Both Eddie Irvine and Ford denied today a report that appears on Autosport Magazine, claiming that Irvine has signed an agreement with Ford, which will see him racing next year for the Stewart Team, which will be newly tagged as Jaguar.

But according to later reports, a source close to Irvine said the Ulsterman "laughed out loud" when told of the report and dubbed it as false. According to that source, Irvine had not agreed anything with any teams for the 2000 season.

Likewise, Ford came out with a similar denial of the report, the company's spokesman, Ellen Kolby, saying that the team is still reviewing its options. "No deal has been done yet," she said.

Rumours regarding a possible swap between Eddie Irvine and Stewart's Rubens Barrichello have surfaced as late as two months ago, but so far no tangible news have come of either teams to confirm such a swap will indeed take place. Previously Rubens Barrichello confirmed that Ferrari had made him an offer but said he has also received an offer from Stewart and is weighing his options. A few days later, Ferrari president, Luca di Montezemolo denied talks with the Brazilian and Fiat's president, Gianni Agnelli had further mystified the situation by saying he does not want to release Irvine from Ferrari, nor does he want to see Irvine leave of his own accord.

In any case, Ferrari is not expected to decide on its line up before medical examinations will provide some idea on Michael Schumacher's speed of recovery. The team traditionally announces its line-up at the Italian Grand Prix, leaving the Scuderia over month of self deliberations and the fan an equal time of Silly Season speculations.