In a special on-line press conference that got underway at 12:00 today, group vice president, Richard Parry-Jones announced that Ford is to pull out of F1 at the end of 2004, and put both Jaguar Racing and Cosworth Racing up for sale.
Parry-Jones revealed that he had spoken to all the employees affected, and left the meeting with tears in his eyes, describing the staff as "magnificent" and "fantastic people".
He said that there was no longer any way in which Ford could justify the money that it was spending on its F1 programme, particularly at a time when sales of Jaguar cars are in decline.
Whilst Parry-Jones was revealing the future of Jaguar Racing, in a separate press conference it was being announced that the famous Jaguar factory in Coventry is to close.
In total, it's thought that up to 500 employees, at Jaguar Racing, Cosworth and Pi, will be affected by today's announcement.
Parry-Jones admitted that the decision to withdraw from F1 was due to "business forces", and that the huge costs involved had put the team's hopes for success "out of reach".
Despite the fact that Jaguar Racing will not be on the grid in 2005, Parry-Jones is confident that a buyer can be found, and revealed that Ford is already in talks with a number of interested parties, though he was unable to name them due to confidentiality agreements.
In addition to the news that Jaguar Racing is no more, the announcement that Cosworth Racing is also up for sale, will have a knock-on effect on both Minardi and Jordan, who have engine contracts for next season. Parry-Jones revealed that Ford/Cosworth is no longer in a position to "subsidise" engines and will consequently talk to both teams in the coming days.
There is no deadline for the sale of the team said Parry-Jones, even though the FIA has to have the 2005 entries in by mid-December. He expects that today's announcement will generate even more interest. Although he refused to put a price tag on Jaguar and Cosworth, he admitted that Ford was willing to listen to all offers and would be willing to sell both companies as a package or separately. His desire however, is to sell Jaguar Racing "intact".
Mr Parry-Jones was unwilling to speculate on the future of the Grand Prix World Championship, of which Ford was a founding member. However he believes that today's announcement will serve as a warning to the industry that costs must be curbed, dramatically. In essence, if Ford can't afford to be in F1, who can?
He revealed that despite media speculation that the top brass at Ford had never "bought in" to F1, Jaguar Racing had enjoyed the full support of the board, however, "circumstances changed" and Ford had to "re-examine its strategy". There had been "passionate discussion" he admitted, but ultimately it was a "business decision".
Asked about the proposed rule changes, particularly with regard to the 2.4 litre V8 formula, Parry-Jones said that this would in time lead to cost reductions, but would only be an advantage to the bigger well-funded teams.
Ultimately, this is a sad day for Jaguar Racing, Cosworth and indeed Formula One. Although Parry-Jones was unwilling to blame anyone, it's clear that costs must be curbed and that those who create the show that is F1, need a bigger slice of the cake.
