The much-anticpated Formula One entry list for 2010 has been released - and it includes newcomers Team US F1, Campos Grand Prix and Manor Grand Prix.
The omission of David Richards' mooted Prodrive/Aston Martin F1 team among the newcomers is the major surprise, although there is still the possibility it will be granted an entry at a later date.
This is because five of the teams were only granted provisional entries. The manufacturer-backed teams of McLaren, BMW, Renault and Toyota, plus championship leaders Brawn, only submitted entries on the provision that their demands to change budget cap rules for 2010 were met.
The FIA has responded to this by saying that the teams have an entry to the 2010 championship - so long as they drop their demands for changes to the budget cap rules.
A statement issued by the FIA, said: "These five teams have submitted conditional entries. The FIA has invited them to lift those conditions following further discussions to be concluded not later than close of business on Friday 19 June."
Intriguingly, Ferrari is among the teams that have been granted a confirmed entry. Ferrari has insisted its entry was conditional on changes to the budget cap rules, but the FIA appears to be trying to force its hand and hold it to a prior agreement to enter F1 until 2012.
The other existing F1 teams that have unconditionally entered F1 are Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Williams and Force India.
Speculation suggests that Scuderia Toro Rosso and Red Bull may be in a similar position to Ferrari, and that the FIA may be trying to hold them to previous long-term deals to enter F1.
Should any of the five current teams not make the cut, then the FIA is evaluating further entries being added. No information on how the new teams were selected have been released.
Of the newcomers, Team US F1 is a start-up team, Campos Grand Prix is headed by ex-F1 racer Adrian Campos, who has experience running teams up to GP2 level, and Manor Grand Prix is a collaboration between John Booth, who has run his title-winning Manor Motorsport team up to F3 level, and Nick Wirth, the ex-Simtek F1 boss.
Teams that submitted entries but haven't been selected include Prodrive/Aston Martin, Lola, Litespeed/Team Lotus and Brabham.
Prodrive/Aston Martin's David Richards said in a statement: "We are naturally disappointed by the FIA's decision not to include Prodrive in the preliminary entry list for 2010 as we believe we have the resources and set-up to be competitive in Formula 1 and would make a positive contribution to the sport.
"We will wait to see how things develop in the next week, up to the 19th June deadline set by the FIA and we remain prepared and ready to implement our plans should the circumstances allow. As we have seen before, there are quite often many twists and turns in Formula One."
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