Could Minardi buy Toro Rosso back?
Some things just look written in the stars. Just as Red Bull announces it is selling Toro Rosso, we have Paul Stoddart - the former owner of Minardi - saying he is looking at a return to F1.
Stoddart sold the Minardi team to Red Bull at the end of 2005. Red Bull changed the name of the team - much to Minardi supporters’ horror - to Scuderia Toro Rosso. But rule changes for the 2010 season make the junior Red Bull team less of a good investment for Red Bull’s owner, Dietrich Mateschitz.
Names that have been linked to the team include A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira and Russian businessman Roustam Tariko.
Could Stoddart afford Toro Rosso? The backmarker Minardi team that Stoddart sold was a far cry from the midfield runner that is Toro Rosso - and therefore the market value will have gone up considerably. But the world of F1 finance is a complicated business and it is quite possible that Stoddart may have collected a bit more cash this time round.
If Stoddart does buy back the team, you heard it here first…
Stumble it!