Top 100 F1 Drivers: 55-51

Time to round off the first 50...

55. Dan Gurney (USA) 86 Starts, 4 Race Wins, 191.9 F-Points

Dan Gurney's career in F1 spanned almost the entirety of the 60s, and throughout those years he was something of an accidental innovator in motorsport. His spur-of-the-moment champagne-spraying on the podium of the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours race began the tradition of such a celebration, and he was the first driver to use a full-face helmet in Formula One during the 1968 season. His career began aged 19, when he built a car capable of tremendous speed. Growing up in California, he became enamoured by the culture of drag racing and started competing in the sport.

After broadening his horizons to sports car racing, Gurney started to attract the attention of influential names in motorsport. After finishing ahead of established racers at a Riverside Grand Prix event, he was spotted by Ferrari managers and became a part of their Le Mans outfit for 1958. Though the team were not victorious, Gurney himself had demonstrated his potential and started to make his breakthrough into Formula One.

Gurney started four races in 1959 for Ferrari. Though the first was ended by a radiator problem, the second announced his arrival to the sport when he took second place behind Tony Brooks in a Grand Prix that was split into two heats. Gurney then took another podium at the following race in Portugal, before a fourth-place finish in the Italian Grand Prix meant he had finished seventh in the Drivers' 

Championship despite taking part in less than half of the races.

Gurney's relationship with Ferrari's management was poor, and he decided to move on for the 1960 season. He secured a permanent drive with BRM, but results were extremely poor as the American failed to score any points all season. As well as this, in the Dutch Grand Prix Gurney's BRM suffered a brake failure, and the accident broke his arm and killed a spectator. Though it would lead to Gurney's more cautious braking approach that may have been a critical factor in his later success, it made 1960 a season to forget for many reasons.

Gurney moved to Porsche for 1961, and was able to produce much better performances during the season. He nearly took his maiden victory at the French Grand Prix, but a last-gasp pass from Giancarlo Baghetti meant he had to settle for second place. It would be his best opportunity all season, but Gurney did take two more second-place finishes at Monza and Watkins Glen. 

Porsche improved their package for 1962, and the changes allowed Gurney to secure Porsche's first and only Grand Prix victory when he took the chequered flag at the French Grand Prix. Having qualified in sixth, Gurney was able to work his way through the pack and take what was eventually a very comfortable victory. Despite this moment of success, Porsche were unhappy with the money required to continue running a Formula One team and withdrew at the end of the season.

Gurney had little difficulty in finding a new team, and promptly joined Brabham for 1963. In his first season for the team, Gurney outdrove his teammate and boss Jack Brabham by scoring three podiums and finishing fifth in the Drivers' Championship. The following year, Gurney continued to show his importance to the team by taking their first victory in a World Championship event when he triumphed at the French Grand Prix. He repeated this feat with another win at the final race of the season in Mexico. 

Gurney's last season for Brabham was in 1965, where for the third season in a row he was able to outscore the team's namesake. His performances towards the end of the campaign were particularly impressive, as he took five consecutive podiums before the end of the Championship. His decision to leave Brabham and set up his own team for 1966 may have cost him dearly, as it would be the year that Jack Brabham was able to dominate the season and take the title. Had Gurney remained, he arguably would have stayed true to form and taken the World Championship, but instead he was in a car that was struggling to finish races.

Nevertheless, it was Gurney's desire to win the Championship in his own vehicle, and he continued to pursue this ambition for three season. In 1967 he was able to take victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, with his car finding the perfect rhythm to produce blisteringly quick speed and romp home in first place. It was a fleeting moment of glory though, as in his three season with the Eagle car, Gurney could only manage seven classified finishes.

Despite this, Gurney was showing off his ability in various other series. He was able to take victory in the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours race, and won races in IndyCar and NASCAR. Having finished his time in Formula One with a very brief stint at the McLaren team, Gurney continued to run outfits in many different divisions of motorsport until 2000. Gurney's tremendous impact on motor racing led to him being inducted into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. 

54. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) 156 Starts, 3 Race Wins, 215.9 F-Points

Despite being subject to constant comparison with Michael Schumacher during his career, Heinz-Harald Frentzen was a successful talent in his own right. Aged 13, Frentzen began karting and, with the help of his father's support, was able to start competing in Formula Ford five years later. Frentzen established himself as one of the hottest talents in the series by finishing second in the 1987 Championship without taking part in all the races.

Frentzen caught the attention of Jochen Mass with his performances, and was snapped up to Mass' team in the Formula Lotus series. Frentzen took the German title comfortably, and finished highly in the European championship. This was enough to have him promoted to Formula Three with the Mercedes team, where his rivalry with Michael Schumacher began. At the time, Bernie Ecclestone was pushing to have a German driver in Formula One, so with the help of sponsors the first German to win a race in Formula Three would be offered a Formula One test drive.

It would be Schumacher who would take the first victory in controversial circumstances. In the Austrian event, Schumacher passed Frentzen in a move that the latter felt was unfair, claiming that Schumacher had pushed him off the track. Nevertheless, neither were awarded the test drive when Karl Wendlinger won the title and was offered it instead. Following this, Frentzen's rise to Formula One suddenly halted sharply. He decided that Mercedes were unlikely to make a move into F1, so signed up with Eddie Jordan's Formula Three team for 1990. His timing was poor, as the team were uncompetitive and Frentzen eventually found himself struggling for a drive in the competition at all. A brief stint in the Japanese Formula 3000 series helped to recover what appeared to be a career in a downwards spiral.

Frentzen had an admirer in team-boss Peter Sauber, who decided to give him his Formula One opportunity in 1994 alongside Karl Wendlinger. Though the team were still finding their feet, the impact Frentzen had was immediate and it was in the first few races that Frank Williams noticed Frentzen's ability. Following the death of Ayrton Senna, it is believed that Williams asked Frentzen if he would replace the great Brazilian, but Frentzen declined this opportunity.

Frentzen was able to take a handful of points in his debut season, and followed this up with his first podium in 1995. At the Italian Grand Prix, a succession of retirements aided Frentzen to third place, where he held off the threat from Mark Blundell's McLaren to take Sauber's first podium in Formula One. Despite this landmark achievement, Sauber was not a team that appeared to be going forwards and with Frentzen now becoming more of an established name in the sport, he decided to seek new pastures for the 1997 season. When Williams decided not to retain champion Damon Hill, it was Frentzen who was given the call to take his seat in the team, teaming up with Jacques Villeneuve.

1997 became a season of ups and downs for Frentzen. Four races into his stint with the team, the German took his first victory at the San Marino Grand Prix. Having started in second, Frentzen inherited the lead after his teammate Villeneuve retired with a gearbox issue, and he managed to hold off a late charge from Michael Schumacher to take a fine victory. He followed this up with six further podiums, and played a vital part in Williams winning the Constructor's Championship, finishing second in the Drivers' Championship himself.

However, many aspects of the 1997 season left Frentzen uncomfortable. Firstly, he had been completely overshadowed by his younger, less experienced teammate Jacques Villeneuve who had almost doubled his points total. Secondly, Frentzen's race pace rarely seemed to match his qualifying performances, with the German tending to lose places over the course of a Grand Prix. Finally, Frentzen was not getting on well with Technical Director Patrick Head. All this led to Frentzen feeling demoralised after what should have been his best season yet.

The following year, Williams failed to match their domination of 1996 and 1997 and both Villeneuve and Frentzen struggled to mount any sort of championship challenge. Though Frentzen took third at the opening race of the season in Australia, it would be his only podium of the season. Frentzen believed his future lied where he had felt happiest - Sauber. However, a late offer from Jordan would give him a new lease of life for the 1999 campaign.

In the opening race of the season, Frentzen finished a close second behind Eddie Irvine in Melbourne, and that set the tone for what would be a very successful year with Jordan. At the French Grand Prix, Frentzen drove masterfully to take his second career victory in what was a very wet race. He then stood on the top step of the podium for the third time after Mika Hakkinen spun off in the Italian Grand Prix to give Frentzen another race win.

