To B Or Not to B

By Sam Cooper
April 23 2007

As we all know, Prodrive are entering formula one in 2008, and if they enter with McLaren, they could be a formidable force, after all, more money could be spent on developing the car, and they could get more testing data, could it happen?

McLaren have a lot to offer Prodrive, a old F1 factory, and some (possibly) brilliant cars, and engines, but what will McLaren get back?

Well, testing rules are very strict, and what McLaren could take advantage of is double the testing, which could mean that McLaren will have a better chance of beating their competitors, such as Ferrari and possibly BMW. To give their drivers a better chance of glory.

But, this would require Prodrive’s commitment, and possibly tens of millions of investment, and for the package that Prodrive will be getting, its possible the deal could go ahead.

As far as we know, no one is currently occupying the old Woking factory, and McLaren are likely to want Prodrive to occupy that instead of Prodrive’s factory in Banbury.

The McLaren team have previously attempted to get a B team into Formula one with Direxiv, unfortunately for McLaren, they didn’t get the B team they wanted, four cars would be an impressive thing for the team, as giants like Honda and Red bull have B team who use customer chassis, but in 2008 that will be legal.

Ron spoke to F1 Racing Magazine (for sale on Thursday)"I’d never rule out having a partnership with another F1 team, but it would be somewhat premature to say it will be Prodrive. "Well, I suppose I have to have two discrete positions on the issue," he said. The first is a result of what I’d describe as my abiding passion for F1, and my desire for it to remain pure, and that position is supportive of the prerequisite idea, enshrined by regulation, that an F1 constructor should be just that: an F1 constructor.

"If, however, as seems probable, the regulations for 2008 and beyond are such that running a B-team, or supplying chassis to partner teams, becomes possible - well then, along with our colleagues at Mercedes-Benz, of course we’ll seriously consider it. It’s not just about revenue. Doing it well would be challenging and would require extra resource, yes, and the company would therefore have to be properly compensated for it.

"And the revenue stream, as you put it, would also allow for greater investment in car development and so on. So, overall, you’d have to say that there are more pluses than minuses."