The inside story of F1 2010's lost teams, #1: Prodrive
Before the 2010 season, the FIA sought to add to the Formula 1 grid's depleting numbers, in which many teams tried and failed to get an entry. In this first instalment of a new mini-series, we look at Prodrive's attempt to make the grid…
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Thanks to the financial broadside levelled on Formula 1 by the coronavirus pandemic, the current cast of teams could be forgiven for getting a little hot under the collar when it comes to perusing balance sheets. With the spectre of the last global financial crash from just over a decade ago still looming, F1 will have to pull out all the lessons it learned from the last recession to keep everyone afloat.
Last time, the global financial crisis almost changed the face of F1 altogether. Manufacturers Honda, Toyota and BMW all withdrew, while the Honda-backed Super Aguri squad had also hit the wall mid-2008 as money proved scarce. To fill the gaping void, and cover the threat of 2010's field consisting of just 16 cars, then-FIA president Max Mosley unveiled a new tender process to welcome new teams into F1, with a Resource Restriction Agreement: a promise of a £40 million – initially as low as £30million – budget cap to sweeten the pot.
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