Jaguar Racing boss Niki Lauda, said Jordan was one of the teams he was hoping to beat this year. Speaking at the launch of the team's new car today, the Austrian admitted that challenging Ferrari, McLaren and Williams was not a realistic target. "Currently, we are in a bunch with Jordan, BAR, Sauber and Benetton and our aim should be to beat them," reckoned Lauda.

The Jaguar R3 was unveiled in Milton Keynes and was described as a more adventurous design than its predecessors, by technical director Steve Nichols. To date, the new car has passed all its FIA crash tests bar one.  As usual power comes courtesy of a Cosworth V10, which this year, is also being supplied to Arrows. "That is a good thing," claimed Lauda. "Because if Arrows beat us, it will show we are not doing a good enough job. It will also give us more engine data to work with." Initially, the engine will be a development of the 2001 unit, with a new engine appearing later in the season.

The team also announced a new partnership with Castrol, who will supply lubricants and, through parent company BP, fuel as well. This is part of a wider commercial agreement between Castrol and the Premier Automotive Group, the Ford division which handles Jaguar, Aston Martin, Volvo, Land Rover and Lincoln cars.

The recently married Pedro De La Rosa said he was looking forward to his first full season with Jaguar, while team-mate Eddie Irvine confided that the older he gets, the fitter he gets. Please let us all into the secret Eddie! The former Jordan driver will have the honour of being the first man to drive the R3, in Barcelona, next Tuesday. However, more interest will revolve around the man who steps into the cockpit in Valencia on 13th January. Mr. Lauda himself will be taking the wheel - "to have a better understanding of what the drivers are saying about the car." As a three-times world champion with 25 grands prix wins to his name, his opinion is bound to be of some value, although he has not driven a Formula One car since 1985.