Jaguar Reponds..We have war!

[JeremySmith]

Jaguar responds

A short Jaguar press release, which reached us just 30 minutes after McLaren's statement :

Jaguar Racing signed a contract with Adrian Newey in good faith. In light of this afternoon's statement from McLaren International it is, therefore, a matter for further discussion.

Bullets are starting to fly!

[garyegrant]

McLaren just had a massive spat with Arrows....now its Jaguar...

Maybe someone should buy Ron a copy of 'How To Make Friends And Influence People'.....

[Ed G]

Originally posted by Jersound
Jaguar responds

A short Jaguar press release, which reached us just 30 minutes after McLaren's statement :

Jaguar Racing signed a contract with Adrian Newey in good faith. In light of this afternoon's statement from McLaren International it is, therefore, a matter for further discussion.
Bullets are starting to fly!

Last time I heard the words 'contract' and 'good faith' it had to do with a certain test driver's contract and the same green team. Although last time the shoe was on the other foot. I wonder if maybe Jag got beaten at their own game.

[JeremySmith]

It rather looks that way doesn't it! ..Problem here IMO is that Adrian Newey is a creative guy..NOT a business man I am sure that he is very confused at the moment..

[JeremySmith]

From insidef1.com


McLaren and Jaguar face legal battle
A costly and protracted legal action between car makers Ford and DaimlerChrysler was in prospect tonight after a major row over the future of top formula one car designer Adrian Newey with whom both the McLaren and Jaguar grand prix teams believe they have signed a contract.

McLaren, which is 40 per cent owned by Mercedes-Benz parent company DaimlerChrysler and Jaguar, which is owned by Ford, have both signed binding agreements with the highly rated British engineer.

Barely 12 hours after Jaguar released details of its contract with Newey, McLaren did the same. However, former world champion Niki Lauda, who as chief of Ford's premier automotive group helps run the Jaguar formula one team was, not impressed by McLaren chairman Ron Dennis's claims.

"First of all, Jaguar signed Adrian Newey on Tuesday evening to a binding contract," said Lauda. "If McLaren have also signed a contract with him then I shall be interested to see how he is going to design two separate formula one cars for different teams from 2002.

"Ron can jump up and down all he likes. We didn't steal Newey away from him, we did a deal for when his contract ends in 2002."

This morning Jaguar confirmed that Newey had signed a deal to join their team as technical director from August 2002, when his current contract with McLaren expires. It was seen as a major coup for Jaguar's chief executive officer Bobby Rahal who had worked with Newey when he raced Indycars in the USA during the mid-1980s.

"I have enjoyed hugely my four years at McLaren," Newey was quoted as saying. "But, in the end, the prospect of working with my close friend Bobby, whom I have known since 1984 at March Racing, combined with the prospect of the exciting challenge that Jaguar Racing offers proved irresistible."

This release had been issued after a backdrop of dramatic negotiations throughout Thursday evening which saw Newey visit Rahal's new home at near London to discuss the matter with the Jaguar racing chief.

Later Rahal boarded a plane to the USA where his CART team is competing in Sunday's oval track race at Milwaukee, near Chicago. While he was airborne, the drama unfolded back in the UK.

[Alan Jones]

Now this will really test the 'ole friendship.( Rahal & Newey)

[JeremySmith]

You had better believe that!

[economy_waffle]

hmm i like pit lane conflicts....its good for the sport

[Alan Jones]

Without a doubt, in my opinion F1 is the "mother of all" Soap Operas!

[SL]

I bet Newey now regrets signing that 'memorial photo' for Rahal. He should have checked for the carbon paper beneath.

Or perhaps it was Dennis's 'goodbye' card he should have checked.


I think this will be the highlight of the F1 season.

SL

[slicktoast]

Somebody must have had 'brain fade'.

[JeremySmith]

The whole situation smells very strange to me..Adrian Newey must be aware the way a binding contract reads..I can't believe that these types of negotiations are entered into without legal council for BOTH sides being involved the whole step of the way..We are Talking about the Ford Motor company, and McLaren who are not what one might call "a pip squeak" of a company....Very strange, and very lame!

[EERO]

Given Jaguar's screw up over the PDLR imbroglio with Prost, i cannot believe they have gotten themselves into another contract dispute, albeit on the other end of the deal. Time for a new Solicitor at Jaguar if you ask me....

[Bononi]

The way Jaguar replied, I think Ron Dennis is crazy about that and trying to reverse the situation.
I wonder if Newey will stay at McLaren until August 2002, if he really signed the contract.

[Ralf's Girl]

I had a feeling there would be a legal battle over this...it's hard to say who is in the wrong when both parties claim to have signed a legally binding contract, and Newey himself has been quoted as saying how much he is looking forward to working at Jaguar.

"I have enjoyed hugely my four years at McLaren. But, in the end, the prospect of working with my close friend Bobby, whom I have known since 1984 at March Racing, combined with the prospect of the exciting challenge that Jaguar Racing offers proved irresistible."

I fail to see how these words could be misinterpreted.

[Alan Jones]

I wonder if this was Mr Newey's way of getting more money out of McLaren?

