Bernoldi says experience has matured him

The Brazilian, who replaced Pedro de la Rosa in the Leafield-based Formula 1 team, dominated the early-going in the '98 F3 series, then saw the title snatched away by Mario Haberfeld in the final throws of the championship.

But Bernoldi believes that two seasons of Formula 3000, in which he was quick, but failed to win a race, have given him the maturity to be consistent over the full stretch.

"Back in F3 I had good speed, but I did not have the maturity and I made mistakes," he said in this week's Autosport magazine. "But if I lost races in F3000, it was through no fault of my own and I feel ready for F1.

"I have more experience, I know how to set cars up better and the mistakes I made in the past will not be repeated."

Bernoldi has shown well in pre-season testing and Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw believes that the 22-year-old will exceed expectations this year.

"I think he is very quick and will surprise a lot of people," he said. "Nothing seems to faze him. He gets on and does the job."