Panthera Team Asia aiming for a spot on the 2021 grid

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes AMG F1 W10 and Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W10 lead at the start of the race.

Formula 1 will usher in a new set of rules in 2021, but perhaps also a new team, called Panthera Team Asia F1.

According to well-informed RaceFans.net reporter Dieter Rencken, the new outfit has set up shop near Silverstone and started to build up its operation, hiring key personnel such as a technical director and sporting director.

The man behind Panthera's effort is Benjamin Durand, who managed Russian billionaire Boris Rotenberg's SMP Racing outfit in the WEC from 2013 to 2016.

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Former Renault, Toyota, Caterham and Manor aerodynamics engineer Tim Milne is also apparently onboard Panthera's project.

The new team, if it succeeds on getting off the ground, plans on following the Haas business model, although its unknown with whom Panthera would strike a technical partnership.

The status of the new entity's relationship with Formula 1 or the FIA is also unclear, but a presence on the 2021 grid - if accepted by the FIA - would obviously require a finalization of its plans in the coming months.

With F1's 2021 regulations still in the works, the new team will only be able to lay the basic groundwork between now and the end of October when the rules shall be set in stone.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.