22 replies to this topic

[taran]

I heard an interesting rumour about Rahal’s sacking. I can’t vouch for its veracity but I think it does sound believable. I’d like to hear what the forum members think?

I was told this rumour by someone connected to the Dutch Jaguar importer. The Dutch importer, Kroymans, is a well-connected bussinessman, who also imports Ferraris and Aston-Martins as well as some other makes and is highly respected by car manufacturers. He is something of a racing buff and owns the Jaguar sportscar that won Le Mans in 1988 in the hands of Jan Lammers.

Enough background . According to this rumour, Rahal was indeed sacked over “Neweygate”. After joining Jaguar, Rahal immediately sacked Gary Anderson and replaced him with Steve Nichols, the head of R&D at Mclaren. Rahal promised all kinds of things to Nichols and the American set to work improving the recalcitrant R2.

As Neweygate first broke cover and then unravelled, the current Jaguar design team was rather upset (Nichols and to a lesser extent Mike Handford). Nichols rightly felt this to be a sign of lack of faith in him and his relationship with Rahal deteriorated and finally broke down. All subsequent communication between Rahal and Nichols was done by letter or third parties.

Finally Nichols decided to leave Jaguar (to go back to McLaren or join another team as Technical Director) as he felt he didn’t want to work under Rahal any longer. He chose this period because the design of the new R3 has not yet started (the design team of Jaguar is still relatively small and not able to update the current car and simultaneously design next year’s car). By leaving now before work started on the R3, he hoped to prevent the obligatory period of gardening leave.

The Ford/Jaguar management realised that losing their TD at this moment would comprise their 2002 car fatally, thereby ensuring another wasted year. And another debacle is the last thing the underperforming Jaguar team needed.
So having to choose between Nichols and Rahal, Rahal got sacked.

Comments, anyone?

[schumigal]

That kinda makes sense. WHen the Newey were linked to Jaguar, i was wonderring how the guyin Newey's position at Jaguar (Nichols)will feel. The worst thing that can happen is the lack of faith in his ability to design a competitive car. Then again, with Newey's achievement i guess that's understandable.

If that is the case, doesn't it point to the fact that Rahal is not such a great manager after all??
-Belittled Nichols contribution
-Try to sell Irwine
-Him and Lauda having "god knows what" happening behind the scene
-The sacking of Tomas
-THe burti/delarosa incident
ANy more??

[pRy]

Nothing would suprise me at Jaguar.

[zepp]

Lauda was dissatisfied Rahal signed de la Rosa so early for next year. Lauda wanted to hire the likes of Hakkinen, Villeneuve etc.

[Williams]

So having to choose between Nichols and Rahal, Rahal got sacked.

One question: does that mean Nichols will be back ?

[arcwulf7]

I think its more complex than that, but certainly Neweygate undermined whatever good will and credibility Rahal was accorded in entering f1. Clearly if Nichols had been brought in on the understanding he would lead the technical effort, the Newey thing would have destabilized the engineering group, and led to a breakdown of trust between Rahal and Nichols. I'd be surprised if it had broken down to the extent of only dealing with each other through third parties, though, because it would seem impossible for a team boss to operate without direct communication with his technal director. But i think Rahal's fate was sealed as soon as Reitzle appointed Lauda as his racing chief, immediately after being made head of Premier Auto Group. Since the only racing his group did was Jaguar f1, it was a completely redundant position to BR's, yet reported directly to the Premier group. Reitzle and Lauda were after this only looking for the excuse to dump Bobby, and Rahal seemed more than adept at providing those. The whole thing had more to do with competing factions at Ford, than what happened at Jaguar racing.

[NYR2119935]

Rahal was sacked because his is an American and not part of the F1 club.......Lauda is part of the F1 club and not an American..... That's how I see it.....

[rek]

Originally posted by NYR2119935
Rahal was sacked because his is an American and not part of the F1 club.......Lauda is part of the F1 club and not an American..... That's how I see it.....

hahaahha

[bergwerk]

Detroit directives have never been appreciated by Ford of Europe.

Jack Nasser, the Detroit executive who appointed Ressler and Rahal to their positions, did have a stay with Ford of Europe where he didn't make many friends.

He made the mistake of appointing two americans without prior F1 experience to a position that many europeans felt should have been staffed by a veteran F1 figure.

Predictably, both Ressler and Rahal were destined to fail.

While Reitzle may not be an easy person to deal with, he is far less naive than his Detroit bosses when it comes to assessing the political minefield of F1. Lauda may not win any popularity contests either but he knows the inner workings of F1 and that is what Reitzle wants at this point.

