Q&A: Ken Clarke.

Perhaps the highest profile Formula One chairman because of his political links, British American Racing's head man Ken Clarke talks around Craig Pollock's departure, the start of a new season and a lot more...

Q:
Mr Clarke, we have been told that Craig [Pollock] left to 'pursue other interests'. What exactly does this mean?

Ken Clarke:
All I can say is that he wants to pursue other interests. Craig has been a key figure in the formative years of BAR, but he has been involved for a long time - from the word go, from the inception of the idea.

There is never an ideal time to change. The drivers have been stressing the importance of stability but, today, we are launching a new car and it gives us the opportunity to announce his departure. We are able to announce we have a new car, a new engine and also a new team principal who has just won a World Rally Championship. We have a new long-term agreement with Honda and Bridgestone and, actually, I think the whole lot has come together quite well.

We are entering the fourth year with a whole lot of news. I think it is positive news and I am very grateful to Craig. I am very impressed by what he has done. He put together this whole dream of British American Racing but, as I know from my own reshuffled career, three years is quite a long time and you move on and do something else. And that's what Craig has decided to do.

Q:
The announcement was a bit sudden, wasn't it?

KC:
Well, it clearly comes as a surprise to various people but, when you discuss these kind of things, it is important that you discuss it with the key people and those most directly involved. I have to say to have something this size not released before [we intended] made a refreshing change, and that's because it was being discussed by the people most senior, those most involved - namely Craig, David [Richards], myself, my colleagues at BAT and with Honda. It had to be a tight circle discussing it or the whole thing would have been unsettling. We preferred to announce it today.

Craig is stepping down after three spectacular years here, especially when you consider it was from a standing start, and today we announced David's arrival - he is the new team principal. Along with that, we have a new car, a new agreement with Honda and Bridgestone, and I think that was quite a sensible way of handling it. If we had allowed it to leak out, involved too many people then that would have been a far more difficult way of handling it.

Q:
Did Craig leave of his own accord or was he pushed out?

KC:
He decided to go off and pursue other interests. He put out a brief release on Monday 17 December, and it's Craig's phrase although, as I say, we have discussed the key issues involved. He remains a director, he remains on the board, and so he has just left to pursue other interests.

Q:
What are those 'other interests'?

KC:
The phrase is Craig's phrase, so I don't know what other interests he has in mind. I am sorry, but I can't share that with you and let you know what he is going to do.

I have known Craig since I have been following British American Racing, which is since it [the team] started, as I am a long term F1 enthusiast. When I was appointed to the board of BAT, it turned out they owned a F1 racing car - which I thought was a very splendid bonus.

I have been working more closely with the team since I took on the chairmanship, and I enjoyed working with Craig and he has been a key figure here. However, his involvement goes back more than three years, as he was involved in the idea of setting up the team and that is a very long time indeed.

Therefore, in that context, he has decided to pursue other interests, whether they are racing interests or not, I'm afraid I don't know. He is on the board of the company, he remains a shareholder and I think that shows that Craig Pollock and British American Racing remain close.