Born in Coburg, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Stoddart attended Preston Technical School and St Joseph's College Melbourne. His first business venture was a car dealership. He later moved to England, becoming the Yugo car distributor for the UK and operating a hire car detailing business in Manchester.
Stoddart’s involvement in motorsport began in 1996 with the purchase of a 1990 Tyrrell 019 Formula One car. He sponsored the Tyrrell team in 1997 and 1998 through his company, European Aviation, and was in negotiations to purchase the team in 1997 for $25 million, a deal ultimately superseded by British American Tobacco’s acquisition. He acquired a collection of Tyrrell cars and equipment, relocating them to Ledbury, Herefordshire.
He further sponsored Jordan Grand Prix in 1999, with speculation of a potential shareholding, and Arrows in 2000, establishing European Racing as the Arrows Junior Team with driver Mark Webber.
In 2001, Stoddart purchased the Minardi team from Gabriele Rumi. He completed the PS01 car in six weeks prior to the first race, featuring European Aviation sponsorship and an upgraded 2000 Minardi Fondmetal V10 engine. During his ownership, future World Champion Fernando Alonso drove for the team in 2001, earning a reputation for his talent. In 2002, Australian Mark Webber joined Minardi, scoring points on his debut at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix.
Financial difficulties plagued the team throughout Stoddart’s tenure. Bernie Ecclestone invested $4 million into Minardi in 2003. A sponsorship deal with Wilux was terminated in 2004 after the team chose to race without branding at the 2004 British Grand Prix following the death of Minardi sporting director John Walton. Stoddart’s own airline, OzJet, sponsored the team in 2005. The 2005 United States Grand Prix saw Minardi achieve one of its greatest successes under Stoddart, scoring 7 points as one of only six cars to finish the race.
Stoddart consistently advocated for budget caps and financial support for smaller teams, leading to public disagreements with McLaren boss Ron Dennis. After Eddie Jordan sold Jordan Grand Prix in 2005, Stoddart voiced concerns about the future of his team. On 12 September 2005, he sold Minardi to Red Bull Racing owner Dietrich Mateschitz, who rebranded the team as Toro Rosso.
In March 2006, Stoddart announced his intention to return the Minardi name to Formula One by entering the 2008 championship, but his entry was unsuccessful, with the final grid spot awarded to Prodrive. Since 2017, Stoddart has offered fans the opportunity to ride in one of his Minardi Fx2 cars at select Formula One events, aiming to expand the fan experience.
Beyond Formula One, Stoddart purchased the CTE-HVM ChampCar team in December 2006, renaming it Minardi Team USA. The team achieved success, with Robert Doornbos finishing third overall and earning Rookie of the Year honours. However, following ChampCar’s absorption by the Indy Racing League in 2008, Stoddart chose not to participate, fearing a lack of competitiveness. The team continued as HVM Racing, owned by Keith Wiggins.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, aircraft owned by Stoddart’s business were used to transport PPE from China and Malaysia to the UK.
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