Green Giants. (Jaguar)

Member Name: daseaford

Product:	Jaguar
Date:	08/01/02 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Much Improved Car.

Disadvantages: Young Team.

2002 could be the year that we see the Jaguar F1 racing team fulfilling some of the promises that we have heard over the past couple of years. This team was formed out of the Stewart team and arrived with a great deal of panache and splendour, but unfortunately there has not been the results to match the rhetoric so far.

During the 2001 season there were a number of changes of personnel in the team and a terrific amount of development work on the car and by the end of the season it did seem that some of the work was beginning to pay off.

For the 2002 season the team have produced a much revised car which is about 70 pounds lighter in weight. In F1 terms this is an enormous weight saving that on its own should see a terrific improvement in the car’s performance. Also this year Jaguar will have its own wind tunnel so we should see some significant improvements in aerodynamics.

Together this should lead to better fuel economy, which in turn will reduce the overall weight load on the car during the race, which should then reduce the tyre and brake wear. When a car’s performance starts to pick up there are many “knock-on” effects that magnify the performance and make the cars better and better.

Eddie Irvine is now the oldest driver of any of the F1 teams, but the balance of his experience, and the enthusiasm of youth provided by Pedro De La Rosa should provide a great driver pairing for this year. Irvine is a terrific character and although his off-track activities do sometimes raise a few eyebrows amongst the establishment of the FIA, I think a glamour sport like F1 racing needs real characters like Eddie.

However, there is one fact that you can be sure of. Regardless of whatever Eddie Irvine gets up to away from the track, when he is behind the wheel of his F1 Jaguar he will be 100% dedicated to job in hand. If he is not totally committed then he will have to answer to the team’s boss, Niki Laud
a, who has warned both of the drivers that they need to bring results this year, or start looking for a new job.

It would be wonderful to see the Big Cat Jaguar emblem and that famous racing green winning a few races in 2002. I believe that the car will be much better this year and the team should now be able to build on its strengths from last year and make us proud of this still very young team, only in its sixth year of F1 racing.

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