Pantano in trouble?

[kristof14]

Originally posted by minirda
Well, if he is that good, we don't have to worry about his f1 career than, do we?.
Nah I don't think we will see much of Giorgio and I won't miss him at all.

Is that because he knicked Jos Verstappens seat?

[Kicking-back]

Originally posted by kristof14
Is that because he knicked Jos Verstappens seat?

Very astute

[BootsOntheSide]

You mean Jordan hired him in preference to Verstappen (who would've hismelf been a pay-driver, as he has for years)?

[Kicking-back]

Apparently Pantano wasn't actually at the circuit this weekend.

It will be very interesting to see if he returns at Indy.

[mcurtis26]

I think he's going to find it difficult to return, his relationship with EJ and the team is bound to have been soured, and if Glock performs well, I think Jordan may well stick with him, budget permitting.

[minirda]

Originally posted by kristof14
Is that because he knicked Jos Verstappens seat?

Yeah right. To be honest: I've got nothing personal against Pantano. But think he is not good enough for a F1 seat. This also counts for Klien, Baunmgartner and Massa. But then again it is is just a ("little orange coloured and maybe biased") opinion.

[Kicking-back]

It clearly is a biased opinion!

Pantano, Klien and Massa have achievements in lower categories.

Baumgarter doesn't.

Lumping all of them together is a bit much!

[N I Tram]

Also, Baumgartner is the oldest and most experienced (in lower categories) of the four, and has the least potential to improve.

Massa hasn't even paid a cent to get into F1 AFAIK.

As for where Jos fits into all of this, he's the oldest of the five, certainly better than Zsolt but he refused the seat Zsolt jumped at, and not as fast as the other three.

[Super Tourer]

Back to the topic....there have been a few stories floating around regarding Pantano, you may remember that it was suggested he may miss Monaco due to 'his' payments allegedly not being up to date.

This time it seems that his father is trying to unlever Gorgio out of the grasp of Brask management for some reason, despite him being on a long contract with them.

Pre- season it's believed that Brask allegedly raised money from investors to cover the first few races, along with the sponsorship, which we can see from the size of the livery is unlikely to be substantial. The remained was believed to be underwritten by a Monaco based company that would in turn, recoup investment by selling more space to sponsors.

As with many F1 deals, I would guess this is a fairly complicated one. Brask has largely funded Gorgio throughout his F3/3000 days (the expensive ones) and obviously hopes that he will recoup that and more, however that is dependent on Pantano having a long and paid career in F1, whereas it looks likely to be short and expensive instead.

[Kicking-back]

It's not the first time there have been questions raised about Brask's way of doing things.

But it's probably best not to speculate!

[Super Tourer]

Statement from Brask Management.

"Giorgio Pantano - Statement from Brask Management
12 June 2004

Canadian Grand Prix

"A lot has been said about the farcical event regarding Giorgio this week. Most has been factually correct, but missing out on the nuances.

To put the record straight herewith some facts; Giorgio is contracted to Pantano Motor Sport Ltd. Giorgio is the major shareholder of this company, which holds all his rights in regard to motor sport. This company is co-owned by Brask Management Ltd. Brask Management provides funding, manages and look after the commercial issues related to Giorgio's racing career.

Jordan, Giorgio and Pantano Motor Sport have an agreement for each other's services. This agreement is honoured to this date i.e. not breached from our side. The personal issues, that have been talked about in regard to the reason for Giorgio not participating in this week end's Grand Prix, has to do with an obligation, which Giorgio's father hasn't lived up to towards Jordan and Pantano Motor Sport/Brask Management. "


http://www.teambrask.com/news_303.htm

[Kicking-back]

From the Brask website it appears that very few of their contracted drivers have had racing seats for some time.