Paffett misses out

Autosport announces the purchase of Stewart Racing by Jaguar, to be renamed Jaguar Racing F3, an 'Academy of Talent' for F1. Drivers are to be James Courtney and Andre Lotterer, the German F3 driver.

So drive for the second most hated guy around here then. What's he going to do now?

oh my god yeah i just read that!1 i m really shocked! ohh how exciting whats the bum face gonna do now??? what teams r there for him to go to???? wow man what a turn up

thats a bit of a shock...from all accounts that Ive read Gary Paffett was a shoe in for the drive..oh well at least Courtney got it :)...GO JAMES

According to Autosport he's most likely to go to a crew called Duma Racing (new this year). I'm sure he'll get a drive somewhere with £125k in his back pocket (his prize from the scholarship class last year), but will it be any good?

I don't rate him that highly but I at least expected him to get a decent chance. maybe he should try for Manor Motorsport.

As for the Jag cubs it should be an interesting line up, Courtney has an outstanding record in karting and FFord, and Lotterer was one of the top guys in German F3 last year, finnishing 4th in the championship, despite late season unreliability.

it shall be interesting to compare james courtneys season with jensen buttons 99 f3 season.....go james in 01 :rotate:

As far as i know Manor have already signed Mark Taylor and Jeffrey Jones. Menu Motorsport (using Renault engines I believe) might be a good move for Gary and they have one seat left alongside Rob Austin.
Duma could also be a team to watch for 2001 and wanted british drivers, ideally one rookie and one with experience.

I think it's a bit naughty of Jag to string drivers along like that. I know it's a business but...
Obviously some of you have strong feelings about Gary Paffett but I don't think drivers should really be treated like that - surely a decision could have been made sooner, leaving Gary with a few more choices - whether you like him or not. Everyone thought it was a dead cert.

Ok everyone, I'm preparing myself for the backlash for sticking up for 'bum face' as you call him, so let rip!!!

:p :p :p

dont know gary, only that he dominated the f3 national class, he deserves a drive with the big boys whether people like him or not....go james courtney ;)

Agreed...dont know anything about him only that he is rated reasonably highly..and was in contention for the drive..If he is a "Bumface" as some say then it will surely come to light in the next few years..but who really cares if the guy is a sup talented driver..if he has the goods then he deserves a drive..depite what kind of attitude he has..or where his bum is located :)