After the race at Monza, Frentzen remained in contention for the title with three races to go. He may have even begun to feel that it was his year when he took pole position at the next Grand Prix in Europe, but an agonisingly unfortunate electrical failure while he was leading the race virtually ended his hopes. Frentzen finished third in the Drivers' Championship, and had been considered one of the best competitors that year thanks to his strong, consistent performances and the fact that he had completely outscored his esteemed teammate Damon Hill.

A brilliant 1999 was never matched by Frentzen. Jordan's fortunes took a downturn in 2000 as they struggled to score points on a regular basis. Frentzen managed podiums at the Brazilian and United States Grands Prix, but they were only fleeting moments of glory in a difficult season, which was complicated by the team fighting a battle to have Honda engines supplied to them instead of BAR. Things continued to devolve in 2001, and after a number of consecutive retirements Frentzen was sacked by Jordan who deemed him 'no longer competitive'.

Frentzen spent the rest of 2001 at Prost, but the team folded at the end of the year. Resigned to driving for backmarkers at this point, he signed up with Arrows for the 2002 season and managed a handful of impressive drives to score Arrows some unlikely points. Once again though, the team was to fold at the end of the season. Frentzen had one last crack at Formula One with Sauber, the team his career in the sport began with. He enjoyed a much better 2003 thanks largely to a surprise third-place finish at the United States Grand Prix. Though he had beaten his teammate Nick Heidfeld for points, Frentzen was not retained for 2004 and his time in Formula One had expired.

Frentzen moved to DTM in 2004 and spent three season competing in the series with no major success. Since then, he has taken part in speedcar, Le Mans 24 Hours, and other motorsport events.

53. John Watson (Great Britain) 152 Starts, 5 Race Wins, 236.8 F-Points

John Watson's route into F1 was a result of some very impressive performances in Formula Two and some helpful sponsorship deals, the combination of which secured him a permanent drive for the Brabham team in 1974. He scored his first points at the Monaco Grand Prix, and followed that up with good finishes in Austria and the United States. However, a move to Surtees in 1975 would prove to be a poor decision, as his second campaign in the sport was completely fruitless.

However, Watson truly arrived to Formula One when he moved to Penske for the 1976 season. Though his season got off to a slow start, Watson was able to take his and Penske's first Formula One podium (a result which was in doubt after he was disqualified for an illegal rear wing, but this was overturned), and repeated the result in the next race at Brand's Hatch. Things would only get better as Watson took his first victory when he won the Austrian Grand Prix, an event which marked the one year anniversary of the death of Mark Donohue - Penske's former driver and the man Watson replaced. It was a relief in many ways for Watson, as at the beginning of the season he had vowed to team-boss Roger Penske that he wouldn't shave until he won his first Grand Prix.

Penske withdrew their F1 team and Watson was forced to move back to Brabham for 1977. The season was a struggle, but Watson did come close to taking his second career victory. He had fought through the pack and overtaken James Hunt to lead the French Grand Prix when he was chased down by Mario Andretti. Watson did a stellar job of holding the American off, but at the last lap Andretti was able to squeeze past leaving Watson devastated in second place. It was the best result in a disappointing year, which was compounded by the fact that Watson had been outscored overall by his teammate Hans-Joachim Stuck.

Watson stayed on at Brabham though, and was joined by the prestigious Niki Lauda. The two of them helped to improve Brabham's fortunes and Watson himself took three podiums during the year. Though he was expectedly outperformed by Lauda, he did manage to finish ahead of the Austrian on a few occasions and was generally a very good understudy for his teammate. Perhaps their best performance together was a 1-2 at the Italian Grand Prix with Watson staying close to Lauda in second, although the race was overshadowed by the death of Ronnie Peterson.

Watson moved to McLaren for 1979 to begin what would be a five-year long partnership with the team. He instantly impressed them with a podium at the opening race of the season, and managed to score points in a car that was simply not fit for purpose, which was demonstrated by the fact that his teammate Patrick Tambay could not finish in the top six on any occasion. Despite a young Alain Prost being brought into the team in 1980, Watson's second season at McLaren continued in a similar vein as the two struggled to score points in an underperforming car. Nevertheless, it is of some testament to Watson's ability that he was able to outscore the eventual four-time World Champion Prost.

