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Atom N.Technology, a hitherto-almost-unknown Italian wannabe F1 team (not to be confused with Stefan GP, a wannabe Serbian team, as I did in the original version of this entry), surprised everyone in September in two ways. Firstly, it announced its existence. Few people had even heard of the organisation before it declared that it had lost out on a place in F1.
Secondly, it was prosecuting the FIA. This is normally considered an unwise move given the FIA's power in F1, but N.Technology had nothing to lose. Its point of argument was that the FIA's entry criteria were unfair, specifically that Cosworth engines were made an unwritten minimum criterion for entry. This meant that N.Technology wouldn't lose anything except a little time and money whatever the courts decided.
It appears that N.Technology has lost the case, though we still don't know why. The full reasons will make for interesting reading, for they will affect how exactly the FIA's role in selecting the 2010 entrants is seen. They will also affect what happens with Stefan Grand Prix's anti-competition case against the FIA, currently before the EU.
Since I wrote the above paragraphs, I have discovered via Joe's blog that the judgement has been leaked, which raises some doubt as to the veracity of the information. It certainly explains why there is, as yet, no reasoning for the decision.
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