AUGUST 30, 2002

Waiting for Ford

Jordan Grand Prix said at Budapest that there would be an official statement about the team's deal with the Ford Motor Company within a matter of days. Two weeks have slipped by and not a word has been heard from Detroit, except denials that the company is about to ditch Jaguar Racing.

For the last few months Jaguar's future has been under review by Ford's chief technical officer Richard Parry-Jones with help from former Jaguar Racing chairman Neil Ressler. Their conclusions have yet to be presented to the top men in Detroit and then decisions have to be made. Jordan's announcement in these circumstances seems to be somehow out of place although one cannot imagine that Eddie Jordan would have gone ahead and spilled the beans on his deal without a green light from someone at Ford. Attempts are being made at the moment to talk down the amount of money Ford has to spend in F1 and one can only conclude therefore that there is still a worry that Jaguar will be axed - if not why the need for figures to be leaked to the the press by "Ford insiders"?