This week's Grapevine brings you information fresh from the paddock on: Renault Fighting for Gascoyne Ecclestone Takes Charge

Renault Fighting for Gascoyne

If there was anyone who was surprised by the result in Canada, it was Renault: finishing a power-oriented race on terms with Williams and Ferrari was not in the script, though the development was very welcome. Especially as their car designer is developing more parts.

Whilst less is being made of the power deficit Renault are working with - they are now only around 60bhp off the front runners - there is little doubt that the team has finally worked out the best way to package the unit: the car, designed by Mike Gascoyne, has generated plenty of interest in the paddock. Unfortunately for Renault, it is also regenerating interest in Gascoyne, who has been approached by at least Toyota and BAR so far this year.

Without a doubt, Gascoyne has to consider the Toyota approach, which is supposed to be worth $10 million dollars a year, putting him in the pay charts alongside the top drivers. On the downside, the company is based in Cologne, so he has to consider whether to relocate his family, or buying a jet and commuting - something that would barely dent his revised income! Toyota are prepared to pull out any stops necessary in their pursuit of the Formula One Championships, and need a chassis to do justice to their powerful engine: they'll let the man who can deliver it write their own ticket.

BAR are thought only to have made a tentative approach, looking to see whether Gascoyne is open to moving next season; they are not expected to come close to matching Toyota's offer, though they have the advantage of being based in the UK.

The main reason Renault are concerned that Gascoyne could be on his way - besides the silly money being offered as an incentive - is the expectation that their engine for 2004 will effectively mean revisiting the doldrums of last season. Changing the format will mean completely redesigning the back end of the car, and besides, it is widely expected that it will take a full season of development to get both the power and reliability that the competition boasts. The new engine will have a higher centre of gravity, worse fuel consumption, and very little power gain over the current unit, with the only significant paybacks (from the chassis viewpoint) being a slight reduction in total mass, and improved torsional rigidity. All told, it could add up to a backwards step whilst waiting for the programme to evolve - and that, of course, would dim Gascoyne's star by association.

As you might imagine, that leaves Renault facing a lot of work if they are to convince Gascoyne that the place he wants to be over the next few years is with them!

Ecclestone Takes Charge

Without a shadow of doubt, the biggest story coming out of Canada is Bernie Ecclestone's purchase of a share in the Minardi team, and the huge implications that it carries.

There has been a lot going on behind the scenes recently, but it has all been kept pretty civil on the surface, as teams have gone about the business of racing. Max Mosley has continued to pursue his 'affordability' agenda, in the interest of making it possible for non-manufacturer backed teams to continue taking part, and there has been some horse trading taking place in order that his vision comes to pass - with the cheap engines deal as the most significant element. By keeping the Championship open to independent teams, the future of the sport is significantly better protected, compared to the all too likely situation where a manufacturer-driven formula raised the stakes against each other, until they drove each other out.

In order to guarantee the future of the non-manufacturer element, offering an affordable, performant engine supply is vital. This is contrary to the interests of the engine manufacturers themselves, who might have spent $150 million developing an engine with their partners, and don't want to be offering them at cost price to a rival team. So, Mosley applied leverage, and negotiations began.

Running with traction control is a big deal. When the FIA revised the rules at the start of the year, the upshot was that all teams would have to stop running launch and traction control from the British Grand Prix onwards. The engines were to last for the whole weekend from 2004, and increasing multiples of races thereafter. The electronics package was to be standardised, thus ensuring that teams are capable of proving via physical inspection that they are not using illegal driver aids. In the fullness of time, the changes would have essentially made it impractical for the manufacturers to complete in the Championship, as they would only be able to provide three engines per car over the course of a season!

In return for relaxing the restrictions, permitting traction control indefinitely, and not extending the engine longevity beyond a weekend for at least the short term, the manufacturers agreed to offer a supply of customer engines for around $10 million apiece. Mosley agreed the deal, and the public were given a summary of the details.

Of course, nothing is so simple in Formula One. Once the FIA made it all official and public domain, the manufacturers started making noises about how they might be able to provide engines from 2005 - but there was no chance next year. And anyway, they'd never make that price point. Adding insult to injury, a fighting fund that was intended to provide assistance to the smallest teams was blocked.

There is more to the story, apparently including Mercedes offering Jordan a cheap engine deal in return for their support. However, the upshot was, Minardi being left in a position where all the promises that would have given them a chance to see out the season, then arrange a reasonable package for 2004, were falling through, and the writing was on the wall for the team. This is what prompted Paul Stoddart's impromptu public laundry washing session in Canada, where he thoroughly exposed the leading teams Machiavellian politicking, reneged upon promises and more. If the team had no future, he was going to be certain that it wasn't going to cease to be without a very public fight - and there are few better weapons to use than adverse publicity for the image conscious big three.

Having aired his grievances, Stoddart was approached by Ecclestone, who enquired about the possibility of investing in the team. Whilst the full terms of the deal will never be public, there is little doubt that included in the purchase price is the right of veto in all decisions made by the team under the Concorde Agreement - effectively giving him a personal route to prevent the teams agreeing changes by unanimous vote, should he have cause to do so. It also makes him a shareholder in one of the interested parties to the manufacturers 'alternative future' in the GPWC - and privy to the discussions already held with Minardi that might not have been intended for his or the FIA's ears.

Of course, there is a huge potential for conflict of interest, with the man who runs Formula One not only owning a personal interest in one of the teams, but also gaining significant additional power that might be used to throw a spanner in the works. Had it been anyone else, there would have been outcry, but if there is any one person the paddock trusts to have the interests of the sport as a whole in mind, it is Ecclestone, so the teams are waiting to see what he is up to before making noises about it.

Although Ecclestone agrees in principle with the team leaders who expressed the opinion that Formula One is no place for the weak, he is working hand in hand with Mosley to ensure that the independent outfits are not all driven from the sport. As it is, following the loss of Prost and Arrows last year, the sport is rapidly running out of independents, which is making renegotiation of the Concorde Agreement very tricky. After all, should Minardi go out, Jordan be bought off with Mercedes engines, and Sauber remain tied up by Ferrari, Ecclestone would be facing only the united front of the manufacturers across the negotiating table. The GPWC would be redundant. Ensuring not only the survival of Minardi, but a guarantee that it will follow his agenda, and not that of another team, strengthens Ecclestone's negotiating hand considerably.

Make no mistake, the Minardi purchase has put the cat amongst the pigeons, and left no doubt that Ecclestone remains by far the sharpest operator in the sport.