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Spyker team confident for the future

Spyker Cars NV is considering selling part or all of it s Formula 1 team as part of a refinancing and strategic review. In a statement, Spyker said that the negative publicity over the state of it s finances and credit worthiness had forced them to secure additional funds to secure their short term liquidity position and to continue investments.

Spyker Cars NV was formed in 2000. They are expecting to make a loss in 2007 and have revealed that the F1 part of the team would not be cash neutral thanks to higher than anticipated costs, and lower revenues from televisions rights and sponsors than predicted.

However, many people at Spyker F1 have said that the team is not in jeopardy. Michiel Mol has already resigned as CEO of the Spyker road car company to prevent a conflict of interest it appears that Mol may be looking to purchase the F1 team himself. Some sources have stated that the F1 side of operations had actually been helping support the road car company s finances, therefore a separation of the two would actually boost Spyker F1 s finances.

Colin Kolles, boss of Spyker F1, has said that his team s future in F1 is not in doubt. “Spyker F1 Team Ltd is completely confident that it has the necessary budget to race in the FIA Formula One World Championship this season,” Kolles remarked. “There is no doubt that we will be racing with our current driver line-up of Adrian Sutil and Sakon Yamamoto in the Turkish Grand Prix and beyond.

The recent press statement issued by Spyker Cars N.V should not be taken as an indication that the team is in jeopardy of immediate closure. As part of its own strategic review and refinancing strategy Spyker Cars N.V is considering the (partial) sale of the Spyker Formula One Team. This is however but one possibility. Should Spyker Cars N.V. ultimately decide to sell, its management will strive for the final decision to be in the best interests of the team, its employees and partners and that we have the means to achieve our goals that have been set in motion this season.”
Former team owner Alex Schnaider is also confident about the orange team s F1 future. Schnaider sold his Midland team to a Dutch consortium led by Michiel Mol last year. The consortium linked up with car manufacturer Spyker, and Spyker F1 was born.

“I have my opinions regarding the way Spyker have gone about certain things, some of which are good, some of which I may have done differently,” Schnaider explained. “The day-to-day running of the team is up to them, but at the end of the day, there are certain obligations which must be met. Whether or not Spyker is in some turmoil, we expect the deal to be executed as agreed, and we will try to help them along if requested.

“I sold my interest in the team because I judged that it was in the best interests of all concerned, and I have no regrets about doing so. That said, Midland is a secured creditor. We have rescued the team in the past and we are capable of doing it again, if necessary. Not that it really matters, though, because we expect Spyker to fulfil their obligations.”

“Our first priority has always been to see the team passed to a safe pair of hands – an owner with a commercial brand to be promoted to the public, a person or company with the vision and resources to develop the potential within the team. I believe that Spyker or the Mol consortium will need to bring in a partner to achieve this, or alternatively, they will need to sell the team outright. I think our financial interest will be finally resolved, and I look forward to strolling the paddock with even more ease in the future.

“If we are forced to take the team back, then we will fund it in the short term while also looking for the kind of commercial partner I just described. Remember that the heart and soul of this team goes back to the Eddie Jordan days and lives on in hard-working, experienced guys like Andy Stevenson, guys who have been there from the very start and built that team into a scrappy challenger.

“The fundamentals are all there – it’s a team that has tasted success in the past and can regain it with the right owner.”

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