Webber gets lightweight Jaguar

Although the future of the Milton Keynes-based team remains in doubt as negotiations continue to find a buyer, the staff at the factory have been continuing to push forward with developments. Part of that work has included the fine-tuning of the R5b-06 chassis, which made its debut in the hands of Christian Klien at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Webber said: "The guys at the factory in Milton Keynes and the team up at Cosworth Racing in Northampton have all really pulled together over these last couple of weeks and I would like to reward them with points before the season ends. I will be racing this weekend in our new chassis, the R5b-06."

Jaguar's managing director David Pitchforth has joined Webber in praising the ongoing work at the team's factory amid the difficult circumstances - and is hopeful that although Klien did not score with the R5b-06 in China that Webber can do better this time out.

He said: "We went to China with our heads held high and although we scored no points, we clocked up a lot of miles in this time and the car was very reliable. We took the decision to have Christian race the R5b-06 in China and now it's Mark's turn. The team has been fine-tuning the car over the past month or so and we are really prepared going into these last two races."

The R5b-06 is a lighter and stiffer version of the chassis raced this season and was originally going to form the basis of the team's 2005 car - until proposed technical regulations scuppered those plans. It failed to shine in China, however, as Klien was consistently out-performance by Webber.

Jaguar currently lies just one point ahead of Toyota in the fight for seventh place in the constructors' championship.