Jaguar To Quit F1

[MUYA]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/3665810.stm

poop!!!

[schuey74]

yup, this sucks.

[npras42]

Hardly surprising to me to be honest. I didn't know it was going to be Jaguar but I had a feeling that some of the teams would start to bow out. The gulf between the top and very bottom is getting larger, its only the the top where things have got closer (Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, BAR, Renault). Below these teams, the others are further away than ever (partly because these teams are now so competitive).

If you think about it what are teams like Jaguar gaining from F1 if they're finishing in the bottom half of the table in every race. Its hardly good marketing to say we threw a load of money at F1 and we're crap!

Its about time F1 really took a proper look at where its going, and reformed completely. Changing a couple of rules to make it slower and faster every year will make no difference if the Ferraris et al are still making the best 'slower' cars. There should be budget limits, sponsorship limits and more central backing. Change it back into a sport and less of a business.

*sigh*

[Sazar]

jaguar == ford...

[MikeXP]

jaguar == ford?!?!?

[bigC]

jaguar == ford?!?!?yup, ford owns jaguar. if as a big company like ford cannot continue to fund and field an F1 team, how long will the likes of jordan or minardi be able to continue, especially since cosworth supplied their engines. where will they turn to next?

so, next year, the cars will be slower, and safer, thanks to the FIA's singleminded attempt to make driving at 300km as safe (and boring) as if you were sitting in front of your PC, but there will be fewer of cars involved: 18 if another team is not added, perhaps fewer still if jordan or minardi drops out. that should increase saftey, as there would be fewer cars involved in any potential accident. less chance of a racing incident caused by another increases one's relative safety. if that was ecclestone's plan, then he deserves a round of applause. good job. :rolleyes: a lot of time has been spent on trying to make the ferraris slower instead of making the overall sport more healthy. something is wrong when the world's 3rd largest manufacturer cannot compete on a level basis with the other big teams. what about the minnows, surrounded by the sharks?

[NAZCA M12]

Correction: Ford most certainly can fund/run an entire F1 team on their own. Money is not the problem for them. The problem is what are the results in the past few years compared to the money they've spent? Fighting at the back of the field with the Jordans and the Minardis is hardly a great feat for such a huge company. The marketing side of things is also important. I think they're paying that "hey, lets paint a Stewart green and rebrand it Jaguar" decision. Stewart was a very small team but a tidy one, JYS had done a good job. Ever since it passed to Ford however, expectations went sky high, they talked tough, they brought in a big/very expensive driver (Irvine) too early, they kept changing some key members of the design department, they finally resorted to getting pay drivers. I think they made some huge mistakes there. Anyway its very sad. The implications that can have in F1 can be very bad since F1 has been known in the past few years as the pinnacle of spasmodic/rushed decisions instead of the pinnacle of motorsport. And most problems don't come from Ecclestone, but from a guy named Max and his stupid decisions (grooved tires anyone?).