Nichols quits Jaguar

Jaguar Racing has had its ups and downs since joining Formula One, the latest being the departure of Technical Director Steve Nichols.

Nichols joined Jaguar in December 2000, the choice of then-team principal Bobby Rahal, to replace Gary Anderson. Previously he had a connection with McLaren that went back as far as 1980 and he was largely responsible for the 1988 car that won Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost 15 wins between them. 1989 saw him move to Ferrari and in the early nineties he worked with Sauber and Jordan before returning to McLaren in 1995.

Now, little over a year after joining Jaguar -- and only one month after the launch of the new R3 -- Nichols has left the team.

Chief Designer John Russell, Chief Aerodynamicist Mark Handford and their departments were under the overall direction of Nichols. It has been speculated that the problems recently experienced with the R3 have had a major part to play in today's announcement. The official statement from Jaguar Racing said that they and Nichols "have jointly agreed that there is a need for the design and the development activities of the Company to receive fresh impetus and direction."

At the launch of the R3 on January 4th, Team Principal Niki Lauda said of the design team: "If the car is quick, their teamwork and brain power is really good. If the car is slow, then the brain power is bad."

Although initially happy with the R3, Jaguar had to abandon tests at Barcelona in late January when they discovered problems with the front wing of the new car.