SEPTEMBER 28, 1998

The Scots battle over Anderson

FORMER Jordan Technical Director Gary Anderson has caused considerable confusion in recent weeks by agreeing to work for both the Arrows and the Stewart teams.

FORMER Jordan Technical Director Gary Anderson has caused considerable confusion in recent weeks by agreeing to work for both the Arrows and the Stewart teams. Anderson, who left Jordan last month, is not supposed to be working with any team for the next three months but we believe did have an agreement with Tom Walkinshaw. Clearly, however, Anderson felt that it was not a solid contract as he has since signed to work as chief designer at Stewart under technical director AlanÊJenkins. This is a strange move but one must assume that Jenkins's contract runs out at the end of 1999 and than Anderson will take over as technical director. We hear that part of the decision was that Stewart was willing to pay a great deal more money than Arrows because of the pressure the team is under from Ford to perform next year.

Stewart was about to announce the deal when Walkinshaw sought an injunction to stop the deal going through. At the moment the outcome remains unclear, although in all probability Anderson will eventually be confirmed at Stewart and Walkinshaw will have to rely on chief designer Mike Coughlan, although he has been linked with a job with the new Honda Formula 1 team. If Coughlan is offered the chance to be technical director at Arrows he may decide to stay. Walkinshaw says that the problems will not have any serious effect on the 1999 car as this is already well advanced and will be a development of the existing chassis which has proved to be quite effective.