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Timo Glock has pledged his commitment to helping Virgin continue to improve, as he moved to play down speculation that he will leave the team at the end of the year.

The 28-year-old German joined the brand new outfit at the end of last season from the now defunct Toyota team despite having been linked to drives at some of the grid’s more established squads.

Although Virgin has displayed strong relative pace to its fellow new teams at various points of the season, its debut year has been beset by reliability problems which largely contributed to three-time podium finisher Glock seeing the chequered flag just twice in the opening eight races.

The team’s difficulties had led to suggestions that the former GP2 champion could be on the move for 2011, with Glock himself saying in Hungary that he was “keeping my eyes open”.

But on Thursday, the German driver issued a statement on his personal website in response to the rumours about the future and pointed out he had a “long-term” contract at Virgin.

He says he was under no illusions about how tough its maiden season was likely to be, but says he has been pleased with the rate of recent progress which has seen him finish the last four races and outqualify main rival Lotus in Hungary.

“Our debut season with Virgin Racing is a big challenge, but that was already clear to me when I moved to the new team,” he said in a statement posted in German on his website.

“The start of the year was difficult, but since then the tide has turned. Since the middle of the season we have made good progress with the development of the car.

“Of course there were also times of frustration in between. The race preparation has not always ran perfectly, sometimes we have also made it a little difficult for ourselves

“But one must look at the overall project. In the past three or four races we have repeatedly brought new developments to the car. The findings from the simulator have transferred well to the track. This is encouraging.”

He stressed that he remained fully behind the team and that together they had everything in place to achieve their targets for this season and beyond.

“I fully support Virgin Racing and am highly motivated, because the recent progress has been good and we’ll continue to make [progress] in the remaining seven races,” he added.

“I have always said that I want to work in a team that is constantly progressing.

“I have a long-term contract with Virgin Racing and am firmly determined to continue to make progress with the team. We have all the credentials to achieve our goals this season and in the future.”

Glock has been one of a number of drivers linked to the second Renault seat for 2011, incumbent Vitaly Petrov being told he needs a run of points finishes over the remainder of the season to secure the drive for another year.ITV-F1