Formula One Entering New Era, Says Stewart

Formula One is entering a new era that threatens to turn highly-paid 'superstar gurus' like Ferrari's Ross Brawn and McLaren's Adrian Newey into an endangered species, according to Jackie Stewart.

The former World Champion told a news conference today, at which Jaguar announced the departure of team boss Niki Lauda, that the glamour sport's future belonged more to a hidden army of technical experts than a handful of heroes.

"This is a new era that we are entering," he said, reflecting on former champion Lauda being replaced in his corporate role as head of Ford's Premier Performance Division by little-known technology director Anthony Purnell.

"We have in the past had superstars of technical directors or aerodynamicists. You could go back to the Colin Chapmans and the John Coopers if you like but in modern terms it could be (former Brabham designer) Gordon Murray or (Williams technical director) Patrick Head, Ross Brawn or Adrian Newey.

"What now is going to happen is that the technology front is going to be driven by departmental excellence of individuals who are not the superstars. I don't think we will be seeing the next generation as being Adrian Neweys or Ross Brawns."

Stewart said the fact that Purnell was little known to the public demonstrated the ascendancy of the army of experts working in the shadows of the better known faces.

"He has always been a backroom man but very advanced in high technology. And I think that is the future of Formula One. That is where the future lies. It doesn't lie in finding some new superstar guru. I don't think that person will be there in the future."

Stewart added that the days when a former driver or enthusiast such as himself or Alain Prost could hope to run a team was also over.

Cheaper Options

Jaguar have yet to name Lauda's replacement as team principal but said they intended to move quickly. The team have also got rid of expensive and high-profile British driver Eddie Irvine and Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa for the far cheaper pairing of Australian Mark Webber and Brazilian debutant Antonio Pizzonia.

Lauda was the fourth Jaguar team principal since the start of 2000 and replaced American Bobby Rahal, who left after trying and failing to recruit Newey, one of the sport's most highly-rated and highly-paid designers. The team have underperformed since Ford bought Stewart's eponymous team in 1999 and rebranded it.

Ford chief technical director Richard Parry-Jones, who oversees the Formula One programme, made clear that in the current global economic gloom spending millions on one figurehead was not an option.

"I believe that I'm putting in place a sustainable solution," said Parry-Jones. "One which is less dependent on individual brilliance and more dependant on the building of a broad college of technical expertise that works extremely well together.

"As far as the hero figure and inspiration is concerned, hero figures and inspiration come with a price. It's not all positive. It can be inspirational but it can also, if not well tuned in to the needs of the organisation, inhibit the progress that needs to be made."

Lauda, a familiar paddock sight in his baggy jeans and trademark red cap with prominent personal sponsorship, was a celebrity whose own image may not have been parent company Ford's ideal corporate representation.