Jaguar pins hopes on reliability

Jaguar drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Eddie Irvine go into this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix knowing that only a high rate of attrition will help the team add to the points it gained in Australia

In testing at Barcelona last week the team put its 2001 and 2002 cars head-to-head. There was little to choose between them, so it opted to stick with the R3 beyond Brazil, where Jaguar always planned to stick with the new car. However, the drivers are aware that there are no miracle cures for difficult cars and only an Australian GP-esque amount of retirements will help a car that qualified 17th and 20th last time out into the points.

"Interlagos is very tough on cars and while the R3 could do with more speed, we have reliability on our side," said de la Rosa. "The Brazilian GP also manages to throw up some surprises and it's a race that's very hard to predict."

Team-mate Irvine needs a good result. His contract expires at the end of the season and so far this year he's found it much harder to drag times out of the R3 than the Spaniard. However, Interlagos has not been kind to him in the past.

"My only points finish here was a sixth place back in 1999," he admits. "We have decided to stick with the R3 and push hard on the development in the hope that we can turn the corner very soon."

In its days as Stewart Grand Prix, the Ford-owned outfit actually led the Brazilian GP, with Rubens Barrichello holding onto the top spot for 23 laps in the 1999 race before stopping with a blown engine.