BAR appoint de Ferran

Struggling BAR-Honda have appointed former Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran as their new sporting director.

De Ferran, who retired from racing in the United States-based Indy Racing League in 2003, was today unveiled as the latest new addition to BAR’s senior management.

The Brazilian, whose Formula One experience consists of two season testing at Williams in the 1990s, will assist the team on grand prix weekends, relieving some of the pressure on technical director Geoff Willis and chief executive Nick Fry.

Today’s surprise move comes after a disappointing start to the season which sees the 2005 runners-up having failed to finish a race from three attempts.

De Ferran is looking forward to the challenge of guiding BAR away from the bottom end of the constructors' championship.

A new challenge for the former Champ Car title winner will be the management of drivers, with the guidance of Jenson Button and Takuma Sato now in his brief.

The 37-year-old said: “This is an enormously exciting challenge for me and in many ways a natural progression from my driving career.

“My interest in the sport always extended beyond driving and this opportunity is the best I could hope for.

“The talent and potential of BAR-Honda is obvious for all to see. So, not only is it a great honour for me to be invited to join such a prestigious organisation, but during our conversations it became clear to me that I would have no problem fitting in with all the people involved.”

Fry, who took over as team boss in the winter following David Richards’ departure, believes the addition of de Ferran will complete a recipe for success.

He added: “BAR-Honda’s second place success in the 2004 championship was testimony to the team’s strong operational structure and our pursuit of engineering excellence.

“However, to progress towards our final goal of winning the world championship we knew there was a piece of the jigsaw still missing, which is hands-on experience of what it takes to win in single-seater racing at the highest level.

“There is no substitute for racing experience and Gil needs little introduction. He has a unique talent which combines a successful career at the wheel of a racing car with an analytical and methodical approach outside of the cockpit.

“The time is right for us to allow Geoff Willis to focus on technical leadership and doing what he does best – designing and developing the race car - without the distractions of running the car trackside.

“Equally, my focus should be harnessing the power of our enhanced relationship with Honda and providing overall company leadership.”