Ford to sell Jaguar. No Jaguar F1 team in 2005?
By steve
September 21 2004
The Ford Motor Company have decided to sell the Jaguar Formula One team. Hopefully to someone who will adequately fund the program.
Ford have only been committing enough funding to keep Jaguars head above water. It's a credit to the team that it is as competitive as it is.
Up until very recently David Pitchforth, Jaguar F1 team manager, had been convinced that Ford would continue backing Jaguar. He even said that Jaguar would have enough funding to compete with the top teams in 2005.
There had been recent speculation that the Ford badge would replace the Jaguar icon. This would have made sense considering the fact that the majority of F1 fans are more likely to follow a brand that they can actually acquire.
Ford also announced the sale of The Cosworth Engine company.
The Minardi Formula One team had been looking forward to a supply of very competitive engines, after the announcement that Cosworth would supply them with the same engine supplied to Jaguar. This supply may continue, however, it remains to be seen whether they will have the funds to keep up with the development of the other engine suppliers – all car manufacturers.
Maybe GM or VW will step in?
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