Richards pushing customer team idea

Richards, who revealed earlier this year he had held talks with McLaren about running customer chassis and Mercedes-Benz engines, has said he has also talked to Ferrari and Renault about the possibility of buying full cars and not just engines.

"I'm not looking for the engine only. I'm trying to buy full cars," Richard was quoted as saying by Autosprint magazine. "Since I'm convinced of the fact that this idea has a future, I enquired with several constructors, Ferrari included. You heard me right.

"I asked Ferrari if I could buy their full car - chassis, engine and everything - and I asked that to others too. I also went to Renault and BMW, for example.

"Talks are ongoing. We'll see."

Richards believes customers car, currently not allowed in Formula One, would make the field more competitive.

"It's much better for F1 to have cars different only in their liveries, but very similar in their performance, rather than a top group and another at the bottom with cars running four seconds slower," Richards added.

"And then there'll be the advantage - even more so thanks to the single tyre - to be able to compare several set-up and aerodynamic solutions without having to rely on thousands of hours of winter testing.

"We'd be able to have more GPs, and to test young drivers who can then be brought to the 'A' team. And then there are the marketing aspects: think of a Ferrari and an identical F1 car rebadged, let's say, Maserati. Or two Renaults and two Nissans, or two McLaren Mercedes and two McLaren Smart. Wouldn't it be fascinating?"