In a time where the average age of the drivers on the Formula One grid is getting younger and younger, 35-year old Olivier Panis is one of the exceptional 'dinosaurs' that can still cut the mustard in the pinnacle of motor sports. But for how long? Graham Holliday analyses the Frenchman's chances of keeping the New Guard at bay

"Nigel Mansell won the Championship when he was 39. Age is not very important," said BAR driver Olivier Panis this time last year. The Frenchman is now 35 years old and if he follows his compatriot Jean Alesi's example he has another two years of Formula One ahead of him. But is the only remaining French driver on the grid on his last legs or is he just getting going?

If the man himself is to be believed he is at the top of his game, "I'm not old and I'm in my best form," he told Atlas F1 at the tail end of last year's season. Allied to the fact that according to those around him his technical feedback is second to none, "He's been a total asset to the team. His feedback is one of his great strengths and he's a very focused driver," says his number one mechanic Darren Beacroft at BAR. Given that the man from Lyon is also one of the most motivated men on a Sunday afternoon you'd be forgiven for thinking that every other team on the grid was looking to sign him up for 2003. But, they're not. The chatter over the younger drivers persists, the likes of Massa, Raikkonen, Button and Sato all of whom are gaining experience quickly, but are essentially still un-proven.

However, one only has to compare the latter days of Damon Hill's years at Jordan with those of Jean Alesi to see that age is very much irrelevant whereas motivation is key. Hill regularly parked his Jordan on the grass towards the end of his career and very visibly lost his will to race. Alesi, on the other hand, was a fighter to the end only edged out of the team by the arrival of Takuma Sato. It is the mould of Alesi which Panis most closely resembles. However, the trend to recruit younger and younger drivers doesn't look set to change anytime soon and it would be an astute team manager who bucked the trend and let Panis take up the reigns on one of their Formula One steeds for 2003.

Firstly, Panis comes cheap. In no way does that diminish Panis as a driver, but after 112 Grand Prix starts over eight years he has never been in a top team and he has experienced only one victory at a very slippery Monaco circuit in 1996. Therefore his price tag is deceptively low. In comparison, young Kimi Raikkonen, for example, who is admittedly quick can't hope to offer as much in the way of technical feedback as the ex-mechanic from Lyon. After his horrendous, leg breaking, career threatening crash in Canada in 1997 he spent what was arguably a very significant year of testing for the McLaren team in 2000.

Publicly acknowledged by Ron Dennis as the best test driver the team have ever had, he relinquished his testing seat to take up the role of BAR race driver partnering the very quick and highly paid Jacques Villeneuve. Despite his injury and his age Panis has consistently shown he is a match for the Canadian, and although the 1997 World Champion has built the team around himself, it is Panis who currently looks more assured of retaining his seat at the ailing BAR team for 2003. Being cheap could be the deciding factor for BAR and for any other team in the hunt for bargain drivers in these leaner economic times.

In contrast, Villeneuve is well on his way to committing Formula One suicide. Unable to justify his high salary at BAR, he will be hard pressed to find any other team able or willing to sign him up for his inflated price. Perhaps it's time the 31-year old Villeneuve saw the light, "I've noticed that Formula One are recruiting and training younger and younger drivers," he said during the Spanish Grand Prix, "and I sense that my world title will not mean anything if I don't get a result soon. I don't want to become unemployed." At the moment that is a very real possibility for Villeneuve, but unlikely for Panis.

Panis comes qualified to do the job: he has proven himself an equal to two ex-World Champions in Villeneuve and Mika Hakkinen and importantly, is more motivated than ever. BAR boss Dave Richards would do well to hold on to the Frenchman and replace Villeneuve with an eager young charger who can learn the tricks of the trade from the Frenchman over the final years of his racing career. As Dave Richards stated in an April edition of Motorsport News magazine, big name drivers are not high on his list of priorities. "It's foolish having Michael Schumacher driving a Minardi," he said. "It's better to get the race car right and then go and employ Schumacher later." Richards dresses his words carefully for the press, but the underlying message is patently clear. Much needed changes are due and Villeneuve's present salary means he's priced himself out of the team for the foreseeable future.

The rumour mill has churned over this particular conundrum ever since ex-BAR boss and Villeneuve manager Craig Pollock's shock departure from the team just before the 2002 BAR car launch. Only now a few more pieces of the jigsaw are slotting themselves into position. The most likely driver line-up for 2003 at present sees Panis accompanied by Jordan Formula One rookie and reigning Formula Three Champion Takuma Sato. The Jordan team looks set to spend the next few years in the wilderness.

Honda are rumoured to be leaving them high and dry for 2003 unless Eddie Jordan starts coughing up at least £10 million of cash he doesn't have for a supply of engines. For Honda to compete for regular podiums and to save embarrassment by lagging behind the top teams and losing ground to the fledgling Toyota outfit they need to concentrate on one team only. Ferrari's technical director Ross Brawn said as much at the Circuit de Catalunya recently, "If there was an area that you could criticise of their approach, it's the fact that they still look like an engine supplier as opposed to a partner. In my view, they need to get together with a team and become one entity."

That team is BAR. Sato has Honda connections and promises far more than he has so far delivered. Allying him to a driver with Panis' breadth of experience would help give the Japanese engine supplier their best ever shot at Formula One glory with a Japanese driver. This scenario doesn't pave the way for Panis to reach every driver's ultimate goal: the World Driver's Championship. But it does increase his cachet for a rousing finale to his career with a top team.

Panis was impressed with the new spec engine in Spain four weeks ago, "Honda have been working very hard to improve the engine race by race and we can see that beginning to show here," he said. With improved reliability and more Honda power this weekend in Monaco, Panis could yet haul the BAR over the finish line for the first time this season and into the points.

"Austria was a very positive weekend for me and I had a real chance of scoring some points in the race, so I was disappointed that the car didn't make it to the finish again," he said. "I am much more at home in the car now so reliability is the main concern for me.

"We are putting a lot of hard work into developing the car and we have to expect some problems along the way. This was the case in testing last week and it was reflected in the amount of running we did and my lap times."

The future BAR driver line-up is likely to be decided at or around Silverstone in July and the Frenchman will be looking to rack up his points tally before then. He's already looking forward to the only race he was won in Formula One and to his first points of the year, "I have very good memories of winning here and I'm really looking forward to Sunday. I just hope we can stay reliable so that I can finish one of my favourite races." But points or no points this weekend, Panis' future at BAR is looking good for the coming year.