Richards: factory first step towards F1

Although Richards has drawn short of confirming that Prodrive will definitely make the move to Formula One, he has told this week's Autosport that the go-ahead for the factory is necessary if they are eventually going to do it.

"I'm not going to make any rash promises or statements that we categorically will be there, but establishing proper facilities is one of the things with the longest lead times," he said.

"I'm not saying that we couldn't rework things around our existing premises at Banbury, but the new facility is the first piece of the jigsaw to be put in place."

Prodrive have submitted a planning application for the facilities at the former Honiley Airfield, which the company have owned since 1999.

Speculation about Richards' plans for his team have been growing after autosport.com revealed on Monday that Richards recently held meetings with FIA president Max Mosley and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone to discuss his ambitions.

Richards' move to F1 has previously been linked with Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, but he has said this week that it is possible he could actually go it alone.

"Clearly it is desirable to have a manufacturer partner, but if it can be done more modestly and you can be competitive then it opens up more options," explained Richards.

"My view is that in future F1 programmes will be a lot more manageable. If they aren't, then it is simply not worth getting involved because it's not sustainable. The BAR [Honda] staffing levels are now up to 560, for example, whereas they were at 360 during my tenure and hardly moved."