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PARRY-JONES: CHANGE WAS NEEDED


Ford bigwig Richard Parry-Jones says that the need ‘for a change of management philosophy’ was behind the decision to remove Niki Lauda as Jaguar Racing boss.

Parry-Jones made the announcement in a press conference in London today alongside long-time Ford stalwart Jackie Stewart. A replacement has yet to be named for Lauda and Stewart’s role in proceedings seemed largely to be to provide moral support.

Parry-Jones is Ford’s Group Vice President of Product Development and is responsible for looking after the Jaguar F1 team for his employer. He says that the decision to replace Lauda was part of his comprehensive technical review of the team.

He said: "The key to competitiveness more and more is technical competence and that calls for a change in the management philosophy

"Niki Lauda is relinquishing his role as head of Jaguar Racing. I have asked Niki to become a senior special advisor to me and I very much hope he will accept.

"There is nothing specific that Niki has done wrong but it is difficult to understand technical issues if you do not have that technical competence yourself. And if you do not get the technical part right, it doesn't matter if you get all the rest right.

"But I have enormous respect for Niki Lauda and would like to thank him for all the work he has done to date in building up the team."


It is unclear if Lauda will take up the role but it’s likely that the Austrian will not want to go on working under Parry-Jones.

Tony Purnell, the founder of Pi electronics, has been confirmed as the new boss of the Premier Performance division, which encompasses Jaguar Racing, Cosworth and Pi. This was another of Lauda’s role.

Parry-Jones added: "We need to have a laser beam focus on racing success. This has not been an easy decision. The less controversial route would have been to maintain the status quo, especially as we have shown signs of improvement recently.

"We recognise that the role of team principal is a vital position and we do not intend to keep it vacant for too long.

"There have been many false starts in the short history of Jaguar Racing and the biggest issue was the lack of a robust technical department. This new set-up will take time to deliver results but Ford Motor Cars are committed to seeing this through step-by-step."

Talking about Purnell, Parry Jones said: "He has a pretty low profile but he has an interesting track record. He is not an outside appointment. He has an intimate knowledge of the team and he will bring continuity."

bron: www.itv-f1.com