Team US F1 still looking for 2011 entry

Team US F1 boss Ken Anderson insists his outfit has not yet given up on its dreams of entering F1 in the future, despite telling its staff to stop work on its current car

Sources revealed earlier that team personnel were put on unpaid leave by the outfit on Tuesday afternoon, amid continued uncertainty about the future of the outfit.

Although that move pointed towards the end of Team US F1, Anderson has insisted that the Charlotte-based operation remains hopeful of making it onto the grid in 2011.

He is adamant that the team has not closed down, and says it now awaiting news from the FIA about if it can defer its entry from the start of this season until the beginning of 2011.

While it awaits a decision from the FIA, with an official entry list for 2010 expected imminently, the team has felt it pointless to continue work on the chassis it had originally planned to run this year.

Anderson told AUTOSPORT: "We have applied to the FIA to hold our entry until 2011. It was supposed to be confidential, so I could not really comment on it. It seems to have leaked out though.

"We are waiting for a reply from the FIA and are working with them. In the mean time, there is nothing for the employees to do, so we have told them to stop working on the current car until we have a decision."

With Team US F1 now certain not to be able to compete in 2010, it is not clear if the FIA will opt to hand an entry to the Serbian outfit Stefan GP, or choose to simply open applications for the 2011 championship instead - leaving just 12 teams on the grid this season.