SEPTEMBER 17, 2004

Arden and Formula 1

There have been rumours in recent days about Arden Motorsport taking over Jordan Grand Prix. This does not seem very likely to happen because Arden boss Christian Horner admits that he does not have the money that is needed to go to Formula 1 in 2005 and because of the rule instability at the moment is now concluding that it is best for him to stay in the junior formulae. It is understood that Horner has signed up to be one of the teams in the new GP2 series, despite the fact that he and many others think that the new series is overpriced. There was a meeting of potential teams in GP2 at Monza and we hear that as many as 32 teams were represented and told that there would be space for only 12 teams in the new series. The big Formula 3000 are all going to take entries but may sell them on to others at a later date if better alternatives appear. The general feeling is that there will be 12 teams next year although some of them may not be very well funded.

The championship which will probably benefit most from the demise of the FIA Formula 3000 Championship is the Superfund Euro 3000 series, which is being funded by the Austrian finance company Quadriga, a hedge fund which has assets of more than $800m. The series currently has only around 12 drives competing but is much cheaper than the alternative GP2. The series races in Europe but will go to Dubai for the final round this year in November 28. There are plans for the series to have a new chassis and new engines next year.