Alonso Looking Forward to Jaguar Test

Spanish driver Fernando Alonso is looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Jaguar R3 this week at the Silverstone circuit.

Jaguar announced on Monday that the Renault driver will test for them on Thursday with his times compared with those of Australian James Courtney and German Andre Lotterer, who have not driven the R3 before and will test on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"It will be a good experience, and a very interesting one," said Alonso, who will travel to England on Wednesday to have a seat fitting at Jaguar. "Being able to test two cars and see the difference between them is not something that you can do every day. Renault think this test will be good for me and that's why they accepted.

"This way I'll be able to gather more experience, which is important at my age. I just hope everything goes OK and that the weather allows us to make good use of the time to complete the scheduled programme."

The move is sure to increase speculation about the Spaniard's future, with the contract of Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine expiring at the end of the season.

Irvine, 37 in November this year, is the oldest driver in Formula One while Alonso is just 20 and seen as one of the rising stars of the sport after an impressive season with Minardi last year.

Renault's young Briton Jenson Button, on loan from Williams, also has a contract up for renewal.