By Huw Alban
April 28 2002

Several of the main F1 news sites are carrying quotes from Jos Verstappen and his management indicating that there is serious intent for them to try and pursue a claim against the OrangeArrows team against the Dutchman's 'release' from the team a week last Thursday. The quotes that are being carried, which adequately speak for themselves are as follows:

Jos Verstappen: "I frequently had contact with the engineers and Mike Coughlan.You try to keep up with the developments at the factory as much as you can. Raymond Vermeulen even had contact with the team manager till the Wednesday. We have continuously kept contact with the team, that's the only thing we could do. We even send in our license, which you only get after a thorough physical examination, on request of the team. Arrow gave us a constant feeling that I would drive in the coming season. It is hard to imagine, since me and my wife Sophie had stayed over at Tom's house in January. We even went hunting together and have had good conversations, like friends do, if you get my drift? I thought we had a good personal tie together. And then to be put a side like this……"

Jos Verstappen's manager Huub Rothengatter: "We will start to have a substantial claim against Arrows and we are prepared to pursue this through the courts. People think it is the end of the story but it is not. This has been very disappointing and we will take action that's for sure. What is the value of a signed contract? We did not just shake hands or smile at each other. It was a signed contract which had been registered at the contracts recognition bureau in Geneva."

In addition to these quotes, Jos Verstappen's official website reports that the Dutchman did have a 'firm' contract and there there were no 'buy out' clauses making Arrows liable for lost earnings in 2002. For any Arrows fan this is very worrying news, bearing in mind that the team are already covering two drivers salaries.

I have one big problem with these quotes and the implications they point to. Tom Walkinshaw is a seasoned team owner and is not going to make a decision that will leave his team open to litigation, yet Verstappen still believes he can launch a case against the team. In addition, in the initial reaction after the announcement that Jos was to be replaced, it was reported that the two 'legal' parties had already been in contact with each other. This suggests that Arrows' lawyers had already checked the situation.

Perhaps Verstappen is hoping for a sympathy vote ? F1 seems to have reacted sharply to the decision by Arrows. Pedro de la Rosa, Mika Salo, and a small number of Arrows mechanics have been reported to have telephoned Jos to express their feelings on the decision. Is it really that Huub Rothengatter is banking on the courts pouring scorn on the team for leaving the decision so late, as to make Verstappen's future career decisions very awkward, and that way win the claim ?

For an Arrows fan, stories like this are very worrying. F1 appears to be in a cash crisis at the moment, and has already claimed the Prost GP team. At the end of last year the Arrows accounts were published and the figures did not make for comfortable reading. What are the implications for the team if Jos Verstappen is successful ? Could this decision plunge OrangeArrows into a cash crisis of it's own. Despite feeling very sorry for Verstappen, this Arrows fan hopes not - the new A23 looks the business, Arrows now have the major benefit of Cosworth power, Heinz-Harald Frentzen is an experienced and talented driver (as Jos was), and Enrique Bernoldi has a year under his belt. All in all 2002 is shaping up to be a repeat (and better) of 2000 - let's hope nothing spoils it.