SILVERSTONE, England — Lola has ruled out returning to Formula One in 2010.

A familiar name in F1 from the 1960s, Lola provided cars for top drivers like Graham Hill, John Surtees and Alan Jones. It dropped out after failing to produce a new car for the 1998 season, when many teams were unable to keep up with the big-spending and dominant Ferrari, McLaren, Benetton and Williams teams.

After auto racing's governing body ordered teams to make big cuts to their spending for the 2010 season, Lola had hoped to return.

The company said in a statement Wednesday that "significant financial investment has been made in producing its 2010 contender and the FIA had requested that the Lola F1 Team remain in a state of readiness for a possible future entry."