Have Niki Lauda and Co made the right decision?

This debate is now closed.

Despite a torrid start to the 2002 season Irvine scored points in two consecutive races in Belgium and Italy and was even on the rostrum at Monza.

The Irishman has made no comment on his future, but rumours link him with a return to the Jordan team, for which he drove in 1994-95.

Irvine and De la Rosa have been replaced by Australian Mark Webber and Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia "with immediate effect".

Webber, 26, drove for Minardi this year, scoring two points in Australia on his debut, while Pizzonia, 22, has racked up thousands of miles as a Williams test driver.

Will the newcomers turn the team's fortunes around?

No way will the inexperienced drivers be able to do much with the new qualifying rules. Jaguar needed Irvine's experience; I just hope another team benefit from his experience next season.
Margaret, England

Eddie Who? Has anyone actually bothered to look low enough down the final standings after each race to find out where he finished? Eddie Irvine isn't a racing driver; he's a womanising playboy driving fast cars at 200mph just so he can finance his ludicrously expensive lifestyle.
Da Silva, England

Eddie Irvine has been extremely outspoken about the shortcomings of his team. I applaud him for it but he has paid the price. No employer will keep an employee who repeatedly tells the world that the product is rubbish!
Barry, England

The reason Jaguar sacked him was because his head had become too big to fit in the car anymore.
Chris, UK

I for one am delighted with the news. The man has been a good driver for a number of years but now receives more press for his outrageous comments than he does for his driving. Who can forget the time when he said he was the second best driver in the world. What rubbish that was!
Gareth, Wales

Who cares? Today cars are much more important than drivers anyway.
Milan, Croatia

He may not always be the most popular with everyone, but of the four drivers - two incoming and two outgoing - he is probably the quickest, definitely the most experienced and undoubtedly the best equipped to help Jaguar to develop and set up a race car.

He is not in the long-term plans for Jaguar but the changes they have made are going to hinder the progess in the future. Hope Eddie gets Sato's Jordan seat - at least Eddie can keep the car off the grass.
William, USA

Maybe Eddie has had more press off the track than on it, but surely he's proved his worth over the past three years. Jaguar have a lot to thank him for, and I hope he gets a drive with Jordan for next season to show Jaguar exactly what they're missing out on.
Lauren, England

No. EI is the heart of the racing team. Jaguar will stumble further, he scored the team's only points. Jaguar will miss him greatly....Fire Lauda not Eddie...
John, Toronto, Canada

About time that Irvine and de la Rosa were kicked out. It's good to see that F1 is finally looking beyond the F1 boundaries and are giving young talent the opportunity to succeed at the top level.

Webber provides solid performances but lacks that extra spice that make an exceptional driver. Pizzonia, on the other hand, has incredible talent that has long been absent in F1.

It's not surprising that after demolishing the Jaguar's previous lap record around Barcelona during a test that he was given the chance, by Lauda, to race next season. Pizzonia will definitely impress!
Nick, UK

Eddie will be missed in many ways. He is such a flamboyant character and adds a lot of the glamour that used to exist in F1 earlier. Let's hope some other team takes him on. But he should call it a day by 2004 because he is getting old.

Jaguar's decision is not a very good one because with the new one-lap qualifying rule, Eddie's experience would have been of great value.
Paushali, United Kingdom

There are a lot of people on this page who know little or nothing about F1 and also many who are extremely jealous of Eddie. Is it because he is not English?

Where is the English or British driver to match him. Coulthard; you must be joking. Jaguar will bitterly regret this decision and will score nil points next year, if they finish any of the races.
Joe Hutton, N. Ireland

As a Montoya BMW fan, I can see the value of having excellent drivers. But a decision to axe Irvine is clearly the most stupid I have ever heard. He is an excellent driver, better than Lauda has ever been, but he can only do so much in a unreliable Jaguar!
Stuart, UK

It won't matter. No one's going to be watching next season anyway.
AB, Northern Ireland

I do believe Jaguar have done the right thing in changing their drivers. It's a pity they didn't keep Rubens. With all the pomp celebrating their entry into F1, the past few years have been nothing less than embarrassing for them.

