Analysis: No Curtain Call for Arrows

Arrows appeared to have reached the end of the Formula One road today, after motorsport's governing body threw out their application to enter the 2003 Championship.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) issued its official entry list with the 10 teams that completed last season and a footnote explaining that Arrows, absent from the last five races, had been turned down.

"An application to compete in the 2003 championship was also received from Arrows Grand Prix International but was declined for reasons which have been communicated to the Arrows team," said the FIA.

There was no immediate comment from Arrows about a decision that FIA sources said was final.

Paul Stoddart, team principal of rivals Minardi who fought a bitter battle with Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw over money this year, said he hoped there would be no legal challenge.

"For the sake of Formula One I hope there is no controversy over the entries to next year's championship because if ever we needed to unite and go forward in a professional and proper way it's now," he said before the list came out.

"The absolute last thing this sport needs is to have any kind of controversy or legal challenges to who may or may not be entitled to enter the 2003 championship."

Formula One has slots for 12 teams but only 11 started the 2002 championship after the failure of Prost. New entrants must pay a deposit of $48 million.

Record Failure

Arrows hold the Formula One record of 382 starts without ever winning a race and have been hanging on by the skin of their teeth for some years.

Walkinshaw, a successful businessman with an extensive motorsport empire spanning several continents, took over the team in 1996 after tasting World Championship success with Michael Schumacher at Benetton.

He signed World Champion Damon Hill for the 1997 season and watched the Briton come agonisingly close to winning that year's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Before that, Arrows' finest hour had been pole position at the 1981 USA West Grand Prix with Riccardo Patrese and the Italian's second place in Sweden in 1978.

Arrows were also fourth overall in 1988.

The cash-strapped team has been in steady decline and were warned by the FIA this year after they turned up in France but deliberately failed to qualify.

Walkinshaw argued force majeure - or an unavoidable obstacle - and said that the team had been advised by lawyers not to race pending a sale to an unnamed American investor.

That deal never materialised and, with a winding up petition pending in a London court, Arrows said last month that they were close to a deal with a Germany-based investors.

A statement then said that Arrows had agreed and signed contracts with the investors for "the introduction of substantial new equity into the team."

But Formula One was divided on whether or not they had forfeited their rights to compete under the secretive Concorde Agreement by missing so many races.

The team also sought protection from creditors by putting itself into administration, a request that was due to be heard at the London High Court on December 9.

Arrows have already lost most of their core members, with technical director Mike Coughlan moving to McLaren and mechanics seeking work at rival teams.

They had no engine deal lined up, with Ford-owned supplier Cosworth taking legal action to recover unpaid bills, and no title sponsor after telecoms company Orange pulled out.