Wirdheim - confirmed !

[demarco]

Autosport wrote two weeks ago that Wirdheim was confirmed as third driver for Jaguar. But no official statement from neither Jaguar or Wirdheim has said anything at all about the situation. Does anyone know what is happening?

And it is sad to see that Pantano, who finished third, got the Jordan drive instead of champion Wirdheim just because Pantano goes for budget and Wirdheim on driving skills...

[Rafael]

Unfortunately, it's how F1 works nowadays, mainly on the two poorest teams.

[Kicking-back]

Wirdheim does have the job, yes.

And while I agree it's sad he hasn't got a race drive, I would say Pantano deserves a seat on merit.

You can't always just look at F3000 and say the champion will necessarily be the better F1 driver than the guy who finished third.

[x_dt]

Both Wirdheim and Pantano deserve to be in F1 on merit - far more so than the driver who finished 14th in the F3000 series last year (ie Zsolt).

[demarco]

But if he has got the job, why is he not mentioned at all at Jaguars website? Why not telling the world about their new driver? Why no emails from Wirdheim telling us that he has signed? How come Webber and Klien are testing alone during the tests? If Wirdheim was signed, shouldnt he be driving as well? Or does Jaguar expect him to come to Melbourne having done only one single test day, and develop the car enough that Webber can claim pole position (well...)? No, my friends, something is very wrong here... There have been no information what so ever from Jaguar or Wirdheim about this. I dont think he has the ride....

[demarco]

I hate being right... in a Swedish newspaper they today suggest that a major sponsor will support Wirdheim with some million Swedish Crowns so he can sign the contract, but then his father sent an email declaring that it is all speculation, but that "nothing has been signed yet"... according to the paper, everything will be signed next week and Wirdheim will be testing for Jaguar during the last test before Melbourne. We´ll have to wait and see...

[Raven]

I was hoping to see Wirdheim in champ cars. He deserves to be racing. Definitely the best thing to have come out of Sweden since Victoria Silvstedt.

[jondownunder]

Originally posted by Kicking-back
You can't always just look at F3000 and say the champion will necessarily be the better F1 driver than the guy who finished third.

Good point. Pantano was impressive in his second and third F3000 seasons, joining both Coloni and Durango when they were not considered top teams. I wouldn't consider him as a pay driver in the derogatory sense of the term.

[Kicking-back]

I think Wirdheim will gain more by being a Friday tester than he would have by taking a Champ Car race seat.

[BSchneiderFan]

Originally posted by Kicking-back
You can't always just look at F3000 and say the champion will necessarily be the better F1 driver than the guy who finished third.

Though I think Wirdheim is better than Pantano.

[BootsOntheSide]

Arden wasn't really a top team until Wirdheim joined them either. And he only took 2 seasons to take the title, in a series where few rookies even win races. Nothing against Pantano, he's clearly fast and promising, but Wirdheim is the real deal.

A ChampCar race seat might actually be a better option than Friday testing with a midfield team. He could eb given nothing but donkey work by Jaguar, whereas drivers can get noticed in CART. Now that the serie has virtually no ovals and amazing equipment parity, it's an great series to challenge for.

[santori]

Arden won the title - briefly - with Enge the year before so I don't think Wirdheim can get the credit for turning it around.
I'd rather go for testing. Bourdais and Manning aren't on their way over yet.

[Raven]

Testing is only worthwhile if you're offered the position Sato or Alonso were. I don't think Wirdheim has that luxury. Look at Wurz and Davidson, that's not where Bjorn wants to be after 2 or 3 more years.

[santori]

But with a line-up as potentially unsettled as Jaguar's, Wirdheim could be in the right place to step into a race-seat.

[Kicking-back]

Don't know where this suggestion about Jag's line up being unsettled comes from. Klein is secure for the season.

Unless u mean for 05 when Webber leaves.

[Raglanparade]

is that because jag will be in money trouble and have to fire webber ?

[santori]

Webber is in demand so could leave; Klein has yet to prove himself. (I think he is very good but so is Pizzonia).
So both seats COULD be open at the end of the year.

[Adam43]

It has been confirmed now http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.asp?id=26040&s=5

[Kicking-back]

It's been agreed for a while, today just marks the official announcement.

[demarco]

Finally! Congratulations to Bjorn for a job well done! It is fantastic to once again have a Swedish driver in F1! Now why cant the season start soon??!!

But I still dont think it was decided until like yesterday, because it would have been much better for both Bjorn and Jaguar to have settled everything earlier and had Bjorn driving the car a lot more. Anyway, good news and a great opportunity for Bjorn!

[JMeissner]

Fantastic news!

[BootsOntheSide]

Congratulations to Bjorn, who thoroughly deserves an opportunity in Formula 1. It's unlikely that he'll get a race drive this year, but who knows what the future will bring?

[ralf fan]

Lets hope he sets some good times and lives up to the hype... Best of luck Bjorn!

[Knowlesy]

Let's hope he doesn't deputise at Monaco otherwise he may stop on the line, losing vital points for Jag.

But seriously, best of luck to the guy! He deserves it!

[Kicking-back]

Taking the testing deal was definitely the right decision - he can always go racing elsewhere in the future if he can't get a race seat.