Lauda Plans to Test New Jaguar in January (Updated)

Three times World Champion Niki Lauda will test Jaguar's new Formula One car in Valencia next month, more than 16 years after his last Grand Prix.

"I just want to get a better feel for how the car works," the 52-year-old Jaguar team principal told the Austrian news agency APA. "It is not my intention to leave Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa standing. I am only interested in the technical details."

A team spokesman confirmed that Lauda's drive was planned as a one-off exercise. He said Wolfgang Reitzle, chief executive of Ford's Premier Automotive Group, and Ford group vice-president for product development Richard Parry-Jones would also have a chance to drive the car.

Austrian Lauda, who took over as team principal from Bobby Rahal in August, won the World Championship in 1975, 1977 and 1984. He retired at the end of 1985 but did drive a McLaren two-seater Formula One car in 2000. Reitzle suggested jokingly in February that Lauda could test drive the team's car to compensate for his salary.

Jaguar will name a test driver in January and current development driver Andre Lotterer of Germany is expected to take the role. Lauda has been disparaging about modern Formula One cars compared to those of his era, saying this season that traction control was 'a joke' because the electronic systems made the cars easier to handle.

The former Ferrari and McLaren driver will find out for himself how true that is when he takes the Jaguar around the Valencia track on January 13, nine days after the car launch at Milton Keynes, England. The team finished eighth in 2001, their second season under the Jaguar name. They won nine points and took their first podium finish when Eddie Irvine came third in Monaco.