Oastler ousted in BAR shake-up.

BAR's Engineering Director, Malcolm Oastler and Chief Designer, Andy Green have been ousted from the Brackley based team in the first wave of changes brought about by new team principal, Dave Richards.

After three months at the helm, Richards has taken this action as the result of a detailed and extensive review undertaken at his bequest.

The move is part of a new structure implementation at the team that will see a total reduction in workforce of some 15%.

With this year's BAR not shaping up to expectations and being outpaced by a similarly engined Jordan, the move seems unsurprising given the recent trend in F1 for rapid dismissal of technical directors.

Ironically, the Jordan that is outpacing the BAR has its technical director, Eghbal Hamidy, at the centre of much speculation of whether he will leave the team.

The action at BAR is to be implemented with immediate effect. According to a release from the company the new structure is designed to give clearer lines of reporting, more focused accountability and an overall leaner organisation.

Recognising that Oastler had been at BAR since its inception, Prodrive founder Dave Richards had this to say: "I have the greatest respect for the people who created this team, and the dedication they have shown to the task, but at the end of the day the organisation has not delivered. I know that Malcolm and Andy recognise that the results have been below their expectations and I appreciate their disappointment, and thank them for their efforts."

No mention has been made regarding any replacements, but ex WilliamsF1 man Geoff Willis has just joined the team.

Oastler and Green are the latest to discover that the Formula 1 designer and technical director market seems to be one that is currently offering very little job security at the moment, unless your name is Adrian Newey, Rory Bryne or Ross Brawn.

Hinting that, for the moment at least, there might be promotion from within, Richards offered this: "We need to build a team with a very clear structure, with the very best people and give them the responsibility to deliver against precisely determined goals. As I have said from the beginning, B.A.R has many extremely talented people, and what we are now doing is giving them the framework within which they can fulfill their true potential."

Chief Operating Officer, Ian Ross, who has been working with David Richards to effect a smooth transition, has also decided it is an appropriate time to hand over his responsibilities to the new management team.