24/01/2005
NEWS STORY
Following Ferrari's shock deal with Bernie Ecclestone, it's understood that representatives of some of the 'smaller' F1 teams are to meet with the F1 supremo on Tuesday (25 Jan).
Last week, Ferrari agreed to a new Concorde Agreement which will last until 2012, effectively killing off the Grand Prix World Championship. However, the GPWC insists that it still has a workable solution and has asked the teams to hear its case before agreeing to accept what Ecclestone puts on offer.
On Friday, Minardi boss, and seemingly now spokesman for the other nine teams, Paul Stoddart, met with Ecclestone in an attempt to clarify the situation.
It's believed that Ecclestone is to put as much as £1.6bn on the table in an attempt to win the teams over and kill off any notion of a breakaway series, though there is still the little matter of the banks that are wrestling him for control of the sport.
Ecclestone's offer, which is unprecedented, would see the teams receive a proportionate share of the £1.6bn - with teams such as Minardi and Jordan expecting as much as £40m - while another £3bn could be handed over by 2012.
Although these figures might sound paltry to Ferrari and Toyota, it would be a major boost for Jordan and Minardi.
Having won over Ferrari, Ecclestone is clearly seeking to continue the 'divide and conquer' approach, knowing that both Eddie Jordan and Paul Stoddart will almost certainly be swayed by the thought of all that green stuff. Teams like Red Bull could also be pulled into line, further destabilising the GPWC movement.