Formula One... why can't Jaguar racing get it?

Regardless of who wins there is usually English Blood showing the various teams the ropes. That is very rewarding to see for me anyway.
People admiring cars 10myears old is minor compared to people still lolonging to own a 40 year old Series 1 Etype,.
Right now Michael and the boys at Ferrari are in command, dedication to racing and winning has always been paramount on their resume, selling cars is only an aid to racing, and Enzo's desire to achieve the ultimate in competition.
F1 has a steep learning curve, Jaguar must leap longer and learn faster or they will not make it. Their drivers must be given the best tools for the job , that is how you win in any sport.
Now where are my new tyres...............

Art Dickenson.
1983 XJS GT "Silver"
Pacific Jaguar.ca

continued...

well... let's look at it this way... JAguar isn't the the most embarassed team this year... McLaren Mercedes is... 5 mechanical DNFs in 3 races? engines going up in smoke after 8 laps? Ron Dennis need to focus back on his cars.. not on his motorhomes and new headqurters...

of course Williams is far behind on the embarsometer... 2 mecahnical DNFs today...

Pascal Gademer

ouch Mike... you're harsh!

I agree... that single point was just luck anyway because of the BMW not making it to the finish.

the only way out for Ford is to get their act together and win... otherwise it will be a huge embarassment... worst than it is now... it was a mistake to get into F1 where budgets are ridiculous and Jaguar had not history but now... they're in... nothing they can do... what... sell to VW ?

Sports CArs is where Jaguar should have gone back... Gentilozzi did great at Sebring 3 years ago...

I disagree about the XK8/XKR ... CJW recently had a head to head with the XKR, MAserati and 500SL. well they did give the thumbs up to the Mercs, the XKR was a close second. not bad for a 10 year old car VS new design!

The XKR still is one of the best cas around. the styling, especially the coupe is still stunning and attracts a lot of attention... yeah I know... I drive one so I'm biased... but I see people starring at the car and looking at the badge almost every day.... our club had a show today, there where 3 XKs... incl a 04 black coupe... a lot of people were drooling all over the car... mamzing for a car designed nearly 10 years ago.

where Jaguar has dropped the ball is upgrading the performance... by now, the R should be at 450hp and hit 60 in the mid 4s... tweaking the body, adding a touch of chrome here and there and adding an uneeded 6th gear which only looks good in the brochures and swallows the extra 30hp of the larger engine is a waste...

I disagree about fans not showing up... I've only been to one race but it's quite an experience. until you go to a race, you dont' really feel the power, the violence of these cars... like it or not, F1 is still and will be the pinacle f motorsport for a long time... Cart, IRl, doesn't compare...

Pascal Gademer

Results are in from Bahrein and Jaguar is "pleased" with a point for 8th place. In their fifth season.The Jaguar Formula One program looks like the XK8, out of date and a hard sell. The only sensible way for Ford to go with F1 is OUT. Embarrassing? Sure but no more so than wasting money on losing races while they are losing sales for lack of new-car development money! We could have had the F-type or even the XK 180 with that money. Like I said, this isn't "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" It's corporate ego pursuing a losing effort trying to save face. The only ones who may look more foolish are the "loyal fans" who keep praising this nonsense as a real effort. Further, F1 as a series is down to 20 cars from 22 (24?) when Jaguar started. Even in Europe, it's hard to see fans continuing to turn out for so-called races when they are watching an empty track much of the time.

Mike Cook

and now we have Richard Parry Jones suggesting a cost cap on F1 team...

so because Ford can't come up with the cash needed to fund an F1 team, they would like others to spend less.

yikes... what an embarasment...

I can understand Jordan, Stoddard or Sauber suggesting this but the largest of the automakers currently involved in F1?

Pascal Gademer
South Florida Jaguar Club

Hey Pascal,
if Villeneuve had been willing to put up 10 mil of his cashI am sure he would have been in the Jag, unfortunately the KLEIN KID COULD AND DID, SOMEONE IN jAGUAR rACING LAST YEAR SAID with a larger cheque book you could be better positioned on the grid, or words to that effect, poor Mark , poor parts, whatever, well at least one car finished the double duty cycle now expected of the drive trains.
Top points to Alonso, he can drive , and he speaks cleanly, unlike some F1 hot shots, PS (naming no names).

Art Dickenson.
1983 XJS GT \"Silver\""

ok... so I got it reversed... Klien outside the points and DNF for Webber...

Webber has been very impressive this week end... in the top 10 in practice, 6th place on grid WITH MORE FUEL than most since he only pitted on lap 12. He was on the pace until his gearbox went. Pretty good performance from him and the R5.

which only shows that if Jaguar had not tried to save a few bucks and hired a solid, experienced driver, they would have gotten points this week end. instead, Klien got off the track on his qulifying warmup lap!!! yeah yeah.. hydraulics... sure...

pascal

Hey,
Mark is a very good driver,you cannot win without a great car,I have faith in my Mark, David and Kimi. Michael has made Ferrari what it is with his expertise and abilities, although he had a major wibble on Friday , wow what a wobble, espacially when seen on slo mo.
When Jaguar started F1, it was obvious they would be a long time coming, if ever, sometimes however the underdogs amaze everyone and score the occasional coup. I still enjoy the event whoever wins, and admire the drivers.
As drivers of our own sport ( mine anyhow ) JCNA Slalom, no matter how good you are,if your equipment is not the best you will not win against a driver whose skill is the same but his equipment is superior.
A large portion of F1 is and has been developed in Great Britain, of which I am proud still to be a cittizen.
Barring any incidents I think Mark will place in the top ten or better, Mark needs better equipment to finish better, F1 is a slow process to achieve success.
Davy Jones was a driver with the right equipment in IMSA, if Jaguar achieve anything near the results Davy did, they will have done OK as far as I am concerned, woof woof, long live the underdogs,
Art Dickenson.
1983 XJS GT "Silver"
Pacific Jaguar.ca

It is all about money and the various magazines are saying that Klien brought $ten million Red Bull money with him. Still, they don't look very bright to hire an unproven rookie to replace Wilson who was looking pretty good. Wonder how much Wirdheim brought in?

Most recently, I think it was Autoweek that said Ferrari and McLaren are spending $600 million per year while Jaguar, this year, is trying to make do with $130 million.

Since the so-called Jaguar F1 program is a Ford ego trip, what this says to me is that Ford is in REALLY bad financial shape and needs to conserve cash. BUT, they can't bear to lose face and drop out of F1 altogether.

Worse, I also am reading that the R5 has teething problems.

Let's hope we are all pleasantly surprised tomorrow.

Mike

of course, but the $ spent on the car is in part wasted if the driver ins't up to the job... and that's what's been going on now for 2 years... at first the car had major problems but now the huge difference between the drivers show that that's were the problem is.

Pascal

F1 is all about the money, and it's become obvious that Ford is trying to keep Jaguar in the game for as little money as possible. As with everything else, you get what you pay for in the long run.

Chuck Berray, '61FHC