Rahal tells Irvine to hold his tongue

Rahal's comments come in the wake of some tough talking from Irvine during testing at Valencia last week The Ulsterman, who is known for his 'say-what-he-thinks' attitude, outwardly complained about the 2001 Jaguar's lack of pace.

"I think he was trying to tweak us a bit so we know what we ought to be doing for him," said Rahal. "I don't know if the criticisms are Eddie's way of motivating the team. I've seen other drivers do that, but I've never felt it was a very positive way of motivating people."

The pressure is on Jaguar to perform this year after a disastrous debut in 2000 when the team scored just four points. Winter testing has shown this year's R2 to be reliable, but off the pace and Irvine found himself at the bottom of the Spanish time sheets for much of last week.

While the Ulsterman expects the Milton Keynes-based team to provide him with a competitive car, Rahal has made it clear that Irvine too, is expected to perform.

"Sure he's pushing us as we're going to push him," said Rahal. "That shows mutual respect and that each is giving maximum effort. Eddie also knows we expect performances."

Extra pressure was exerted on Irvine and team mate Luciano Burti this week following the signing of Arrows-come-Prost exile Pedro de la Rosa as a second development driver alongside Tomas Scheckter. The former Arrows driver has been lured away from Prost to the Big Cat with the promise of a race seat in the future, potentially putting either Irvine or Burti's seat for next year at risk.

Rahal contests the need for either driver to be concerned. He said: "I've told Luciano not to worry about next year and focus on today. He accepts that. The message to both our drivers is that we have to do everything we can to be successful."

Jaguar Racing's new overlord Niki Lauda, who started his new role with the team yesterday (Wednesday), echoed Rahal's sentiments and also spoke out against the likely return of traction control at this year's Spanish Grand Prix.

"I think traction control is a joke," said the triple world champion, "especially in the wet. Anybody can drive these cars. Hopefully the arrival of Michelin in competition with Bridgestone will make a difference because we need that. We want proper racing for spectators."