Lola withdraws F1 entry application

In a statement released on Tuesday the company said: "Lola F1 Team Ltd has today advised the FIA of the decision to withdraw its application to enter the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

"Significant financial investment has been made in producing its 2010 contender and the FIA had requested that the Lola F1 Team remain in a state of readiness for a possible future entry.

"Lola F1 Team has thanked the FIA for giving its application to enter the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship serious consideration."

Though Lola would not comment further on the matter, AUTOSPORT understands that owner Martin Birrane is hugely disappointed not to have received an entry given the work and effort his company had put in to proving it could be a legitmate and serious competitor.

Birrane told AUTOSPORT last weekend that the company was already well down the line with the design of its 2010 contender, but that it had needed time to absorb the news of its failure to make the initial list before making a final decision on its future.

"We've had our model in the tunnel for the last week, and we have a proper car now," said Birrane.

"We've had a lot of people working on it for seven weeks, with a lot of input from people with current experience in Formula 1."