Upbeat Jaguar looking for more points

This is in stark contrast to the beginning of the year where the difficult R3 left drivers Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa struggling at the back of the grid. Wholesale changes to the car have pushed the team up the order and with two races left to go Jaguar lies sixth in the constructors' standings, just three points behind Sauber.

Although the team has no new parts available for the race at Indy, team principal Niki Lauda sees no reason why it should not score points for the third race in a row.

"Monza was a fantastic weekend for us," said the Austrian. "Securing third place has rejuvenated the team and is clearly just reward for the hard work that has been carried out over the season. Indianapolis is a similar circuit to Monza and Spa and there is no reason why we cannot be competitive there.

"Indy boasts a high-speed banked corner that leads on to the longest full-throttle stretch in Formula 1 of around 20 seconds. Not only does this place a high demand on the engine and brakes, but also the set-up is made even more difficult as the infield section of the circuit requires a relatively high downforce configuration. Combine this with the data we have from last year when Eddie finished the race in fifth place and I'd say we are far better prepared for this race than we have been previously."

Should either Irvine or de la Rosa finish in the top six it would be the first time the team has scored point in three consecutive races since it entered F1 in 2000.