Analysis: Irvine Moves Back into the Fast Lane

Eddie Irvine sprayed champagne and soaked up the acclaim on Sunday after an emotional return to the Formula One podium in his adopted homeland at the Italian Grand Prix.

The oldest driver in the sport showed that he was still a contender, despite uncertainty surrounding his future, with his and Jaguar's first top three finish since the May 2001 Monaco Grand Prix.

As the 36-year-old stood on the new Monza podium, reaching out over a sea of Ferrari fans celebrating their team's one-two finish, the Northern Irishman beamed and felt the good times rolling back.

"Whenever I was at Ferrari it was like podium, podium, podium," said the man who combined his four race wins for the Italian team with a love of Milan nightlife and glamorous women. "There's nothing like being away for a while. I think you appreciate them, especially here with the Italian crowd.

"It's incredible. People keep asking why I like to spend so much time in Italy. Well, I think if you look outside you'll see the reason. On the slowing down lap the tifosi were great. They were going bananas shouting and screaming for me. The reason I spend so much time in Italy is because Italians know how to have fun and I like to join in."

Where Michael Schumacher stood on Sunday, waving at the 'tifosi' after his second place behind winner Rubens Barrichello, Irvine had stood in 1998 as the German's number two in a similar Ferrari sweep.

Great Race

Since he left the Italian team at the end of 1999, Irvine has kept a base in Milan but podiums have been almost as rare as Schumacher failures. Monaco in May last year was the first and last podium place for Jaguar before Sunday's surprise result and it rewarded the Ford-owned team for a year of struggle.

"Perfect drive, nothing wrong, absolutely couldn't have done a better job," said team boss Niki Lauda as Irvine and technical director Guenther Steiner sprayed champagne at each other and anybody else within range.

"Eddie's race today was absolutely astonishing. I am very satisfied, especially for the people working at Jaguar Racing and Cosworth because over the last eight months we did not have an easy time. We worked day and night for no foreseeable result. Thank God we finished third here."

The signs had been there, however, with Irvine taking a deserved point at the last race in Spa after three lucky ones in the season-opener in Australia in March when half the field crashed out.

"If you are going to get a podium, Monaco and here are the two to get and I have got both of them now with Jaguar," said the driver who has made more headlines of late for outspoken opinions than his racetrack exploits.

"This is not the car we started the season with," he added. "We have changed the front suspension, rear suspension, front uprights, rear uprights, floor, front wing, turning vanes, rear wing. The bit I sit in in the chassis is the same. The engine we have changed, we have modified."

Lonely Race

Irvine qualified in fifth place, his best performance of the year, and moved up to third as the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher went out and the engine blew on Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren. By the end, his was a lonely race as he crossed the line 52 seconds behind the Ferraris.

"To be honest I didn't know I was third for quite a while," he said. "The last time I looked I had seen fourth so I thought okay, just back it up, back it up. You know, fourth is nice, it is good for the team, but third is good for me and the team. To get up there on the podium is something very special.

"Getting on the podium is something I really enjoy and once I realised I was in third there was a big step in pressure because all of a sudden I wasn't just doing a job for the team, I was wanting to get up there for myself."