I think Irvine is not just overrated, but too flashy. Jaguar need someone with a more professional approach in public. They need all the good P.R. they can get.

Not only did our Eddie let them down as a driver, but all the publicity he has received over his personal life eclipsed any good he may have done for Jaguar and his team.
John, USA/UK

Irvine is definitely a class act and he will be missed. Jaguar have made a mistake by dropping him.
Ketan, India

Jaguar have made the wrong move if they want to be successful. Pedro De La Rosa and Eddie Ervine drove excellently in the last five or six races of the season. It will take a long time for Jaguar to find drivers as good as their previous ones.
Umair Burney, Bangkok

This is classic Jaguar! The moment one of your team members starts making a move, you get rid of them. Maybe no one has told Lauda's Jaguar that there will be no points awarded to the dead-last team!!!
Noel, USA

Yes, quite right. Irvine has been all talk for too long now and is no loss to the team, but I was sorry to see de la Rosa go. Best of luck to Webber and Pizzonia with Jaguar in 2003.
Lin, UK

I feel Jaguar have made one hell of a mistake firing Eddie. In a sterile and boring F1 paddock he was - and hopefully will continue to be - a breath of fresh air. As quick as anybody when the mood took him and an excellent test driver, I can't see him being away from F1 for long.
Paul Crowcroft, UK

Irvine is little more than a loudmouthed playboy. I read one letter that said he was a decent number two. He wasn't even that - he was never able to give Schumacher the same level of back up support as Coulthard gave to Hakkinen. If he had, Schumacher would probably have just won his seventh championship.
Wendy, UK

A shame to see Irvine go, but he can still cut it - he's been the one good thing about Jaguar's F1 career to date. It would be good to see him a Jordan. Webber's a good choice, but there were much better drivers available for the second seat than Pizzonia. For example, Felipe Massa or Allan McNish.
Ad, UK

Irvine has always had a much higher opinion of himself than was really warranted, and his mouth got him into to much trouble. He will not be missed.
Colin Ward, UK

Eddie Irvine has had a good time in past seasons, but can not compete with the likes of Schumacher and Coulthard. It's time for him to move over and let a new generation through.
Matthew Comber, UK

Despite the usual Irvine self-promotion, he still has the ability to surprise. He has more than matched the improving Jaguar towards the end of the season with inspired driving leading him to solid points. There's still life in the old dog yet - drive on Eddie.
John Hackwood, Saudi Arabia

Eddie has an ego the size of a planet, in a sport that needs egos! This must be the worst decision in Formula 1 this year. Let's have characters in the sport-real racers, not drivers
Richard, England

I don't rate Webber, and I think this is a mistake that Jaguar are going to greatly regret!
D, UK

The so-called 'British' racing team has now lost any semblance of anything even remotely British. Now we have an Aussie who has never won a championship of any description. What a farce Formula One is becoming.
Ron, Australia

Irvine may not be the quickest driver on the grid, but at least he's interesting both on and off the track- and this is something F1 needs more than ever at the moment. Let's hope Jordon make the right move and give him a drive - it can only be a good move in terms of sponsorship at least.
Pete, UK

I get the feeling that Irvine only turns up to pocket his paycheques, and that his races are just a rehearsal for his hasty drive to the bank. Having said that, I think Lauda's choice of replacement drivers is poor. Good luck to them - but if Jaguar look even vaguely competitive next season I'll eat my cat.
Chris B, England

Irvine isn't as bad as he's made out to be. Yes, he's a loudmouth, but that's still refreshing in a grid mostly made up of corporate robots.

While he's no Schumacher, remember that in '99 Eddie was only six points behind Michael when he had his shunt, and made a decent bid for the title without Ferrari's full support - despite what they may claim. He hasn't had a decent car since.
Alex, SA

Sure he's a playboy, but still one of the best and most entertaining drivers around. I'd be waving goodbye to the likes of Barichello and Coulthard before Eddie any day. If F1 is about talent and entertainment, then keep Eddie.
Mark, Australia

Jaguar have made a mistake in my opinion. I have never been Eddie's biggest fan, but Irvine is very good at setting up an F1 car, and without his talent and input I doubt that last year's car would have been capable of scoring any points.

