Alex Shnaider's Great Leap Forward

After riding out a storm of negative press, destructive rumours and expert predictions of his team's ultimate demise in 2005, it would be easy to forgive Midland Formula One Racing owner Alex Shnaider for feeling a bit smug as his team heads into this season stronger than ever.

Rather than thumb his nose at the team's seemingly implacable detractors, the Russian-born, Toronto businessman simply insisted Midland Racing would ensure it continues to defy the experts through simple hard work and, sooner or later, the critics will be forced to recognize the results.

"We heard from the doubters from the moment we entered the sport: First, they said we would never make it on to the grid, then they said we would not make it through our first season, and so on, and so on," Shnaider said.

"Well, we're not only still here, we're stronger and more motivated than ever. As tempting as it might be to tell them to shut up, that's not our way. All we ask for is the opportunity to be judged fairly on our own merit."

There's no doubt that Shnaider, 37, received a quick initiation to the cutthroat politics of the F1 paddock after buying the Jordan Grand Prix team in January, 2005. Insiders quickly insisted the Midland Group chairman was a rank amateur who had no idea about F1 and how it worked.

As the experts eagerly awaited the team's collapse, Shnaider busily negotiated a series of shrewd deals to bolster his position in the paddock.

He aligned himself with Ferrari and Red Bull by signing an extension to the Concorde Agreement with F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone. The Concorde Agreement is the deal that governs the business and sporting relationship between the teams and Formula One Management, which runs grand prix racing.

In joining the Concorde group, Shnaider instantly stood with the sport's oldest and most revered name -- Ferrari -- and its newest force to be reckoned with -- Red Bull billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, who owns two F1 teams, Red Bull Racing and Squadro Toro Rosso (formerly Minardi).

Shnaider signed retired F1 driver Johnny Herbert last July to act as the public face of the team, which helped quell some of the ferocity of the British press. The team also extended its engine deal with Toyota, securing what is thought to be the sport's most powerful motor for another season.

After an often tumultuous and sometimes frustrating first year, an emotional Shnaider watched the first all-Midland racer roll out of the garage at its Silverstone, U.K., headquarters during the team's official 2006 car launch Feb. 3.

"To see this beautiful, brand new car -- the culmination of such a massive effort, not to mention investment -- finally roar to life, was almost a surreal experience," he said.

"It was what I had envisioned when we announced that Midland would be entering F1, and I was very proud of the whole team for being able to accomplish this goal. Now, with all the necessary resources in place, we are looking forward to a successful new beginning."

The new beginning was punctuated by the elimination of the old Jordan yellow that defined the team for 15 years, replaced by a new red, white, and grey colour scheme and a new modern team logo.

It also included registering the new outfit as a Russian entry, making it the first F1 team from that country and putting it in the driver's seat to capitalize on some lucrative sponsorship opportunities.

With a Moscow Grand Prix becoming more probable in the next few years, Russian companies will be looking for opportunities to capitalize on F1's anticipated arrival.

While the strategy hasn't attracted a Russian sponsor so far, Midland has been able to sign a number of new partners for 2006.

But F1's cruel reality also dictates that attracting sponsors depends upon improving performance on the track, something that may be a tall order for the traditionally tail-end team.

Unfortunately for Midland, its budget of approximately $100-million (U.S.) pales in comparison to the front-running manufacturer-owned outfits, which easily spend more than four times that amount on their F1 programs.

Until the sport reins in its spiralling costs, scoring more points than the 12 it achieved in 2005 remains Midland's simple goal for the upcoming season.

"We know that we have made a leap forward with the new car - there is no question of that. What remains to be seen is how much our competition has improved relative to us," Shnaider said.

"But, I don't think we could have possibly worked any harder to get to where we are today."