Minardi hopes Bernie brand is ace card

Stoddart believes that the involvement of the F1 tsar in the team could help it secure bigger sponsors that might lead to an increased budget in future seasons.

"It is an investment in the team and the most powerful leverage that gives us is the association with the Ecclestone name," Stoddart said at the Nurburgring for this weekend's European Grand Prix.

"Not wanting to take anything away from the job our sponsors have done this year because they've kept us going, but we need one or two bigger ones to give us the budget we can go racing with. I think Bernie's involvement will be limited to that. Clearly there are advantages for him as well, and people can draw their own conclusions."

The kind of budget Stoddart is talking about is $50 million, still less than 15 percent of the estimated spend of the best-funded manufacturer teams.

In Canada, David Richards raised the point that sustainability is what is needed, not short-term fixes such as fighting funds.

"It is," Stoddart agrees, "and the association with Bernie's name could just do that. Look at Jordan's relationship with Benson & Hedges. Where would they be without that? Not here. Where would David Richards be without British American tobacco? Categorically, not here.

"Today, Minardi faces the problem. Let's hope that no team faces it tomorrow but you might ask where the replacement for tobacco money is going to come from. Maybe I'm today facing the problems they have to face tomorrow."