China consortium eyes new F1 team venture

A China-based consortium is apparently working on a project involving a new Formula 1 team, according to reports from Auto Motor und Sport.

The German publication is quoting Red Bull Racing's Christian Horner who revealed that members of the Milton Keynes out have been approached with offers to join the burgeoning venture.

"Some of our people were asked if they would be interested in working for a new team," said Horner, who doubted however the seriousness of the endeavor.

"To start next year with a new team, it is actually already too late."

Auto Motor und Sport says that while funding would be sourced from China, the team would be based in Britain's 'Motorsport Valley', the home of many F1 squads.

AMS also reported that several former Manor employees have already been hired by the prospective new outfit.

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F1's sporting manager Ross Brawn says that inquiries to join F1 are made on a regular basis, with several queries made in the past few months.

"About ten people have asked," he said.

"But they all wanted to know whether we would change the rules so that new teams would be allowed a slice of the prize money distribution.

"However, we told them that we are bound by existing contracts until 2020," he added.

Joining the ranks of Formula 1 is no small effort, and involves a natural barrier of entry in the form of an initial $20M guarantee which must be deposited while due diligence is conducted on the potential entrant's financial and technical resources.

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