03/06/2014
NEWS STORY
According to unconfirmed reports the FIA has approved an entry in the 2015 world championship from the Romanian outfit fronted by a former Health Minister.
The news comes less than two months after approval was given to Gene Haas' entry (Haas Formula) and is said to have been brought about by the American's recent admission that his team will not be ready to enter the championship until 2016. That said, with even less time in which to prepare it is not clear how the Romanian team will be able to make the grid when the season kicks off next March.
The man behind the project is Ion Bazac, a physician and politician, who served as his country's Minister of Health between 2008 and 2009. Among his varied business interests is his role as Romania's Ferrari importer.
While one would assume that he would use Ferrari power units there has also been talk of a partnership with Renault.
The man charged with running the team is Colin Kolles who first came to (F1) prominence with Midland after Eddie Jordan sold his Silverstone-based team in 2005. He continued to run the outfit, under its various guises, until 2008 when, now known as Force India, new owner Vijay Mallya assumed the role of Team Principal. Kolles subsequently reappeared, albeit briefly, with the ill-fated Hispania team.
Whilst Bazac sorts out funding - though one would have thought that there must already be a sizeable amount in place for the proposal to pass FIA scrutiny - it is understood work will begin on the project at Kolles German base out of which his WEC team is run.
Though, like the FIA green light, this is all subject to official confirmation.
A former Health Minister, a dentist (Kolles), the need to find funding, no confirmed engine supply, no confirmed chassis, eight months before 2015 testing gets underway... what could possibly go wrong?
Chris Balfe