Jaguar prepare back-to-back test

The team will run from Wednesday to Friday in an attempt to compare last year's R2 with the new R3, which has proved uncompetitive in the first two grands prix of the year in Australia and Malaysia.

Pedro de la Rosa will drive the cars over the first two days, then Eddie Irvine will take over on Friday. If the R2 is found to be quicker, Jaguar will race the car at the San Marino GP on April 14.

Rival Formula 1 teams will also be present at Barcelona, making Jaguar's vital test a very public affair. Jaguar spokesman Nav Sidhu said: "It is a problem in as much as people will obviously be glued to our times. But if we ran in isolation we would get less of an insight into performance compared to the other teams."

Whatever the results of the test, the team will still take the R3 to next week's Brazilian GP. "If the R2 is quicker, we need to get three cars ready to race," Sidhu explained. "We simply don't have three of them ready to go in the garage."

He also reiterated that a switch back to the R2 would not mean the end of the R3. "We will not bin the new car," he said. "The idea would be for the R2 to do some races and then bring the new car back."