Pedro goes to Jaguar

[Marshal]

Just to show that its not just teams that jilt drivers, Pedro de la Rosa has changed his mind and decided to go and be test driver for Jaguar rather than Prost, according to Autosport.com.

I'd imagine young Marzipan will be letting out a sigh of relief, but Irvine, Burti and Tomas Schekter might all be pretty fed up with this news.

What do you think, a good long term move for PdlR, or a big mistake. And will Eddie be the one for the chop or will he see off Luciano this year and partner Pedro next? And how many times will Schekter actually get to drive the thing?

[EERO]

Given the current rumours that PDLR was due to replace Irvine, i have to believe that this is yet another attempt to light a fire under Eddie. I'm a little disappointed for Prost and PDLR as I though that the combination seemed potent. I do't rate Jag's chances for this seasn highly, but if the race seat for 2002 comes through, Pedro has a real opportunity to emerge as a real star.

[Martin de Miguel]

Congratulations to Jaguar and Mr. Rahal.

[Dino IV]

Good move. He probably overlooked the fact that he wouldn't do a single lap as a Prost-tester, so he had to move on for something less symbolic ...

[Mania]

And Alain is planning to Sue. Dumb move by Delarosa. Jaguar is going nowhere anytime soon. The Prost certainly looks like challenging for points. Anyway, as good as Del-a-rosa is he sure isent good enough for Alain to waste his time suing over. Though on the other hand, we all know Alain and his ego

[Valve Bounce]

I would love to know the story behind this sudden change of mind. I know that F1 is a business and not a sport, but this seems to be a very sudden move on some business manager's part. Is Pedro being shuffled around like a sacrificial pawn in a big chess game?? Tomas is not happy, Alain is not happy, and I am sure neither Burti nor Eddie are laughing either, because reports are that Pedro is contracted to drive for Jaguar next year. Although everyone is tipping Eddie to go, I suspect that poor Burti might be the one to miss the cut next year.

[Liz]

I have heard that Tomas Scheckter is slower than Mazzacane and has had only 2 days in the car as a result thereof. If Jaguar has realised their test pilot, although gifted with a Famous Name, is nothin but a roadblock, perhaps they opened up the cash box and bought themselves some insurance. And we'll see which is the best of the two Jag pilots - they may both pull their sox up if they see that someone fully capable is sitting there casting covetous eyes on their cars.

PDLR may live to regret this, or he may not. But either way it's probably nice for him to be fought over when recently he was nothing but the invisible man ....

[Valve Bounce]

Well Liz, of course you have hit the nail on the head. If anything happened to Eddie or Burti, from a sprained back to chicken pox, Jaguar would have a ready top notch relacement. Furthemore, Pedro would be like the sword of Damocles hanging over the two contracted drivers, and both know they must perform to Niki's expectations. If reports of Pedro having a contract to drive for Jaguar next year are true, then Burti and Eddie know they are competing for the one seat next year. Thinking back, I know we all make a lot of jokes about Eddie, but to be truthful, I reckon he is quite a good driver.
We must also not forget the role of a test driver which is to provide vital feedback when testing for development of the car. To do this, he must be able to drive fast as well as to interpret the results. No good trying to check teh effects of the aerodynamics on the tyres if the test driver cannot drive as fast as the race drivers.
Finaly, and you would know a helluva lot better than I would, what are Tomas's credentials anyway - what has he won before coming to Jaguar? Over to you.

[Dino IV]

C'mon think a bit ...

1. Exactly how many miles did Prost's 2000-tester do?
2. Even more who was he?
3. How many miles did tester Burti do in last years Jag?

1. Well my guess would be between zero and a few laps.
2. I dunno. Did they have one?
3. Quite some, especially in the second half of the season.

Pretty understandable move then, isn't it?

Who's Ford's liquids suplier btw?

[Ralf's Girl]

Originally posted by Mania
And Alain is planning to Sue. Dumb move by Delarosa. Jaguar is going nowhere anytime soon. The Prost certainly looks like challenging for points. Anyway, as good as Del-a-rosa is he sure isent good enough for Alain to waste his time suing over.

A few points I picked up on there, Mania:

First of all, can Alain Prost really sue de la Rosa? Because to my knowledge, de la Rosa never actually finalised his test deal with Prost, therefore he wasn't breaking a contract with them in order to move to Jaguar.

Secondly, even if the Prost looks like challenging for points, so what? As test driver, Pedro wouldn't be racing it anyway, so it wouldn't actually have made a difference to him whether or not the Prost was scoring points.

And finally, how do you know that he isn't good enough for Prost to 'waste his time suing over'? Given a more consistent car than last year's Arrows, de la Rosa could be a lot more talented than some people give him credit for.

[Liz]

If there is in fact a signed contract (or a letter of intent, which is more likely given the short time span involved) then of course Alain is justified in suing de la Rosa. Not only for breach of intent, but as a warning to the next guy looking to jump his contract when another better looking deal comes down the aisle.

And if it is proved that PDLR did in fact have a signed letter of intent, and if he did breach it, then he'd better be darned good for Jaguar because his next contract might not be so easily come by.

As far as Tomas' credentials go, I vaguely recall that he was runner up in whatever he was in last year, but I really didn't pay him much attention.

[Mania]

Originally posted by Ralf's Girl
[/B]

A few points I picked up on there, Mania:

First of all, can Alain Prost really sue de la Rosa? Because to my knowledge, de la Rosa never actually finalised his test deal with Prost, therefore he wasn't breaking a contract with them in order to move to Jaguar.

Well thats the question of the hour Ralf's girl
To my knowledge, Pedro signed a letter of intent
which is how he managed to get into the Prost in
the first place. He also agreed to shakedown the
cars for the opening grand prix. Now, I may be
wrong here, but I think Pedro not only signed
a letter of intent but he also made a commitment
to the team, got a seat fitting, and in fact was
already tentatively scheduled to test in
Barcelona following the Australian grand prix.



Secondly, even if the Prost looks like challenging for points, so what? As test driver, Pedro wouldn't be racing it anyway, so it wouldn't actually have made a difference
to him whether or not the Prost was scoring points.


Maybe not this season. But if the Prost picks up some points, it'll help them with funding and sponsorship, and in terms of further development, Alain may be able to spend more money on the team. In other words, Prost may end up far closer to the front in 2002 than Jaguar or Benetton etc and he would certainly be better of driving a better car, would'nt he?



And finally, how do you know that he isn't good enough for Prost to 'waste his time suing over'? Given a more consistent car than last year's Arrows, de la Rosa could be a lot more talented than some people give him credit for.


Everybody is talented. Thats why they`re in F1. Del-a-rosa is a good driver but in my humble opinion he's not WC material. Its just a judgement call. I dont think he`s anywhere close to another Schumacher or Hakkinen or Ralf etc. So, I see no point in Alain wasting his time in suing him. He should concentrate on the season where his car looks very competitive. Plus, Prost can find many other test drivers as good as Del-a-rosa, if not as experienced. But thats a small price to pay, especially since Jean Alesi is likely to develop the car on his own anyway.



[/B]