THE chairman of the Williams F1 team has pledged it will continue investing in technologies away from the Grand Prix circuit.

The company, which employs 490 workers at Grove, recently lent its specialist engineering expertise to the development of a new Jaguar supercar.

In addition to the development deal with Jaguar Land Rover, its hybrid technology has also been used in Porsche racing cars.

Now chairman Adam Parr, along with team principal Sir Frank Williams, plans to extend the firm’s range of commercial ventures.

Mr Parr said: “The relationship with Jaguar Land Rover is not just about building one car. We will be building a long-term relationship while still competing in Formula One.”

Mr Parr was speaking after the team’s maiden set of financial results was released following its flotation on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in March.

They show a like-for-like pre-tax profit of £7.7m in the year to December 31 2010, up 33 per cent on the previous year.

Annual turnover fell from £108.3m in 2009 to £91m which Mr Parr explained was due to a decline in sponsorship revenue. He said this had been more than compensated for by cutting costs.

Last week, Williams announced the resignation of technical director Sam Michael and chief aero-dynamicist Jon Tomlinson.

Mike Coghlan, who was suspended from the sport for two years after he was found in possession of confidential documents belonging to Ferrari while he was working for the rival McLaren team, has been appointed chief engineer.

It follows a disastrous start to the season for Williams which has failed to score a single point in four races.

Mr Parr added: “We have had a terrible season but we have a platform with the car which we need to develop.”

The Jaguar supercar, known as the C-X75, will be packed with the latest technology promising top speed of more than 200mph with low emissions and remarkable fuel economy. Only 250 will be built.

The team at Williams F1 has worked on areas of the car including aerodynamics, carbon composite parts and hybrid technologies.

Jaguar bosses say the combination of the two firms represents “the leading edge of British automotive engineering and innovation”.