Lauda Confirms Talks with Gurney Over Engine Supply

Jaguar team principal Niki Lauda confirmed today that he had talked to former Formula One racer Dan Gurney over a supply of Cosworth engines for a planned new team for the 2003 season.

"Negotiations are taking place, it's not signed yet," said the Austrian. "We were approached and asked 'do you have an engine?' and we said yes. Nothing is done yet."

Cosworth are already committed to supplying Jordan with engines next year and Minardi are in advanced negotiations for a third supply. Asked whether Cosworth could potentially supply four teams, Lauda said the company was still working that out. "It is not fixed yet. We are in such early stages that we never got into all these details."

Former World Champion Phil Hill and his 1959 Ferrari teammate Gurney revealed today they are planning an all-American Formula One team.

Organisers of the U.S. Grand Prix said in a media release on Saturday that the veterans - Hill is 75 and Gurney 71 years old - had revealed their surprise plans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Gurney, who competed in 86 Grands Prix and won four, was quoted as saying the project was conceived two and a half years ago and he had been working on it for the past nine months.

"I think by the middle of October, we'll know," said Gurney, who ran and drove for his own Eagle team in the late 1960s after spells at BRM, Porsche and Brabham. "It would be American ownership and it would be more than one person. I'd like it to be a U.S. Formula One team with U.S. drivers.

"The time is perfect for this to happen. It's going to require certain dominos to start falling pretty quickly but it would be a monumental situation."

Gurney said Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone had been supportive about the idea and there was a commitment from Ford-owned Cosworth for an engine supply.

"We could have a signed contract in a couple of weeks' time. If we have our way, we'll see you here next September (with a team)," he added. "It could be enormous. The reality is it would need to be done properly and be properly funded. It could definitely happen."

Formula One is limited to 12 teams but the season started with only 11 after Prost folded and could end with just 10 as Arrows struggle to stay afloat. Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw has said he is in talks to sell the team to unnamed American investors but it was not clear immediately whether Gurney and Hill might be linked to that British-based team.

New entrants to Formula One must pay a $48 million deposit and that figure could easily be doubled or tripled before a car appears on the grid.

Minardi Deny

Minardi team principal Paul Stoddart, who has already tested U.S. driver Bryan Herta, denied that he was involved in the project. But the Australian aviation entrepreneur made clear that he would be interested if approached.

"It's fair to say that the first person who does do this (create a U.S. team) is probably going to be very successful, because I think it's an untapped market out here," he told Reuters. "God knows, at the moment Formula One needs something but it's news to me.

"You need American drivers and we're talking to a couple. The first team that breaks into America with an American driver or drivers is I think going to open up a whole new sponsorship market.

"There have been no direct discussions but I would consider it quite a challenge to be involved with this. To be honest, we're probably the only team that could be."