Like Lazarus, it’s back from the dead!

RichardsF1    Formula 1     Adrian Valles, Christian Klien, FIA, Jacques Villeneuve, Karun Chandhok, Kazuki Nakajima, Narain Karthikeyan, Ralf Schumacher, Sebastien Loeb, Stefan GP, Takuma Sato

Like the villain in the Scream series, just when you thought you’d managed to kill them off, back they would come for another shot!

The same line of thinking can be applied to Stefan GP, which was unsurprisingly rejected – but sadly, we think – in an eleventh-hour bid to wrangle its way onto the F1 grid in 2010, first by attempting to secure the technical assets of the recently-departed Toyota F1 team, and then by attempting a last-minute merger with the faltering USF1 team as a means of securing passage via their entry.

Their cause was not helped by their initial entry being refused at the first round by the FIA, and their subsequent – and very vocal – criticism of the governing body for its perceived mismanagement of the appointments of the new teams for the 2010 season.

It would now seem that Stefan GP have picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and are regrouping for a tilt at the 2011 championship bid.

In a statement issued on the team’s newly-relaunched website, team boss Zoran Stefanovic confirmed that the team had also “signed an agreement” with the mayor of the town of Stara Pazova – located 25 kilometres from the Serbian capital, Belgrade – for the construction of a F1 circuit and team headquarters.

"We want to be a part of F1 for both the long and short term future, and I hope that we will finally have the success we deserve," said Stefanovich.

"This is proof that we want to put ourselves on the map as a serious hi-tech company, and that we are serious about competing in formula one for the long term,” he added.

The team also confirmed it was in talks with twelve drivers with a view to the possibility of any combination of them driving for the team for the 2010 season, assuming its entry had been confirmed.

Aside from agreeing to terms with Jacques Villeneuve and Kazuki Nakajima, the team announced it had held talks with Ralf Schumacher, Christian Klien, Narain Karthikeyan, Pastor Maldonado, Takuma Sato, Karun Chandhok, Bertrand Baguette, Adrian Valles, Alex Margaritis, and – most surprisingly – multiple World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb.

I’m genuinely surprised that Loeb would have considered representing the team.

Or does “talked to” in Stefan GP’s terms mean “left a voicemail message for”?