Webber ready for Jaguar test

Minardi's Mark Webber is ready for his test with Jaguar Racing tomorrow and said it should be an interesting event that could benefit both himself and his current team. The Australian will drive the R3, although not the revised edition currently ...

Minardi's Mark Webber is ready for his test with Jaguar Racing tomorrow and said it should be an interesting event that could benefit both himself and his current team. The Australian will drive the R3, although not the revised edition currently testing, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

Mark Webber.

Photo by Minardi Formula 1.

"It's something Paul (Stoddart) and Niki (Lauda) have come to really and there might be something in it for us, for Minardi, so it's quite interesting," Webber said to Reuters. "It might be a win-win everywhere. For sure, it's not a big performance test, it's not a massive evaluation, an 'Is Mark Webber quicker than Eddie Irvine' kind of test. It's not going to happen like that out there."

Webber is on a long term contract with Renault and was their test driver last season but he is cautious about his future: "There's a lot of water to go under the bridge yet, for sure, in the whole driver market but it would be a nice problem to have a few teams interested in me," he said. "I have an option with Paul and I would love to drive for Paul next year but we have to see what is good for everybody."

It's been hinted at that Minardi may be looking for a deal with Jaguar for Cosworth engines and boss Paul Stoddart recently commented: "Obviously we've got to look at 2003. I don't want to say any more about it but you don't have to be Einstein to work out what Jag might have that we want. It's all part of a slightly bigger picture."