In Red Bull-Toro Rosso style, McLaren and F1's twelfth team Prodrive next year could use essentially the same formula one chassis.

Although news about David Richards' incoming team has been sparing in recent times, it is reported this week that Prodrive is still on track to debut in Melbourne next March.



And the specialist German magazine Auto Motor und Sport claims that with three substantial Prodrive sponsors now on board, McLaren is now working closely with Richards' outfit to put together effectively a 'B' Mercedes-powered team.

To simplify the cross-over between the two teams, and because of time constraints, Prodrive is likely to run the 2008-specification MP4-23 single seater, probably with an identical Mercedes-Benz V8 power plant to its works sister, as the new privateer-friendly rules will probably allow.

Alongside McLaren test drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett as possible Prodrive racers, meanwhile, is Paffett's French-Canadian DTM colleague Bruno Spengler, the magazine added.


PaddockTalk Perspective

Ya know....

This is absolutely what we hate about the new regulations.

Prodrive will enter Formula One without creating their own car. Something that every other team has done for the last few decades - excluding Toro Rosso and Super Aguri, and even Super Aguri struggled with the Arrows their first year... and rightly so.

But what will this 'spec' equipment will prove is that there is more to Formula One that having 'spec' equipment, that having the best minds is just as key...

Except the fledgling teams will no longer need the best minds to make the cars.

They've been given any easy out.

Why ruin a great part of Formula One with this bloody non-sense ?

It isn't to save money... no matter how often they spew that bloody BS.

If the FIA wanted to allow chassis to be bought, it should have put the chassis contract out for bid, and let the all back row minnows buy spec equipment from the same company... But NOT from an existing F1 team.

Let it be clear who can't build their own car, and who can. Let it be clear who ought to be respected for their car building talents... and who shouldn't be.

What right does Prodrive have to top level equipment they can't build themselves.

In our view... they have no right.

If the FIA wanted to allow chassis to be bought, it should have put the chassis contract out for bid, and let the all back row minnows buy spec equipment from the same company... But NOT from an existing F1 team.

Let it be clear who can't build their own car, and who can. Let it be clear who ought to be respected for their car building talents... and who shouldn't be.

Yup finally Bruno is where he needs to be: in speculation for an F1 drive!

About Prodrive using the MP4-23: in testing it will come in handy to run two cars. They might be from different teams, but the cars will be identical.

Or maybe how McLaren wants to secure the upper hand over them is by not sharing the data gathered from testing.

Who knows...

Paffet shouldn't get the drive.