Williams Unconcerned by Ecclestone's Minardi Deal

The involvement of Formula One commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone in the struggling Minardi outfit will not affect his associations with other teams, according to leading Formula One team boss Sir Frank Williams.

In a stunning move on Saturday, Ecclestone agreed to pay a sum of money, understood to be $4 million (USD), to Minardi as an investment into the Anglo-Italian outfit. His decision came after several teams, including Williams, blocked plans to create a 'fighting fund' for Minardi and Jordan because of increased expense following changes to the Formula One regulations.

But Williams, who said Ecclestone had handled the situation "in an excellent fashion", said the Formula One supremo will have no interest in playing a political part in the Minardi outfit.

"He won't have any interest at all," said Williams. "He's not going to fiddle anything. Just don't worry about Bernie interfering in anything - he's got other fish to fry."

Stoddart confirmed earlier in the day that Ecclestone had personally financed the investment but refused to comment on the exact details of the deal that had been put in place. But Williams said: "He hasn't directly bought the team."

Williams was present in a sensational press conference on Friday at which Stoddart argued his case for the continuation of the fighting fund of $8 million (USD) that had been proposed in January. He remained relatively silent on the matter as Stoddart and McLaren team principal Ron Dennis led the arguments and the show deteriorated.

Williams had insisted the team bosses should not discuss the matter in public and on Saturday he said: "It's been very unhelpful. I was told there was a little bit of bad press, but not a massively damaging amount."