JULY 10, 2004

Walton in intensive care

Just before the start of the British Grand Prix weekend, the Minardi team suffered a very serious setback when the team's Sporting Director John Walton was the victim of a heart attack. The 47-year-old Irishman, who has worked in Formula 1 for most of the last 20 years, has been Paul Stoddart's right hand man at Minardi since he joined the team in January 2002 after the closure of Prost Grand Prix. "John Boy" is one of the most popular figures in the Formula 1 paddock and our thoughts during this difficult period are with his family and with his partner ITV presenter Louise Goodman.