Rules must change for Midland to compete
Midland owner Alex Shnaider has reaffirmed his long-term commitment to Formula One, but called for changes to allow private teams to succeed against the might of manufacturers.
Shnaider bought the Jordan team last winter but granted them a stay of execution in 2005 before being reinvented as Midland.
The Canadian businessman has high hopes for a team that has struggled badly in recent years with under-performing cars and tiny budgets.
He has been persistently rumoured to be selling Jordan but today insisted Midland will remain in Formula One – and succeed if the big-spending manufacturers can be reigned in.
He told PA Sport: “Can we win in Formula One? Eventually, why not? But things have to change. The rules have to change because for a private team to compete with the manufacturers is impossible.
“The resources the manufacturers have are much greater than a private team can have, no matter how rich the backers are. It doesn’t make any economic sense.
“I am committed to Formula One and we have no intention of selling the team so these are all unfortunate rumours.”
Midland have signed up to an extension of the Concorde Agreement beyond 2007, putting them alongside Red Bull and Ferrari in Bernie Ecclestone’s camp as disputes over the sport’s future continue.
Five manufacturer-backed teams are still holding out for a greater say in rule-making and more money, but despite agreeing with those goals, Shnaider insists his only viable option was to stick with Ecclestone.
“We signed the Concorde Agreement so obviously we are going with Max [Mosley] and Bernie,” he added. “I think they are the only ones. Bernie is the architect behind Formula One. He built up Formula One to the level it is today.
“What he is offering is something concrete and from the other side except for good intentions we have not seen anything on paper.
“We chose to go with Bernie, not that I think what the other side is asking for doesn’t make sense.
"There is only one offer on the table and it’s the offer we took.”
The Jordan name disappeared from Formula One at the end of yesterday’s Chinese Grand Prix, the 250th since Eddie Jordan joined the grand prix grid in 1991.
Shnaider is confident Jordan’s final season has helped lay the foundations for a better future under the Midland banner.
“More or less everything went according to plan,” he said. “We learned a lot and improved the team as much as is possible.
“We organised some things within the team and we are looking forward to next year with the rebranding. We want to further improve the team and make steps forward.
“Certain ingredients we definitely have but there are other teams that have all the right ingredients and they are still not having good results. So you never know, it’s not only the ingredients, it’s how you mix them together.”
