Stoddart submits Minardi entry for 2008

"I've lodged myself an entry as European Minardi F1 team Limited," the Australian aviation entrepreneur told Reuters by telephone from Melbourne when asked about a possible comeback on Tuesday.

Austrian energy drink billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, whose Red Bull company already had one team before he bought out Stoddart, has relaunched Minardi as Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Stoddart said, however, that he retained the rights to the Minardi name as well as the 2004-specification PS04B cars, having sold last year's PS05 to Red Bull along with the Faenza factory in Italy.

The 2002 specification Arrows cars that he sold to new entrants Super Aguri have been more competitive than expected with a Honda V8 in the back and Stoddart said the old Cosworth-powered PS04s could be updated.

"We've got the cars we ran in Melbourne last year, we've got the team and we've got the facility," said Stoddart, whose team would be based at his Ledbury premises in England.

"We'll see what happens...it might not happen but I miss F1 too badly at the moment," he added. "I might not get a slot but it will be interesting to see who does.

"We are in a better position than anyone, other than a current F1 team, to compete."

The governing FIA has said all entries for championship in 2008, the season after the sport's current commercial agreement expires, must be submitted by March 31.

The 11 teams taking part in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix have already submitted applications and Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said there will be room for a maximum of 12.

More than that number are expected to apply, with FIA President Max Mosley saying in January he believed there were three or four new teams interested in coming in if costs were significantly reduced.

The governing FIA wants to ensure smaller independent teams can compete with the manufacturers that dominate the sport and has drafted regulations to assist them.

A return for the outspoken Stoddart, whose new Australian business airline Ozjet recently suspended its flights after less than four months in the air, would be ironic under those conditions.

As a team boss, he frequently called for Mosley to resign.