The marque of the cat returns to Formula One racing, as Jaguar becomes the latest manufacturer to pursue sales through the phenomenal success of the sport, writes Paul Weaver
Jaguar, after a catnap worthy of Rip van Winkle, is back in motor sport. The famous marque, which in the 1950s won a considerable reputation at both Le Mans and in the Monte Carlo Rally with such drivers as Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss, is now busy preparing for its Formula One debut in March.
And suddenly the grand prix grid is beginning to resemble a walkabout among the stands at a motor show. Because alongside Jaguar bristle the mighty Mercedes-Benz and BMW. A little lower down on the socio-economic scale Honda are revving-up alongside Peugeot. Toyota and Audi, too, are looking on enviously and will probably be there soon.
Formula One, once the playground for such exotic names as Maserati, BRM, Lotus, Ferrari and Brabham-Repco, today looks more like a local car park with all your favourite high-street jam jars jostling for advertising space.
This is through a combination of the phenomenal success of Formula One, under the direction of the elfin genius Bernie Ecclestone, and the fresh desire of motor manufacturers to pursue prestige sales. Even Skoda is image conscious these days, boasting of its association with Volkswagen. Martin Beck-Burridge, who with Jeremy Walton wrote the recently published Britain’s Winning Formula, says: “People forget that Formula One is the only industry where Britain leads the world.
“We are talking here about a business seven times bigger than the film industry. In terms of its balance of payments surplus it has overtaken steel and agriculture. It generates annual revenues of something approaching 3- billion, including related services, and has a high export ratio.
“This is also a time when car manufacturers have given up selling their products on the basis of technical advantages, such as air bags or sophisticated braking systems. Everyone has played catch-up and has reached the same level.
“Increasingly people have more money and are looking for lifestyle products. With a global TV audience of well over 300- million, Formula One has become an obvious target for manufacturers who want to push their models.
“The Formula One audience also has a high proportion of A1s and Bs. And it is not only the young, but the so-called grey surfers with money who are the targets. You only have to look at what rallying has done for Subaru, and multiply that several times, to realise what an impact Formula One is now making in the car market.”
Entering Formula One is not easy, even if you are capable of stumping up the 30-million bond now demanded by the FIA (the governing body of Formula One). But the new Jaguar racing team is not really that new.
It is the brand name given to Jackie Stewart’s Cosworth-powered Stewart-Ford outfit which was bought out by Ford in June. Jaguar’s decision to enter Formula One was announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
Jaguar should get value for its money. Last season Stewart’s team came of age and was a consistent top-six contender with its impressive Cosworth CR-1 engine. Johnny Herbert gave the team its first win in the European Grand Prix and Rubens Barrichello, who has joined Ferrari, finished in the points on seven occasions and might have won the French, where he led for most of the race.
Next season Jaguar Racing’s leading driver will be Eddie Irvine, who this year finished two points behind the world champion Mika Hakkinen. He will be paid a reported 6-million for each of his three years with Jaguar. Irvine will be 37 by the time his contract ends and realistically this will be his last chance of winning the title. But unlike his days at Ferrari, where he was viewed as Michael Schumacher’s lackey, he will be the focus of attention at Jaguar.
Stewart, who will continue as chair and chief executive officer, says: “When Ford bought the Stewart-Ford team I had always hoped that Jaguar would become involved in the Formula One programme. My family were Jaguar dealers in Scotland, my brother Jimmy raced for Jaguar and some of my earliest racing successes were with the lightweight Jaguar E-Type and several other models.”
Stewart is convinced that it was the arrival of Mercedes-Benz at McLaren, led by Ron Dennis, which changed the motor industry. “Timing is everything,” says Stewart. “There are commercial benefits from a sport clearly at the sharpest end of technology. They have always been there.
“Today, though, the consumer is more studious about his or her choice of vehicle. What you are trying to do is influence that choice by making a statement. Formula One is glamorous, colourful and exciting and that is what most people want to see from a car they buy.
“And there has never been a time when the lifestyle of Formula One has been so highly profiled or recognised. The sport simply cannot be ignored by the agency people or the marketing and sales directors.”
Jonathan Browning, Jaguar’s managing director, says: “Formula One is such a massive global sport, watched by many millions of motoring enthusiasts at the race circuits and on television. It can be a valuable showcase for Jaguar technology as we expand our product range.”
Sir William Lyons made only sidecars for motorbikes when he founded Jaguar in 1922. Through the SS100 and the XK120 the company developed a considerable reputation. It won Le Mans five times in the 1950s with the C-type and D-type and has twice won the world sports car championship; in 1956 it won both Le Mans and the Monte Carlo rally.
Win or lose next season, however, Beck- Burridge and Walton reckon Britain has already won the Formula One race. “Of the 22 cars on the grid at the start of most of the 1998 and 1999 grands prix, more than 20 featured design, manufacturing or developments linked to the United Kingdom.
“Seven constructors, providing 14 Formula One cars, are based in Britain and most of these come from Oxfordshire, including Williams, Benetton and Arrows. McLaren is based in Surrey, which was also the home of Tyrrell, which became British American Racing last year and moved to Brackley, near Silverstone. Jordan is at Silverstone and Jaguar Racing is at nearby Milton Keynes.”
According to Britain’s Winning Formula, however, the very globalisation of the sport that has attracted the motor industry could spell disaster here. “The industry could be stifled if the government decided that regulations and controls are needed. And the UK government is not the only source of potential problems. The European commission on competition has announced its opposition to the current television contracts.
“The globalisation of the locations for races and the massive potential of markets in the Pacific Rim, India and China may refocus owners’ and sponsors’ attentions on those regions and this may well lead to the relocation of many teams and suppliers.”
There is also always the danger that corporate bean counters will one day put a red line through the bit marked “Formula One” on their budget sheets. For now, though, Britain is in pole position. And the cat is back.