Racing Engineering want to buy Midland F1

Midland issued a statement yesterday saying they are not for sale, although team owner Alex Shnaider recently stated he would be willing to consider a buyout if the price was right.

Orleans, whose GP2 team failed to score any points in the first round of the season at Valencia last weekend, has expressed interest in moving into Formula One, and Racing Engineering were thought to have made an application for the 2008 season.

However, after confirming his team were not among the 22 to apply for an F1 entry, de Orleans revealed he is looking into purchasing the Silverstone-based F1 outfit.

"Some days they say they might sell, and on other days they say I have to wait," the Spaniard told his country's daily newspaper Marca.

"The fact is that at Imola, I'm going to sit down to talk with Shnaider if I can, and if not, I'll try in the next race."

However, Orleans said it was difficult to assess at the moment what would be the buying value of Midland F1.

"The buyout is not easy to evaluate, because you have to check if they have debts," he explained.

"If we take upon ourselves to pay off their debts, then this would be included in the price - just like the Silverstone factory, the wind tunnel, and so on."

If Orleans is successful in taking over Midland F1, the Spaniard plans to move the team's headquarters to Spain.

He says the financial backing would come from current Racing Engineering sponsors, as well as "several others who would join us when we have the team."

Orleans has strong ties with Telefonica and Repsol, with other Spanish companies also keen to capitalise on Formula One's rising popularity in Spain following Fernando Alonso's success in the sport.