Grapevine: Rahal Set to be Sacked from Jaguar

Bobby Rahal is to have a meeting with his Jaguar bosses on Thursday to resolve his and the team's future, and it is likely that he will be given the sack, according to the latest reports.

The meeting, which is expected to be held in London, will see Jaguar chairman Wolfgang Reitzle, and head of the Premier Automotive Group Niki Lauda come together for crisis talks.

Rahal was brought in as the team's saviour at the end of last year, and he was followed in by former driver Lauda, who started his job as head of Ford companies Jaguar, Pi Research and Cosworth in February of this year.

Relations between the pair have always been rumoured to be strained, but things came to a head after Rahal offered Eddie Irvine, the team's leading driver, to Jordan without any consultation with either Lauda, Irvine, or Irvine's management.

Rahal claims the offer, which came after the sacking of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, was a joke and there was nothing to it.