Perhaps the highest profile Formula One chairman because of his political♋ links, British American Raci꧋ng'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 iꦇnterests'. What exactly does this mean?

Ken Clarke:
All I can say is that he wants to pursue other interests. Craig has b🃏een 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 ide🐷al 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 an🅷nounce 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 thin🎉k 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 lo🅠ng 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 tigh𒅌t 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:
Di༺d Craig leave of his own accord or was he pushed ou🌟t?

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 💦whꦆat 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 enthusiꦏast. 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 tꦛhat 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 coꦬmpany, he remains a shareholder and I think that shows that Craig Pollock and British American💯 Racing remain close.