Stoddart Unsure of Future of Private Teams

Minardi boss Paul Stoddart believes the future of the private Formula One teams is not promising and admitted he would like his small squad to partner a manufacturer that could secure their survival in the long run.

"As far as equity partners and manufacturers are concerned, we are not in talks with any manufacturers," Stoddart was quoted as saying by Ananova. "Yes, we would like to be. We run on the leanest, meanest budget in Formula One and it would be an asset to any manufacturer, but that's their decision, not mine.

"I think really what we are looking at here is the question of can the private teams survive and to be honest I don't know. There are three of us left in Formula One now, we have seen two go in the last 12 months.

"It's not easy. The world as a whole is not perhaps as easy a place to gather sponsorship from as it was in years gone by, but we are fighting as hard as we know how."

Stoddart, who saved Minardi from going bankrupt at the start of the 2001 season, is one of only three team owners whose squads are not backed by a car manufacturer. The other two are Silverstone-based Jordan and the Swiss Sauber team.

Formula One saw the Prost Grand Prix team going bankrupt at the start of 2002, and Arrows, who missed five races last season, look likely to follow the French squad. The Leafield-based squad's entry for the 2003 Championship was refused by the FIA.

Minardi, who last season used Asiatech engine before the Asian company filed for bankruptcy, will switch to Cosworth units for the 2003 season, and Stoddart admitted he is upbeat about the partnership.

"Our engine package is the most exciting that we have ever had in the 19-year history of Minardi," Stoddart added. "It's an engine that is obviously a Ford Cosworth, it is an engine that was on the podium in Monza this year, and it gives us incredible horsepower.

"We are talking about a 70-horsepower increase over the engine we had last year and we are really, really genuinely looking forward to using this engine."