Jaguar Set for Further Improvements, Says Webber

Jaguar's Mark Webber believes the team will show improvement after the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, stating the new R5 car for 2004 is already being worked on.

"From Silverstone onwards I think we can [improve]." Webber, who has recently signed an extension to his contract to race with the team until the end of 2005, told Atlas F1. "There is some stuff slowly coming through, which should help us, I think. More efficient testing - that will make us stronger as a whole package."

Webber scored the team's first points of the season last weekend at Barcelona, where he finished seventh after qualifying twelfth, however the Australian believes much of the car's performance is down to tyres.

"We've got what we've got now, and we can put some nicer things on [the car] and try and detail it a bit more, but it's mainly understanding Michelin," he said. "You know, Renault's on a softer tyre and they can make it work, and that helps. It's the basic things that can make a massive difference.

"We can't push the fast forward button and have the R5 here tomorrow - we know that - but we are working on the R5 and she'll be ready for next year."

Webber further supported his team's decision to adopt the Friday testing programme, which meant Jaguar could only test for 10 days a year - or 20 days with one car only - outside the Grand Prix weekend. Nevertheless, Webber stipulated they may not continue with limited testing next year.

"It's the best thing we could have done," Webber stated. "We can't go testing for 60 days with 3 cars, so for us to chill testing out just a little bit, to have 20 car days sprinkled throughout the year and have our Friday running is a super scenario for us this year.

"Next year might be different."