MAY 9, 2003

Webber extends Jaguar deal until end of 2005

Mark Webber has signed an extension to his current Jaguar Racing contract for the next two seasons. Webber joined Jaguar at the start of the year on a contract which, we believe, was bought from Minardi which ran until the end of 2003. He was thus on the market at the end of the year and several teams were beginning to look at him, following his recent string of good performances. It seems that the Australian has decided that a solid contract with Jaguar for two seasons is the best course of action rather than hoping that a top drive will come up.

"I hope that, by making this announcement so early in the season, people will realize just how serious both our intentions are to firmly establish Jaguar's place in Formula 1," Mark said. "We know it's not going to happen overnight, so I'm very happy that we've made this commitment now and can continue the hard work we've already started this year. For me personally and as a driver, I'm very excited by the prospect of being involved in what is a long-term objective, and to see our goals being realized as we make further progress over the next two years."

The announcement is a piece positive publicity for Jaguar Racing after a weekend in Barcelona which was full of negative publicity resulting from the team's statements with regard to Antonio Pizzonia.

"We see Mark as an integral part of our long-term development," said managing-director David Pitchforth. "His natural abundance of skill and commitment provide a considerable impetus for the team to continue strengthening at all levels of the business and in the process, take our challenge to teams further up the grid."