Ford Motor Company has announced that it has agreed to purchase the Stewart Grand Prix racing team to increase its involvement in Formula 1 in a deal said to be worth $160 million.

There will apparently be no major changes to the team this year but it is rumoured that next season might see a change of name. Jackie Stewart and his son, Paul, will remain in the top two positions and the rest of the staff have been reassured that their jobs are safe under the new ownership.

This may be just the first of many similar deals as other engine manufacturers may decide to buy the teams that they are associated with as a quick way to establish a racing team of their own. Obvious candidates would be Mercedes and Honda but several others including Toyota, Volkswagen and BMW have also been mentioned as possible new team owners.