Dennis: Ecclestone Not a 'Trojan Horse' in GPWC

McLaren team chief Ron Dennis does not believe Bernie Ecclestone's involvement in the Minardi team will pose a conflict of interest in the formation of a rival manufacturers' series that will be run by GPWC.

Ecclestone said last weekend, at the Canadian Grand Prix, that he will invest personally in the cash-strapped Minardi team, after team owner Paul Stoddart revealed the 'Fighting Fund' - which was initiated by Dennis himself to assist Minardi and Jordan financially - had not materialised.

"There's a very interesting scenario, which people probably don't realise, that Bernie's now an investor and shareholder in the GPWC memorandum-of-understanding which was signed up by the teams," Stoddart told Atlas F1 last weekend.

"On the 10th of April meeting, all the ten F1 teams were asked to sign a memorandum of understanding which supports in principle the creation of the GPWC. We all signed it, so now that Bernie is a shareholder in Minardi, that has some interesting scenarios."

However, Dennis dismissed the suggestion that Ecclestone's investment in Minardi could pose a conflict of interest.

Asked if Ecclestone's deal with Minardi would effectively make him a 'trojan horse' in the GPWC, Dennis said: "It's an interesting twist, [but] as regards whether he's a trojan horse or not, that's very much not the case. I think Bernie's actions are very much to try and settle an inflammatory element that occasionally occurs in Formula One - this is life.

"I think [the deal between Ecclestone and Minardi] has been done on a handshake, and I'm fairly sure that when the documentation is put in place it would take everything into account. I don't see it as a conflict of interest."

For a full account of the 'Fighting Fund' affair at the Canadian Grand Prix and Ecclestone's Minardi deal, read the feature Friday the 13th by Will Gray, published in this week's Atlas F1 Magazine.