12/04/2006
NEWS STORY
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Trevor Carlin's announcement that his team has submitted an entry for the 2008 World Championship raises a number of interesting questions.
First off, ever since the FIA revealed that it had received 22 entries for the 2008 Formula One World Championship - the announcement coming on what woud have been April Fools Day in the Melbourne paddock - it has been assumed that all eleven current teams have submitted their entries.
Although we know that the 'rebel' manufacturer teams have submitted their entries, because they have told us so, we can only assume that the others have submitted theirs, for other than the teams themselves, and the FIA, nobody knows for sure.
What is known, is that David Richards' Prodrive has submitted an entry, as has Paul Stoddart and Eddie Jordan, though we hear that the Irishman has merely signed the document and allowed someone else to fill in the rest of it.
What should be remembered however, is that the entry form for the 2008 World Championship is a legally binding document, and any team that has submitted an entry and is accepted for the championship is contractually bound to be on the grid in 2008. No excuses.
For some time there has been speculation regarding Midland F1's future, with many doubting the long-term commitment of the team. With talk of Toyota supplying WilliamsF1 in 2007, there is concern as to what power-plants the Russian team might use, while last week's departure by (Sporting Director) Adrian Burgess, indicates that behind the scenes the team is as troubled as ever.
While Colin Kolles is giving autocracy a whole new meaning, Alex Shnaider seems confused as to why he bought an F1 team in the first place and, more importantly, where he goes with it from here. One has to admit, it says much about contemporary Formula One when a Russian billionaire finds himself caught out by the costs involved in running a team.
Although Carlin has said that his company has "agreed the purchase of an established facility in south-east England", the purchase of the Jordan outfit shouldn't be ruled out. As Shnaider watches his money being eaten up he'll be happy to 'give' the team away to the first bidder. No doubt there is already a queue forming down Dadford Road, look out for the diminutive chap wearing the 'hoodie'.
Carlin, having spent a brief spell at Midland will regard both F1 and Midland as unfinished business, and therefore one should not rule out a swoop. On leaving the team he made it clear that he was exasperated by the Russian-owned outfit's failure to grasp what was needed in F1, money, and lots of it.
"If you don't have money and you don't have the will to succeed it's impossible to win, because F1 is an extremely competitive world," he said.
In addition to having a prestigious track-record, it should be noted that it was Carlin who achieved success with Indian star Narain Karthikeyan, the youngster winning a number of prestigious F3 events, including the International F3 race at Spa a feat previously achieved by Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.
When Carlin joined Midland in January 2005 after its purchase from Eddie Jordan, the Englishman was instrumental in signing up his former protégé, giving India its first ever Formula One driver.
With many potential sponsors lining up behind Karthikeyan, and indeed continued talk of an Indian Grand Prix, one can see that Carlin would not be short of funding.
It's known that for teams the leap from GP2 to F1 is enormous, which is why few GP2 teams have submitted entries for the 2008 F1 Championship. The leap from F3 - though Carlin is also involved in Formula BMW, World Series by Renault and A1 - is even greater.
However, Trevor Carlin and his team has the nous, the drive and most likely the backing to make the move.
Picture of Trevor Carlin by James Bearne