Rahal: de la Rosa better than Irvine

Speaking in the Sunday Mirror, Rahal claimed that his offer to sell Irvine to Jordan, which was the precursor to his departure from the team, was a joke, but maintains that the Ulsterman is not up to the task of turning Jaguar into a front-running outfit.

"Irvine's public persona can demotivate a team and there was a period when it had that effect," said Rahal.

"Pedro is the kind of guy the team needed. He's more than capable and has the right persona. He was certainly the faster of the two last year."

Rahal insisted that the team made progress under his leadership and that he was forced out against his will.

"I think there was an improvement last year," he claims. "Things were progressing. But I didn't have the confidence of Jaguar's upper management. I didn't want to leave."

Under Rahal's leadership the team took its first ever podium at last year's Monaco GP. Since Niki Lauda has taken control there have been three further top six finishes, including fourth place in Melbourne this year. However, the new R3 has been a disappointment.

Rahal is now focussing his efforts on his CART team and has no desire to return to F1.

"I don't miss the politics. There's much more of it in Formula 1 than there is in CART."