Pizzonia Keeps his Spirits Up Despite Struggle

Struggling Brazilian rookie Antonio Pizzonia kept his spirits up today despite increasing uncertainty about his Formula One drive with Ford-owned Jaguar.

He told reporters that the team had not discussed his future with him or told him about any negotiations to replace him after Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

"They (Jaguar) didn't say anything to me. I've been away from everything so I don't know a lot," said the 21-year-old at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Jaguar have confirmed that they have approached McLaren about hiring their test driver Austrian Alexander Wurz, who competed in 52 races for Benetton in the 1990s, as a replacement. Pizzonia has been heavily outqualified by his Australian teammate Mark Webber in the last two races and Jaguar's dissatisfaction became public knowledge this week.

"All the problems that I've been having are down to reliability," said Pizzonia, who had never visited Australia or Malaysia before the races there in March. "Two hours to learn the track is quite short but that's the same for everyone. But if you miss most of the testing, then you're in trouble."

Barcelona is the first track that Pizzonia is totally at home on and the Brazilian said he hoped to show his true value on Sunday.

"I'm very confident and I know I can do it, I just need the opportunity to show I can do it," he said. "I think I can do better than anyone else. Actually, I think the pressure doesn't come from the team, it comes from myself."