Jaguar Expecting 2005 Budget Boost

Jaguar Racing managing director David Pitchforth has hinted that the team could have an increased budget next season with a "major" announcement over their motorsport involvement before the end of this season.

"We already get a lot of money from Ford Motor Company," said Pitchforth. "We got more money this year than we did last year. I have put in my budget for next season and we have a budget that will make us a competitive team."

Rumours spread during the Italian Grand Prix weekend that owners Ford are planning a cash injection for 2005 despite the future of the British team being questioned in recent weeks.

Jaguar have endured another disappointing season and currently sit in seventh position out of the 10 teams on the grid with just 10 points. The results led to speculation that major backers HSBC would end their sponsorship deal with them at the end of this season along with Red Bull, who are currently a personal sponsor of Austrian driver Christian Klien.

But Pitchforth added: "They are good sponsors and we continue to work with them to maintain them as sponsors. Those negotiations are ongoing and the speculation was based on a comment made at an HSBC board meeting.

"A member of HSBC was asked if he was happy with the recent race result and it had been preceded by a poor race result so he said 'no I wasn't happy about the weekend'. So that's a non story and there have been no announcements.

"I am not confident either way (that HSBC and Red Bull will stay or leave the team) but it's a negotiation and we have to do something that's good for the team. The budget involves lots and lots of things and we will just try to work through it."

Pitchforth's declaration about next year's budget suggests that if they do not retain HSBC and Red Bull then they have either signed a significant sponsorship deal with another company or that Ford are prepared to commit more heavily financially.

It is thought that the manufacturer, who has fallen on hard times in recent years, is planning to scrap its World Rally Championship and NASCAR campaigns and pool all their resources into a strengthened effort to move up the grid in Formula One in the long term.

In return they are thought to want to re-name the team Ford and use Ford branding rather than Jaguar branding on the car, particularly considering Jaguar's main road car rivals Mercedes and BMW are fighting higher up the grid.

Pitchforth refused to comment on the situation but said: "It's all conjecture. The season's over in terms of the Championship and that is a story that has ebbed and flowed for the last year.

"It's not anything to do with the team because Formula One is a marketing exercise and as far as we are concerned we are making next year's car, we're building the wind tunnel and we are preparing for the future.

"Branding is important but we have a lot to concentrate on at the moment and there are no decisions or announcements going to be made. There is definitely speculation on one or two facts that has led to that suggestion but it's not really right."