Jaguar team boss Niki Lauda has defended his decision to replace F1 veteran Eddie Irvine with the relatively inexperienced Mark Webber, explaining that taking on any new driver is a risk. The Austrian compared the situation with that of Benetton when they took Michael Schumacher from Eddie Jordan in the early days of his career, and look at him now.

"Even Schumacher was a risk once, and he is now the best there is,” he was quoted as saying in the Australian press. “Webber has looked very promising all season, but what impressed me the most were his races in Melbourne and Monte Carlo. Melbourne was a great race and he got in the points, as everyone remembers, but Monaco was equally impressive, even though he didn't finish that high. Webber showed in a difficult street race that he is good at bringing the car home."

It is thought that Webber, who is managed by Renault team boss Flavio Briatore, is receiving over 3 million for his services, a deal the Milton Keyes based squad could have done cheaper as other drivers would have taken the seat for a lot less. Many drivers from the 2002 season now find themselves without a ride, so Lauda had many candidates to choose from, but he believes Mark has already displayed the qualities that made him the perfect choice.

"Webber came to the UK from Australia and needed to be competitive to prove himself and he did that, just as I did when I left Austria," he explained. "From that respect, he has already shown why he is the right choice."