Aston Martin turn down F1 place due to Liberty Media

Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer has confessed that the manufacturer seriously looked into the possibility of entering the Formula 1 arena within the next few years, but were put off by Liberty Media's decision not to introduce faster, louder engines.

The American owners of the sport were looking to implement certain engine changes that appealed to Aston Martin, but since those plans have now been scrapped for the time being, the British will be part of F1 only as Red Bull's title sponsor.

“When it looked like the rules were going to change, we did take a look at whether we should do our own engine for F1,” Palmer told Reuters.

“But then Liberty essentially changed their mind and continued with the current engine, so we cancelled those plans.”

There are currently four engine manufacturers in F1 - Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, and Renault - and FIA president Jean Todt claims the aim for the moment is to retain the current power unit developers rather than seeking new ones.

“My priority is to make sure that we keep them four,” Todt said.

“I always said it would be very unfair to the four engaged to say, ‘okay, we want to attract a new one so let’s change everything’.

“But what about them? What about all the investment they have been doing for years and we say, we change completely the regulations because we may have one or two coming?

“That is one of the reasons why it was not a revolution on the engine regulations. Now if we can secure those four for me that would be a great achievement.”

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