Minardi Struggling to Pay for Cosworth Engines

Minardi team boss Paul Stoddart today revealed he has been forced to pay for his Ford engines on a race-by-race basis - and has so far only stumped up for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Australian Stoddart has lost an estimated $10 million (USD) from a "fighting fund" which was due to be handed out by rival teams to ensure his team would not go bankrupt this season. Formula One commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone is attempting to resurrect the deal but Stoddart admitted that without that funding he does not have enough money to pay for engines past the opening four races.

"I am quite relaxed that we will have no problems with engines in the short term but the failure of the fighting fund has caused us problems," said Stoddart, who signed an agreement with Cosworth last Friday. "We are already paying for the engines and we have them for Melbourne but we are paying on a race-by-race basis and I am confident we will be able to pay up until the fourth race."

After that, Stoddart will hope Ecclestone will have convinced the teams to help him and rivals Jordan, who are understood to have only paid Ford for the first four races, for the good of the sport. There are no current plans for the team bosses to gather to discuss the matter prior to the three fly-away races of the season and Stoddart believes nothing will be solved until a meeting is called.

"I think Bernie is keen to get this sorted but one of the difficult things is that to get everyone to agree you have to get everyone in a room, circulate an agreement and get it signed immediately," he added.

Ford chief executive Tony Purnell admitted: "Paul is struggling a little bit, but then he always has done and I suspect he will appear on the grid and have the best engine he has ever had in the Minardi."

Purnell said Minardi must still stump up some money for the engines "within a few weeks" to ensure their 2003 deal still goes ahead. He insisted he is keen to avoid race-by-race payments following the embarrassing difficulties faced by Arrows last year when they were forced to pay on the Wednesday before each Grand Prix.

"When you go into a shop to buy something and it gets to closing time then you have to come up with the cash or you don't get the goods. It's the same here. He has a few weeks yet but he still has to pay," Purnell added. "Motor racing is not famous about being charitable. Between Formula One and all the powers that be will be seeking to avoid that kind of embarrassment at each Grand Prix."