F1 bosses Eddie Jordan and Paul Stoddart have praised the new rules for taking the premier form of motorsport back to basics.
F1 bosses Paul Stoddart and Eddie Jordan have praised the new rules for taking the premier form of motorsport back to basics.
But apart from rule changes agreed upon by the FIA, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the 10 team bosses currently in Formula One, smaller teams are said to have been given financial assurances via changes to the way television money is appropriated.
Thus the financial futures of privately-owned F1 teams, including Jordan and Minardi, look to have been secured, at least for the near future.
Team boss Eddie Jordan commented: “Restructuring of how certain funds work within the operations of Ecclestone’s company, which owns the commercial rights to F1, has been vitally important for Jordan.
All the teams are committed to ensure that the 10 teams remain in place in a financially-structured way that will ensure their future.”
Jordan, who had to cut 15 per cent of his workforce last year to save money, hailed Wednesday as the most positive day of his career. “Everyone has come to realise that the show is the most important element and we have restructured Formula One accordingly in a way which is good for everyone, including Jordan. I’m really looking forward to going racing again,” he said.
“We want to see our greatest drivers, the best in the world, acting without the driver aids. The spectators want to see that the car will be looser [to drive] and more exciting.”
Jordan added: “People don’t want to sit in a grandstand and see that a driver doesn’t use a clutch but presses a button to get off the grid. It’s ridiculous. It is a nonsense that has to be eradicated.”
Minardi boss Paul Stoddart said: “Now it is suddenly becoming very clear that the team owners and the regulators are taking it very seriously to try and promote the best motorsport in the world, which is what Formula 1 is.
“It was a very important day, not only for Minardi but for F1,” he added. “It takes away any doubts whether we would be able to see out the season. But it also addresses all the issues F1 has been criticised for in the past couple of years.
“I think that we are in for a really exciting season, which is what everyone in F1 wants to see,” he added.