Nasser's original sin of not keeping sir Jackie involved or in charge, at least until the team was functioning well, is the cause of the mess at Jaguar which may not be over yet.

[diego]

Definitely not fair that Rahal was sacked, but how good of a manager is he really? To wit:

-- Lack of understanding of the R&D process, as evidenced by his parting with Honda just before their engines dominated CART

-- His CART team begins winning on a consistent basis during his absence at Jaguar

Perhaps Jaguar is better off without him

[Melbourne Park]

I always wondered about what neweygate must have done to Nichols'. Certainly poison IMO. But is Nichols still going to be there?

As to anti - American bias, that's just insecure nonsense. These guys don't owe allegiances to nations. The erea of Nationstates is gone. In january in Europe, most currencies go; the Euro is taking over. And these guys work for one of the great powers on earth: FoMoCo. Forget nationallity: this company represents multi-nationalism in its most thorough form. Get real: Rahal's nationality was irrelevent. If it was relevent, why did they appoint him a year ago ...

[MuMu]

Ron Dennis 2 - Bobby Rahal 0

[biercemountain]

Originally posted by MuMu
Ron Dennis 2 - Bobby Rahal 0

Jaguar - minus 2

[Runner]

Originally posted by Melbourne Park
.... one of the great powers on earth: FoMoCo.

[Chris G.]

taran, I bet there is some truth to the rumor - thanks for posting it.

Still, something about lauda gives me the creeps (and it's not just the Sammy Terry looks). This is extreme, but I sense a bit of evil there. I don't think for a second that lauda is going to be more successful than rahal.

lauda couldn't politic himself out of a paper bag and I expect the gaffs to start soon.

[bergwerk]

Originally posted by Chris G.
This is extreme, but I sense a bit of evil there.

lauda couldn't politic himself out of a paper bag....

Chris G. you may be very wrong on both counts.

The man does live however by two principles "the end justifies the means" and "my way or the highway".

[KenC]

Originally posted by taran
I heard an interesting rumour about Rahal’s sacking. I can’t vouch for its veracity but I think it does sound believable. I’d like to hear what the forum members think?

...

As Neweygate first broke cover and then unravelled, the current Jaguar design team was rather upset (Nichols and to a lesser extent Mike Handford). Nichols rightly felt this to be a sign of lack of faith in him and his relationship with Rahal deteriorated and finally broke down. All subsequent communication between Rahal and Nichols was done by letter or third parties.

Finally Nichols decided to leave Jaguar (to go back to McLaren or join another team as Technical Director) as he felt he didn’t want to work under Rahal any longer. He chose this period because the design of the new R3 has not yet started (the design team of Jaguar is still relatively small and not able to update the current car and simultaneously design next year’s car). By leaving now before work started on the R3, he hoped to prevent the obligatory period of gardening leave.

...

Comments, anyone?

Let me put it this way, this rumor doesn't make any logical sense. It seems to say that Nichols didn't want to add another quality person to the design team, and yet the design team is so "relatively small", that they are "not able to update the current car and simultaneously design nest year's car". If true, it would show that Nichols is not a team player. In modern F1 no one person is responsible for the whole design of a chassis. Clearly, in this example there are at least two very important areas of responsibility. One, designing next year's car, and two, updating the current car. Clearly, Nichols doesn't have the resources to do both updating and designing at the same time, so what is wrong with hiring Newey?

BTW, didn't everyone expect that Rahal would go after Newey? Nichols, surely, isn't that naive?

Personally, I believe this rumor to be rubbish.

It's your classic business organisation power play. Ressler hired Rahal, and would protect him within the organisation. Ressler retires, and Rahal loses his protection. Reitzle hires Lauda, and would protect him within the organisation. Who do you think is going to win the power struggle when it happens? The guy who has no champion within the organisation, or the guy who has a champion within the organisation?

Let's look at this another way, if Lauda thought Rahal was doing a lousy job, then certainly he can fire Rahal and hire a temporary boss, including himself. However, in this case Lauda didn't just bin Rahal, he replaced him, and not as a temporary boss. Clearly, this was a power play. Niki wanted Bobby's job, he knew he had the upper hand, and looked for an excuse to push Bobby out, and that was it.

Now, why would Lauda choose now to bin Rahal? Doesn't he know that Stewart/Ford/Jaguar has been a chaotic mess since it started? Or does Niki see the light at the end of the tunnel? Handford and Nichols have put the team on the right track with the mid-season aero changes, and with a good R3, the team could be fighting for 4th in the constructors championship next season. Is that what Niki is seeing? Why else bin Rahal, now?

