Wurz surprised to miss Brawn reserve role

(GMM) Alex Wurz was surprised to touch down in Melbourne this week to discover he had not been designated reserve driver by the Brawn team.

The 35-year-old Austrian remains under contract to the Brackley based team following the Honda withdrawal, but it was Anthony Davidson that was named the driver to race should either Jenson Button or Rubens Barrichello be unable this weekend.

Wurz looked bemused as he explained to reporters on Friday that he is actually no longer in a driving role, but simply "an extra brain" in engineering briefings.

But to the news agency APA he revealed he should still be the test and reserve driver.

"I assume the team is sticking to the contract," Wurz said in Australia. "For me, nothing has changed."

For now, it appears that Brawn's decision to change Wurz's role is simply a financial one: while the team would have to pay for him to travel around the F1 calendar in 2009, Briton Davidson's expenses will all be picked up by the BBC.

Davidson, 29, has been signed by the broadcaster to commentate at all grands prix this year.

How Wurz still fits in, therefore, is unclear. "I assume that I am at least staying (with Brawn) this year, and perhaps also next year," he said.