Webber staying at Jaguar

Jaguar have scotched rumours linking Mark Webber with a mid-season move to Williams.

15:35 15 July 2004

Jaguar have scotched rumours linking Mark Webber with a mid-season move to Williams.

The Australian driver has endured a difficult season with the British-based team, picking up just four points as Jaguar struggled to compete with their major rivals.

That haul makes up the sum total of Jaguar's points tally so far, leaving them above only minnows Minardi in the race for the Constructors' Championship.

And that poor performance has left ambitious Webber unhappy with his team, but he is determined to see out this season at least - something Jaguar chief executive David Pitchforth is more than happy about.

"There is not enough money that would make me release Mark before the end of the season," Pitchforth said.

"I've got more than enough money this year to run the team well...I don't need more funds this year. There's no reason why I would enter into any agreement.

"To get Mark Webber to stay now I have to present him with a case that shows him we've got the funding and the plans to take the team forward."

It appears as though Williams will do their utmost to sign Webber at the end of the season as a replacement for McLaren-bound Juan Pablo Montoya, but Pitchforth is hopeful that he can convince the Aussie to stay.

Webber has another year left on his contract but Pitchforth admitted that he would need to give his driver an impressive "sales pitch" to prevent him from moving on.