12/01/2010
NEWS STORY
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Campos Meta boss Adrian Campos has dismissed speculation that his team's dream of entering the 2010 Formula One World Championship is on the verge of collapse.
The speculation began in earnest late last week and has been building ever since, with some claiming that A1 GP boss Tony Teixeira could buy into the Spanish outfit.
As it happens however, according to Pitpass sources, Teixeira, who would appear to have his own problems what with A1 GP disappearing to the extent that even its website has 'gone missing', surprisingly popped up on the radar when Red Bull did its due diligence on Genii Capital at the time of the Renault buy-out late last year.
Nonetheless the Portuguese-South African, who has previously shown interest in a number of F1 teams including Spyker, is said top be one of several interested parties in talks with Campos.
Talking to BBC Sport, Campos admitted that while his team is looking for fresh investment he has no concern in terms of his team making it to the grid in Bahrain in seven weeks time.
"People speak too much and make trouble for us," he said, a clear reference to the speculation. "We are talking with people who would like to be shareholders. We are looking for investors and sponsors but the project is very much alive.
"I don't want to sell my part of the team and I will remain the team principal," he added, "the condition to be a shareholder is to accept all the existing contracts.
"We expect to have more investors," Campos continued. "People speak about Teixeira, but we are talking to others as well."
At the same time, Dallara, which is building the Campos cars, dismissed media claims that the Spanish outfit is behind in its payments.
"It is not true, not from our side at least," the Italian constructor's chief executive officer Andrea Pontremoli told BBC Sport. "We are still proceeding to build the car and it has passed its crash tests."
Interestingly, Campos, who insists that his team is "very near a budget", claims that funding from a second driver - Bruno Senna has already been confirmed - together with money provided by Bernie Ecclestone's Formula 1 Management company will ensure the team's immediate future.
However, it is Pitpass' understanding that the $10m payment which Ecclestone has promised the new teams will only be paid once the season is underway since if it was paid before the season started they could pocket the money and go into voluntary administration without any way for him to pursue them.
What with the speculation surrounding Campos and at least one other team, one has to question the effectiveness of the FIA's own due diligence, especially since these teams were favoured over Prodrive and Lola.