Minardi position still uncertain

With the Australian Grand Prix in just a matter of days, it is still uncertain if Minardi will be permitted to race. The team intends to start the season with an interim version of last year's car, which has not been modified to the 2005 regulations due to lack of time and finances. The new car is not due to debut until the San Marino GP.

Paul Stoddart.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

Minardi needs the agreement of the nine other teams to be able to race its current car, but Ferrari has not given its approval and insists that it's up to the FIA to decide. "I spoke to (Ferrari's Jean) Todt during the night, but he wasn't supportive at all," Minardi's Australian boss Paul Stoddart said, according to the BBC.

"Todt kept saying it's an FIA problem although Max Mosley has gone on the record and said if we got Ferrari's signature then we can race," Stoddart added.

"I tried to explain that to him rationally. I asked him to delegate the powers to some other member of Ferrari who was actually in Melbourne so we could at least have the discussion. He refused, and the phone call came to an end without a conclusion."

Legal action could be taken to resolve the issue. Stoddart claims that Minardi can race cars that do not confirm to the 2005 regulations as he believes the way those regulations were introduced was 'not procedurally correct'. However, he is reluctant to take such action, at least for the moment.

"As a last resort, and I mean last resort, there is always the option of the High Court to challenge the legality of the regulations," he said. "But on this, the 10th anniversary of the Melbourne Grand Prix, the one I love the most, I would not want to be the one to spoil the party."

Stoddart said that Minardi put off building its 2005 car because of the uncertainty surrounding the sale of the team's engine supplier Cosworth in late 2004. He also blamed the length of time it took to decide upon the technical regulations for this season, which were not finalized until the end of October.