I don't think the two relative newcomers will be able to impress with the new one-lap qualifying rule next year. At least one experienced driver in the team would surely have been the sensible option.
David, England

So long Eddie. It's time to get rid of the dead wood. F1 needs new blood, it's time up soon for Coulthard, Trulli, HHF, Fisicella and Ralf.
Peter, Canada

I think Jaguar have made a mistake not re-hiring Irvine. You only have to look at last season to realise experience counts - without Irvine Jaguar would have scored less points than Minardi.
Neil, Ireland

Eddie Irvine is a colourful character and in line with the "boring-down" of F1 it was inevitable that he would be fired. He was a throwback to the days when drivers actually raced.
Barry, Ireland

Lauda et al would do well to concentrate their resources on sorting out their car - it's hard to see how Irvine can be blamed for Jaguar's miserable performance over the past three years. After all, he did win all of their points! Can't imagine Schumacher would have got many more.
Brian Lee, US

All great talents have their strange behaviour. Eddie has had a terrible car for the last few years and I can imagine the frustration of driving around in a dirt truck while the rest are racing. Blame Jaguar and their pitiful management, not the drivers.
Pieter, USA

About time that Ford/Jaguar got rid of that Eddie. He is a whining prancer of limited talent. Let's face it, unless the real drivers were injured he would never win in F1.
ExLisburnman, Canada

Yes they are dead right. In my book Eddie Irvine has always been pretty much useless as well as overrated.
R J Marshall, UK

Ah, the self-styled "second best driver" is on his way out. Cheers, Eddie - and thanks for the laughs!
Viraj, India

Irvine was a loud mouth whose outbursts on the track never matched his ability on it. It's far better to go for youth.
Dr Arthur McArthur, UK

I don't see Jaguar going anywhere in the next five years, with these kind of decisions. Lauda will be gone within the year. Eddie was their best option to move them ahead while bringing in young talent.
Bill Morrison, Canada

Eddie Irvine has had his opportunity in Formula One and his best days are behind him now regardless. Young blood needs to come through the ranks and it's good to see that Jaguar have done that with Mark Webber. However, I really think there were better candidates for the second Jag drive than Pizzonia. But there we go...
Steve, England

The best F1 drivers are athletes in their sports. Not playboys. Irvine can look forward to retiring on ridiculous cash in Indy maybe?
Paul Kerton, UK

Jaguar have completely lost their way and two inexperienced drivers will at least give them another excuse and hide car problems from the intense public scrutiny experienced this year.

Eddie would have been World Champ three years ago under the 2003 points system and must be desperate to get something better than Jaguar!
Stan, UK

Irvine has a hugely over-inflated ego which is not backed up by his driving. Time to give the opportunity to someone else.
Mark Norton, UK

If Jaguar had given its drivers a decent, reliable car they could have been well up the manufacturers table. Even a brilliant driver can't make a silk steering wheel out of a sow's ear.
Steve Barlow, Scotland

He is the most over-rated driver on the tour. He just shows off too much, and fails to back it up with good racing.
Leo, Scotland

Getting rid of Irvine was long overdue; he was overrated as a driver and a terrible ambassador for Jaguar. He was once a decent number two, but even that was long ago. Good luck to Webber and Pizzonia.
Euan, Scotland

Lauda needs to look a couple of seasons ahead and it is right to do that with new blood. As for Irvine, wherever he goes, he's either got to perform or slip out of the game.
Colin Jacobs, England

How on earth can they get rid of Irvine for Webber? It just shows what a circus F1 has turned into!!
Neil, England

To be honest, I think Irvine is getting bored of F1 and De la Rosa isn't that good, so a new injection of young blood eager to impress will do the team a lot of good...I hope!
Ian Thurston, UK

I have never rated him as a driver.
Sham, UK

Irvine is a has-been with major tickets on himself. Good riddance.
George, UK

Irvine is nothing but a playboy. He is a very over-rated driver and Jaguar are much better without him. The only thing he adds to the sport is a bit of spice to the grid.
Campbell, Scotland