Wednesday March 1st, 2000

Eddie Irvine has tipped his former teammate Michael Schumacher to win the drivers world championship this year. Speaking at the launch of his new helmet design yesterday, the Jaguar driver said that he expects the title race to be close, but that Schumacher will stop Hakkinen taking three world championships in a row.

"Mika Hakkinen's a good driver," said Irvine, "but he's not Michael, who's been in a much inferior car the last few years and still nearly won the title. I think Michael's had a very good break this winter and he'll be a hard man to beat.

"But it's going to be very close. I think Ferrari have made a big step forward in aerodynamics, which was always the problem last year. And if McLaren hasn't made a big step forward, then Michael should be able to make up the difference. As for the constructors title, that could go either way."