"We are well under way with building an appropriate infrastructure and have firm commitments from key people who are experienced in F1 design, marketing, management and operations," said team principal Trevor Carlin.

"They will join us if the entry is accepted.

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"We have also agreed the purchase of an established facility in south-east England [Images], for design and specialist production, and a composite facility near our base to handle the major workload," he said in a statement.

"We realise there is considerable competition for the entry and our credentials are our success in racing. I have no doubt that the finance will be available from our existing contacts if the entry is accepted."

The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said on March 31, the deadline for applications for 2008, that 22 teams were seeking entry.

The FIA has already published rules for that season, the first after the expiry of an existing commercial agreement, that it says would cut costs and allow smaller teams to compete with the major manufacturers.

"We believe that the introduction of the new initiatives on the rule changes for the future are designed to allow successful junior teams such as Carlin Motorsport to make the previously difficult shift to Formula One," said Carlin.

"The proposed cost reductions will bring the necessary budgets within our reach."

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Carlin Motorsport, based in Aldershot in southern England, was founded 10 years ago and entered the British Formula Three championship in 1997.

Past and present Formula One drivers Takuma Sato of Japan [Images], India's Narain Karthikeyan [Images] and Briton Anthony Davidson all raced for Carlin.

Carlin, who recently celebrated their 100th win in the various junior series, are also running the Lebanese and Portuguese teams in the new A1 Grand Prix championship.

Trevor Carlin was also briefly Jordan's sporting director in Formula One last season.

All 11 teams currently in Formula One have submitted entries for 2008 while other known contenders are former Benetton and BAR boss David Richards' Prodrive company and former Minardi owner Paul Stoddart.

Eddie Jordan, the Irish entrepreneur who sold his Silverstone-based team to Midland last year, has refused to confirm his rumoured interest.

The 22 teams were to have met the governing body at a meeting in London [Images] on Monday but it was shelved due to some being unable to attend over the holiday period. No new date has been scheduled yet.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said the championship will not expand beyond 12 teams and 24 cars. The FIA has said it will publish the list of successful applicants on April 28.

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