By Huw Alban
May 24 2002

Money trouble stories, particularly concerning team sponsorship, refuse to go away. The latest to emerge from Monaco concerns Arrows title sponsor Orange. Recently, rumours surfaced suggesting that the mobile phone company were going to move away from team sponsorship, leaving Arrows in the lurch. According to Grandprix.com, the latest gossip from the Monaco paddock suggests that Orange may turn it’s back on F1 altogether, and take a new direction with the World Rally Championship. The title sponsor deal with Arrows is up at the end of this season, and it is said that they are working hard to convince Orange to stay in F1 and with the team.

Apparently Orange haven’t made a decision on the future yet, with further talk suggesting that they might join up with Renault to take on the Vodafone sponsored Ferrari cars. Both Orange and Renault are French interests, so there is a definite link there. It addition it has been suggested that Orange may choose to just continue with their trackside banner campaign, and steer clear of any ‘heavy’ involvement.

If these rumours have any substance then the team will need to work extra hard to turn in a decent performance at Monaco, in order to convince Orange not to join forces with the Citroën World Rally team.