Pizzonia to take legal action

[Wrex]

Well it was inevitable was'nt it.

According to this story at grandprix.com

It had been hoped that a settlement would be found between Pizzonia and the team but apparently this has not happened and Pizzonia's management has decided to go ahead with a law suit.

I have to say, this was another of Jags mistakes. While I was happy to Justin move up, it was for all the wrong reasons. What was obvious to some of us at the time, and obvious to all know, Justin's gap to Webber is no smaller than Pizzonia's. With the short time he had, it was never going to be.

Jaguar stated at the time the reason for Justins signing was to get 2 drivers winning points. Why they thought JW could get on par with Webber so quickly is anyones guess.

I dont blame Pizza boy for being upset. If I was fired fr those reasons and watched Justin qualify in the same place I did, I'd be p***ed too!

What would have been the right reasons you ask? A seat in 2004. He could have the remaining races to adapt to the car and team, and go for broke in 2004.

I said at the time this was a risky move for Justin, and it may just ruin his career, through no fault of his own.

[Jay]

Have to agree Wrex... although, moving from one team to another is a big deal in that the driver has to totally regroup around the car and the engineers - so it'll take time for Justin to get up to speed, just like it took Pizzonia.

That said, Jaguar seems to be a total mess... if I were Ford, I'd want my money back. Constantly firing people just doesn't make for a good team (duh?).

And I don't blame Pizzonia for wanting some compensation...he had a promising future, and Jag just might have ruined it...one of a number though.

[RWC]

Jag hasn't been a mess for at leat six months.Things are going VERY well thank you.So jag ruined pizzonia's future did they?They gave him TOO long!

[jetsetter]

To be honest i thought that Jaguar was generous in the time that they give Pizzonia to perform. In F1 you're employed to get results which Jungle Boy wasn't getting.

[Wrex]

I agree the outlook was poor Jetsetter, and personally I dont think Pizzonia has 'it'. BUT, if you sign a driver up for 16 races, then let him do 16 races.

If you want to give him 10 races to see how he goes, thats a different story. They may well have done something like that (performance clause) and if thats the agreement money wont change hands.

We also have to remember though, and this is for Justin and Pizzonia, this is F1, arguably the highest level of motorsport on the planet. With budgets of 100's of millions of dollars at risk, there is no adjustment period.

Webber and Alonso were rookies at Minardi and starred. They then went to new teams, no adjustment period required, and starred again. As much as I want to see Justin (and even Pizzonia) do well, if they dont have, then too bad. 1.5 seconds off your team mate is'nt an adjustment period, its a poor effort.

[f1manoz]

It's a shame Pizzonia was dumped, but considering his performances, I see no reason why he should have stayed. Seeing how contracts are broken every other day in F1 nowadays, really his contract being torn up was just another in the cycle.

[jetsetter]

Wrex i agree with what you're saying in regards with Wilson not doing any better than Pizzonia, i think Wilson has to improve rather remarkably to keep his drive next year. Webber & Alonso are that good that i think their respective team mates are always going to struggle against them.

[Adam43]

Can I sue Jaguar for causing anguish because they make such a mess of there racing?

I think they treated Pizzonia badly. Whether it means that you can win damages I don't know. If it was any other team I would say that they had probably followed the letter of the contract, but Jaguar?

At least Pizzonia can take comfort that there are one set off employees that Jaguar treat worse than it's drivers - it's management! And they tend to have to give big cheques to get rid of them.

Also Justin is doomed. IMHO. Jaguar can just about look after one driver, but two? Nothing surprises me about this joke of a team. Just like the magazine they produce, it is style over content all the way through.

[/rant]

[BootsOntheSide]

I hope Pizzonia wins this lawsuit, if his contract for the seaosn was water-tight and ahsn't been paid up in full, he has a very good case, especially if the story that they've already signed a replacement for Wilson are true. It's really shoddy treatment of two drivers in one seaosn.

RWC, the fact that 4 of last seaosn's 5 rookies are out of a drive for this year, but two are due to return nexct year, after a year of testing to learn more, should help yous ee the erorr in your thinking. Not alld rivers shine immediately. And Alonso had a year of testing behidn the scenes at Renault, with the full support of the team, in which hes undoubtedly learnt a lot.

