded the final spaces on the grid, Japan's Kazuki Nakajima would have been one of their drivers while former world champion Jacques Villeneuve had also been in contact with the team, which could have brought the number of champions on the grid to five.