[JeremySmith]

It that is the case Alan..Then it's a very dishonourable way of doing it...He has a long standing relationship with Tag/McLaren..Ron Dennis is his boss..Adrian Newey is considered to be the best in the business at his craft...So what was the problem??

[Alan Jones]

Maybe it has something to do with McLarens problems this year, who knows jersound.Wouldn't be the first time someone has played the market to see just how much he is worth.

[JeremySmith]

Originally posted by Alan Jones
Maybe it has something to do with McLarens problems this year,

Sorry Alan I am not quite with you, could you explain futher?

PS ...I have just read your e-mail and I promise to reply..Soon!

[JeremySmith]

I just thought this might be of interest! PLEASE excuse the double post..


BBC Sport Online's Andrew Benson profiles in-demand Formula One designer Adrian Newey.

Many people outside Formula One will probably be wondering why there has been so much fuss about the tug-of-war between McLaren and Jaguar over the services of designer Adrian Newey.

To put it in bald terms, if Newey ends up moving to Jaguar, it would be the most important thing to happen in F1 for several years.

Newey, an unassuming and quietly-spoken 42-year-old, is seen as probably more crucial an ingredient in the quest for success than Michael Schumacher.


Adrian is the best - it's as simple as that
Jordan's Trevor Foster
That may sound like a wild exaggeration to anyone who believes that F1 revolves around the men who do the racing every other Sunday afternoon.

But as Williams and McLaren have proved over the last decade, if you have the best car, you can win huge numbers of races, and the world championship, without Schumacher.

Overnight success

And the common denominator in those Williams and McLaren successes is Adrian Newey.

As Martin Brundle, Grand Prix driver-turned commentator, says: "If I was doing my Fantasy F1, and I could only afford Newey or Schumacher, then I would have Newey.

"The conceptual side of F1 car design is so critical. A driver can stand up in the seat and drive at 11/10ths and be super-human, but in the end he can't make the difference.

[Nigel Mansell in 1994 ]
Williams dominated the 1990s with Newey
"He can maybe do better than the car should be doing. But if somebody else has fundamentally got a significantly better car than you, over 70 laps, he's going to beat you, as long as he's a world-class driver."

For evidence, you only have to look at how in 1992 and 1996, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher were helpless to stop Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill win the title in Newey-designed Williams cars.

His cars have racked up 13 drivers' and constructors' titles since he joined Williams for 1991. The other titles were all won by cars driven by either Senna or Schumacher.

There are those who think Newey is over-rated.

They point to the fact that his reputation has been built at Williams and McLaren. They are teams that were on the up when he joined them, needing only a little bit of extra flair to take the step that made them the best.

Re-defining the limits

Yet it is difficult to exaggerate the difference Newey made when he joined McLaren on 1 August, 1997.

The first car designed with him in charge, 1998's MP4-13, turned overnight a team that had been knocking on the door of success after a three-year barren patch into the dominant force in F1.

Newey is not the only star designer in the sport. Patrick Head of Williams, with whom Newey worked from 1990-96, and Rory Byrne of Ferrari, are also widely-admired.

[Williams' technical director Patrick Head]
Technical respect: Patrick Head

But Newey is nevertheless regarded as "The Man" when it comes to leading the design of the fastest possible car - if not necessarily the most reliable - for any given year.

His secret is making the most efficient aerodynamics work well alongside things like suspension and ride.

Many designers can work out how to pile a load of downforce on to a car. Newey's genius comes from doing this without sacrificing other things. This was the magic ingredient Newey added to McLaren when he joined in the summer of 1997.

The result in 1998 was a car that left everyone else in F1 open-mouthed, redefining the limits of what the other teams had thought was possible.

McLaren may have lost some championships to Ferrari since then - the constructors in 1999 and both last year - but even now their car is the best in F1. That is the sort of performance into which Jaguar hopes it is buying.

As Jordan managing director Trevor Foster says: "There are no coincidences in F1. Adrian is the best. It's as simple as that."

[Valve Bounce]

It is all Liz's fault. Her aliens abducted Adrian Newey, and substituted two clones back on earth - one to talk to Bobby Rahal, and one to Ron Dennis. Now it is up to Liz to tell us which clone has been beamed back up to the spaceship, and which one left on terra firma.

[Gt_R]

I really hope Adrian goes to Jaguar, and see a green jag on the top spot of F1..anyway, stop working for a miser like Ron!

[Alan Jones]

Jersound, sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the numerous breakdowns at McLaren this year and the fact they haven't been as reliable but who really knows? Not me, that's for sure!
Also, thankyou for the interesting infomation on Adrian Newey, Knew he was "god" but have never really looked deeply into his track record......

Awesome to say the least.I too would pick like Mr Brundle in Fantasy F1.Of the two, you would have to pick Newey.Lots of good drivers out there but not many Neweys!
I don't think we have heard the last of it and hope Jag have a better legal department than McLaren. I like both teams but of the two, would love to see Jag and the green army challenging for the title.

[Bononi]

I believe it's a software/hardware problem, wich in that case is not Newey's area.

Anyway I can be wrong.

[Alan Jones]

That's the exactpoint i was referring too Bononi, McLaren is having hickups in some areas at present which aren't Newey'sresponsibilty so maybe Newey knows something we don't which led to him considering Jag's offer. Sorry everyone, should of been a little clearer in my previous post