Jaguar fixes driveshaft problem 17 Mar 2003
Jaguar Racing has traced the problem that stopped Mark Webber in the Australian Grand Prix to a driveshaft fault, rather than the suspension failure that was initially suspected.
"We were all naturally disappointed to have suffered a double retirement," said managing director David Pitchforth, "but having now understood the problem and corrected it, we go to Malaysia optimistic given the encouraging pace we demonstrated. The new race weekend format makes it very hard to understand where we stand relative to our competition and even after Australia, there is still a significant degree of uncertainty amongst the teams. With different drivers running different fuel loads all weekend and then carrying these strategies into the race, it is hard to make like-for-like performance comparisons with anyone at this early stage of the season. What we do understand, however, is the potential of our package.
"Melbourne clearly showed us that the Jaguar R4 is a very responsive and well-balanced package and our aim going into Malaysia is to take full advantage of this. The nature of the circuit layout combined with the heat should bode well for tyre performance but until we take to the track for our two-hour testing session on Friday, we cannot be sure."
Drivers Mark Webber and Antonio Pizzonia have been acclimatising to local weather conditions on the island of Langkawi, near Malaysia.
