Michael Still Owes Him Ice Cream

When it was announced before the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, back in 1995, that Eddie Irvine would be joining Ferrari the following season, no one in the sport would have given short odds that he would still be there four years later. Nevertheless, that is the reality of the situation for the 31 year old from Conlig, Northern Ireland. As outspoken as ever, he alluded to this at Hockenheim when facing his torturers in the Italian media: "Every year you have said that Ferrari should get rid of me and every year Ferrari has kept me on. I think that makes the score four - nil to me." A couple of weeks ago, the Ulsterman renewed his contract with Ferrari for the 1999 season. Now, more relaxed than ever, he relishes on the success that finally comes his way this season."This year's been great", said Irvine this last weekend, "and I think I need to build on it and have an even stronger season next year. This year it's been great to be getting such good results because in previous years it's been a struggle. The car hasn't been good and the first year was a complete disaster. I hardly finished any races. Last year was a step forward. I finished a lot of races and got a lot of podiums and this year has been even better. It was great that Mr Montezemolo and Jean Todt stood behind me. They knew the job I could do and this season it's been great to prove them and myself correct because obviously there have been times when there were a lot of doubters and now they're having to eat their own words in many respects." With 13 podium finishes so far - six of them this year - Irvine's abilities have put him in demand. Reportedly, he had several offers laid at his feet, including lucrative deals from Williams and Jordan, the team with which he made his Formula One debut at the 1993 Japanese GP. So why, when so much has been written about the thanklessness of his task with Ferrari, where he is contractually Number Two to Schumacher, did he choose to stay put? "I felt that this was the most sensible thing to do; build on this year and continue, because continuity is obviously very important in Formula One. We've seen guys move teams and struggle for six, eight months to get used to the way another team works." He says, though, it is a decision he put a lot of thought into, eventually calculated that the chequered flag was something he had a better chance of seeing ahead of the rest if he stayed in Maranello. "You look down the pitlane", says Irvine, "The Williams drivers - if nothing unusual happens they won't win a race. The Jordan drivers - if nothing unusual happens they won't win a race. The same applies to Prost and Sauber. If you look down the pitlane, there's only three guys out there at the moment that can say they start a race with a reasonable chance of winning. That's Hakkinen, Coulthard and Michael. Of the next guys, I have to say I'm the one who has got the best chance. The Benetton guys have less chance of winning a race than me. Formula One is not fair but that's the way it is. If I have had offers from other teams and if I have finished on the podium six times then you have to consider how that has happened. It is because of the support I have had from Ferrari, the car they have given me to drive and the whole technical package." Irvine's improved form this year is certainly due in part to the fact that the Ferrari F300 suits him well and while the podium finishes are impressive, it is his lap times compared to those of Schumacher which show how much he has improved. While Martin Brundle has a better overall record against Schumacher than any other of the German's teammate, one has to remember that the Englishman was up against him in his first full season. Since then, Irvine is the only one who has come close. Too close perhaps this season. He still has to deal, though, with the fact that he could never win a race with Schumacher breathing down his neck. In France, Schumacher damaged a new type of floor on his car and there were no spares. Irvine's car provided the replacement and the Irishman then had to make do with the repaired version of the German's car. In Hockenheim, it was Michael who got the long wheelbase car to try first. At other times, Irvine had to let his teammate pass him by for a podium position, or even for the lead of the race, like in Suzuka last year. In the last race, in Germany, Schumacher admitted he owed Irvine a couple of favours. "I'll have to buy him an ice-cream," he commented. The most obvious scenario for this favour could be the last race of the season, if Schumacher were to win the title, or possibly have no chance of getting it, by the penultimate round. That would leave Eddie the opportunity of his maiden Formula One win on his favourite track at Suzuka. "There is only one problem with that idea," Irvine replies smiling, "I would still have to beat the McLarens to win. It just depends on how we compare with McLaren. At the minute the McLaren is faster and the only place I've beaten the McLarens was in Magny Cours. In a way I was a bit unlucky there. But Michael finished the race and he was way ahead of me so I didn't win that one. McLaren have put up a fantastic challenge and occasionally they have made mistakes. I just need to be in the right place at the right time to capitalise on them." Despite the logic behind Irvine's contention that being Number Two at Ferrari is better than being joint Number One just about anywhere else, the status conscious world of Formula One has difficulty understanding the Irishman's acceptance of his role as official second fiddle. The man himself has no such problem, his pragmatism and the fact he admits he is in this game more for the money than the glory, probably help him to cope. Asked if he was tempted to ignore the order to let Michael by in France, as by then he already had his 1999 contract in his pocket, Irvine grinned. "Oh! I wouldn't do that. I am too much of a responsible citizen. Life has a purpose, you know, and this is one of the things I've got to live with. Michael is a bit of a phenomenon and I have to measure myself against him every weekend so, in real terms, I have to think about the other guys in the pit lane. I feel I'm at least as good as anyone else in the pitlane which is, for me, what it's about at the minute. Okay, I want to beat Michael but the guy is very, very good and it's not so easy. It's not ideal, but it's better to be finishing regularly on the podium than dosing around in the middle of the field, to be honest."

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