Jaguar Boss: R3 Should Not Have Raced

Ford chief executive Tony Purnell said today that last year's Jaguar R3 should not have been allowed out of the factory and insisted the team will not be allowed to make the same mistakes again this year.

The Milton Keynes-based team suffered an embarrassing season after they were forced to admit they had made a fundamental mistake on their R3 machine which left them fighting with the Minardis at the back of the grid. Former driver Eddie Irvine claimed the car was undriveable, but the Ulsterman's contract was not renewed while other key members of the team were sacked, including team principal Niki Lauda, at the end of the season.

"Last year's car shouldn't have been let out the factory," Purnell, who replaced Lauda, said. "They failed to achieve what was expected. This time we cannot have a dog of a car. We want respectability. You can attack us if we produce a bad car because with the test procedures we have introduced it shouldn't be allowed to happen.

"I hope we don't do anything to get a double barrelled shotgun aimed at our feet because Jaguar is a good thing for Formula One. We must try and look good."

The team have signed up Australian Mark Webber and young Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia to drive the new R4 machine. The car hit the track on January 21 - and broke the testing lap record at Valencia in the hands of Pizzonia last Friday. Jaguar have been radically re-structured but they know they must improve results significantly this year otherwise Ford could think again about their commitment to the project.

Last year, at the United States Grand Prix in September, the team were given the backing of Ford Group vice president Richard Parry-Jones but were almost canned because of their failure to reach the anticipated success since their debut in 2000.

"Last year the team crossed a boundary and Richard Parry-Jones spent quite some time having a look at the project," admitted Purnell. "I think Ford's tolerance had come to the end of its tether. Now there is a huge amount to do here. Everywhere we look we know we can make sizeable improvements to the company and after the fly-aways I believe Jaguar will be fully programmed up."

The team ditched Irvine and his former teammate Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa at the end of last season after de la Rosa failed to score a point all year and Irvine managed just eight having finished just seven of the 17 races. The pair did not get on - they had a public war-of-words mid-way through the season - and they failed to inspire the team.

"We have two drivers this year who work for the team and have gained the team's respect rather than undermining them," said Purnell. "I am not a person who believes in a team working for a driver, it has to be the other way around. I know Ferrari will drive into the distance and McLaren and Williams will battle with each other but the rest of the grid will be very close. I hope we can be at the front of that group."