FORMULA ONE: With rumours of his departure from Jaguar rampant in the paddock, Eddie Irvine yesterday responded to critics who consider his best Formula Days are far behind him bv racing to a stunning third place at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza yesterday, taking his first podium finish in over a year behind winner Rubens Barrichello and second-placed Michael Schumacher.
With just five finishes from 14 races behind him in the Jaguar R3 and his repeated complaints morphing from the sound of a man pushing for success to the bleatings of a defeated, broken driver, Irvine looked to be seeing out the twilight of his Formula One career in a welter of bad results, bad publicity and bad feeling.
Yesterday, though, twilight turned to spotlight as Irvine re-established his racing credentials, repaid Jaguar boss Niki Lauda's faith after the team had tried to offload the Irishman a year ago, and reawakened interest in his potential as a member of the 2003 grid, possibly at Jordan.
On Saturday, Irvine proved the Jaguar has hidden resources of pace and raced to fifth on the grid behind the twin Williams and ahead of the McLarens of Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard, the former having been demoted from fifth after the FIA ruled the Finn had been at fault in a qualifying session tangle with Jordan's Takuma Sato.
Even then there was the strong - and justifiable - suspicion the R3 wouldn't make it to the flag on race day. Even Irvine voiced concern about continuing brake problems at a circuit that, with its super-fast straight connected by hard-braking chicanes, places a premium on stopping power.
But come yesterday Irvine rediscovered the point-scoring power he must have felt he had left behind long ago at Ferrari. The Irishman was benefited in his chase first by the retirement of Ralf Schumacher with an engine failure within two laps and then on Juan Pablo Montoylater by a front wishbone failure a's car on lap 30. That bounced Irvine to fourth but he still had Raikkonen in front of him.
But for once this season Irvine got the sort of break that seems these days to be the preserve of Ferrari. Midway through the lap, after Montoya's retirement, as Irvine was watching Raikkonen disappear into the distance, the Finn's Mercedes engine suddenly let go, leaving him stranded in the gravel. Irvine sailed in to third place.
The Irishman confessed the result came as something of a surprise and he admitted he barely realised he was third until the closing laps of the race.
"The last time I looked I'd seen fourth so I though, 'okay, just back it up, back it up' and fourth is nice. Fourth is good for the team, third is good for me and the team. To get up there on the podium is something very special", he said later.
The result has implications for Jordan. The Jaguar engine in use is the base engine that will be handed to Jordan for next year's R3. The 72 degree-angled V10 is rated as one of the grid's best powerplants and Irvine paid tribute to Ford-owned Cosworth yesterday.
"Cosworth this year have done an amazing job. This engine here and the one from qualifying were a really nice step forward in terms of driveability, power. It's very, very impressive and Monza's all about engine. A lot of this performance is purely due to the engine."
Irvine, too, could be on his way to Jordan at the end of the season and while the trail of that transfer has cooled since the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago a few other names are being mentioned as replacement for Sato next year.
Scotsman Allan McNish and Sauber's Brazilian Felippe Massa have been mentioned in connection with the Irish team. McNish, who spent 12 years trying to get into F1 only to be sacked after just one season with Toyota, may be considered damaged goods.
Eddie Jordan insists he has a contract with Sato, but a 12th-place finish yesterday won't have done him any favours. Team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, almost certain to be with Jordan in 2003, had a happier time at his home grand prix despite a bad start, but a well-worked late-fuelling, one-stop strategy wasn't enough to push the Italian into the points and he had to settle for eighth.
Ahead of Irvine and the other points finishers - Jarno Trulli (fourth), Jenson Button (fifth) and Olivier (sixth) - there was never any other story than Ferrari.
With the Williams cars and McLaren's Raikkonen removed and David Coulthard slumping to 20th after damaging a rear wing at the start, Barrichello and Schumacher cruised to the chequered flag.
