“I had a three-race deal with Stoddy to begin with, but an extension to that pretty much became a formality after the opening race. How the hell we ever got home in fifth place in Melbourne, I don’t know! We’d done virtually no pre-season testing and the diff went after only a few laps. In the end it turned into a real smash ‘n’ grab because we only got those points due to other people’s retirements. But it was great for Stoddy and great for the team. I got a good insight into Michael Schumacher after the race because he came down to congratulate me afterwards, just to ensure he got himself in the papers the next day…

For the remainder of the year we did the best we could with the equipment that we had. We didn’t get any more points, but we put in some good performances at tracks where the Michelins were competitive. Overtaking Olivier Panis’s BAR at Monaco was one such highlight.

I tested for Jaguar in the middle of the year. The car was only a bit better than the one I was used to, but the engine was awesome; it had so much more power than the Asiatech we were using at Minardi. I signed for Jaguar in the middle of the year, so at least I knew what I was doing the following season.”