08/07/2004
NEWS STORY
Having previously revealed that the clause in his contract which stipulates Jaguar must be in the top six in the Constructors' Championship by the time the F1 circus reaches Hungary - rather than mid-season as previously thought - Mark Webber has said that he will almost certainly announce his plans for 2005 within the next month.
Although it's widely perceived that the Australian is heading to Grove, none of the parties involved is willing to comment, while Webber has complicated the issue by revealing that he'd like to stay with the 'green team'.
With Ralf Schumacher now confirmed at Toyota, and Juan Pablo Montoya heading to McLaren, WilliamsF1 needs two drivers, and it's thought that Webber's signing could be announced in Germany, home race for engine partner BMW.
"Obviously there's a huge amount of talk going on," Webber told AAP, "but talk is still cheap at the moment and we're no closer to doing any deals for next year, I'm still contracted to Jaguar.
"Ralf's situation does not change my view on anything at all," he continued, "and I think there probably will be some more driver announcements made short term. We're still weighing up our options and won't be rushed into any decisions.
"If I told you where I'd like to go, I'd probably be telling you where I'm going," he added. "Clearly I've got preferences and we have to look at what's best for me in the short term, which is the next year, and also the long term. There are a lot changes to the sport coming up so it's not an easy decision but I'm feeling really good at the moment."
Cryptically, the Australian refused to rule out staying with Jaguar. "Ford is committed to the program," he said. "That will be interesting, to see how that's going to evolve over the next few years, we've come on leaps and bounds as a team in the last 18 months.
"If I was to commit to staying there then all the work and the effort that's gone in, it would be good to see that come to fruition. We've got some decisions to make in the next month or so and that will be clearly under consideration of how strong the team will be in the future."
Following speculation in some sections of the media that Webber could joning Williams this year, replacing the injured Ralf Schumacher, that particular story has gone very quiet.
Talking to pitpass as the London F1 Parade on Tuesday, Jaguar's Nav Sidhu said that Webber would be with Jaguar for the remainder of the season.