Ford pulls Jaguar out of F1
LONDON, England -- Ford has confirmed its Jaguar Formula One team will quit the sport at the end of the 2004 season, while the Cosworth engine company is also up for sale.
"After a thorough review over many months, Ford Motor Company has decided it can no longer make a compelling business case for any of its brand to compete in Formula One," said Joe Greenwell, chairman of Jaguar and Land Rover.
Ford vice-president Richard Parry-Jones, the man in overall charge of the Formula One operations, said: "Our focus now is on finishing the 2004 season and securing the future of the F1 business under new ownership."
He added there were a number of parties interested in buying the team.
"I think both Jaguar Racing and Cosworth are both very attractive," said Parry-Jones.
"The Formula One team is very lean and efficient. For those who do want to get into F1, there is no better opportunity than a blue chip team like this."
But he could not guarantee a sale would go ahead.
"If it does not, we would be forced to face a closure scenario but we're not thinking about that at the moment," he said.
Cosworth supplies struggling Jordan and Minardi and the loss of those engines could hit the two smallest, privately-entered teams hard.
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said Jaguar did not have the financial clout to be major Formula One players and should have quit last year.
"It was inevitable and wasn't really a shock to me," Ecclestone told Reuters. "They couldn't really afford to be running around at the back of the grid with the likes of Jordan and Minardi."
Jaguar entered Formula One in 2000 after Ford took over the Stewart team founded by three-times world champion Jackie Stewart in 1997
Jaguar has had a turbulent four seasons, is yet to win a grand prix and has gone through numerous changes of leadership since Stewart stood down as the first team principal before the start of the 2000 season.