MARCH 31, 2006

Prodrive wants an F1 entry

It is no big surprise that David Richards has submitted an entry for the 2008 FIA Formula 1 World Championship in the name of Prodrive. The company is an important motorsport organisation and competes in a variety of different championships around the world. But Formula 1 is a much bigger challenge and while it is no surprise that the firm has the ambition to be in F1, it needs to be able to find the money needed to compete. Richards is hoping that cost-cutting initiatives will either bring down the price or drive out some of the manufacturers and open the way for new teams.

There are likely to be a number of other teams entering, including Paul Stoddart's European Minardi organisation and at least two GP2 teams we have heard about.

The underlying problem, however, remains money and it is clear that Prodrive is not going to be able to fund an F1 programme by itself with the help of big new sponsors. The organisation has long enjoyed good relationships with manufacturers but there do not seem to be any out there at the moment looking at moving into Formula 1. The option is for the team to buy chassis from someone else but this is hardly in keeping with the Prodrive image.