Zoran Stefanovich has admitted he had to withdraw his bid to enter formula one in 2015 because he could not agree an engine deal.
Alongside Gene Haas and Colin Kolles’ separate bids, Serbian Stefanovich – who also tried and failed to enter F1 with departed Toyota’s assets in 2010 – recently renewed his push to join the sport. F1’s governing body has delayed making a decision about the twelfth team for 2015, but Stefanovich has confirmed reports he is no longer in the running.
The biggest problem, he told Italy’s Omnicorse, was that he was unable to agree terms with either Mercedes, Ferrari or Renault for a customer turbo V6. “Our view is that everyone should play the game on the same field,” he said, “but we were not able to close a contract for the supply of an engine with one of the existing manufacturers, and we talked for a long time with all of them. “Since we did not reach an agreement on the power unit, our participation was compromised and we were forced to stop in the middle of the selection process,” said Stefanovich. “There was no equality of treatment,” he complained, “but we do have a future in F1.”
Indeed, it is rumoured that Stefanovich has been in talks with Marussia. When asked about those contacts, he answered: “I have had contact with several teams for several years, which is a known fact. “I don’t think I need to go into the details of any ongoing negotiations at this time.”
