Stoddart: New team 'no right to be in F1'

There have been suggestions that whatever the identity of the current buyers (for separate story, click HERE.), the team could eventually metamorphose into the Renault junior team, which Flavio Briatore has spoken in support of. Briatore and Tom Walkinshaw were involved together at Benetton in the early '90s, and then at Ligier before Walkinshaw became involved with Arrows.

There is a statute in the F1 Concorde Agreement that provides for a team missing a race through force majeure to pay a fine and continue their business.

Stoddart said on Saturday morning, however: "The fine, 780,000 dollars to be precise, only applies if the team fails to turn up through reasons that are considered to be valid by the FIA. And, having said that, those rules only apply if the team has an entry. But they don't have an entry - it died. It died in the first instance when Prost was liquidated and in the second instance when they didn't present themselves as Prost Grand Prix for scrutineering here in Melbourne.

"They have failed to participate in this event due to the insolvency of the company. The agreement is crystal clear. That spells irrevocable forfeiture of their rights. They have no rights to turn up in Malaysia and they have no rights to be part of Formula 1. Not morally, not legally.

"I hope it doesn't have to go to court, but I suspect it probably will, but let's hope that a bit of sanity prevails and this all goes away. Because there are a lot of creditors that are going to get really seriously affected by this."