 | |
| Full name | Prodrive F1 Team |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | David Richards |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Races entered | 0 |
| Constructors' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
Prodrive F1 Team was the name of a proposedFormula One team to be run byProdrive. The team was selected by the FIA in 2006 to be the 12th entry into the2008 Formula One world championship. In November 2007, a legal challenge to the team's proposed use of customer cars led to Prodrive pulling out of the 2008 season.
In 2009, Prodrive bossDavid Richards announced that either Prodrive orAston Martin Racing would appear in F1 from 2010 should the budget caps planned be acceptable.[1] Prodrive Ltd. is based inBanbury,England, but has unveiled plans to relocate to a new 200-acre (81 ha) motorsport facility called "The Fulcrum" (based at the formerRAF Honiley airfield) nearWroxall, Warwickshire.
On 28 April 2006, rallying and motorsports technology firm Prodrive were officially granted entry to Formula One when theFIA announced the list of entrants to the2008 Formula One World Championship.[2] While a total of 22 teams applied for entry, the FIA had always maintained that, for reasons of both safety and practicality, only 12 teams would be granted entry, meaning only one new team would line up on the grid in 2008.
FIA presidentMax Mosley was impressed by Prodrive's bid, which beat off stiff competition fromCarlin Motorsport, theJean Alesi-led andMcLaren-supportedDirexiv outfit,BAR co-founderCraig Pollock, formerMinardi ownerPaul Stoddart and ex-Jordan Grand Prix team principal,Eddie Jordan.
Mosley revealed that Prodrive had found the finances to support their bid, adding: "Prodrive have the best combination of financial backing, technical capability and motor sport experience and are well known to the FIA through their participation in theWorld Rally Championship. Also, Prodrive's chief executive, David Richards, has experience as a Formula One team principal".[3] Richards has previously acted as team principal of theBenetton andBritish American Racing teams.
According to some reports,[4] Prodrive F1 was to useMercedes engines and the same cars as McLaren. During the 2007 season, McLaren bossRon Dennis denied that the partnership had been finalised.[5] Discussions with other potential suppliers of cars, includingRenault, were also carried out.[citation needed] On 25 April 2007, it was announced that Prodrive had attracted a title sponsor for 2008. The same article also referencedGary Paffett for a race drive citing his "one year" contract inDTM and with McLaren as a test driver. There were also rumours linking DTM driverBruno Spengler, ex-F1 driver and McLaren testerPedro de la Rosa and ex-McLaren test driverAlexander Wurz to the team. By October 2007, it was believed that the team had an agreement in place to useMcLaren-Mercedes cars, at a cost of around $100M.[6]
Although David Richards also led the consortium which ownsAston Martin,[7] he ruled out the Aston Martin brand entering F1.[8]
Although the FIA had announced in 2006 that customer cars would be permitted from the 2008 season, the 2007 season saw complaints against two teams,Scuderia Toro Rosso andSuper Aguri F1, believed by other teams to already be using customer cars. The use of customer cars (cars built by a constructor entered in the F1 championship and sold to another entrant) is forbidden by theConcorde Agreement. The Concorde Agreement is the contract between the FIA, the F1teams andFormula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money. As the Concorde Agreement was scheduled to expire at the end of 2007 and a succeeding Agreement had not yet been finalised, in October 2007 theWilliams team challenged Prodrive's proposed use of customer cars for its entry to the 2008 championship in the FIA's International Court of Appeal.
Following lengthy negotiations between president Mosley and Richards, including a request that the team be allowed to enter from mid-season, Richards announced on 23 November 2007 that Prodrive F1 would not compete in the2008, as the legal situation left no time for the team to be set up for the start of the season.[9] "It is still our ambition to compete in Formula One," Prodrive said in a statement. "We are hopeful that a new Concorde Agreement between the FIA,FOA (Formula One Administration) and teams will provide clarity as to the terms on which this might be possible. When this new agreement is reached, we will be in a position to consider the extent to which we can adapt our plans for participation in the future."[10]In an interview Richards said that he would have wanted Pedro de la Rosa andLucas di Grassi as his drivers for the 2008 season.[citation needed]
WhenHonda withdrew at the end of 2008, Richards was linked to buying out the team and using it as an output for Prodrive,[11] butRoss Brawn and the rest of the team's management bought out the team instead, becomingBrawn GP.
In May 2009, Richards lodged an entry for the2010 Formula One season.[12] If successful, it would have allowed theAston Martin name to return to Formula One[13] (which ultimately occurred in 2021, when the formerRacing Point F1 Teamwas purchased and rebranded). On 12 June 2009 it was announced by the FIA that Prodrive's entry for 2010 had not been accepted.[14] Prodrive stated in a press release that they were 'disappointed'.[15]
In early December 2009, there were reports in the media suggesting that Renault were looking to sell their team ahead of the 2010 F1 season.Bernie Ecclestone, the commercial rights holder for Formula One, revealed on 7 December 2009 that Richards' Prodrive was one of four potential bidders.[16] Reports suggested that Prodrive's proposal would have seen Renault withdraw from the sport as a manufacturer, but remain in place as an engine supplier.[17]