Super Aguri given green light.

The Super Aguri F1 team will be on the grid for the 2006 Formula One season after the FIA granted the team late entry into the championship.

The team, which was first rumoured in the run up to the Japanese Grand Prix last season, had initially been refused a place on the entry list - with reports suggesting financial reasons were the main factor behind the decision.

However immediately after that initial announcement, the team informed Crash.net that it would be applying for a late entry into the championship and, having gained the support of the other ten teams on the grid and with the financial guarantees in place, Super Aguri will now take Formula One back up to eleven teams for the first time since the 2002 season - when the Arrows team folded.

"Following receipt of the necessary financial guarantee and with the unanimous support of the competing teams, the FIA has accepted the late entry of the Super Aguri F1 Team to the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship," a statement from the governing body read.

Super Aguri, which will run with Honda V8 engines this season and is based in the old Arrows facility at Leafield, is likely to start the season using a chassis from the defunct team before introducing its own car later in the season.

Although the team faces a race against time to be ready for the opening race of the year in Bahrain, team boss Aguri Suzuki said he was confident the team would be prepared.

"I am thankful for the support we received from all of the other F1 teams and we look forward to seeing them soon," he said. "Our team members are doing their best to make sure that we are on the grid in Bahrain - and I am confident that we will make it."

Although no drivers have yet been officially named, former BAR driver Takuma Sato is expected to lead the team into the new season while fellow Japanese drivers Yuji Ide, Kosuke Matsuura and Sakon Yamamoto have been linked to the second seat - although Matsuura has now extended his deal to run with Aguri's IRL team.

Anthony Davidson was also linked to the team but has since been confirmed as the third driver for another season with Honda.