Saturday April 8th, 2000

By Timothy Collings

Johnny Herbert laughed off reports of his impending departure from the Jaguar team on Saturday after another day of mixed fortunes in qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix.

"Oh, yes, I am on my way -- I am going into retirement," he joked when asked about reports in Italian papers suggesting that the Jaguar team's young Brazilian test driver Luciano Burti was being lined up to replace him.

"That's it for me, isn't it?" he went on before adding: "Seriously, I don't know where this kind of stuff starts from. It's always a bit like this only this year it has started earlier than usual."

Herbert's rejection of any idea that he could be replaced at Jaguar following a tough start to the year was supported by the team's chief operating officer Paul Stewart.

"That is the first I've heard of this," said Stewart. "It has not even entered my head or been discussed by anyone within the team."

Pressure on Herbert, winner of three grands prix in an 11-year Formula One career dating back to 1989, was the subject of intensifying rumours in the paddock following a luckless start with Jaguar.

He was forced to retire from the first two races in Australia and Brazil.

After a bright morning with a much-improved showing, however, he ended down in 17th place on the grid for Sunday's race.

"The end result is not what I hoped it would be but I know we are going in the right direction," he said. "It felt good. But I had a cracked exhaust which went early on in the session and then it just got worse.

"Things didn't turn out for me the way we hoped today. Sooner or later my luck will turn."

To make things appear worse for Herbert, his new team mate Eddie Irvine has outpaced him since he arrived at Jaguar from Ferrari.

Irvine qualified seventh on Saturday and said afterwards he felt he could have qualified fifth.

"I could have done better but the main thing is to finish the race and get a good performance," he said as he looked ahead to his 100th grand prix.

Herbert said all he wanted was for his "car to survive".