In addition to the American outfit of NASCAR team owner Gene Haas, F1 looks set to welcome another new F1 team within the next couple of years.

Talking to reporters ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Bernie Ecclestone, who is meeting with (FIA president) Jean Todt and Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo to discuss the 2014 regulations, admitted that Haas' bid to enter F1 appears to have been successful.

"They will be accepted," he told reporters. "We've also accepted another team as well. Whether they'll make it or not is another story. We are happy to have another couple of teams.

"I've spoken to Jean Todt and we agreed yesterday that another two teams want to come in, we'll let them in," he added.

In December, at a time when a majority of the current teams were (and still are) struggling financially, the FIA called for expressions of interest from would-be new teams entering the sport in 2015 or 2016, setting a January deadline. Full details had to be submitted by 10 February with a decision due at the end of the month, but since then all we have has is (official) silence.

Unofficially however, in January Haas revealed his intention to enter F1, while it has since emerged that Colin Kolles, former team boss at Midland and its descendants, as well as HRT, is involved in a bid funded by a Romanian consortium along with a third bid from Zoran Stefanovic of Stefan GP fame.

Asked if F1 could support thirteen teams, Ecclestone grinned and replied: "Sure. And you can have a team and it can be fourteen."

Meanwhile, those teams that entered F1 in 2010, attracted by the carrot that was the budget cap, have yet to score a point - one of them having already disappeared from the grid - whilst a number of the more established teams are openly struggling.

While Ecclestone points to the fact that Haas has a billion dollars at his disposal, one is reminded of the old saying about how you make a small fortune from F1...

You start with a large fortune.

Chris Balfe