Cosworth Offer Jordan Three-Year Engine Deal

The Jordan Formula One team have a choice of Cosworth or Honda engines next season after being offered a three-year deal by the Ford-owned company, Cosworth boss Niki Lauda said on Friday.

Lauda, the Jaguar team principal who also oversees Cosworth, told a news conference at the Hungarian Grand Prix that the deal would be similar to that offered to the struggling Arrows team this year.

Jordan currently use Honda engines and say they have a firm contract for next year. But the Japanese manufacturer has hinted that it wants to narrow supply to only one team - British American Racing (BAR) - from 2003.

Arrows are fighting for their Formula One survival and are absent from Hungary. Lauda said the struggling team had not paid Cosworth, who also power Ford-owned Jaguar, for the 13th race of the season.

"They have not paid for this race. Wednesday was the deadline to get paid for this race which we had agreed. The money did not come," he said. "Cosworth, because of the Arrows situation, made (Jordan) an offer for Cosworth engines for a three-year contract. Now it's up to Eddie to decide between Honda and Cosworth.

"If he wants to dump his engine and go into the Cosworth engine or not, it's up to him. He has a proposal from Cosworth for a three-year engine deal."

Media reports have suggested that the Cosworth engine could be branded as Ford on the Jordan, a curious situation that would see the U.S. carmaker competing directly against its Jaguar marque. However Lauda said that was not the case.

"There is a contract the same as with Arrows where the engine is called the Ford Cosworth," he said.