AUGUST 5, 2002

Messing about in boats

There has been talk for some time that "a top Formula 1" has begun design studies for an America's Cup racing yacht and these have resurfaced again in recent days in The Sunday Times in London. It is no secret that McLaren has discussed such a possibility to add to the company's image of being a ground-breaking force in technology. The team has stuck to automobile racing in recent years after the abortive Land Speed Record car which was dubbed "Maverick" at the time.

When McLaren boss Ron Dennis secured the services of design guru Adrian Newey a year ago after an attempt to hire him by Jaguar, there was talk that Newey could design an America's Cup boat. The man himself makes no secret of his desire to have a go at aquadynamics, which is much the same as aerodynamics but slower. If it all sounds very far-fetched one should remember that British American Racing's technical director Geoff Willis is actually a doctor of hydrodynamic engineering and in the late 1980s worked on the British America's Cup challenge in San Diego.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis said earlier this year that the team had no America's Cup program, but that does not mean that one is not being planned...