Wilson Confident of Avoiding Garage Sale

Britain's Justin Wilson is confident he can raise the funds to fuel his Formula One debut at Minardi without forcing his father to sell his garage business.

The Briton has had to pay for his drive and it has been suggested that Wilson's father Keith might have to sell his petrol station as a last resort if a novel share scheme fails to raise enough money.

"I have backed him all the way and I have always said I would sell the garage if I had to," the older Wilson said.

Wilson is hoping to sell shares in his future, with investors offered the chance to eventually double their money if he is successful. Formula One sources say the 24-year-old has promised Minardi two million pounds ($3.22 million) for the drive.

"It's going quite well. There's been a bit in the press recently about the deal not looking so solid but that's not true at all," the driver, who will be joined at Minardi by Dutchman Jos Verstappen, told Reuters.

"We have five people underwriting the investment and we are trying to set up the investment system which Jonathan (Palmer) my manager is working on. I'm hoping that's going to be completed in the next couple of weeks, in which case people can then start to invest."

Wilson said talk about selling the garage had first materialised earlier in his career, before he became F3000 champion.

"If things all go very wrong then that's the back-up plan but we're confident. We've got a lot of interest, we've got people who want to be involved," he said.