Nichols in as tech boss Anderson quits Jaguar.
Former McLaren and Ferrari technical guru Steve Nichols will replace Gary Anderson in the Jaguar line-up next year, the team has revealed.
The swap will take place with immediate effect, and completes a new-look technical department at the Ford-owned team, following the recent appointments of aerodynamicist Mark Handford and chief designer John Russell. No reason was given for Anderson's departure, but speculation has been rife for several weeks that the Irishman, who joined Stewart Racing from Jordan two years ago, would be on his way out after a disappointing campaign in 2000.
Former McLaren and Ferrari technical guru Steve Nichols will replace Gary Anderson in the Jaguar line-up next year, the team has revealed.
The swap will take place with immediate effect, and completes a new-look technical department at the Ford-owned team, following the recent appointments of aerodynamicist Mark Handford and chief designer John Russell. No reason was given for Anderson's departure, but speculation has been rife for several weeks that the Irishman, who joined Stewart Racing from Jordan two years ago, would be on his way out after a disappointing campaign in 2000.
Nichols joins the team direct from McLaren, with whom he enjoyed much success in Formula One, and adds Jaguar to a list of employers that also numbers Sauber and Jordan in the course of his career. His position with the team commences with the first test of the winter, at Silverstone today [Friday], and presents him with a supervisory role in the development of next year's R2 model.
"Steve will bring a new technical dimension to the team," said Jaguar boss Neil Ressler, announcing the change of personnel, "His experience at the highest levels of Formula One racing, together with his engineering skills, will give a new impetus to Jaguar Racing as we build for the future.
"Gary Anderson worked hard to make the Jaguar R1 a competitive challenger but, at this stage of our development, we believe that a change in the team's technical direction will benefit Jaguar Racing as we go forward.
"For next season, we have a new car in the R2, a new driver in Luciano Burti and, of course, a new chief executive in Bobby Rahal. The changes to our design and engineering staff will help give the team a new and competitive focus, and will enable us to give Eddie [Irvine] and Luciano the best possible support as they prepare for an intensive winter testing programme, and the start of the new season in March."
While Burti tested the interim Jaguar R1B at Silverstone this morning, Anderson's future remained unclear.
