Stefan Grand Prix boss Zoran Stefanovic has stated his team will be present at the opening round of the 2010 F1 season at Bahrain, regardless of whether the FIA grants them an entry or not.
SGP had their bid for a slot in the 2010 World Championship rejected, and Stefanovic subsequently filed a complaint to the European Commission regarding the prerequisite of using Cosworth engines stipulated by the FIA.
“How did we find title sponsorship without even being accepted from FIA for the 2010 Championship?” Stefanovic said. “When you have all the pieces of the puzzle right: when you have one of the biggest shows on the face of the earth – the F1 brand – which is in my opinion organized almost perfectly, and when you come from an extremely interesting part of the world like Central – Eastern Europe, you have something fresh, something new, something worth looking at. And that is the essence of our effort.”
Stefanovic’s summed up his team’s attempt to make the grid by saying; “Don't forget, people tried to convince the Wright brothers that they would never fly”.
This is not his first attempt to break into F1. In 1997, he attempted to purchase Lola‘s T97/30 chassis and continued running them, despite the car failing to qualify on its debut by 4 seconds due to the 107% rule.
Details of his latest F1 attempt are scant at best, and apart from his claims of already having sponsorship, the car design is already said to be “at a very advanced stage,” and are to be based in the Serbian capital Belgrade. SGP have also signed Mike Coughlan as Technical Director, who was involved in the 2007 Spygate affair.
Nigel Roebuck once said of the hopelessly slow Jean-Denis Deletraz, that the man he replaced, Giovanni Lavaggi looked “like Nuvorali” in comparison. This reporter thinks Stefan Grand Prix could make Andrea Moda look like Ferrari if they go ahead with their plans. Nelson Piquet Jr. as lead driver, anyone?
