Q & A with Prodrive's David Richards

David Richards: Well, we are well down the line with most of it. I must admit that my eye has been off the ball on the Aston Martin project over the last three months. So consequently that is why you have not heard so much about it, or it has not been so obvious. But we are perfectly on target.

Q. Regarding your talks about a chassis supplier, are there still three main options?

DR: There are options, but we are pretty well agreed what it is going to be.

Q. Is it McLaren?

DR: I am obviously not going to say anything, but I hope to be in a position by the summer, probably at the British Grand Prix, to make a full announcement. That will include sponsors, and even drivers, by then.

Q. What is the aim of the visit here?

DR: I have been in Kuwait visiting our investors for Aston Martin. We are in the Gulf visiting friends so we thought we would come down here at the same time.

Q. Is there much synergy between Aston Martin and Formula One?

DR: In the long term there might be, but certainly not in the immediate future. The immediate future is Aston Martin in sportscar racing. We have got a plan for that now for this year, and we are just working out now what we are going to do for the next two or three years on the sportscar side of things. But who knows? Five years down the line it might be appropriate.

Q. Are you here to talk with drivers at all?

DR: No. We already have got plans about that. But it is not here. This visit is purely social.

Q. Are there any concerns about the customer car issue, with Frank Williams suggesting that customer cars may not be allowed under the 2008 Concorde Agreement?

DR: I have made it very clear from the outset, in all the correspondence with both Max and Bernie last year, that that was the premise we will be entering under. I am reassured that that will still be the case.

Q. So everything is on course and you are quite comfortable with where you are going?

DR: I am very comfortable about it.

Q. So the deal is for a supply of both chassis and engines for next year?

DR: Yes. You would not shop around to do separate deals. It was one of the things that we originally looked at, but at the end of the day that doesn't seem to make sense.

Q. Are you looking for more experienced F1 drivers?

DR: I don't think we will get into the detail of which drivers are good and which drivers are bad. If you look at everything we have done in the past, what you have got to look at is how we have behaved in previous sports and what we tend to do. And we tend to choose a more established driver and also a young up-and-coming hotshot. And we will work with that formula.

Q. Is it annoying for you there is speculation that the entry to F1 could be bought by another team?

DR: It cannot be bought by another team. That is a fact.

Q. So it is not for sale then?

DR: No, it is not for sale and it has never been for sale.