MARCH 3, 2003

Stoddart weighs in

Minardi boss Paul Stoddart has responded to what he calls a "vicious attack" from his McLaren counterpart, Ron Dennis, by saying he should remember back to his start in the sport.

Dennis and Williams boss Frank Williams have contested the "fighting fund" that Bernie Ecclestone proposed to help out cash strapped teams like Minardi and Jordan, teams that Stoddart believes are vital to the future of the sport.

"Ron in particular has made a very vicious attack on me in the last 10 days," Stoddart told Reuters. "He is more or less indicating they feel there is no room for teams like Minardi in Formula 1."

"Also they should remember with the budgets they have, they should be not talking about Minardi but rather concentrating on winning the world championship, something I would do if I had their budgets."