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Berger wants to stay at Toro Rosso

Gerhard Berger says he wants to stay involved with the Toro Rosso team even if the Italian squad have a new owner

Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz said earlier this week that Toro Rosso have been put up for sale, and that he was planning to sell the team before 2010.

Berger, who owns 50 per cent of the outfit, said he understood Mateschitz's decision, but the Austrian admitted he is interested in remaining a part of the team.

The former GP driver said, however, that he would stay only if there was a chance to develop the team.

"For me, it is not a question of making some money. My passion is racing. I want to stay in Formula One with the team," Berger said in Malaysia.

"But, only if there is enough facilities and possibilities to develop the team. If I cannot see that we can move forward, that would not be possible to do. You need to have a strong partner for it."

He added: "I am not feeling bad about it. I totally understand him. Obviously, my dream partner is Red Bull, and they have always been. But you also have to see what it means.

"I respect whatever happens. I will support anything he wishes to do, but obviously the priority is not to hurt the team, and give the team a proper future."

Berger reckons the situation is destabilising for Toro Rosso, but he is adamant the team are strong enough to survive.

"Yes, it is. But saying this, we are one of this Formula One teams that either survives or doesn't survives. Sometimes people survive, other times they struggle," he said.

"You face all kinds of problems. This is one of the difficult ones, but it is explainable and it is not the end of the world. We will still keep fighting.

"Everyone knows at this team that they have to fight more than other teams. It starts that there are not enough people here, so maybe it means a longer time in the factory. Then, you won't get the same equipment as other teams. So, all you can do is say: 'okay, we don't have the same or an advantage.

"But we have to do it ourselves?' An example was the pitstop in the last race. I think we have enough fighters in the team to cope with difficult situations."

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