Watson's commitment to McLaren began to pay off in 1981, when the car improved significantly. Watson took consecutive podiums at the Spanish and French Grands Prix (on both occasions he had finished within three seconds of the leading car) before taking McLaren's first victory in over three years when he won his home Grand Prix at Silverstone. The race at Silverstone had seen Watson hit his stride completely, and taking victory in front of his own fans was an emotional moment for both him and the team. Watson managed one more podium before the season was out, and finished sixth in the Drivers' Championship. Watson also continued his form of beating teammates by scoring 26 points more than McLaren newbie Andrea de Cesaris.

1982 could easily have been Watson's championship year. He scored his second victory for McLaren when he came home in first at Zolder - a victory that was also emotional for Watson, who had been one of the people to jump out of his car and attend to Gilles Villeneuve after the crash that killed the Canadian the day before. Watson then enjoyed what was arguably his most outstanding race performance. Having qualified in seventeenth for the Detroit Grand Prix, Watson battled his way through the pack to move into fifth position. Then in a single lap, he was able to pass Didier Pironi, Niki Lauda and Eddie Cheever to move into second. Not content with an already breathtaking storm through the pack, Watson found his way past race leader Keke Rosberg to take a stunning victory.

After taking another podium at the following race, Watson had a ten-point lead in the Championship and was starting to become a strong favourite for the title. What made this even more impressive is that he was outperforming his new teammate Niki Lauda in the same car. However, six races without scoring a point irreparably damaged Watson's hopes, and by the end of the Swiss Grand Prix he was out of contention entirely. Watson eventually finished third in the Championship, five points behind the winner Keke Rosberg and with more race wins than the Finn. 

Watson was unable to mount a title challenge in 1983, but continued to show flashes of genius during race day. Two races into the season, he set the record for winning a Grand Prix from the furthest back on the grid when he triumphed at Long Beach. Having qualified in 22nd and with his teammate Lauda in 23rd, the two charged through the field and were eventually battling each other for the race victory. Their tussle was so hard-fought that Lauda had to ease off with cramp, allowing Watson to take another astonishing win in the States.

Watson could only manage two more podiums all season, but had managed to outscore Niki Lauda once more. However, contract negotiations for 1984 broke down when Watson asked to be paid more than Lauda due to the fact that he had performed better than the double World Champion. Ron Dennis was unimpressed, and instead signed Alain Prost. Watson decided not to continue in Formula One following his success at McLaren, and retired from the sport.

Watson continued to race Sportscars and entered Le Mans seven times before giving up racing for good in 1990. He then became a sports commentator, and currently works for Sky Sports.

52. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) 229 Starts, 3 Race Wins, 241.1 F-Points

Giancarlo Fisichella was a likable and talented member of the Formula One paddock up until his 2009 when he left Ferrari, the team he had dreamed of driving for. His route to Scuderia was a long one, which began in karting. Having nearly won the world karting title in 1991, Fisichella moved to Italian Formula Three with the RC Motorsport team. He won the title in 1994, and after spending a year in touring cars, Fisichella was given his Formula One break with Minardi.

Fisichella's first season in Formula One allowed him to set an impression despite it being short-lived. The Italian managed a few decent results, including an eighth-place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, but the team were in need of funding and chose to replace him with a pay driver midway through the year. Nevertheless, Eddie Jordan had taken note of Fisichella's ability and signed him up for Jordan in 1997.

Now that Fisichella was in a decent car, he was able to flourish in the world of Formula One, although it wasn't an easy beginning to life at Jordan. Fisichella suffered a severe accident while testing at Silverstone, meaning that at the opening race of the season he was nursing a broken knee. Another crash and an incident with his teammate Ralf Schumacher sparked worries at Jordan that Fisichella's morale would be dented, but the Italian fought back. He took his first career podium at the Canadian Grand Prix, and topped this with second-place in Belgium. Fisichella also came close to winning his first race when he was challenging for the lead with Gerhard Berger at the German Grand Prix. However, a radiator problem forced Fisichella to the back of the pack and stole his chance of a surprise victory.

