Paul Stoddart, the Melbourne-born entrepreneur who owns and runs KL Minardi Asiatech, has had to make job cuts and cease some technical development at the team due to the delay of commercial income payment.
Stoddart told the BBC in Monaco for this weekend’s race that he had had to retrench staff and halt the development at his European Racing branch in Ledbury UK to ease the strain.
He is still owed $12.3 million in television rights revenue that had been intended for Minardi following the closure of the Prost team last year. The delay in the payment to Stoddart is due to complications involving Phoenix Finance, which tried to secure Prost’s commercial position in the Formula One hierarchy and therefore its standing in the Concorde Agreement. It purchased Prost cars to race in this year’s World Championship and what it claimed to be a rights contract to compete which would also enable it to benefit from the lucrative commercial revenues.
But it was told by the FIA it was not allowed to race or benefit from the income earlier this year when it tried to race in Malaysia, because it had not bought the Prost team itself, just select assets. However, officials rejected the blockage and took the governing body to the High Court in London. The case had been held over the past fortnight and on Wednesday, the Judge ruled that the FIA was right in blocking Phoenix from joining the Championship. Phoenix has since said it could appeal the decision and seek arbitration in the autonomous surroundings of Switzerland, which could drag the case out for a long time and force Stoddart into further problems.
The Australian even said it could prompt him to rethink his involvement in the sport.
‘I don't want to say it would threaten Minardi because that would start all kinds of crazy rumours,’ he said cautiously. ‘But you have to ask yourself the question: would I fund a $12m shortfall if I really thought that I had been shafted from one end of this pit lane to the other?
‘The answer is probably not, but that's me today. I am certainly not a very happy bunny about the fact that I'm having to chase this money across the world.
‘If this situation is not resolved, I don't think I will want to be here next year. I will hang in there but I am not enjoying it. I came into Formula One for the sport, not to play politics.’
The Phoenix issue started at the Australian Grand Prix when it became clear a “party” with involvement from Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw had acquired certain assets from the defunct Prost Grand Prix and had intended to race in Malaysia using the vacant position left by the outfit. Stoddart, realising the group’s intention and knowing that he was to benefit from the income, was riled and reportedly tried to take his own legal action against the group.
He said that he become weary and frustrated with the issue.
‘I am sick to death of this whole Phoenix issue,’ he sighed. ‘It's distracted me and taken my eye off the ball since the very first race. It's ruined this year for me.
‘I said last year that I was not going to fund losses this year. I came into this year with a full budget and I've still got a full budget as long as I get paid.’
Stoddart acquired Minardi in January last year after it was close to collapse, and has funded its running from his own means and from a healthy portfolio of sponsors from Malaysia. Mark Webber finishing fifth at the season’s opening race in Melbourne is also worth an estimated $14 million in travel money from the FIA, but that will only be paid at the close of the current season.
