Frentzen fired up for Arrows debut

The Leafield-based squad has switched to Cosworth power in 2002, and Frentzen - who was second quickest to Renault's Jarno Trulli in testing at Silverstone last week - is upbeat about the potential of his new combination.

"I'm very much looking forward to starting the new season with my new team," said Frentzen, who was sacked by Jordan part-way through last season. "The whole package looks good and the team is full of very good, professional people. After only a few hundred kilometres of testing we still have a lot of sorting to do on the car but I am convinced it has potential.

"I'm optimistic that after the first three fly-aways we can start making a noticeable improvement with more time to test different chassis combinations. This is our first chance to see how competitive we're going to be but the real test for everyone in Melbourne is reliability so I think if we can finish the race we will all be happy," he added.

New team-mate Enrique Bernoldi is also looking forward to putting a troubled rookie season in 2001 behind him.

"I feel more confident now I have a year of F1 behind me," he said. "I have learned a lot by competing with top drivers and of course I know the team well now. I'm looking forward to racing the A23, as it is definitely a marked improvement on the A22."