Minardi could buy chassis next year

Stoddart's comments come just a matter of days after his new chassis, the Cosworth-powered PS03, had its first test run at Fiorano in Italy. He says it's possible that the team could buy its cars from next year onwards, as per the FIA's new rules aimed at cutting costs for smaller teams.

Stoddart said: "Could you see a Minardi that is actually a clone of somebody else's car next year? You could see - I don't want to really name names, but people know where the alliances lie in terms of the manufacturers in Formula 1, you could well see another private team running last year's championship-contending car. It could be a very, very interesting time and I think overall we have probably done just enough to give back to the public what they needed: more exciting racing."

The Australian went on to say that his team is on target to become a regular midfield runner this year in his third season as team owner.

He added: "Despite all the politics, despite all the rumours about funding or lack of funding, and all the terrible side of the sport that we've had to endure, we're still here, we're still fighting and we're still on target for year three - which is to try and establish ourselves as a regular midfield team. Hopefully with the power of the Ford engine, we should be able to do that."