No rush to appoint Jaguar sporting director

Jaguar Racing is not in a hurry to appoint someone to the role of Sporting Director, despite the names rumoured to be in line for the job. Jaguar is not looking for a team principal to replace Niki Lauda, but rather someone to deal with sponsors, media and shareholders.

"I'm not feeling any great need to rushing into getting a Sporting Director and I'm not sure there's a huge need at all," Tony Purnell, CEO of the Premiere Perfomance Division, told the team website. "But we'll wait until the racing starts and might re-arrange accordingly."

"What I want from a Sporting Director is somebody to work with the commercial partners, the media and other external stakeholders. If we find the right bloke we'll go with it but if we don't find the right bloke I'm not going to hire him as I don't think it's so important. I have absolutely no intention at present to offer any driver the opportunity to 'run the team' as it were. What's important within a team is competent leaders who know where they're going and I think we have that."

David Pitchforth, Jaguar Racing's Managing Director, agreed that the team are looking for someone to interact with, and be known by, the media.

"What we're looking for is an outwardly facing person who would act as a media spokesman, a media magnet if you like and we've got various options," said Pitchforth. "It needs to be the right person who has a good understanding of what we're trying to do and have a philosophy of sound engineering practice -- so it's a difficult nut to crack but we are working on it. It would be nice if they were knowledgeable about the sport and known first by the media then by the public."

Names linked with the role have included non-executive director of Jaguar Jackie Stewart, former F1 drivers John Watson and Nigel Mansell and FIA safety delegate and race starter Charlie Whiting.