|
Ex-BAR boss Craig Pollock believes that new principal David
Richards is making changes that Pollock himself would have done a
long time ago if he'd had the chance. Richards replaced Pollock at
BAR in a move that came as a surprise to many at the end of last
year and in the last month the rally supremo has made some shake-up
decisions. Engineering director Malcolm Oastler and chief designer
Andy Green were both dispatched along with approx 50 other staff.
Pollock agrees with Richards' actions and says the changes should
have happened sooner: "David Richards, the new team principal,
has his hands far less tied than I did," he said. "He is
implementing what should probably have been done a year or 18 months
ago. My biggest regret is that the team couldn't succeed fast enough
under my direction. The mistake was made conceptually in the
structure of the company originally. There are three different
shareholders; myself, Adrian Reynard and British American Tobacco
and each has different rights linked into their shareholding."
"My particular shareholding had no right to touch the
technical side of the team. And that is where things went wrong. A
team principal has to be 100 per cent in charge, but I could not
change the technical leadership. What has happened in the past few
weeks I strongly believe should have happened earlier. That is not
because I don't like or respect the guys who had to leave, but in
business it's not just a question of liking or respecting."
Although Pollock supports what Richards has done he believes it
will be some time before the benefits will become apparent, saying:
"When you shake the apple tree there are going to be some
apples falling out of it. I think there's going to be a step
backwards to take a step forwards at BAR."
|
