Allan McNish's career has been a rollercoaster ride. He signed for the McLaren team when he was only 19 but was unable to get his Formula One break and was forced to look elsewhere. Now he is 31 and, after years of hard work, will finally make his Grand Prix debut with the new Toyota team next season. A week before the Japanese outfit launch their first car, Will Gray talked exclusively to the Scot about his entry in Formula One and about what he expects from his first year in the pinnacle of motorsport

You could forgive 31-year-old Toyota driver Allan McNish for feeling like a fresh-faced school kid at the moment as he eagerly awaits the arrival of his first-ever Formula One race car next week, but the experienced racer is actually more like a mature student, preparing for his ultimate graduation.

He has waited more than ten years for this. Since he first drove a Formula One car, a McLaren, in 1989, he has dreamed of stepping up on that podium, in front of the world's press, and hearing the words: 'Allan McNish, Formula One driver.'

That moment will come on Monday, when Japanese car giant Toyota reveal their first ever Formula One challenger at their headquarters in Cologne. And, in line with Japanese traditions of rewarding hard work and high levels of commitment, they are taking McNish with them.

"This has been a long time coming," said McNish. "It has been a rollercoaster ride to get here and I think there have been a lot of good parts, but there has been a lot of hard graft and it has been pretty tough sometimes. But now is the right time."

What makes him think that? Well, Damon Hill was 31 when he arrived in Formula One, and he went on to win the World Championship within four years. Okay, he had a good car, something that the Toyota machine is certainly not being tipped to be, but his late entrance to Grand Prix racing draws comparisons. McNish claims that experience is key to success, and he, like Hill did, certainly has plenty of that. Tough times in the lower categories can create a tough shell, off which Formula One's fickle world can just rebound and bounce away.

"I don't think I was ready back in 1989," admitted McNish. "It wasn't right then. Circumstances were very different. I was testing with McLaren, and I was never going to get a shot - they were hardly going to kick out Ayrton Senna for Allan McNish.

"Now I am in a really good situation in my life and my career. The whole Toyota thing has arisen because I have been driving with them in Le Mans. I have had four or five really good years, I think I am driving a lot better now and if you had said in 1995 that this would happen I would have taken it on a plate. I am in a fortunate situation."

Still, McNish admits the announcement of his signing was still strange, even though he was fully confident Toyota would put their faith in him. There was a season-long saga over the identity of the driver to partner Finn Mika Salo for Toyota's debut year, despite great pace from McNish in testing throughout the year.

German Heinz-Harald Frentzen was hotly tipped to make a move, but finally the team told McNish he would be hearing those words on Monday that will be music to his ears. "It was a funny moment," he said of the official announcement that named him as Salo's teammate. "Any time an official confirmation is made it gives you a good feeling, especially considering the circumstances at the middle of the year."

McNish has always known what he wanted to do, there was no looking into this and looking into that before he made his decision to head for Formula One. And that is, for him, what makes his graduation so good. He enjoyed his 'fresher' years, and has no regrets over his path to Formula One. In fact, he seems almost happier to have had the life experiences that his deviating career have provided him with.

"I tell you what," he says cheekily. "I had a lot of fun when I was 21! There are a few sides to it, but I have gained loads of experience of when things do not go well, so I am prepared for anything next year. It is not about age, it comes from desire - and my desire has never diminished. Look at Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, all the youngsters. I have the same desire as them. I have never been in Formula One before, and I can't wait. But what I have on them is that I am a hell of a lot more worldly.

"People always say about age, and that Formula One is getting younger, but I think it has just been highlighted by the speed of these young guys now. You know, I signed for McLaren when I was 19, others arrived in their early 20s, Hakkinen was 22. It has not changed, but I think it has been spotlighted in Britain by Jenson (Button)

"But I tell you, apart from (Michael) Schumacher no driver has been very successful until they reach their late 20s. I don't believe age changes anything. It is just important to be committed - and I am that. Anyone who writes me off is very naive. Very naive."

Indeed, people seem to forget the dramatic battles of McNish's early career. The dramatic battle with a certain Finn - Mika Hakkinen. And there lies an astonishing contrast, which proves that McNish could just pull out a few surprises: Hakkinen got the break, McNish didn't.

While Hakkinen rose through the Formula One ranks, ironically in a McLaren seat that McNish had occupied before him, the happy-go-lucky Scot was winding his obscure career route taking the round the houses route to Formula One. It took so long, that just as McNish arrived, Hakkinen got bored. That is something that disappoints McNish greatly.

"It is a shame about Mika," he said. "He has had eight years in Formula One and then got fed up. He's tired now. I don't think he will come back. He will just want to settle down. It is unfortunate because I would have loved to have raced against him again - he was my teammate for two years. It certainly would have been one for the statisticians, but, you know, one door closes, and another one opens."

And that door is wide open for McNish now. He has served his apprenticeship, put in the work and had plenty of fun along the way. It has taken some time but he has finally passed the test. The graduate is now ready for the big wide world of Formula One.