Critics have been tolling the death knell of Formula One for years, saying it's lost the passion and relevance it once had. To a degree, they were right - but the rules changes enacted this year have led to a lively shuffle on and off track, and a proposed budget cap for the 2010 season has drawn out a handful of new potential teams, the latest being Aston Martin.

David Richards, Aston's Chairman and founder of Prodrive, told Yahoo! News that the company is "ready to press the go button" if the new rules prove to be "commercially viable" and Aston Martin has the potential to be a front runner.

Aston Martin and Richards had previously launched a bid to field an F1 team in 2007, but that failed to materialize after a rules change on customer cars made it financially impossible for the team to join the grid. Nevertheless, Aston is eager to return to the sport.

Aston could do much worse in terms of competitiveness than to have David Richards running their F1 ship. As a former team principal at Benetton and BAR Honda plus his experience in rally, FIA GT and Le Mans racing through Prodrive, Richards is certainly qualified to lead Aston's F1 dreams.

The addition of Aston Martin to the ring means there are at least three - and possible four - suitors for the three spots on the 2010 F1 grid, which Bernie Ecclestone has already confirmed will hold 26 cars from 13 teams. American team USGPE and Britain's Lola are the other two front-runners for a spot, while rumors of Hyundai-Kia possibly putting a team together continue to circulate.