With continued resistance over customer cars, it is reported that Prodrive are close to abandoning all plans to enter Formula 1.
Prodrive had agreed a deal for McLaren-Mercedes to supply them for the 2008 season however Williams put in a legal challenge over the validity of their entry. Prodrive had to put their plans on ice but had hoped to enter Formula 1 in 2009. With the continued problems over customer cars, Prodrive boss Dave Richards has admitted that there is now little hope of the team entering Formula One.
“The new Concorde Agreement ultimately determines that each team has to be a constructor, and the barriers to entry are horrendous,†Richards explained in an interview with Autosport. “The barrier to entry and being competitive make it virtually impossible, so I do have to questions under those terms whether we will consider doing it.
“I am waiting now there is nothing I can do to influence it any longer. I have done my best and we will sit and wait, let the dust settle, and then see what happens.â€
The new Concorde agreement sets out that teams must build their own cars if they wish to race in Formula 1 Super Aguri and Toro Rosso have a two year exemption.
“I was very clear from the outset and I have made no bones about it right from day one about how we were going to go about it,†Richards continued. “The only reason we were going to go and do it was because the rules changed.
“Now, if the rules are different again, we will have to reassess the situation. I know there is a meeting going on tomorrow and there will be further discussions before the start of the season to get this clarified, so let s wait and see what happens.â€
