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Haas Formula 1 Entry Accepted, Says Ecclestone

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Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone says a U.S.-backed team led by NASCAR’s Gene Haas is among two new teams likely to join the series next season.

Speaking at Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Ecclestone said he held talks with the sport’s governing body and there was agreement about expansion next season.

“They will be accepted, and we’ve also accepted another team as well, although whether they’ll make it or not is another story,” Ecclestone said when asked about a possible Haas entry.

At the NASCAR race in Fort Worth, Texas, Haas said he had not heard from Ecclestone or the governing body.

“We haven’t been notified by the FIA, but Bernie is kind of half Formula One, so I’m sure what he says goes,” Haas said. “I have no doubt that even if Mr. Ecclestone says he’s OK with it, there’s probably another few weeks of legal paperwork” before FIA would issue a license.

Haas is the founder of the Stewart-Haas NASCAR team based in North Carolina. He also operates one of the world’s most sophisticated wind tunnels for the testing of car aerodynamics, which would aid any new F1 entry.

He’s the owner of Haas Automation, which is one of the largest machine tool builders in the world. Haas said his company currently does $1 billion in annual sales, and he believes entering Formula One could help him double that number.

“It’s not that we’re trying to individually sell machines. We’re trying to make people aware of Haas Automation as a company,” he said.

He added: “We’re just trying to bring our awareness up and Formula One is even more important because half our sales are outside the country. So we think Formula One would be a really great way of bringing us awareness and increasing our sales.”

Formula One media reports have indicated that Haas, who owns a full-scale rolling road wind tunnel in North Carolina, is working with former Red Bull and Jaguar technical director Guenther Steiner on the new project.

Although the FIA is yet to release an official statement regarding the new teams, Ecclestone’s comments certainly make for good reading for those at Haas, and also Formula 1′s standing in the United States.

Source: Eurosport

In April, a bribery charge against Ecclestone will begin in Germany. In 2012, they sentenced the person to 8 or 9 years in prison for receiving the bribe, so jail time is a possibility against Ecclestone. His run as tyrant and ruler of F1 could end later in the month.

Ecclestone is one of the world's crooked billionaires.