Formula One team to be based in Warwickshire
Warwickshire is to be the home of the world’s newest Formula One team being run by motorsport giants Prodrive.
Fen End in Kenilworth will be the base for the team following today’s confirmation that Prodrive is one of the 12 teams to have gained entry to the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship.
John Deegan, Warwickshire County Council’s Strategic Director of Environment and Economy, is delighted with today’s announcement.
He said: "I’ve been working closely with Prodrive for the past two years and today’s announcement that their Formula 1 team will be based here in Warwickshire is fantastic news for the county. Warwickshire is demonstrating again and again the tremendous skills base available and is becoming a major player in motorsport engineering and research.
"The news also comes as the best possible tonic for the county after last week’s announcement from PSA Peugeot Citroen that it plans to close the works at Ryton. Warwickshire County Council wishes Prodrive as many successes in Formula 1 as the company has enjoyed in rallying."
Earlier this year key figures from the world of motorsport heard how Warwickshire is offering unique opportunities in driving the industry forward at a seminar organised by Warwickshire County Council at Autosport International. Warwickshire has already won the business of everything from World Rally Teams through to specialised research and development companies.
David Richards, Chairman of Prodrive, said: “We have won World Rally Championships, British Touring Car titles and the GT1 class at Le Mans, and have been saying for some time that we would also like to be in Formula One with our own Prodrive team.”
While this will be the first time Prodrive competes in Formula One, David Richards and his management team have extensive experience of the series having managed the BAR F1 team from 2002 to 2004 – taking it to second place in the 2004 manufacturers’ championship. David Richards was also team principal for the Benetton F1 team in 1998.
The FIA is introducing new regulations for Formula One, which will come into effect for the 2008 season.
David Richards said: “We are confident that the new regulations will not only allow Prodrive to be competitive on an affordable budget, but will also make Formula One more exciting and, ultimately, even more entertaining for spectators and TV audiences around the world.”
Prodrive has already made plans to house its Formula One team in a new purpose-built operation in Warwickshire. This is part of a larger development to support the UK’s automotive and motorsport industries and is still subject to planning permission.
Should this be granted, construction would commence at the end of this year. In the meantime, Prodrive will run the F1 programme from its existing facilities.
“An entry is just the beginning. We now have less than two years to build a team and put two competitive cars on the starting grid for the first race of the 2008 championship. The task is enormous and the expertise and experience of the established teams well recognised. However, Prodrive has more than 20 years of motorsport experience and all of us relish a challenge,” said Richards.