Irvine faces make-or-break session

Eddie Irvine is likely to know by the end of today’s qualifying session for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone whether he will still be with Jaguar next season.

Irvine has been a virtual spectator this year due to a wretched car which has left him primarily watching events unfold from an unaccustomed position at the back of the grid.

The 36-year-old Ulsterman has become so frustrated with life with the ‘Big Cat’ he has threatened to quit Formula One if he is not given the package he needs to be more than just an also-ran.

Irvine’s best qualifying position this season has been a lowly 13th, although he has suffered the ignominy of being 20th on three occasions and 21st on another, while his only points finish was in the accident-stricken season-opener at Australia.

Ahead of this weekend’s event, though, hopes had risen inside the Jaguar camp due to a number of improvements to the car which the team’s bosses were confident would propel them up the grid.

But following the two rain-hit, hour-long free practice sessions yesterday, there was little which Irvine and team-mate Pedro de la Rosa could glean from their time in the cockpit of the modified R3b, finishing 15th and 13th respectively.

‘‘Obviously we would have liked to have got some miles in and get a proper feel for it, but we weren’t lucky in that respect,’’ said Irvine, whose three-year, £18million contract with Jaguar expires at the end of this season.

‘‘It’s impossible to know what the story is. When we got it for (testing in) Barcelona, I only did 15 laps in it. It was better in some areas, but there were a few issues with it.

‘‘We haven’t had a chance to really do any set-up work with it because it means running the car in a totally different way and we haven’t done any running.’’

Irvine, who has said this weekend’s race will be a key to deciding his F1 future, is refusing to completely give the game away at this stage.

When asked what he felt he needed to do to keep his seat, he replied: ‘‘The same as you always do, do good. If you do good, you stay. If you don’t, you go.

‘‘It’s the same for every driver in the pitlane. We’ve got to keep working on this car, trying to make it reasonable and then hopefully we can get some results. Until then, I’m not making any decisions.’’

Jenson Button is rumoured to be Irvine’s replacement, while the future of another Briton in Allan McNish is also shrouded in doubt after a steady season with new-boys Toyota which is yet to see the Scot score a maiden F1 point.

Renault driver Button, who finished ninth and who seems to have been permanently answering questions regarding his career over the last couple of years, said: ‘‘I’ve some options for next year.

‘‘But I’m not thinking about where I’m going to be next year yet. I’ve just got to concentrate on this weekend and the races coming and then when I know what my options are, I will make a decision.’’

McNish, meanwhile, has yet to out-qualify experienced team-mate Mika Salo this season, although bad luck has played its part to the detriment of the Scot.

Like Irvine, McNish was also asked how he intended to retain his seat, and he said: ‘‘By doing the same job as I am doing now.

‘‘At the end of the day we have to develop the same, we have to work with the car and I have to get out there and drive.

‘‘I have been in points-scoring positions before, so we know it is possible on the right occasion. I know that we can do it in qualifying and in the races, so I just keep on doing my job.

‘‘At the moment a lot of things are being said and there are a lot of rumours, but there is not often very much to substantiate them.’’

Two-time British Grand Prix winner David Coulthard suffered two second-session spins in his McLaren to leave him 12th, more than three-and-a-half seconds behind the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello, with team-mate and championship leader Michael Schumacher second.