Mercedes & Ferrari defeat Liberty over 2021 rules? Aston Martin unlikely to join due to cost cap doubts

Aston Martin is unlikely to enter Formula 1 as an engine supplier in 2021 over doubts that Liberty media will follow through on plans to introduce strict cost caps on teams. A $150million cap had been mooted, although Ferrari and Mercedes have spoken out against the figure.

The British sportscar brand, who serve as Red Bull's title sponsor, had previously suggested that a simpler engine formula could attract them into F1, with liberty looking to shake up the sport's regulations for 2021.

However, this apparent U-turn suggests that F1's current power players in Brackley and Maranello may well have gotten their way, with Ferrari going so far as to suggest they could quit F1 if Liberty did not bend to their will.

"It doesn't look like the new regulations will be of interest, sadly," Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer told Autocar.

"Aston was interested on the basis that costs would be controlled and that the formula would be one part of an equation that would put control back into the hands of the driver.

"I don't see the costs coming down far enough with the regulations I've heard discussed and I do see that the opportunity to spend a fortune chasing down a tenth of a second a lap will remain.

"At Aston, we love the sport, and we'd love to be involved, but we cannot get involved in an arms race. It's needlessly expensive and it undermines the sport, because whoever has the advantage of that tenth will win.

"I won't say we're definitely not going to do it until I see the final proposal because there are still some areas where there is not enough clarity. But if the door is left open to a spending war, then we won't be involved."