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World motorsport chiefs on Thursday kicked off a search for a new team to join the Formula One world championship, a move which would boost the number of teams to twelve in 2015.

The last time the FIA launched such an appeal was in 2010 when 15 hopefuls applied from which three were selected -- Campos, which was later rebranded as HRT before they left in 2012, Caterham and Marussia (formerly Virgin).

"The FIA has decided to open a new selection process to identify a candidate team to participate at a competitive level in the FIA Formula One World Championship from the start of the 2015 or the 2016 season up to 2020 inclusive," said an FIA statement.

"The overall long-term interests of the Championship will determine which candidates are selected.

"The precise terms of this selection process, together with the applicable selection criteria, deadlines, legal requirements and other conditions, will be communicated to candidates who have registered a formal expression of interest with the FIA's Secretariat before 5pm CET Friday 3 January 2014."