This week's Grapevine brings you information fresh from the paddock on: Jaguar Morale Plummets Testing Again!

Jaguar Morale Plummets

To the man on the Jaguar shop floor, the team's current situation is hardly one to inspire confidence in the future.

As if the announcement that more than ten percent of employees are to be made redundant is not enough, the loss of Niki Lauda from the helm sends a clear indication that the forthcoming changes are going to be sweeping, and all inclusive. Job security is a term that is being assiduously avoided in the office.

There is little doubt that restructuring should be beneficial to the team. When Jordan sliced out some fifteen percent of their workforce earlier this year, the cleaner communication pathways immediately showed a return in the process for developing the car through the season. There were some issues - the restructure had to accommodate a minimum headcount cut too. Unfortunately, but of necessity, it saw some future developments canned, as the workforce to carry out the work was laid off, but the overall effect was positive. Importantly, Eddie Jordan minimised the impact to team moral. there was very little warning of the redundancies, and the changes themselves made sense. To the point, the strategy was announced, and those remaining in the company could see how it improved stability, and it did no harm that Jordan promotes a 'family' feel to the outfit: whilst there's no doubt his team comes ahead of any individual member, almost all his employees believe their interests matter to him.

Jaguar, on the other hand, has had a considerably different feel to it, practically since Jackie Stewart signed the company over to Ford. The leadership has been marked by power struggles, changes of direction, political mayhem, and a general lack of stability. Once Lauda's machinations had displaced Bobby Rahal at the helm, it seemed that could change; the main political battles had all been fought, and the victor should have had a chance to steer the ship onwards.

Not to be. On making his play for the leadership, Lauda made representations within Ford about where the team would be, and how his direction would hasten the process along. Sadly, he is now finding himself bitten by his political machinations, and his own arguments being used to replace him. The Cosworth engine supply he sanctioned for Arrows, intending to undermine Rahal, were instead used to show the inadequacies of a chassis running under his direction - even if it was developed by his predecessor. Not only that, the company he sold it to stopped paying, bringing legal distractions into the equation. Then, his deal with Jordan was for a supply of this year's engine supply, rather than the new one, citing the reasoning Rahal gave when complaining about the Arrows deal.

And then, the car was born bad. After the designer was sacked on the spot, so removing the man who had the best idea of the how to set up the car to live with the problems until they were resolved, the biggest gun was lost from the team's problem solving arsenal. The drivers fought over the direction development needed to go - and the one with the most useful experience and feedback alienated the staff around him. Poor performances brought unwelcome press speculation, and considerable pressure from Ford. Adding to the problem, the world depression has made it hard for Ford to justify an expensive failure: the project needed results.

Finally, and completing the irony, having overridden Rahal's attempts to sell Irvine, when Lauda let the Irishman go instead of renewing his contract, the reasons he gave for doing so matched Rahal's from a year before. This turnaround finally completed the job of undermining Ford's faith in his vision.

Installing a replacement is going to be tricky. There's already plenty of speculation concerning who, precisely, is going to inherit this poison chalice. For the most part, the Milton Keynes factory expects Ford to bring one of their own in to run the show: someone with a proven track record, and knows the Ford politics, and is already known to be able to work with Tony Purnell. They generally believe the announcement will come when the shake-up takes place, and the decision was made before Lauda's removal. Other names mentioned include Craig Pollock (who would then bring Jacques Villeneuve a year later) and even Tom Walkinshaw, as he clearly knows how to use a Cosworth engine!

Ever present, however, is the oppressive environment for the guys on the ship floor, who are waiting, anticipating the forthcoming redundancies. It makes little difference to them who comes in to lead the company, either: they have low expectations for anyone staying around for enough time to make a lasting difference.

Testing Again!

With the autumn break over, most of the teams are back on track - and they are letting out hints about what will be coming on next year's cars.

Renault have hit the ground running, and are well prepared for the test. The hybrid car is an interesting piece of work, looking suspiciously like the original model - the changes they are making to the rear suspension appear mainly to accommodate revised mount points from the new gearbox. The programme includes some initial tests for the hybrid car, establishing a baseline setup and comparing it to the predecessor. Then the engine and gearbox need putting through their paces, and the tyre programme must be completed in order for Michelin to decide the baseline for the tests in January. Not only is their programme well defined, but they are clearly organised about staying on track: they have put a lot of effort in at the factory, using test rigs to be sure the car and engine are reliable enough to test effectively. They look like they mean business.

Minardi have wheeled out their old car, which is not very exciting - though there are some questions over what engine is in it, considering the Asiatech deal is over. More interesting, they are trying out new drivers, which is usually entertaining: they've paid considerable money for the privilege, and have a tendency to overdrive, which looks good, even if it hurts their speed.

McLaren are being their usual, tight lipped selves about what is coming with their cars. However, even here, some details are leaking. In particular, it seems that they are intent on sorting out the weaknesses from last year's car as a matter of some urgency, with a comprehensive collection of tests for a new engine: there is speculation that they developed an interim unit, and the real engine for next year is waiting data from the pre-Christmas tests for completion. The tyre programme includes evaluation work towards the baseline tyre - but they have also got some 'specials' to put some laps on. These are also due to be tested by Williams, and the data will be used by the two teams as the basis for shared development work later on. The collusion with tyre development is expected to help Michelin test efficiently, yet still tailor the tyres individually for each team. There's some scepticism over how it will work in practice, but the principle makes too much sense to ignore.

Probably the most interesting of the initial test showings is Williams, if only because there is a solid weight of expectation on the team. Their programme does not seem to be as advanced as Renault's, but it is currently following the same lines: stressing the new engine and gearbox, and evaluating new suspension components. The stated intent of the new car is that it needs to be revolutionary, in order to compete with Ferrari. Apparently, the tests lined up make it seem as though the old car is going to morph, piecemeal, into the new car, as almost every element is set to be tested ahead of time: the engine and gearbox have already made the transition. If nothing else, the evolution program should ensure the new car is reliable!