Banbury motorsport company Prodrive has made an 11th-hour bid to join the Formula One ranks.

The firm's application to have cars on the grid for the 2008 world championship was made on Friday deadline day for entries.

Prodrive is one of 11 teams applying for a single vacant spot after the FIA, F1's governing body, confirmed it had received 22 entries for the 2008 series.

A statement said: "The FIA has received applications from 22 teams wishing to compete in the 2008 Formula One World Championship. All applicants have been invited to a meeting in London on April 10."

The FIA has made it clear that only 12 teams can compete in F1, and with 11 teams already in the category, only one vacancy remains. Prodrive is a leading independent motorsport company which already competes in the World Rally Championship with Subaru, in international sports car racing with Aston Martin, and with Ford in the Australian V8 Supercar Series. David Richards, Prodrive chairman, has said for some time that he would like to see the company competing in F1.

He said: "F1 is still the pinnacle of motorsport and, therefore, a natural next step for Prodrive.

"While we may be a very large company in motorsport terms, we are very much a minnow in comparison to the vehicle manufacturers who dominate the sport.

"However, on the basis of the new regulations being proposed by the FIA, we believe the time is now right for us to take this next step."

Mr Richards and his team have extensive experience of F1, having managed Brackley's BAR team from 2002 to 2004, taking it to second place in the 2004 manufacturers' championship.

Mr Richards was also team principal for the Benetton team at Enstone in 1998. Prodrive plans to house its F1 team in new purpose-built premises at Kenilworth, Warwickshire.

This is still subject to planning permission, but if granted, construction would start at the end of the year. Until then, Prodrive would run the F1 programme from its existing facilities in Banbury.

Mr Richards added: "The next few months will see the clarification of the rules for 2008. Should our entry be accepted, we would aim to play a constructive part in determining the new rules with the objective of creating an environment where private teams, without access to the massive resources of the vehicle manufacturers, can once again be competitive."

Prodrive's main competitors for the F1 spot are former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart and Richard's predecessor at BAR Craig Pollock both have been connected to entries.

The FIA will announce the 2008 line-up on April 28.