No cash worries for Stoddart

Speaking in The Sun newspaper, the multi-millionaire Australian shrugged off fears that the current economic climate could cause more teams to go the way of Prost, which was placed into liquidation last week.

"People are blaming September 11 but there is still plenty of cash around, you just have to find it," he said. "It has been a battle but it is one I now feel I am winning.

"Formula 1 just eats money and you have to find new ways of feeding the beast. Our budget is in place for this year but you can never have too much cash. The more you have the more you spend to try and make the car go faster. But I am confident that with our limited resources we can start to make our way up the grid."

This year the team is thought to have secured £30 million of backing, a fraction of what Ferrari and McLaren will spend in pursuit of the championship. A lot of the backing has come from the Malaysian government and driver Alex Yoong also brings substantial funds.