Red Bull Buys Jaguar F-1 Team From Ford

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FullerH

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For those of you following Ford's Jaguar F-1 soap opera, the latest is that Red Bull Energy Drink has purchased the F-1 team, lock, stock, and barrel. They are also retaining the team manager and engineering staff for the time being. How about drivers?

From www.formula1.com/news/

Red Bull are new Jaguar owners

Energy drink manufacturers Red Bull have purchased the Jaguar Formula One team from Ford, it was confirmed on Monday.

The Austrian company, a sponsor in Formula One racing for many years, will take over the Milton-Keynes based squad and run it in the 2005 world championship.

In separate deal Cosworth has been sold by Ford to Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, co-owners of the American Champ Car Series. The Red Bull Formula One team will continue using Cosworth engines in 2005, as will Minardi, with Ford maintaining a relationship with the engine manufacturer.

"I am really pleased that Red Bull has bought Jaguar Racing,” said the Ford Group’s Vice-President, Richard Parry-Jones. “Since we made the announcement to sell our F1 businesses in September we have received outstanding support from the management and employees at Jaguar Racing and we have worked very hard to secure a sale to a reputable buyer.

“Red Bull is a very successful business and has been extensively involved in F1 and global motorsport for over a decade. I am very pleased to announce this outcome".

Dietrich Mateschitz, founder and CEO of Red Bull, commented: "Our move to fully owning a Formula One race team makes good business sense for Red Bull. Add to this the opportunity of being directly involved in a sport and activity from which I derive great personal pleasure, then it is easy to understand how delighted I am to have made this purchase.

“Not only does the ownership of this team represent the high point of our involvement in motor racing, it is also the logical and final step in the process we started with the Red Bull Junior programme, where we identify, advise and promote young talent through the different formula from Karting to the very pinnacle - Formula One."

It was also revealed that Tony Purnell will stay on as team principal. "Wow! Can you imagine a better outcome for our Team at Milton Keynes?" said Purnell. "I've got to know the folks at Red Bull well over the last year, first as a sponsor and now as our owner. High energy, high motivation, high commitment - they have it all.

“(Jaguar Racing managing director) Dave Pitchforth and the Team have won many admirers over the last two years, and their hard work has earned them this fabulous opportunity. The months of uncertainty are over and this news is terrific!"

The successful sale of Jaguar means that a total of ten teams are again expected to compete in the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship.
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Plumber576 said:
they are probably trying to make good on putting an american in f1. Best of luck to them.
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Seeing where you are from, I must observe that I cannot help but think that Ford & Jaguar would have been rather better served by keeping Bobby Rahal on as team manager than what happened.

Also, I want Champ Cars back at Mid-Ohio!
 
I'm pretty sure they do an every other year thing at mid-ohio. A great palce to see them is at Burke Lakefront Airport when they do the roar by the shore in Cleveland.

Mid Ohio's best racing is the American le Mans Series races, I try to go every year.
 
This is good news. I'd hate to imagine F1 without Jaguar. Figured someone would pick up the team, but I'd guess Red Bull has the resources to help improve it. Although I don't think staying with Cosworth is a plus now that Ford is more loosely associated with the name and the company is going through transition.

Am I ever going to see an American in F1? Not that I have anything against him, but I get tired of seeing Phil Hill being trotted out time and again as the only American born F1 champ ever. I'll settle for a competitor from the U.S. on the grid. Heck, I'll settle for a participant !
 
Hate to dissapoint you guys but i honestly doubt there will be US-born driver in (now) Red Bull team this year. My guess would be David Coulthard (as the "experienced" driver) and one of the Austrians as the 2nd driver (simply because the owner of Red Bull is an Austrian who has sponsored Christian Klien the seat in Jaguar team this year as well), so either Klien or Wurz. It's much like BAR situation (where Sato gets the seat despite Davidson being faster during trials all the time).

What i don't understand is why Americans can't put toigether a decent team and compete on their own from ground up - i know F1 is far more technologically advanced and therefore more costly than CART or IRL and related series but seeing how BAR has finished 2nd this year (in front of the regulars Williams and McLaren) after not more than a decade of its inception that means every can do it, if only they try. Besides, the more teams the merrier :D And it's not like US companies couldn't afford a couple of teams :D
 
That's a great idea. I think it all comes down to economics. NASCAR is king over here and hardcore F1 fans like me just aren't numerous enough to guarantee a good ROI even though the American GP seems to be drawing a bigger crowd every year. Of course one could argue that an American F1 team would stimulate interest and cultivate fans.

Maybe we could broaden F1 appeal in the U.S. by slapping some fenders on those bad boy Ferraris and McLarens, swapping out for push rod V-8's and running on 1 mile ovals . . . . and nicknames!:

"Starting on the first row: Michael "Billy Bob" Schumacher. Juan "Crankcase" Montoya . . ." :D
 
Panella, i think US-based team (or multiple US teams) would be he biggest gain for the sport. 100000+ spectators every year at Indianapolis F1 GP isn't bad either - if only they had better luck with the weater (as far as comfort of visitors is concerned - racing in changing weater is fun to watch). Perhaps some US-based car company should jump in (but not the way Ford did) - GM team for example, backed up by likes of Coca Cola et al. Even Ferrari with their virtually unlimited budget couldn't get that kind of funds together. All you'd need then is a couple of competent people to catch up with developments (Minardi is setting better lap times on certain tracks this year than Ferarri did on those samne tarcks ast year :rolleyes: ). I understand it's really hard even for technology nuts like Japanese and Germans to keep up with technology but i'm sure you can muster some good engineers in the US too. Let go of those loud inefficient toys and show us what you're made of :D
 
up from a month ago!

I am glad Jaguar Team survived with the Red Bull purchase. I would give Red Bull a few years before they will try out an American driver. They need to get the team stable first. They can't afford to really experiment right now.

I don't think Rahal would have truly helped Jaguar survive. I always got the impression that Ford just did F-1, because they felt had to. Not so much that they wanted to. As Bernie put it, the never really put money into the team. They always ran it on a shoestring budget. You can't do that in F-1 and have any hope to be competitive. Let alone, win.

An American F-1 team is very possible. It will take an individual who has the drive to make it work. We have the money and the technology to make it work. Shoot, Bill Gates could just take a small percentage of some of the interest he makes and out do Toyota and Ferarri. Then, you just go don to SkunkWorks and have them throw some of their black project technology into. Then we'd have a V-10 that screams at 30,000 rpm and cranks out 1200-1400hp.

Too bad Ford of today doesn't have the same desire to beat Ferarri that it did on the 60's. Maybe they should try a buy out again and then be told to get stuffed all over again. Maybe that would do it.
 
"Then, you just go don to SkunkWorks and have them throw some of their black project technology into. Then we'd have a V-10 that screams at 30,000 rpm and cranks out 1200-1400hp." - Dirk

Yeah, but with all that stealth technology, how would you know when it crossed the finish line? :D
 
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