Jag bosses praise Irvine for bullish drive
Jaguar Racing bosses Niki Lauda and Bobby Rahal have lavished praise on their controversial lead driver Eddie Irvine - even though he failed to finish the French Grand Prix

The straight-talking Jaguar overlords saw Irvine put in a gusty performance to reach sixth after outfoxing and outracing a series of drivers to put the 'big cat' team in with a chance of scoring points
But the Ulsterman's hopes went up in smoke when, 55 laps into the race, his Jaguar's engine blew due to pneumatic valve problems.
"It was great fun racing like that," said Irvine. "It was very satisfying to come through the field and scrap for points the way we did. Big shame about the way it ended though!
"I shoulder some of the blame for not doing a better job in qualifying - but I couldn't have driven harder in the race. And to end up fighting for points when we started 12th shows we are capable of better things."
Despite not finishing, Irvine did enough to impress his bosses, who were happy enough to see the potential of the Jaguar R2 which has improved dramatically since aerodynamic revisions were introduced for the Monaco Grand Prix in May.
"Eddie drove a perfect race," said Lauda, who is chairman of the Premier Performance Division, which includes Jaguar Racing, Pi technology and Cosworth. "He passed many cars and drove very aggressively but unfortunately the engine blew up.
"It would have been a positive step forward for Jaguar, but it is not a positive thing when you don't finish a race. From the speed point of view it was. He would have driven into the points and this is what we are here for."
Jaguar Racing CEO Rahal added: "Eddie drove a magnificent race and I think he has overtaken more people this year than anybody else. We learned the same lesson as we did at the last race - we need to qualify better.
"The car needs more work but the potential is there. We lost a point today - maybe even two."
Irvine's team mate Pedro de la Rosa was also plagued by mechanical gremlins and came to halt on the formation lap, but was able to get the car re-started after receiving instructions from the team over the radio and went to finish a distant 14th.
"Pedro had a problem with his electric throttle on the warm-up lap so therefore the car stopped," said Rahal. They had to reset it. He got it going again but did lose a lap."

Pollock: We Need to Focus to Solve Problems
Improvements Came too Late, Says Gascoyne

Latest news
Ellis named as replacement for injured Auer in Bathurst 12 Hour
DTM race-winner Philip Ellis will make his Bathurst 12 Hour debut this week as a stand-in for the injured Lucas Auer.
Winning MSR Acura "super lucky" with Daytona 24 gearbox scare
The Meyer Shank Racing Acura team was "super lucky" to win the Daytona 24 Hours despite its malfunctioning gearbox for most of the race, according to team boss Michael Shank.
Bourdais “surprised” Cadillac was beaten on pace in Daytona 24 Hours
Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac driver Sebastien Bourdais said he was surprised that the victorious Acura ARX-06 outperformed his new V-LMDh in the Daytona 24 Hours IMSA SportsCar Championship season opener.
Daytona 24: MSR Acura opens GTP era with win, Proton snatches LMP2 by 0.016s
Meyer Shank Racing scored its second consecutive victory in the Daytona 24 Hours in the first race for the IMSA SportsCar Championship's new GTP regulations, leading an Acura 1-2 finish.
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
The potential-laden F1 car that Ferrari neglected
The late Mauro Forghieri played a key role in Ferrari’s mid-1960s turnaround, says STUART CODLING, and his pretty, intricate 1512 was among the most evocative cars of the 1.5-litre era. But a victim of priorities as Formula 1 was deemed less lucrative than success in sportscars, its true potential was never seen in period
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? LUKE SMITH asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.