Exclusive Interview with Tony Purnell

Q. How much of a surprise was the Ford announcement for you?

Tony Purnell:

I think we have been well aware of Ford's difficulties for an extended period and I have always maintained that Formula One needs to make good commercial sense for any of, I guess the word these days is, stakeholders. I can't say it is a huge surprise.

Q. Did you speak to the workforce?

TP:

No, because I am very much engaged in the process of trying to find a buyer and I don't know if it has come across but my view is I would like the news to be interpreted not so much 'oh, crikey, Jaguar closing' but 'I wonder who's going to take up the team' because, make no mistake, there is serious interest. There are tones of the usual no-hoper, chancer interest, but it is quite encouraging really.

Q. There has been a report that you personally are trying to put forward a takeover bid. Is that true?

TP:

No, I am afraid I am not a Russian billionaire or an American mogul and I would discount that. Yeah.

Q. You say there are a few interested options. Can you give a number?

TP:

No. Well, certainly more than one. Yeah, there is not a queue around the block. It's certainly keeping me awake at night.

Q. What confidence do you have of finding a future for all the guys who are working for you at the moment?

TP:

You know, it's always dangerous but I do have some confidence and my personal absolute motivation is to broker a future for the team and actually it's quite a relief for things to be out in the open and clear because it makes what I am doing a lot easier.

Q. What is the future for Cosworth and for Pi?

TP:

Pi is not dependent on Formula One. It's not bad news, but it is a company that trades in all kinds of areas. With Cosworth, we are very much trying to find a buyer. Cosworth has multiple strands of activity and in many ways Cosworth is more interesting to the business community, who don't get Formula One, than Jaguar. There is a lot that Cosworth has to offer, both inside Formula One but particularly outside Formula One. So I have to say the confidence with Cosworth is high. One way or another, I think Cosworth are likely to come out of this with a future.

Q. What is going to happen with the team now. Is there a shutdown period?

TP:

No. We are continuing to the end of the season and we are continuing to build the new car. Because, my belief, is that we will have a buyer. There are no thoughts of saying 'oh, it's all hopeless, let's shut it down now' sort of thing. No.

Q. So, Ford are going to continue until the end of the season, being after the Brazilian Grand Prix or the end of the year or is there no defined deadline?

TP:

We will certainly be completing the rest of the season, we are completing all our commitments on the wind tunnel programme, there is no question that Ford want to sell this as a buoyant going concern rather than something they have torpedoed for a new buyer. Which is good of them, you know.

Q. Where do you see buyers coming from? Christian Horner is interested, for one. And are you wanting to stay on if a buyer comes in?

TP:

I always smile at the term of buyers for a Formula One team. At the moment, and for the last three years, you can buy a Formula One team for next to nothing, if not nothing. Ownership of a Formula One team is not about owning the shares and saying 'right, what do we do next?' The only buyers Ford are going to consider credible are people who are credible and realise what they are getting into. There is no way Ford are selling this to a bunch of chancers.