Stoddart cracks me up!!!

[ales]

Have you guys seen his latest take on regulations and on protesting?

Copied from pitpass... (and I just have to post the full article here!!!!

The British Grand Prix is facing a new threat.. from the Minardi F1 team.
As the 'fighting fund' saga rumbles on, Minardi boss Paul Stoddart has warned that at the forthcoming British GP he will remove all driver aids from his cars and then protest the other entries.

This comes a month after Minardi announced that it was withdrawing its support for the proposed changes to the 2003 and 2004 technical regulations.

"I was forced to reconsider my consent to the Formula One Commission vote on the 2004 Regulations, and the proposed changes to the 2003 Regulations," said Stoddart at the time. "On reflection, I was perhaps too eager to please people who, it seems, have actually been working to try to make it difficult for Minardi to continue. On reading the proposed changes in detail, and taking into consideration the cost implications for Minardi, I had no choice but to withdraw my consent."

At present driver aids such as traction control are banned but earlier this year the FIA agreed to allow the aids to be retained providing the major teams agreed to a number of proposals including the fighting fund and manufacturers supplying 'competitively priced' engine packages.

According to Stoddart since the FIA performed its u-turn and the big teams appeared to get their way, they have gone back on their word, and despite the promises there is no sign of the 'fighting fund' money.

As a result the Australian has come up with a unique form of protest, he will remove all driver aids from the Minardis - thereby fully complying with the FIA regulations - and then protest all the rival teams.

FIA president Max Mosley has confirmed that he has received a copy of the letter that Stoddart sent to all the teams.

"What they seem to be saying in the letter is that they may protest other teams," Mosley told Reuters. "If there is a protest it would be a matter for the stewards. We do have a rule that has been there for many years saying that all driver aids are prohibited."

"In the extreme I suppose the option exists to every team principal or competitor to protest another one if he believes they have an illegal car," said Stoddart. "I'm not saying I would do that, but the option is there.

"I would far rather this was all sorted out, that we change the regulations to reflect what we are actually doing and not leave an almighty loophole for all kinds of things to be done," he continued. "Although we've discussed a lot this year about ways of retaining at least traction control, nothing has actually been fulfilled and agreed. I believe the rules, as they are written today, would mean that from Silverstone we have to comply with them. And the rules are that the driver must drive the car unaided.

"The smaller teams have continued to give," he continued, "but the bigger teams have given nothing. I am not doing this because I want to. It is a dirty job and someone has got to do it otherwise there will be no independent teams in F1. If I am wrong on this I am happy to be wrong, but the interpretation of the regulations I have is that if I run cars without drivers aids at Silverstone then the cars will be legal.

"I don't want the British Grand Prix, the home event for many teams, thrown into chaos," he explained, "which is why I am bringing this to the attention of the other teams now.

"If I wanted to be underhand about this I would have kept my mouth shut for another couple of weeks, run without driver aids at Silverstone and protested the result. We need to get the issue sorted out before the race and there has to be movement on this."

What can I say? Go Stoddy! If anything, this should prove a great source of fun and giggles!

[vectorclub]

Try to keep costs down is a nice goal, but taking technology away from teams does not fit the image of F-1. It is supposed to be the series that uses and develops high performance technology.

Another issue that has come up is trying to enforce the "no traction control" rule. Teams have found a variety of ways to do traction control. The amount of electronics on an F-1 car makes it easy to hide driving aid devices.

If this was the IRL, I would say cutting back the technology is fine. F-1 is a top level professional series that should be allowed to use any technology. Restrictions should be limited to driver and spectator safety.

Rules such as fuel consumption limits, limit the number of tires used during a race, and other performance oriented rules, are the other kinds of rules I could see F-1 using.

Stoddy seems to be doing more of PR stunt. I bet Jordan wishes he had thought of it first.

[freakray]

"I don't want the British Grand Prix, the home event for many teams, thrown into chaos," he explained

No? But he is threatening too anyway?

Stoddy =

[Michael Schumacher]

I'll laugh if he does this and his team comes in last, then when he trys to protest the results the stwerts or FIA or who ever tell him to shut up and they remain in last place. Although it wouldnt be a big change in there usual race results .

[Guido]

that's what you get when guys like RonD and FrankW are playing with poor boy Pauly's feet. He's just paying them back and giving them a hard time. No one is believing this, but wait until he does and sh.t will really hit the fan.

I can see his point though

[cruisey]

Yeah but if it wasnt for stoddy, then F1 would be up shit creek without a paddle!!
Simple as that.

no stoddy no minardi. that means only 18 cars
beri has promised that all Gps will have 20 cars. do the maths!

it seems to me that no one likes a battler, but remember that the minardis are only about 1.5 secs roughly off the pace depending on who is driving. so for a team that can be last on the grid and only be that far off pole it seems there is alot of wasted money in this game i guess thats F1 though.

[z33guy]

i wonder what bernie has said about this. Ever since he took a stake in the team, he seems to not care one way or the other. I guess it was a buy off and to keep the 20 cars.

[ales]

Bernie? Well, I think that he knows everything about it, and without his consent Stoddy wouldn't have said/done? anything of the sort. I think Bernie has some plan. Yet again