Jaguar facing hard time - Irvine
Eddie Irvine believes Jaguar Racing face a "hard" time in Suzuka this weekend despite making a promising start to the Japanese Grand Prix.
Irvine finished seventh fastest with team-mate Pedro de la Rosa one place further back in Friday practice.
But he then warned that the first-day times could be misleading.
"The lap times look impressive but I think we're in for a hard weekend at this circuit," said Irvine, who made his debut in Japan nine years ago.
"The first session was tough. I was losing time in places that I normally wouldn't expect to.
"Qualifying well is so important at Suzuka because of the overtaking difficulties and from looking at today's lap times, I think our group is going to be very tight indeed."
Irvine is refusing to reveal his plans for 2003 though he has been linked with Jordan should this weekend mark the final race of his three-season spell with Jaguar.
Team chief Niki Lauda, meanwhile, says his target for the season finale is to ensure the Milton Keynes-based outfit finish at least in sixth place in the Manufacturers' Championship.
"The times from today mean very little, relatively speaking," said Lauda. "Until the qualifying hour ends tomorrow it is impossible to say where we are going to start Sunday's race.
"Consolidating the team's sixth place in the championship is the target for the weekend and with that in mind we must aim to beat the Honda-powered teams."
