Wilson aims to support Webber

Wilson beat Webber to the F3000 crown in 2001 but said in Germany: "It's a bit different now! Mark has done a lot of testing and has raced for a year before coming to Jaguar. He has done very well this year so my job is to support him and do the best job I can given that I will be on a steep learning curve."

Wilson drove the R4 in a brief shakedown test on the Silverstone South circuit, but says it was enough to let him know that the car is substantially different from the Minardi he has raced thus far this year.

"It's got good downforce, it's stable and it feels great to drive. I'm just looking forward to driving it on a full circuit." he said. "I found that there was more grip and you could squeeze the power on, whereas the Minardi was straight into the traction control on the exit of a corner."

The 6ft3ins Wilson says that, so far, fitting into the Jaguar has not been a problem.

"You never really know how comfortable you are until you drive a race distance," he said, "but it felt pretty good. The team moved the pedals forward to the legal maximum but it was only a centimetre or two. They also moved an air bottle so that they could make a better-fitting seat, which is thinner than normal so that I can get as far back as possible in the cockpit."

As to his aims for the weekend, Wilson would not be drawn: "I suppose it's just to take it one step at a time and learn about the circuit, the car, the tyres and the team. It's important to keep your feet on the ground but that's not easy when you get an opportunity like this and you roll up into a team like Jaguar."