Irvine Says Car, Not Money, is Key to F1 Future

Eddie Irvine says that having the chance to drive a good car, and not money, will dictate whether or not he stays in Formula One in 2003.

"I want to have the best car I can have. That's all that interests me really," the 36-year-old Jaguar driver told reporters on Thursday at the Canadian Grand Prix. "The money's not the issue. I just want to have the most competitive car I can get.

"I don't need the money, I've made plenty in Formula One and outside Formula One so that part's a game. Results are what's serious.

"Formula One is what makes me smile and makes me depressed. If I lose money on a stock I don't really care so much. If I make money it's nice but if I have a good result I'm happy for two weeks," he said. "That's my motivating factor for sure."

Irvine's lucrative contract is up for renewal and he is expected to have to take a significant pay cut if he wants to remain with an underperforming team who are pinning their hopes on an upgraded car next month.

This season's R3 has proved a nightmare, with the Jaguars occasionally fighting for position with Minardi drivers rather than contenders for points.

The Northern Irishman, who partnered Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for four seasons before joining Jaguar in 2000, started his career at Jordan in 1993 and was linked to that team again on Thursday. He evaded discussions on that, laughing off a questioner asking him when his first test for Jordan was due and professing ignorance about the speculation.

"It's a quiet day today, isn't it?...obviously. Let's move on to something sensible," he said.

Irvine Subdued

But Irvine, sounding generally subdued, made clear that he would not want to stay at Jaguar if he felt there was no hope of significant improvements in the pipeline.

"If I thought I was going to have another season like this I wouldn't continue. There's no point," he said. "It just depresses me so I'd rather not. It's better to walk away but I don't think we can ever come up with a car this bad again.

"Really it was Ground Zero at the beginning of this year, when Bobby Rahal's R3 came out," he said, referring to the now departed team principal.

Irvine said wins were years away for the Ford-owned team and they could only hope to be mixing it with the best of the rest next season. He made clear the situation was a personal disappointment for him, having joined Jaguar in their first season in 2000 and secured their first podium finish last year.

"It's not a very nice feeling. I never dreamt I'd have raced Minardis in my Formula One career. It's switch off until the new car comes."

Looking ahead to Sunday's race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Irvine suggested it would be another weekend of pain and no gain.

"We have no chance," he said. "We've just got to do the best we can do and hope everyone has huge problems and we scoop something."