Frentzen enjoying underdog status

The German's bright yellow Jordan stuttered to a halt with electrical problems while he was leading the European Grand Prix.

Had he won he would have been thrown right to the front of the championship - as it is he is now an outside bet, 12 points behind points behind the leaders and written off by both Mika Hakkinen and Eddie Irvine.

'At moments like that everyone is very disappointed,' he admitted as he prepared for the penultimate race of the year in Malaysia on Sunday.

'The only thing you can do is to accept things as they are and look forward. That is what I am doing now.

'I have a slight chance of being champion so I am playing the role of underdog but I feel pretty confident in the situation.

'I am 12 points behind Mika but anything can happen.

'But on the other hand I am not going to claim that I can win the championship, I am just enjoying the situation in which I am.'

Frentzen and his team-mate Damon Hill will be equipped with a revised Mugen-Honda engine with more power.

'Our car is getting more and more competitive with each race and we made some useful improvements in the Barcelona test.

'I look forward to enjoying the new circumstances, I will try to the best I can and go flat out.'