Irvine: Nurburgring cost me the title

Speaking to The Express newspaper, the Ulsterman believes his luck ran out following September's European Grand Prix.

He said: 'I look back at places where we made mistakes, such as the Nurburgring, where I let Hakkinen past, my pit-stop at the Nurburgring, my strategy at the Nurburgring. Not a great race to remember.'

Irvine was pipped to the championship by Mika Hakkinen, who took his second successive crown by two points.

The Ulsterman, who joins the Jaguar team next year, also believes poor tactics in other races harmed his title assault.

He added, 'I let David Coulthard past in Hungary and there were things like not getting Mika Salo to back off at Monza, where he finished third and I was sixth, the team not letting me overtake Michael at Magny Cours and a bad pit-stop there.

'I will reflect for a while and rue those errors, but we had other chances which we took and I won four races in the season and contributed to Ferrari winning the constructors' championship.'

Irvine also says he is relishing the prospect of teaming up with the new Jaguar team for 2000.

'I cannot wait to join Jaguar,' he said. 'The timing is fantastic. I was really desperate to get out of Ferrari this season and I am a lucky, lucky guy.

'I feel for my replacement, Rubens Barrichello, because I don't believe he has any idea what he has let himself in for.

'I don't know if he will be crushed by [Michael] Schumacher, but I do know he is in for a really hard time.'