Jordan pull off engine coup

Jordan (left) will be racing against Lauda's team

The Jordan team have pulled off a major coup in Formula One by securing a three-year deal to use Ford Cosworth engines, as exclusively revealed by the BBC.

The decision means US car giant Ford will effectively be going head-to-head in F1 with their Jaguar team, who also use Cosworths, although they will be of a different specification.

It also raises questions about the long-term future of Jaguar in the sport.

Team owner Eddie Jordan announced the deal at 1000 BST on Sunday.

Jordan has given his team a major boost

He described it as "a very big day for Jordan", saying the contracts were only signed on Saturday night.

He added: "We are very proud that Jordan and Ford and Cosworth will be working together for the next three years or so.

"It's a proper Ford-related partnership. Jordan-Ford is the car and the engine will be a Cosworth RS.

"We worked with Cosworth as a customer in 1991 and we thought we would get a Ford participation in those early days, but maybe we were a bit too naive.

"Finally, Ford and ourselves have eventually got together, which is fantastic.

"What you will see next season will be a Jordan Ford, with the blue oval back in Formula One which is for me very exciting news.

"I think we should all rejoice a day when Ford publicly announce they are coming back into Formula One."

Powerful

Jordan had a continuing contract with Honda for next year but they approached Cosworth after it became clear that Honda wanted to be paid to supply its engines for 2003.

Honda wants to concentrate on just one team - British American Racing - as it attempts to improve its indifferent performance.

The fact that Ford have decided to supply their engines for free to Jordan is a huge boost for the team - a free works engine deal is seen as one of the major prerequisites for F1 success.

The Cosworth is renowned as one of the most powerful engines in F1.

Jaguar will have an all-new engine in 2003 while Jordan will use a modified version of this year's V10.

But the deal is a slap in the face for Jaguar boss Niki Lauda, whose team have gone backwards since he took over in 2001.

This has been Jaguar's worst season in F1.

The team has shown no signs of improving since Ford bought the Stewart team in 1999 and rebranded it as Jaguar for the 2000 season.

As recently as Friday, Lauda admitted that Jordan could use Cosworth engines in 2003 - but denied that they would be badged as Fords.

Lauda said the possibility of the deal had come about because of the financial troubles surrounding the Arrows team.

Arrows near end of line

However, Jordan have been working on this deal since early this year - long before the seriousness of Arrows' problems became public.