BANBURY-BASED firm Prodrive have submitted an entry to be part of next year's Formula 1 world championship.

Prodrive joined US F1, Spain's Campos Racing and Litespeed GP in adding their names to the list of new entrants on deadline day.

Team boss David Richards said moves to cut costs had encouraged the team.

"We are confident that we now have the opportunity to be both commercially viable and competitive," he said.

It is understood the team will operate under the Prodrive name for next season and potentially 2011, before switching to Aston Martin branding from 2012.

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, has been in talks to agree a budget cap of around £40m with the existing teams.

It is believed a cap of £85m has now been set with the proviso current teams offer technical assistance to new entrants to ease their passage into F1 before the cap settles at £40m by 2011.