Eddie Irvine has targeted his replacement at Ferrari, Rubens Barrichello, as the man he will have to beat in next year's Formula One championship.
The Irishman, speaking in Jerez yesterday, after taking to the track in a Jaguar for the first time said that Barrichello was a realistic target in his first year with the re-branded Stewart team.
"It would be great if we could fight the with the McLarens and the Ferraris straight away," said Irvine. "I'm aiming to beat Rubens and David Coulthard because, basically, that's what I had to do this year. . . I think we are in good shape to do that because the platform is a hell of a lot better than I expected it to be."
The former Ferrari driver arrived in Jerez on the second day of Jaguar's first outing of the winter testing programme and recorded the fifth fastest time of the day, a half second behind Barrichello's Ferrari but more than a second away from his own table-topping team-mate Herbert. Irvine, though, was impressed with the 1999 Stewart SF-3 and admitted that the car had surprised him. "I wasn't sure what to expect," he added. "I had heard this was a tight outfit, but I can say after today that these guys have definitely got their act together in a very short space of time. I had fun." Irvine's rivalry with Barrichello goes back some six years when both began their Formula One careers at Jordan, both drivers finishing in the points at the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix, with Irvine famously finishing sixth on his debut and Barrichello collecting fifth.
The following year the Brazilian comprehensively out-raced Irvine, ending the season with 19 points, a pole position in Belgium and two podium finishes, at Aida and Montreal, compared with Irvine scoring just six with his best finish a fourth place at the European Grand Prix in Jerez.
1995 saw Irvine claw back, finishing just a point behind his team-mate as he cranked up both the mechanical and psychological pressure. As Barrichello faded, so did his star at Ferrari, who had been linked with a move for the Brazilian. Instead, Irvine made the big leap to the Italian giants and Barrichello was eventually consigned to the apparent wasteland of Stewart.
Now though the wheel has turned full circle and it is the Brazilian who will climb aboard the prancing horse in Melbourne on March 12th and Irvine who will attempt to tame the big cat. As number one with the new Jaguar team, Irvine's is likely to be the easier role, despite the likely mechanical deficiencies he will have to contend with. Barrichello, while benefiting from Ferrari's proven winning formula will also have to deal with Michael Schumacher.
Yesterday, Barrichello, driving the F399 that almost secured Irvine this year's drivers' title, outpaced his former team-mate by over half a second. Whether he can maintain that gap throughout 2000 remains to be seen.
Jaguar Racing chairman Jackie Stewart doesn't think so.
"Eddie's a bit older and wiser than Rubens," said the three-time world champion yesterday. "I think he has already shown today in the short time he has spent in the car, through the feedback he has provided for his engineers, that he will bring a lot of technical know-how and expertise to the team. He's going to be a big asset."
