Joan Villadelprat insists he is not giving up on bringing his Spanish Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi into formula one.

After the FIA said on Wednesday it has decided to leave the 13th team entry vacant for now, Jacques Villeneuve said his partnership with Italian outfit Durango will now try to enter the sport by buying into an existing team.

Villadelprat, boss of the only other applicant, has adopted a similar stance.

“The 13th license was one way but not the only way to get into formula one,” he said.

Villadelprat admitted recently that it had not managed to accrue a full financial package for his F1 team.

“Without this capital it would be unfeasible to carry out the F1 project that we want,” he acknowledged on Wednesday.

“We have the ideal facilities and workforce for formula one and we will keep working to get there sooner or later,” he added.

A prominent engineer could be set to switch from Red Bull to Ferrari, according to rumours in Italy.

Neil Martin, currently chief strategist at the energy drink owned team and with years of previous experience with McLaren, is eyeing a similar role with F1′s famous Italian outfit, according to the unconfirmed speculation.

The reports indicated that Martin’s switch might indicate a deeper technical restructuring at Maranello based Ferrari.

The rumours may reportedly not be confirmed for several weeks.

Pat Fry, who worked alongside Martin at McLaren, also recently moved to Ferrari.

The FIA’s decision about the vacant team entry for 2011 will be made within the next few days.

“The decision will made at the end of the month,” 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve is quoted by La Presse Canadienne.

The French Canadian is bidding to return to F1 with his own team next year in collaboration with the Italian outfit Durango.

He is currently preparing for a NASCAR race in Montreal.

“I hope nothing is announced during the race weekend,” said Villeneuve, 39. “I don’t want to spend my weekend discussing formula one.

“But if there is a positive outcome, I will put all my efforts into building this team,” he added.

Villeneuve said he and Durango recently made a presentation to the FIA, who might decide to leave the 13th team place vacant in 2011.

“We did our presentation to a panel and there was no immediate reaction, but everyone seemed pleased,” he explained.

“We don’t know whether another group made a presentation or not. I know we did a good presentation.

“It’s all or nothing; either it works and it’s great, or they say no and everything we’ve done falls into the water,” said Villeneuve.

Finland’s Turun Sanomat cited “Italian sources” in confirming Villeneuve’s statement that the FIA will make its decision by the end of August.

The newspaper said the Spanish Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi, now considering an alliance with HRT, is no longer in the running for the 13th place.