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Prodrive boss David Richards has admitted to Autocar that Formula One is a “dead duck” for his company.
Speaking at the Autosport show in Birmingham, Richards said that the new Concorde Agreement had dashed Prodrive’s hopes of becoming the Formula One team.
New rules make it mandatory for all teams to have constructor support. That, says Richards, will make it “not financially viable for smaller teams to enter the sport. It would be “too impractical to be competitive” he said.
Richards added that his initial premise for entering the world of F1 had been taken away since the new rules were agreed, even though an exception has been granted to the likes of Torro Rosso and Super Aguri.
Prodrive will now refocus on its World Rally Championship campaign with Subaru. Richards intends to take a leading, hands-on role, as Team Principle of the WRC team as he was in the early-90s.
But Richards acknowledges the need to be realistic running a five-year old car, and says his focus will be on improving reliability. “When the new car arrives next year”, Richards adds “there’ll be no reason why Subaru can’t win the championship”.
Will Powell
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