Following 2002 debutante Toyota's low-key launch in Cologne on Monday, Formula One got back revelation, rumour and recrimination in England yesterday. British American unveiled their challenger for next season as well as a new boss and an extension of their works Honda engine deal which could threaten the long-term stability of Honda-rivals Jordan.

Less than 24 hours after waving goodbye to Craig Pollock, one of the men who founded BAR from the ashes of Tyrrell, the team revealed its BAR004 car and announced world rally championship boss David Richards will take over from Pollock immediately.

Richards, who was once team boss at Benetton, is best known as the boss of Prodrive, the company that built the WRC-winning Subaru Imprezas, and holder of the commercial rights of world rally championship.

Since taking over the commercial rights of the series via his company International Sportsworld Communicators, Richards has boosted the profile of the sport with a slick TV package.

"Initially Prodrive had a management services contract with BAR," said Richards yesterday. "The intent is that that will grow into a closer relationship. I have never hidden the fact that I would never personally go back into F1 as an individual ambition. But I saw it very much as a corporate ambition for Prodrive."

Despite claiming he would be devoting all his energies to his new role at BAR, Richards will carry on as boss of both Prodrive and ISC, a situation which could prove debilitating.

Earlier this year Bobby Rahal, who had insisted he could handle the demands of running his own race team in the US and Jaguar Racing in Formula One, was ousted from the British team and replaced by Niki Lauda following a series of high-profile gaffes.

Richards though is inheriting a team with valuable assets, not the least of which is Honda power. Yesterday BAR also announced it has signed a deal to extend its supply of Honda engines through to the end of 2004.

BAR's initial deal with Honda was due to come to an end at the close of the 2002 season and with Jordan having reputedly signed a "multi-year" contract beginning in 2001, it was believed BAR would be sacrificed if the heavily-rumoured cutback to one team was effected by Honda at the end of next season.

Jordan, though buoyed by their beating of BAR in this year's constructor's championship, will surely be looking to copper-fasten their supply of the essential works support for years to come.

Despite BAR's enthusiasm for the engine announcement, however, Honda insisted yesterday the deal was merely "a basic agreement". Honda chiefs at the launch were keener to place their confidence in the RA002E, the engine that will power the BAR004 in 2002. "It's a brand new design, lighter and more powerful with a lower centre of gravity," said a Honda spokesman. "We now have a clear long-term commitment to the team and we are aiming to give them the best engine in F1."

The RA002E will also be fitted to the new Jordan EJ12 and in line with the vogue in F1 engine design it also has a far wider vee-angle than the 2001 powerplant.

Richards' other chief asset is Jacques Villeneuve, the number one driver who has been mentored throughout his career by Monday's sacrificial lamb Craig Pollock. Yesterday the Canadian admitted he had been surprised by Pollock's resignation.

"There hasn't been much time to react to the news but it's better this way," said Villeneuve. "You don't have time to think about it, you don't know if you are angry or sad. This year was definitely the toughest to digest so far. Only time will tell if this (Pollock's departure) is the best way."

Richards said he hopes Villeneuve will stay. "Obviously Jacques is one of the key elements of this team. He is an extraordinarily talented driver. When the message comes though that someone close to you is leaving, naturally you react to that. If we can evolve as we hope to, then we hope he will stay."

Two of Formula One's 12 outfits have now the tiresome PR duties of unveiling their cars completed and can concentrate on preparing their machines for the resumption of full testing on January 7th. Of the others only one will launch before the test ban ends - Jaguar. With an unchanged line-up of Eddie Irvine and Pedro De La Rosa and finally boasting what appears to be a stable management structure, the Ford-backed team will be hoping the New Year launch will bring some hope to a project that has struggled badly since its debut in 2000.

Renault, whose name will finally replace Benetton 18 months after having bought the team, will launch the first car of their second term as a wholly-owned F1 team in Paris on the January 21st where they will show off their new driver line-up of Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button. Swiss rivals Sauber, who will partner Nick Heidfeld with Brazilian rookie Felippe Massa, will launch in Zurich on January 25th.

Minardi, meanwhile, will be the only team to travel outside Europe for their launch. The Anglo-Italian team has signed closer ties with the Malaysian government through its sponsors Magnum, the Malaysian State Lottery, and powered by Asiatech engines, the team has changed its name to KL Minardi Asiatech - the KL is a government initiative to boost the image of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

The team will unveil its new livery in the Asian city in January and are likely to launch their car in Kuala Lumpur in February.

Jordan, McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, Arrows and Prost are yet to announce details of their launch dates.