F1 Needs More Driver 'Adventurism', Says Irvine

Ferrari were right to extend Rubens Barrichello's contract for two more years but Formula One might have been better off with a change, Eddie Irvine said on Friday.

The World Championship winning team, the most glamorous in Formula One, announced at the Austrian Grand Prix on Thursday that the Brazilian would be staying at least until the end of 2004.

Barrichello will be 32 years old by then and four times World Champion Michael Schumacher, whose deal is also due to expire that year, almost 36.

"It's in both their interests, otherwise they wouldn't have done it," said former Ferrari driver Irvine, who was replaced by Barrichello as Schumacher's teammate in 2000.

"I think Rubens is hoping that probably Michael is going to get slower as he gets older. Ferrari want stability, they've got Michael, why change? But I don't think it's particularly good for Formula One, that's the big downside.

"There's not a lot of moving around. I think we could do with a little bit more adventurism," said Irvine, who was Barrichello's teammate at Jordan in 1994 and 1995.

Schumacher has won four out of five races this season while Ferrari have looked dominant since they introduced their new F2002 car in Brazil in March.

Big Problem

"There's quite a few guys who, if you put them in the Ferrari, would do as good a job as Rubens or slightly better in some races and slightly worse in others," said Irvine. "I think there's probably five or six others who are more than capable. But there's nobody in Michael's league, that's the big problem.

"I think Rubens is as good as anybody else out there. I've been his teammate, I know how good he is. He has his weak circuits and he has his stronger circuits."

Irvine, at 36 the oldest driver in Formula One and whose own contract ends this year at Ford-owned Jaguar, drew the line at any need for further changes at his own team.

"I think we have enough adventure down here at the minute. We've had enough changes," he said.

Jaguar have been struggling with major aerodynamic deficiencies and have said no real improvement is expected until the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July and even then it will not be a dramatic boost.

Irvine said new acting technical director Guenther Steiner, brought in from Ford's rally operations by team principal Niki Lauda, had revitalised Jaguar.

"He hasn't made one wrong move in my opinion since he joined the team. He's the only leader we've had that I can say that about. How quickly he has picked this sport up is quite incredible.

"How quickly that turns us into a competitive package is another story, but he's making a lot of right decisions so at least we're heading in the right direction now after three years."