Jag R5

Yea, I expected alot more from Jag when they entered F1.

 

I like the added colors. It would be nice too see them actually be some sort of competition this year.

 

I have to ask why?

I have always been confused by Fords decision to put the Jaguar label on their F1 cars. Jaguar have never, ever raced in F1 before and if you talk to any person that is a Jaguar enthusiast, F1 is not in the equation.

Jaguar were sportscar racers and Lyons created their image with the Le Mans wins with the C-type and D-type.

What I cannot understand is why Ford chose to hide their own name when they have a fantastic history in F1 with the most successful engine ever made and they last won with first MS Benetton championship ... that is not that long ago.

In the end I see it as a weird marketing decision IMO. Jaguars do not and never, ever will make sportscars like the Ferrari 360, they will continue to make GT's and tourers (which they are very good at) which is so far away from F1 you are on another planet ...

Anyway the reason Jaguar will not be successful (and why I hope Weber takes a Williams drive ASAP) is because they spend more on entertaining guests than developing the car. Ford and Jaguar are using it as a red carpet BS way to chat up clients ... unfortunately you won't win at F1 unless you actually take the racing seriously, it must come FIRST.

Pete

 

Well I guess I was naive enough to believe Ford would be serious and put enough effort into it to seriously take on BMW and MB.

 

I actually did too. I thought they had a reasonable team with the Stewart's and thus would only move forward. I have since heard many stories about the partying, and we have all watched the mis-management ... turning into a joke

Real pity IMO.

Pete

 

They even admitted that a) their new car is very conservative and b) is already flawed and that c) it will take them a while to fix it. Sounds like they have written off the season before it even begins. They also mentioned their limited operating budget, something I have heard all through the years from them. Makes you wonder how serious Detroit is about this and when it might all come to an end? I hope it won't. Sauber needs somebody to fight against...

 

maybe they did it because they thought since F1 dosnt have a large following in america they would just use there Jaguar company as the label sinceit is a more Euro sport. I dont know why F1 isnt big over here like it is over there.NASCAR is incredibly boring. Ferrari makes road cars that would beat NASCARS around a big oval track or a real track for that matter.

 

I agree on that one. Jaguar is in the luxury sports car market, so they use F1 to sell their cars against competition from Merc, BMW and to some degree Ferrari (although technically in its own market).

There is no point in using F1 to sell Fords. Unless you're talking the new Ford GT, there isn't one in that market segment to push.

Gosh, I would love to see a F1 Ferrari going against a Nascar in an oval (not as in Trading Paint, which really only showed half of the equation on a road course). Let me rephrase this: I would love to see any F1 in an oval. Just once. Isn't that what the US GP should be all about? THEN compare those times against IRL, Nascar and CART. I bet they'd all be looking like trucks.

We know from Montreal that F1 is seconds faster around a road course than Cart and we know from Trading Paint that it is also faster than Nascar. But how about an oval?

 

I think Ford realized it was going to be a long road before they would find themselves at the front of the pack. Therefore, instead of having the family name in mid-pack, they choose to send in a borrowed name (Jaguar) to hide their shame.