Webber to Test for Jaguar Next Week

Australian Mark Webber will test for Jaguar Racing in Barcelona next week with a possible drive in 2003 at stake.

Jaguar have yet to confirm next year's line-up and spokesman Nav Sidhu told Reuters there had been no official discussions between the team and Northern Irishman Eddie Irvine about extending his contract. Irvine will be 37 this year and is the oldest driver in Formula One.

Webber, 25, made an impressive debut for Minardi this year, with a fifth place on his first outing in Melbourne and qualifying his car ahead of the Jaguars on several occasions.

In Monaco, he stood out again by finishing eighth in Thursday's free practice and has built up a reputation as an extremely fit driver with good technical feedback.

The Australian was Benetton's official test driver last year and remains under contract to Renault, as is young Spaniard Fernando Alonso who tested for Jaguar in May.

Sidhu said the test would be on June 28th in the R3 car.

"The aim is to evaluate Mark and subsequently explore our options for the 2003 season," he said. "If we do find ourselves with a vacant seat we'd like some options."

Evaluation Process

Jaguar, who shuffled their line-up last season by replacing Brazilian Luciano Burti with Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa, emphasised that there would be no changes for the current season.

Irvine has said that he is waiting to see what aerodynamic changes do to the struggling R3 when they are bought in at the British Grand Prix next month before he decides on his future.

One of the highest paid drivers in Formula One, he has suggested that he would be willing to take a pay cut if given the chance to drive a competitive car.

That is something that Ford-owned Jaguar have not done so far, with last year's car written off as too slow and too heavy until the 2002 model proved to be just as sluggish.

Jaguar are a key piece in the jigsaw to determine who drives for which team in 2003.

Alonso, a Minardi driver last year before becoming Renault's official tester, made an impression with the fourth fastest time against the main teams on his outing with Jaguar at Silverstone at the end of May.

He had been seen as being in line for a place at Renault next season but the French team are now expected to retain Italian Jarno Trulli and Briton Jenson Button.

Jaguar have also tried out their junior drivers James Courtney of Australia and Andre Lotterer of Germany.