Zanardi “pumped up” over CART return

This weekend's race is his first since leaving Formula 1 under a cloud after a disappointing season with Williams in 1999, and his first race in a Champ Car since winning the second of his back-to-back CART titles in 1998. He drives a Mo Nunn Racing Reynard-Honda this year.

"I'm pumped up," said Zanardi. "I'm going to Mexico thinking we can do well despite the fact we are a very young organization.

"I have total belief in the potential of this team" he said. "But look at the reality. Last December 3rd, this seat [alongside team mate Tony Kanaan] did not exist. On December 4th, this was built on paper.

"It'll take some action together to mix all these talents and make them work as a team. It's not that we're not prepared, not that we're not strong, but compared to other people we have a bigger margin of improvement that will happen during the season."

Despite his reservations about the new faces around him, the 34-year-old Italian has been happy with what he's seen so far.

"I was very delighted that the end of our winter testing program concluded with two very good days [at Homestead] where the car ran extremely well and we got a lot of work done," he added. "And we were able to go very, very fast. This last thing we did will still work in everybody's mind, including mine, to motivate everybody."

His Brazilian team mate Kanaan, who was run as a single-car entry by Nunn last season, is happy Zanardi has joined the squad.

"With Alex, I have somebody to share information with, and someone to push me to the limit," said Kanaan. "We have a very reliable engine and a very strong team that is ready to go. People are expecting a lot from us, I think, and so am I. I'm expecting the best."