Minardi Shed Staff Amid Wrangling over Prost Cash

Minardi have axed 22 jobs from their British base and may have to shed more staff to cut costs, the Formula One team's boss Paul Stoddart said on Thursday.

"It's stopped our development programme in Ledbury," he told reporters at the Monaco Grand Prix. "And it's not necessarily going to stop there. There are further jobs at risk."

The cuts follow redundancies at Jordan and British American Racing this season but both those teams have far bigger sponsors and budgets than Minardi, who have long operated on a shoestring.

The Australian-born businessman saved the Italian team from bankruptcy last year but cast doubt on his future in the sport if wrangling continued over television money that was originally earmarked for the defunct Prost team. Minardi now claim that money, said by Formula One insiders to be around $12 million.

Stoddart said the cash had been frozen while Phoenix Finance Ltd - the company that claimed to have bought Prost's rights to compete - had legal action pending against the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

The High Court in London on Wednesday ruled against Phoenix, run by a close friend of Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw, and in favour of the FIA and others.

Cash Payout

Stoddart said he would ask for the cash to be paid but feared that Phoenix might seek arbitration in Switzerland, a process that could further delay any payout. He said he was also prepared to go to arbitration to ensure the money was paid.

"I am sick to death of this whole Phoenix issue," he added. "It's distracted me and taken my eye off the ball since the very first race. It's ruined this year for me. I said last year that I was not going to fund losses this year.

"I came into this year with a full budget and I've still got a full budget as long as I get paid."

Stoddart's airline, European Aviation, served as principal sponsor last season, but he said the Formula One team - whose main factory is in Italy - now had to be totally self-funding.

Malaysian driver Alex Yoong brings in much-needed sponsorship, with the country's capital Kuala Lumpur this season's main backer.

"I don't want to say it would threaten Minardi because that would start all kinds of crazy rumours," Stoddart said of the cash shortfall.

"But...you have to ask yourself the question - would I fund a $12 million shortfall if I really thought that I had been shafted from one end of this pitlane to the other?

"The answer is probably not, but that's me today. On the day when the shortfall actually existed would I actually fund it? I don't know. I am certainly not a very happy bunny about the fact that I'm having to chase this money across the world.

"If this situation is not resolved, I don't think I will want to be here next year," he said. "I will hang in there but I am not enjoying it. I came into Formula One for the sport, not to play politics."