Jaguar Have Full Support from Ford, Says Lauda

Ford have assured Jaguar team principal Niki Lauda that they remain committed to Formula One after the departure of top executive Wolfgang Reitzle.

Austrian Lauda, a three times World Champion, was recruited by the Bavarian businessman last year to help the struggling Ford-owned team challenge the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Williams.

Lauda told Autocar magazine that the U.S. carmaker's Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele had spoken to him last week after Reitzle stood down as head of the luxury car division that includes Jaguar.

"Nick Scheele telephoned me last Thursday and confirmed that the Jaguar F1 programme has the full support of Detroit," Lauda said in comments released on the Autosport website ahead of the sister magazine's publication on Wednesday.

"He told me to go and push hard and get the job done."

Reitzle's departure followed the ousting six months earlier of Ford Chief Executive Jacques Nasser, and both were seen inside Formula One as important supporters.

Briton Richard Parry-Jones has taken over at the helm of Ford's Premier Performance Division, which runs the Formula One programme, in a move welcomed by Lauda.

"Richard was one of the first people I met in Detroit when I originally went to discuss doing this job and he is a good guy who understands the problems we are facing," he said.

Jaguar have scored a lucky three points so far this season and are currently wrestling with crippling aerodynamics problems on their new R3 car.

Technical director Steve Nichols resigned in February and Jaguar have suffered a high turnover of staff since taking over the Stewart team at the end of 1999.