We'll have to wait and see.

[pa]

Originally posted by KenC

Let me put it this way, this rumor doesn't make any logical sense. It seems to say that Nichols didn't want to add another quality person to the design team, and yet the design team is so "relatively small", that they are "not able to update the current car and simultaneously design nest year's car". If true, it would show that Nichols is not a team player.

But Nichols is the chief designer, and probably liked the job. When Rahal made a play for Newey, it obviously said "I don't have confidence in you", and pissed him off to the extent that they reportedly communicated through third parties. Not an ideal relationship. Disastrous, in fact. Rahal couldn't work with his existing designer and blew the Newey deal. If these anecdotes are true, then Jaguar's whole 2002 season may be out the window or seriously compromised.

In modern F1 no one person is responsible for the whole design of a chassis. Clearly, in this example there are at least two very important areas of responsibility. One, designing next year's car, and two, updating the current car. Clearly, Nichols doesn't have the resources to do both updating and designing at the same time, so what is wrong with hiring Newey?

You can't replace your existing chief designer and expect him to be happy about it and be a "team player" reporting to Newey. People aren't cyborgs, you know. They do have some pride.

BTW, didn't everyone expect that Rahal would go after Newey? Nichols, surely, isn't that naive?

You can't drop the ball in that kind of move, and Rahal did, thereby compromising the balance of the 2001 season and putting a big question mark beside 2002. Inept at best.

Personally, I believe this rumor to be rubbish.

I think it has more merit than the one you've outlined.

It's your classic business organisation power play. Ressler hired Rahal, and would protect him within the organisation. Ressler retires, and Rahal loses his protection. Reitzle hires Lauda, and would protect him within the organisation. Who do you think is going to win the power struggle when it happens? The guy who has no champion within the organisation, or the guy who has a champion within the organisation?

All of which may well be true, but it's a lot easier to blow a manger out the door when he's pulled one the most spectacular gaffes in F1 history. That alone is just cause in my eyes.

Let's look at this another way, if Lauda thought Rahal was doing a lousy job, then certainly he can fire Rahal and hire a temporary boss, including himself. However, in this case Lauda didn't just bin Rahal, he replaced him, and not as a temporary boss.

Not so. All the reports I've read have stated that it's only for the balance of the season.

Clearly, this was a power play. Niki wanted Bobby's job, he knew he had the upper hand, and looked for an excuse to push Bobby out, and that was it.

It would have been much less disruptive to let him go at the end of the season. I find taran's scenario to be far more plausible.

But you're right, we'll have to wait and see who comes up with the bona fide dirt on this one.

[Melbourne Park]

And no one has mentioned money. Might it have been possible that Newey was offered more than Nichols? Did Nichols get a raise? Was Nichols asked by Rahal how he felt about going after Newey?

As to "It's your classic business organisation power play", I am a bit behind the times with those now.

'Cause I missed the last Survivor show.

[rw shepherd]

Whether you believe that Rahal's sacking had anything to do with the Adrian Newey episode or not, it all boils down to the same thing. Rahal's motor racing accomplishments or lack thereof, don't carry much weight in F1 circles. Winning the Indy 500 and being IndyCar champ doesn't really impress anyone. He isn't respected. So, I think a lot of people were just waiting for the inevitable. To run an F1 team you need management skills that are not necessarily obtainable in motor racing. Lauda has run a successful airline in addition to his accomplishments as an F1 driver and appears to be a shrewd politician. His opinions are sought out. As I have pointed out here before, Lauda calls IndyCar or CART, "lazy man's racing". So, in my opinion, Rahal has never been respected by Lauda and has been in Niki's sights for a long time now. Time will tell if Jaguar has made the right move but I don't see how anyone could do a worse job than Rahal.

[pa]

Originally posted by Melbourne Park

And no one has mentioned money. Might it have been possible that Newey was offered more than Nichols? "

Pretty safe to assume Newey was offered a vast sum. Besides, talk about Rahal "not getting a fair chance" - Rahal cut Nichols off at the knees, and he's the one who hired him!

[Runner]

Originally posted by pa

But you're right, we'll have to wait and see who comes up with the bona fide dirt on this one.

I'm sure that Niki will leak all the dirt (but not necessarily the truth) in Bernie's rag.

[AcidIce]

MR Bolshevik, please enlight us.