Webber earns points despite penalty

The Australian opted to start from the pit lane after qualifying down in 17th, allowing the team to refuel his car. However, this plan backfired somewhat when the race start was twice aborted. The team refuelled him after the first start, but with the race officially starting on the third attempt, Jaguar was determined to have worked on the car when it was under parc ferme conditions.

"The balance and pace of the car were excellent and I actually wish I could have stayed out there for longer," said Webber. "I really enjoyed being behind the wheel of the Jaguar today and two more points is very satisfying for all concerned. Given the reliability issues we suffered at the start of the season, you've got to credit the team for making some impressive improvements recently.

"The pace of the car was very strong this weekend and when you add all this together, you can see why I have decided to hand around Jaguar until at least 2005."

Jaguar's second driver, Antonio Pizzonia, narrowly missed out on his first point's finish, challenging eighth place finisher Jarno Trulli in the final laps. "I am obviously pleased to have finished the race but being only one position away from a points finish is a little frustrating," he said.

"Nonetheless, the potential of our race car is becoming clear for everyone to see and being a consistent points challenger is something we are very fast turning into."