Shnaider confident about Spyker's future

Shnaider sold his Midland team last year to a Dutch consortium led by Michiel Mol, who in turn linked up with Dutch sportscar maker Spyker.

But with the Spyker road car company facing difficulties, moves are now being made to sell the team to Mol outright. And this comes against the background of the team needing to make another payment to Shnaider in the next month as part of the original takeover deal.

Shnaider has said, however, that he has no doubts Spyker's future is secure - both in terms of the sale and making the latest payment to him.

"I have my opinions regarding the way Spyker have gone about certain things, some of which are good, some of which I may have done differently," said Shnaider in an interview with the official F1 website.

"The day-to-day running of the team is up to them, but at the end of the day, there are certain obligations which must be met. Whether or not Spyker is in some turmoil, we expect the deal to be executed as agreed, and we will try to help them along if requested."

Shnaider said that should there be trouble in the future then he would have no qualms about stepping in to help.

"I sold my interest in the team because I judged that it was in the best interests of all concerned, and I have no regrets about doing so. That said, Midland is a secured creditor.

"We have rescued the team in the past and we are capable of doing it again, if necessary. Not that it really matters, though, because we expect Spyker to fulfil their obligations."

He added: "Our first priority has always been to see the team passed to a safe pair of hands - an owner with a commercial brand to be promoted to the public, a person or company with the vision and resources to develop the potential within the team.

"I believe that Spyker or the Mol consortium will need to bring in a partner to achieve this, or alternatively, they will need to sell the team outright. I think our financial interest will be finally resolved, and I look forward to strolling the paddock with even more ease in the future.

"If we are forced to take the team back, then we will fund it in the short term while also looking for the kind of commercial partner I just described.

"Remember that the heart and soul of this team goes back to the Eddie Jordan days and lives on in hard-working, experienced guys like Andy Stevenson, guys who have been there from the very start and built that team into a scrappy challenger.

"The fundamentals are all there - it's a team that has tasted success in the past and can regain it with the right owner."