Steiner Optimistic about Revised Jaguar

Jaguar Racing's managing director Guenther Steiner is expecting this week's crucial test at Barcelona to show encouraging signs about the potential of their heavily modified car.

The team have focussed their efforts on the car, which Steiner insists is not officially "new", leaving their current R3 to drop down the order as other teams improve their on-track performance.

But Steiner admits that even now, although there has been progress, they will only be sure of any significant improvements when they field the car for the first time at Silverstone.

"It is an improvement," he confirmed, "But 'significant' is relative. What is significant? I don't know what is exactly coming up. I know the wind tunnel data, but how much we are going to bring over to the full size car, I don't know."

Despite talking down the impact that the changes are going to make on the track, Steiner is aware that improvements are needed quickly to satisfy the team's two ambitious drivers.

"He's not bumping it up," Steiner said of Eddie Irvine's insistence that the revised car will make such dramatic improvements that the team will be racing at the top of the midfield runners.

"For sure we will make a step forward," said Steiner. "It's nice to believe that it's going to be good for the drivers and from their point of view, it must be quite depressing going around where we are at the moment, especially if you have been in the red car for three [he means four] years."