Minardi buys Arrows.

No sooner is there money in the bank that Minardi goes out to blow some cash, and what better way to spend it than on some F1 chassis from a former rival?

According to reports on Reuters Minardi have purchased five Arrows A23 cars from the receivers handling the disposal of Tom Walkinshaw's failed F1 team.

A spokesmans from Minardi explains, "Two are in quite good shape and could be put into service and the others are mainly for parts."

The A23 should have been a good midfield challenger in 2002 but Tom Walkinshaw's money woes intervened and the team failed to last the season. "We'll have a look at the car and see if some of the ideas on them could help us develop our current cars," explained the Minardi man about what the team intended to do with the cars.

Ironically current Minardi driver Jos Verstappen should have driven the A23 in 2002, until Walkinshaw told him his services were not required and opted for Heinz Harald Frentzen instead. Verstappen is one of many thought to have an ongoing proceedings against the Scotsman, and might now have a chance to see what he missed out on should the Minardi team decide to take their new purchases for a spin.

According to the reports Minardi did not use their new-found cash from Bernie Ecclestone to fund the purchase, the F1 supremo having invested in the team to help keep its head above water at the Canadian Grand Prix, but from one of their Dutch sponsors. No word on who, but major Minardi sponsor Trust used to sponsor the Arrows squad when Jos was there, and removed their sponsorship when Verstappen was disposed of. Quite a nice way to get one back at Walkinshaw...