Loyalty important says Webber

There is a slight irony to the Australian's comments given the team's recent handling of rookie driver Antonio Pizzonia. The team threatened to axe the Brazilian because of his poor performances, although it eventually opted to keep the driver on.

Webber's recent two-year extension to his Jaguar contract will have been a fillip for the team but the commitment to the beleaguered marque has surprised some observers given Webber's strong start to the year.

Explaining the move, Webber said in Austria: "I'm actually excited about staying. The sense of loyalty is important. Jaguar got me out of Minardi and gave me a chance and I'm enjoying being with the team. Hopefully all the hard work will be fruitful next year and in 2005 we should be strong. Also, you never really know what's happening at the top teams and I am pleased to have the opportunity to work towards making Jaguar competitive."

Webber admitted that the speculation over Pizzonia's future affected the team in Spain. "There was a lot of media attention and I think it is unrealistic to say that the team didn't feel some of that," he said. "But we're totally through all that now and ready to go for the rest of the year. We wanted to get the non-finish monkey off our back and we were very happy to see the chequered flag in Barcelona and score points, even if it was our least competitive performance."

Looking ahead to Sunday's sixth round of the championship, Webber said: "We had a good test at Paul Ricard in terms of reliability and we know what we've got to work on. Although the goalposts are always moving in this game, the performance we have gained over the last six or seven months is phenomenal. The guys have done a great job."