Carabante (left) has taken full control from Campos (right)
Last night it was confirmed that the majority shareholder of the Campos Meta team, Jose Ramon Carabante, had taken full control of the team from founder Adrian Campos. Former Jordan, Midland, Spyker and Force India man Colin Kolles has taken Campos' role as Team Principal, and the position of Managing Director from Daniele Audetto.
Campos Meta began began as a partnership between Adrian Campos, former Grand Prix driver and boss of successful junior formula team Campos Racing, and Enrique Rodriguez, of Spanish sports management agency Meta Image. Carabante was brought in as a shareholder at a later date.
According to Kolles, in an interview with Adam Cooper, his role is "to clean up the chaos". While it sounds as though the management team of Campos and Audetto at Campos Racing's factory in Valencia have not done the best of jobs, the real question is based around Campos's partner, Meta Image. The team have obviously failed to find the necessary sponsorship, which would have been the priority of Meta Image at it's Madrid HQ.
I find it hard to believe that, even in the current economic situation, no Spanish firms are interested in getting their name onto the Formula One grid. Just take a look at the frenzied support for Fernando Alonso from the Spanish fans at the testing sessions at Valencia and Jerez. While they may be focused onto Ferrari, sponsored by Spanish financial giant Santander, they will be watching the races on TV throughout the season, and visiting the races at Barcelona and Valencia. They will see the Campos cars racing alongside the Ferraris. As a result of the Fernando Alonso effect, Spain is one of the best growing markets for F1 in the world. For a Spanish firm to have its name on the cars of the first Spanish Formula One team, one of which driven by the extremely marketable Bruno Senna, would be a perfect marketing opportunity in the new financially-aware era of motor racing. Or so you'd think. Meta Image will not come out of this well, certainly not in motorsport, where it manages Campos' Euro F3 Open champion, Bruno Mendez.
For the short term, Carabante and Kolles will fund the rescue mission as the team attempts to make it to Bahrain. The team still needs to sign a second driver to partner Senna. With the worrying silence from USF1, who now look certain to miss the start of the season, expect Jose Maria Lopez, the Argentine touring car champion who has funding from the country's government, to feature heavily in the speculation. Media in Argentina says that Lopez has been told by USF1's Peter Windsor that the team will not be in Bahrain. Reports suggest that Lopez and his management have been in discussions with Campos. Another driver who has been mentioned is Indian Karun Chandhok.
The team still has a lot of work to do to ensure they get to Bahrain with two cars, but Kolles insists they will get there. It's looking far more promising there than at USF1, with Serbian hopefuls Stefan GP ready and waiting, with Toyota's cars and Kazuki Nakajima as a driver, to step into the void should USF1 not be allowed to skip the first four races, as boss Ken Anderson has requested.
Photo Credit: Campos Meta
Campos Meta began began as a partnership between Adrian Campos, former Grand Prix driver and boss of successful junior formula team Campos Racing, and Enrique Rodriguez, of Spanish sports management agency Meta Image. Carabante was brought in as a shareholder at a later date.
According to Kolles, in an interview with Adam Cooper, his role is "to clean up the chaos". While it sounds as though the management team of Campos and Audetto at Campos Racing's factory in Valencia have not done the best of jobs, the real question is based around Campos's partner, Meta Image. The team have obviously failed to find the necessary sponsorship, which would have been the priority of Meta Image at it's Madrid HQ.
I find it hard to believe that, even in the current economic situation, no Spanish firms are interested in getting their name onto the Formula One grid. Just take a look at the frenzied support for Fernando Alonso from the Spanish fans at the testing sessions at Valencia and Jerez. While they may be focused onto Ferrari, sponsored by Spanish financial giant Santander, they will be watching the races on TV throughout the season, and visiting the races at Barcelona and Valencia. They will see the Campos cars racing alongside the Ferraris. As a result of the Fernando Alonso effect, Spain is one of the best growing markets for F1 in the world. For a Spanish firm to have its name on the cars of the first Spanish Formula One team, one of which driven by the extremely marketable Bruno Senna, would be a perfect marketing opportunity in the new financially-aware era of motor racing. Or so you'd think. Meta Image will not come out of this well, certainly not in motorsport, where it manages Campos' Euro F3 Open champion, Bruno Mendez.
For the short term, Carabante and Kolles will fund the rescue mission as the team attempts to make it to Bahrain. The team still needs to sign a second driver to partner Senna. With the worrying silence from USF1, who now look certain to miss the start of the season, expect Jose Maria Lopez, the Argentine touring car champion who has funding from the country's government, to feature heavily in the speculation. Media in Argentina says that Lopez has been told by USF1's Peter Windsor that the team will not be in Bahrain. Reports suggest that Lopez and his management have been in discussions with Campos. Another driver who has been mentioned is Indian Karun Chandhok.
The team still has a lot of work to do to ensure they get to Bahrain with two cars, but Kolles insists they will get there. It's looking far more promising there than at USF1, with Serbian hopefuls Stefan GP ready and waiting, with Toyota's cars and Kazuki Nakajima as a driver, to step into the void should USF1 not be allowed to skip the first four races, as boss Ken Anderson has requested.
Photo Credit: Campos Meta
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