Minardi face battle against clock
Minardi are facing a race against time to convince rival Formula One teams to allow them to compete in this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Team boss Paul Stoddart has long planned to race a modified version of Minardi’s 2004 car in the first three grands prix of the new season, starting at Albert Park this weekend.
Under his plan, the Minardis would comply with all safety regulations but would not match up in terms of aerodynamic changes brought in at the end of last season.
Minardi need unanimous approval from all nine rival teams to take to the grid in Sunday’s season opener but Stoddart is struggling to get agreement.
Ferrari have never agreed to the plan, preferring to bide their time before making a decision, and recent discussions between Stoddart and his counterpart Jean Todt ended in acrimony.
The pair will meet again in Melbourne on Thursday night as soon as Todt arrives in Australia but Stoddart must convince other team bosses to agree as well.
The Australian thought he had the approval of eight other teams at the end of last season but the sales of Jaguar and Jordan have further hindered his cause.
World governing body the FIA have yet to receive official support from the newly-renamed Red Bull Racing or Jordan for Stoddart’s plan.
New Red Bull sporting director Christian Horner has already indicated his opposition to Stoddart’s scheme and Jordan boss Alex Shnaider is unlikely to be overly supportive after his team’s desperate rush to prepare a legal 2005 car.
If Stoddart can convince Todt to back him, the two smaller teams may acquiesce for the good of Formula One but time is running out for Minardi to get approval with first practice in Albert Park starting at 2200 UK time. If the matter is not sorted out by then, Minardi will be unable to practice.
Stoddart admitted: “Effectively without Jean Todt’s signature we are in trouble.”
Rival drivers have rallied around Minardi’s cause, with even Michael Schumacher offering qualified support.
The Ferrari driver hopes for a positive resolution but understands his team’s current stance.
He said: “They are good guys. Paul is very nice and it’s unfortunate to hear these things. Imagine there’s a new rule in soccer you start playing with 10 people and there’s always one team who are not doing very well. Would you accept they play with 11?”
