The now-defunct Jaguar F1 team has been sold and will line up on next year’s Formula One grid under Cosworth power and the new name of Red Bull Racing. But who will drive for the team?

The now-defunct Jaguar F1 team has been sold and will line up on next year’s Formula One grid under Cosworth power and the new name of Red Bull Racing. But who will drive for the team?


Energy-drink company Red Bull on Monday announced that it had bought Jaguar Racing from Ford, which decided to put the team up for sale ahead of its withdrawal from motorsport’s premier series after this year's F1 championship.


Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz said the team would be running Cosworth engines next year. No financial details were released but Ford is reported to have asked for a symbolic dollar if the new owners guaranteed to invest the equivalent of R2,4 million in the team over the next three grand prix seasons.


Cosworth has been bought by Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, co-owners of the Champ Car World Series and heads of the PKV and Forsythe Championship Racing Champ Car teams, respectively.


Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing has no shortage of potential drivers keen to join the team in 2005. Red Bull already sponsors Christian Klien, Champ Car racer AJ Allmendinger, Formula 3000 Champion Tonio Liuzzi, Formula Renault racer Scott Speed and Formula BMW driver Sebastian Vettel.


Klien completed the 2004 season with Jaguar Racing and is a firm favourite to remain with the newly-named squad. Tonio Liuzzi was a hot favourite to join Sauber due to its Red Bull backing, but the Swiss team signed Jacques Villeneuve to partner Felipe Massa. Liuzzi is now seeking a ride at Red Bull Racing, but could the new team also help revive McLaren-discard David Coulthard’s career?


Earlier on Monday, CARtoday.com reported that F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and all but one of the sport’s team bosses met at Heathrow Airport in London this weekend and decided to go ahead with a 19-race calendar next year.


The team principals agreed to carry operating costs for having an eighteenth and nineteenth race on the calendar - citing the benefit to the sport as justification. The move by teams means that there is no obstacle to having the French and British Grand Prix events on the 2005 calendar. Both - in particular the British race - had been in doubt.


Ferrari did not attend the meeting, saying previous engagements precluding it from sending a representative.

Original article from Car