Pitpass is absolutely delighted to welcome Paul Stoddart as part of its team.

In the space of five frenetic years, Paul Stoddart established himself as one of the undoubted stars of the Formula One paddock. From the moment he purchased Formula One's favourite underdog team, Minardi, it was clear the Faenza squad's new boss was not going to be one to conform to corporate "norms". He could be breathtakingly outspoken at times, and his "tell-it-like-it-is" approach to Formula One and its unrelenting politics drew both praise and criticism, in roughly equal measure. Under his stewardship, the Minardi team continued to display that collective streak of feisty independence, which had been a hallmark of the organisation from its inception. Inevitably, it also saw Stoddart clashing, very publicly on occasion, with other senior members of the paddock.

Sadly, though, for those fans who had come to regard the tough-talking Aussie as something of a modern-day Formula One "folk hero", even the redoubtable Stoddart was forced to give up the unequal struggle of trying to run a small, independent team on a shoestring budget in an age of manufacturer-backed racing organisations. Over the weekend of the Belgian Grand Prix, in September 2005, he agreed to sell Minardi to the ever-expanding Red Bull motorsport empire, and over the winter months, the hard-trying little Italian team morphed into the self-styled, "wild and crazy" Scuderia Toro Rosso.

During the five eventful years of Stoddart's ownership, however, Minardi made a contribution to the Formula One paddock that was completely disproportionate to its size and available budget, launching the Grand Prix careers of both Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber, as well as giving debut F1 tests to any number of talented young drivers.

But who exactly is Paul Stoddart? The answer is that this Melbourne-born, UK-domiciled entrepreneur is a completely self-made man, who left school at 14, simply because he couldn't wait any longer to get out into the "real" world and start working. He now heads up the European Group of companies, which owns and operates a wide range of commercial aircraft, including BAE 146-300, Boeing 737, MD82 and Boeing 747, as well as the Minardi F1x2 team and European F1 Engine Division.

Stoddart's big break came in 1989, a scant three years after he had sold up in Australia, including his motoring and aviation interests, and moved to the UK in search of bigger challenges. Initially setting up a small group of new-car franchises, he was doing "adequately well" before an amazing opportunity presented itself. The Royal Australian Air Force had decided to sell off five little-used aircraft from its fleet, including two BAC 1-11s. The job lot also included what eventually turned out to be 48 shipping containers full of valuable spares.

Taking a decision that reflects perfectly his ongoing business philosophy, Stoddart spotted an opportunity, raised every penny he could, and took a large, but calculated risk by buying the aircraft. They were soon in service in Europe, and when the European Aviation Air Charter 1-11s were augmented four years later with a further 20 similar aircraft acquired from British Airways, Stoddart was in the happy position of possessing a fleet of aircraft, plus enough spares to keep them flying for a considerable time, with sufficient left over to become the largest supplier of 1-11 spares in the world. Most importantly, he had accomplished this at realistic prices and could boast an airline with the lowest operating costs in Europe at the time. It was to provide the financial "springboard" for everything that has followed.