[ralf fan]

Yeah Anotonio had a contract for 16 GP's and he should run 16 GP's unless it is terminated with Antonio' consent. So i hope Pizzaboy wins the lawsuit

[Adam43]

If Wilson is only around till the end of the season, why did they replace Pizzonia? It was unlikely he could do much more thean Pizzonia would have in the remainder of the year. I only thought it made sense if Wilson was going to be getting used to the team etc... before next year. Still this is Jaguar we are talking about.

[Valve Bounce]

I could understand if Jaguar replaced Pizzonia with an established good driver, but to fire him for an untried driver is just plain silly. Justin didn't show out that much at Minardi to impress me, not like what Mark and Fernando did there.

[Mark Webber]

Pizza Boy was just not that good I think JAG just got it wrong with him and now they will pay . Justin weeell its just to early for him to be at Jag .
Jag needs either a complete driver OR a developer . Mark is clearly a complete package good/fast pace and a good developer at this stage Justin is not and Pizza will never be

Hello Nick

[GP Racer]

I think Jaguar was right to cut Pizzonia, he just never seemed to get up to speed, and didn't seem to be getting any better. That being said though, a big team like Jag should be able to terminate a contract in a more professional manner than they showed Pizzonia. The whole move appeared very amateurish and un-professional, and it must have sent a bad message to the rest of the team. I hope it doesn't totally wreck Pizzonias career, although I suspect no team is going to want him after he sues Jag.

This mess should be settled out of court for the good of both parties.

[Nicholas]

I think Wilson should get back to Minardi as soon as possible before he is forced to do so

While on the subject of legal action after being sacked mid-season, what happened with Frentzen vs. Jordan a couple of years ago?

[Phoenix1]

hehe :-) good on Jungle Boy. He is one of the best and the problem I see if that Jag are actually Webbers team and driver 2 is really just that. Serves them right specailly having the cheek of saying firing him then offering him a test role, i suspect they will try that as defense!

[Smokey 6 litre]

The way Pizzonia is acting you would've thought that a team didn't have the right to terminate a drvers contract having only backed him a few races earlier.
Sue their arses off, pizza boy.
I always thought a contract was a legal bond? im sick of people doing the dirty, on both sides, that goes for all sports.

[Wrex]

Of course, none of us know the contents of his agreement with Jag. It is highly likely that there was a performance clause in his contract that permits them to et out of it.

I would however like the FIA to pass a rule that forces teams to have a minimum term for a driver, albeit 12 races or a year. At least then the public would be aware of it and prepared for it.

For example, if the rules stated a driver had until Hungary as a minimum and then a team could replace him, I doubt many of us would have been suprised, or even disappointed.

The annoying part is going back to the Wurz story, this has been hanging over his head since.

[Jalt]

I didn't think Pizzonia was really a bad driver.... Jaguar just made the mistake of believing that their car was as good as Webber was making it look. Wilson is showing that it's not really the car, but the driver (webber) that was decisive in getting all those points. But F1racing said something about Jag dropped Pizza to help create room in Minardi so moneybags-Kiesa can come in (and help for the Cosworths?? dunno)

I'd think that Jag had some performance clause, but I don't know... its probably more about damage to reputation that Pizzonia's suing for (just guessing based on nothing)...and if so then he SHOULD WIN!!!

[climb]

From a legal standpoint, the legitimation of Pizzonia's lawsuit depends actually on contract clauses about possible replacements; who will judge will be able to decide about it.
From a technical point of view, I have to say that it's not the first time in F1 history that some driver is fired before the season ends.
JV himself is rumoured about it, so nothing strange.

[JohnSSC]

Where would we be without Jaguar?? If they were as diligent at making racing cars competitive as they are at sacking everything and everyone they would be lapping the field before the first pitstop.

Pizzonia was unveiled with great fanfare and they sacked him. Wilson was unveiled with great fanfare and his sacking seems to be scheduled. Not sure how Webber has avoided being sacked so far (as results don't always seem to enter the calculation at Jaguar), but good luck and God bless him for being able to stay on.

This is like watching a revolving door whirling at high speed.

[Adam43]

Originally posted by JohnSSC
Where would we be without Jaguar??

Well without Jaguar Racing I would be in a place with a much happier state of mind.

[Wrex]

Alright Ashmore, Outside! I've had enough of your Jaguar bashing

[Adam43]

I'm am sorry, you'd think I would be happy wouldn't you! I will try to be less troll-like.