Jags will make slow start, claims Irvine

The Ulsterman, who won the Australian Grand Prix two years ago, was speaking as he prepared for the opening race of the season in Melbourne this Sunday.

Already he has come under fire from new team boss Bobby Rahal for criticising the team as "too slow", and now the ex-Ferrari ace is toning down his remarks.

Amid speculation that dramatic winter staff changes - including the departure of technical director Gary Anderson - have done little to improve their performance, Irvine insisted pre-season testing times were inconclusive.

"Our performance in testing has been ambiguous," he said. "We don't really know how fast we are. I don't really know how we are going to perform against the other teams.

"I think this year we'll start a bit slower and gradually build," continued Irvine. "But what we really want to do is work on the car. Progressing the car is the big thing we are trying to achieve this year."