Irvine 'Not Panicking' Over 2003 Drive

Ulsterman Eddie Irvine said on Saturday that he is not in talks with any team over his Formula One future, but claimed he is "reasonably" confident of racing in the sport next year.

Irvine posted his best qualifying performance since Monaco last year in the cooling conditions at Spa-Francorchamps before the heavens opened later in the day. Speaking to sheltering reporters in the Jaguar motorhome at Spa, the former Ferrari star insisted his future was not as dismal as persistent drizzly conditions around the Spa circuit.

"I want to be in Formula One next year and I am not panicking, let's put it that way," he said when questioned over his plans for 2003.

Irvine is set to be ousted from Jaguar at the end of the season to make way for promising Australian Minardi driver Mark Webber, but appears to be playing it cool in his search for a seat.

"I am not talking to anyone," he said before asking his manager Enrico Zanarini who he is talking to and adding: "He's not talking to anyone because he is standing up there with a big smile on his face."

Irvine claimed "it's too early to say" whether he will leave Jaguar but adding that he is "not really" in discussions to stay. The driver merry-go-round is typically shielded in a cloak of darkness, and Irvine continued to stir up the stew of confusion. When asked if Jordan will be his destination, he added: "Who knows, we'll see."

Irvine, however, said he is still driven to stay in the sport and that he still wants to prove himself by recovering his past successes.

"I would still like to have a good year in Formula One or a good few years in Formula One," he said. "I don't particularly want to stop - but if you saw the speed I buy and sell houses you would see I get speed outside Formula One as well. I am very adaptable."