Aston Martin set for F1 entry: Wheels: FormulaOne

Aston Martin set for F1 entry

29/05/2009 10:11

Email article | Print article | Comments

David Richards' Banbury-based outfit is set to make its formula one debut next year.

The team, expected to link up technically with McLaren-Mercedes, will initially enter the world championship as Prodrive, before becoming Aston Martin by 2012.

It is believed Richards, formerly team boss at Benetton and BAR, committed to lodging his official paperwork by Friday's deadline after discussions with Bernie Ecclestone that lasted until late Wednesday night.

It was on Wednesday that the FIA rules finally became clear (pending official confirmation), following a compromise deal amid the existing teams' standoff with the sport's ruling bodies.

Next year, the budget cap will be 100m, with special concessions such as cheap components offered to small teams, before the figure shrinks to 45m in 2011.

"The cars will be built at Banbury and have Aston Martin-badged customer engines obtained from a supplier," Richards confirmed to Autocar.

Among the backers is Aston Martin's majority owner Investment Dar, a Kuwaiti shareholding company, and another Middle Eastern interest.

ADD TO:	Laaik.it Facebook Yahoo Google Digg del.icio.us Twitter
WHEELS 24:	on your Mobile Join the Facebook group

Add your comment

Anonymous User 6/1/2009 2:31 PM	Anonymous User 6/1/2009 12:28 PM Ferrari please put action to your words. Stop threatening you leaving just do it. No one will care.” There is no other racing team that has the following that Ferrari enjoys. If they leave F1, I will watch them race in another series and stop watching F1. By the way, if I remember correctly BMW stopped racing locally because two other teams (including one of your beloved DTM teams) raced illegal cars and were not penalised properly.
Anonymous User 6/1/2009 12:28 PM	Why do people think there will be no F1 if ferrari leaves. If that spoilt brat team leaves I guarentee you F1 will continue as normal. It happened in every motorsport and things continued. In our own local production car series, BMW was like spoit children and dropped out and all what happened was a privateer bought the BMW cars and race series continues. In rally Mitsubishi and Subaru was big. Droppped out and guess what Rally continues. Honda dropped out of F1, Brawn buys the cars and guess what they indestructible nowadays. In DTM only Audi and Merc race as Opel pulled out and BMW too scared to enter and guess what DTM is still successful. SEAT a force in BTCC quit and guess what BTCC is still happening. No one team is greater than a race series and history proves it. Ferrari please put action to your words. Stop threatening you leaving just do it. No one will care. Next year Prodrive might even be a worthy replacement.
daffy 6/1/2009 11:41 AM	They will go the way that Jaguar went no so long ago. Endurance racing is their thing, not F1.
Anonymous User 5/31/2009 5:34 PM	Ek dink F1 is dieselfde as die sport in ons 'veelkleurige" land,'n klomp politieke snert en kyk wie kan die meeste geld "pocket'!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous User 5/30/2009 7:26 PM	Ok i hate the British, but man if i was ever going to support a British Formual 1 team, it's just about now. Yay!!!
Fred 5/30/2009 2:30 PM	If this happens, it will not be a 'debut' but a return!
Jon 5/30/2009 12:02 PM	LuanE, I wouldn't care if there was no F1 by 2010 at this rate.
R Stanshaw 5/29/2009 7:53 PM	Welcome to a potential new entry in the F1 field; it will be good to once more see 30+ cars vying for 26 grid slots. Let's just hope that the transformation from Prodrive into Aston Martin won't be a repeat of the Jaguar F1 fiasco, where a perfectly capable team (Stewart) was transformed into a failure, with a host of self-important old boys sporting the correct club blazer.
Pat 5/29/2009 6:51 PM	"Aston-Martin badged" engines! What a bloody waste of time. It's getting like football. There's hardly an Englishman in the English team anymore. F1 is a flippin' joke nowadays. I watched just about every race from the early 70's and haven't bothered for the past two years. It's a bore. The Bernie and Max show indeed. As Lauda says, F1 has become an embarassment.
Dominic 5/29/2009 4:18 PM	Ofcourse it will still be there. Racing is such an nature that it will entertain plenty people. I for one am please the FIA didnt give into Ferrari. Otherwise Ferrari would just do as they please! Rules are rules! if you cant handel the heat, be on your way. But don't cry like a little schoolgirl!!
LuanE 5/29/2009 3:00 PM	Will become Aston Martin by 2012... do they really think there will still be F1 by 2012 the things are going?

	Facebook commenting
	Comment by using your Facebook profile. Click on the button on the left to sign in with your facebook account. Your comment will also appear on your Facebook page.