The Gang of 9 needed a public face. Certainly not a corporate type 'talking head' from the auto manufacturers, that would have portrayed them as they truly are. A suit and tie with as much allegiance to motor racing as to health insurance for their workers. As long as it helps the bottom line (keep workers healthy and at work/keep the manufacturer in the headlines and sell vehicles), it's worth investing in. When the going gets tough (premiums increase/race results are poor) then it's time to re-examine the cost to benefit. In steps Paul Stoddart. He gets fed lines such as 'Gee Paul you're getting the short end of the stick here, Ferrari is getting more, you're getting less'. 'Paul, how on Earth are you going to be able to get your cars to conform to these new specs so late in the game?' 'Paul we need someone to be our public face, someone who really cares about the future of Formula One. Paul you're our man'.

So while Ol' Flav', Ronspeak and Sir Frank are hard at work with their team, getting ready for the race weekend, Paul Stoddart, the man whose team can least afford it, is out cavorting to the press, into courtrooms, and into meetings with everyone but his own team. When zero hour arrives and Mosley threatens to cancel the race and hang Stoddart by his testicles in front of his home town public, Stoddart is forced to slink back to his garage, hacksaw in hand, and announce to his dozens, errr… dozen workers and mechanics; "Right, then boys. Let's make it legal."

So, as the fire continues to burn, what of Paul Stoddart and Minardi? He must weather the storm of very poor races in Malaysia and Bahrain before his new car takes to the track at Imola. If the new car doesn't show a hint of promise at Imola or Barcelona, he could be done. The big caveat is what happens if he now signs on with the little man in the corner.

Is Bernie offering a sweeter pot to the early signers and trying to isolate the big car manufacturers? If Red Bull and Jordan/Midland have indeed signed on, and Minardi was to follow, Sauber would be the only independent in the GPWC. Even though they are supposedly switching to BMW, Sauber are still junior to Williams in just about every facet and don't have the mass-market appeal of the very British Williams. The Gang of 9 would be reduced to the Gang of 6 led by Mercedes, Toyota, BMW, Honda and Renault. All of a sudden 6 vs. 4 doesn't look as powerful as 9 vs. 1 against Bernie.

Divide and conquer. The teams are whores, selling their soul to the highest bidder. Bernie has (presumably) opened his wallet at the right time and divided the GPWC house rather quickly. Is he ultimately looking to drive the big car companies right back out of Formula One as quickly as they came in? Another man with a lot of money who is involved in this is Kevin Kalkhoven, the ChampCar Czar who bought Cosworth.

Can Cosworth get ramped back up to the point where it can produce enough quality engines not only to compete with Ferrari, but also to supply most of the field? They're already supplying the entire field in ChampCar. Obviously the specs are different, with ChampCar being turbo, but if the specs for both series were more closely aligned, and with technical rules changes coming to Bernie's Circus one way or the other in 2008, Cosworth could return to prominence as a Grand Prix engine supplier.

Through all the mayhem, the little man stood by, and flashed a smile long enough for everyone to see several rows of teeth.

As always, hate mail may be sent to: Thomsonphilips@hotmail.com

Thomson Philips