Gascoyne, master of development

[-shr3d-]

So Gascoyne is off to Toyota for 2004... shame for Renault but a massive
boost for Toyota.
It took awhile for Gascoyne to cement his reputation as a topline designer because it seemed that most of the cars that he had success with he had inherited from other designers (99 Jordan) and others that he had designed and left struggled...
I would say that this makes his best attribute the ability to locate problems with designs and develop them throughout a season so even though he wont be involved in the design of the 2004 Toyota, I expect he will have a significant impact on its performance throughout the year.....

[Irvingthien]

Why can't he just stay in one team and make the team a championship winning team. Seems he he is attracted by money, Benetton lured him with money from Jordan in 2000 and Toyota lured him to the team from Renault.

[-shr3d-]

hey irvingthein.....yeah i read an interesting article on Gascoyne which related to the point that you raised and they questioned whether he had what it takes to step up to the next level and consistently build a championship contending car year after year like a Newey, Byrne or Patrick Head can... whether that is a fair argument or not is debatable but he does seem to like getting teams to a certain level and then moving on but in all fairness i think he knew that Jordan didnt have the resources to continue to match their 99 season..

[Scuderia_Russ]

First of all,creative people are funny people (and i don't mean ha,ha funny)Sweeping generalisation i know! Patrick Head has money in Williams so he isn't going anywhere,remember a few years back '01 I think that Jaguar offered Newey a heftey fee to jump ship from McLaren and he sort of did go,then he didn't go,then we had Mr. Dennis to explain to everyone he had a moment of madness and changed his mind,Gustav Brunner was 'on his toes' from Minardi to Toyota the same year (i'm guessing not because he's into his sushi)...but as for Gascoyne,we wont see his work in action until the '05 Toyota hits the track as there won't be that much he can do to this years challenger,but most know what he can do.He might not be happy with what he's done so far and knows he can really make his mark and implement his ideas with a team like Toyota who are desperate for results,and might just let him help throw some of that Japanese money around! Fair play to the man i say!

[-shr3d-]

hey russ,
I think you may be surprised how much difference he may be able to make this year with the development of the car, which is one area where Toyota has struggled and not because of financial concerns obviously..

I think a good parallel is the difference that Newey made to Mclaren in 1997 when he was finally allowed to work there.. They had a good car already that year but it definitely stepped up a few notches in the final races of the season...

[Scuderia_Russ]

Sorry,hurredly written...he'll definetely have some effect on this years,but his full genius will not be seen until the '05 car hits the track!

[Monstrobolaxa]

Russ is right.....

[Conceptual]

Sorry,hurredly written...he'll definetely have some effect on this years,but his full genius will not be seen until the '05 car hits the track!

The VJM01 doesnt seem to be that exceptional...

How much has to do with your supporting engineers??? My guess is A LOT!

Chris

[scarbs]

Curious comment, care to expand on that for us?

[Belatti]

I think that Conceptual comment points to:

a) Top engineer "weirdo funny guy" locks in a room for four weeks, with no sleeping, barely eating and resting, and come out with a new fast car

or

b) It´s a teams work, where THE TEAM, correctly guided by a leader, produces a new design

I have heard that Newey is more like the a) type. Others can be a mixture and others can be more B) types.

Conceptual thinks supporting engineers has A LOT to do and thats true in type b) where there is no genious, just a good leader, team and resources.

[Conceptual]

I think that Conceptual comment points to:

a) Top engineer "weirdo funny guy" locks in a room for four weeks, with no sleeping, barely eating and resting, and come out with a new fast car

or

b) It´s a teams work, where THE TEAM, correctly guided by a leader, produces a new design

I have heard that Newey is more like the a) type. Others can be a mixture and others can be more B) types.

Conceptual thinks supporting engineers has A LOT to do and thats true in type b) where there is no genious, just a good leader, team and resources.

Close! I simply believe that a great leader tends to cultivate genius in their team thus making the team great. Or at least that is how I was taught to build a team in the workforce.

Management becomes very easy once you have your team built and expectations set. Couple that with comprehensive compensation, and room to expand their personal brilliance, and give them the space to shine.

Learning and growth. It is the only management system that is viable in the 21st century USA.

Chris