Ford Reviewing Jaguar Investment

The Ford Motor Company has said that escalating costs in Grand Prix racing have forced them to take a look at the future of their Jaguar Formula One team, according to SportBusiness.

The team spend an estimated $150 million per year on the global show, but have struggled to perform after numerous management changes. They showed impressive improvement at last weekend's French Grand Prix after introducing a newly-modified machine in a bid to boost their performance.

Ford's chief technical officer Richard Parry Jones insisted last May that Jaguar will stay in Formula One racing "way beyond 2004." But the company's chief financial officer Allan Gilmour admitted top executives at Ford are being forced to consider the future of their involvement.

"If you want to raise blood pressure around here, you'll do it when you discuss Formula One because there are no neutral people" Gilmour told SportBusiness. "This is a high visibility sport related to automotive products.

"The other view is no, we don't need to be doing this. It is interesting and exciting, but it's terribly expensive."

Formula One is growing in manufacturer involvement after the introduction of Renault and Toyota into the fray this year. They joined Ferrari and Ford-owned Jaguar as full constructors while Mercedes are partners in McLaren and BMW have a significant tie-up with Williams.

The manufacturers are threatening a breakaway from the sport in 2008, if current boss Bernie Ecclestone does not offer them a greater stake of revenue.