Ferrari to fork out $263m?
That's the advice of well-connected grand prix paddock resident, and former F1 driver, Martin Brundle. Today, the Briton is David Coulthard's manager and commentator for British channel ITV.
The 46-year-old told the Sunday Times: ''I wouldn't sign any driver for a fixed five years, not even Kimi, as too much can change in that time.''
But Brundle, who raced 158 grands prix for teams like Jordan and McLaren, continued: ''Good luck to them is what I say, because you're worth what somebody will pay you.''
Meanwhile, if you listen to the whispers around the Ferrari garage, its once grandiose budget is actually facing yearly cutbacks these days. It is with further surprise, then, that the princely sum of $73m has now apparently been waved in Valentino Rossi's face as the MotoGP ace decides whether or not to make the F1 switch in 2007.
And, in the same edition of Gazzetta dello Sport, 26-year-old Rossi refused to respond to Renault boss Flavio Briatore's complaint that the Italian champion behaves like a kindergarten child. Rossi said: ''I don't think he and I could ever get along.''