Webber talks down Williams interest

Mark Webber admitted there has been talks between himself and Williams but insists that his immediate future is with Jaguar. Since McLaren announced the signing of Juan Pablo Montoya for 2005, Webber has been the focus of much interest as Williams' ...

Mark Webber admitted there has been talks between himself and Williams but insists that his immediate future is with Jaguar. Since McLaren announced the signing of Juan Pablo Montoya for 2005, Webber has been the focus of much interest as Williams' favoured choice to replace the Colombian. The speculation is set to run and run but for the moment Webber has stated once again that he is concentrating on Jaguar.

Mark Webber.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

"There is talk happening and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't but I've got a contract (with Jaguar) to the end of 2005 and that's how it is," Webber commented, according to The Australian newspaper. "A lot of the time things happen without you knowing about it but I'm sure Frank (Williams) and Tony Purnell (Ford CEO of the Premiere Performance Division) spoke about it, but for me I've got to focus on this year."

The rumour mill has suggested that Williams is unhappy with Montoya's departure and may bring his contract to an end before next season but BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen has, of course, denied that. Jaguar has yet to announce a teammate for Webber for 2004 and is not likely to let its star driver go and leave itself with two empty seats.

With or without a confirmed driver line up, Jaguar is due to launch the R5 in Spain on January 18th. Williams says it will compete in 2004 with its current pairing of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher and is not concerned about Montoya possibly taking information with him to McLaren when he leaves.

"The drivers know plenty about vehicle dynamics, but are not so involved in the detail of the technology under the skin of a car," said Theissen. "An engineer changing team compromises confidentiality much more than a driver."