Bernoldi says Arrows can prove a point

The Brazilian, who flew into England yesterday (Friday) to look at the designs for this year's Arrows A23, told hundreds of fans at the AUTOSPORT International show at Birmingham's NEC that he felt confident of his chances in 2002.

"This year we are going to be closer to the front of the grid," he said. "Our new package gives us a much better chance than last year. We will have much more power and I've seen the data from the wind tunnel, so I'm sure the aerodynamic package will be better too.

"The new engine and car will give us a realistic chance of scoring points. The goal is to be really competitive, but we're going to have to do it step by step," he added.

Bernoldi said that he didn't know the identity of his team-mate, but that it would be either Jos Verstappen or Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

"I don't have a preference who it is, although I learnt a lot from Jos last year," he said. "It gives me more confidence being the first driver in the team to be confirmed. A lot of people said I wouldn't succeed last year, but here I am and I'm in better shape than ever now."

Bernoldi also revealed that he kept up-to-date with the Barcelona test times while he was fitness training in Brazil last week by clicking on Autosport.com, so you're in good company.