Will Stoddart quit F1?

It is not clear whether Paul Stoddart will be handed a job after Red Bull take over his Minardi team on November the 1st. Certainly, the $47m sale contract states that Australia's Stoddart, who bought the Faenza team from Gian Carlo Minardi in 2001, will walk away from the squad.

But new owner Dietrich Mateschitz's 'right hand man' Dany Bahar admitted at Spa that whether or not Paul is retained as a consultant is 'not defined.

He told Autosport: ''I'm sure we'll need (him) in some way and he'll be very close to our team. Much more, I can't say.''

51-year-old Stoddart agreed that he still loves the sport. ''I am going to miss it so, so much,'' Paul lamented. ''I don't think I'm finished in this Paddock,'' he insisted. Interestingly, Stoddart still owns much of Arrows' team assets from the 2002 collapse, and will retain his Ledbury (UK) factory despite the Minardi sale.

He says the 'saddest thing' about the Spa announcement is that the 20 year old Minardi name will probably disappear from the category next season.

Bahar, though, denied reports that Minardi is to be renamed 'Red Bull USA'. ''We don't know what we will call it yet,'' he insisted. What is clear, is that guys like Tonio Liuzzi and American driver Scott Speed are in the pole position to race.