AUGUST 16, 2002

All talk at Arrows

Negotiations to stop the Arrows team going out of business continue, even if the team has now missed a Grand Prix and must face all the implications of that move. These will affect not only the current ownership but also anyone who buys the team. The only person who appears to be still in the bidding to buy the team is Craig Pollock with the word from Austria being that Red Bull is definitely out of the picture, the company boss Dietrich Mateschitz apparently having lost interest in the team.

Our sources say that there is movement in the talks between Walkinshaw, his partner in the team Morgan Grenfell and Pollock but there are now also additional problems because of the fact that Arrows did not turn up in Hungary. Further problems may lie ahead if creditors swoop on the team, worried that the end is near.

The major issue involved appears to be who is going to take the biggest hit financially because there is no interest in Pollock buying a company that is up to its neck in debt. The sellers are obviously keen to get as much money as possible to reduce the damage but Pollock will only go so far because the point is quickly reached at which the team has no value as a similar investment can be made and a new team started with none of the problems that exist around Arrows.

For the moment, however, those involved are trying to put a positive spin on what is happening.

"Nothing is signed," said someone close to the negotiations. "And there is no point in getting excited until the fat lady sings."