Fisichella's performances secured him a place in the Benetton team for 1998, but this decision was not as inspired as it promised. The withdrawal of Renault engines from Formula One meant that the team were stuck with using last season's engines instead, and as a result the car failed to live up to the days of Michael Schumacher's two titles with the outfit. Fisichella did manage two second place finishes (at Monaco and Canada), and took his first pole position in Austria, but overall the season was a bit of a letdown for the whole team.

Things continued in a similar vein for the next three seasons. Fisichella was able to stick himself on the podium on rare occasions, but his first Grand Prix victory remained elusive. Perhaps his best opportunity during his time at Benetton came during the 1999 European Grand Prix, where a string of retirements had left Fisichella in the lead. However, with 15 laps to go Fisichella spun off the track, leaving the devastated Italian still pining for a moment on the top step of the podium.

Fisichella outperformed his teammate Alex Wurz in 1999 and 2000, but the Austrian driver was replaced by a young Jenson Button for 2001. Though Fisichella continued to score the most points for Benetton in 2001, Button was retained for the outfit that would become Renault in the following year, and Fisichella found himself replaced by Jarno Trulli. As a result, he returned to Jordan to lead the team alongside rookie Takuma Sato.

The Jordan team were now nowhere near as competitive as they were in Fisichella's first stint with them, and scoring points became a near-impossible task. 2002 was a tough year, and Fisichella could only score seven points all season, but he remained at the team for 2003 and that would give him the long-awaited opportunity for race victory. At the Brazilian Grand Prix, wet conditions threw a number of cars into the wall and Fisichella found himself moving up in position throughout the race. Then on lap 54, Fisichella overtook Kimi Raikkonen to lead the race, albeit with further pitstops still to come into play.

However, a huge crash involving Mark Webber on the main straight brought out the safety car and a confused Fernando Alonso was not anticipating the debris and hit a tyre at full speed. The chaos that ensued was enough to have the red flag shown, and the race was stopped and not resumed. As Fisichella had been in the lead, Jordan believed he had won the race, but the countback rule mistakenly gave the win to Kimi Raikkonen on the day. Three days after the race, the result was clarified as a Fisichella win, and in bizarre circumstances the Italian had won his first race.

The surprise win was about all that Jordan managed in 2003, and Fisichella sought new pastures at Sauber for the 2004 campaign. He was able to score consistently for the team, and the impression he was now leaving on the world of F1 led to him being chased by both Renault and Williams. Fisichella decided to re-sign for Flavio Briatore at Renault, and in his first race for the team he dominated the Australian Grand Prix to take victory and kick off what would be a legendary season for Renault.

Unfortunately for Fisichella, it would be his teammate Fernando Alonso who would spearhead their title challenge and eventually win the Drivers' Championship. Fisichella was regularly outpaced by the young Spaniard and was unable to take any further race victories that year, notably losing the lead of the Japanese Grand Prix to Kimi Raikkonen on the final lap of the race. While he had played an adequate role in supporting Alonso's title bid, it had been a frustrating year for Fisichella who had been expecting better from himself.

Fisichella's form improved in 2006, but by now he was firmly regarded as Renault's second driver behind Alonso. He took his third and final race victory when he qualified on pole for the Malaysian Grand Prix and led home a Renault 1-2, and only failed to score points in two races all season. Fernando Alonso went on to win the title again with Fisichella finishing in fourth in the Drivers' Championship: a career best for the Italian. 

Alonso opted to move to McLaren for 2007, leaving Fisichella as the number one driver with rookie Heikki Kovalainen under his wing. This season definitely marked the winding down of Fisichella's career, as although he consistently finished in the points, he was beaten by his young Finnish teammate and failed to finish on the podium at all. A less successful year was compounded by an embarrassing disqualification at the Canadian Grand Prix, when Fisichella ignored red lights in the pitlane and was subsequently black-flagged.

With Alonso returning to Renault in 2008, Fisichella had to find a new home and did so with Jordan's successors Force India. The team were now firmly considered backmarkers, and that didn't change in Fisichella's first year with the outfit as neither him nor Adrian Sutil could score points throughout the campaign. It appeared things would remain the same in 2009, and for the majority of the season it did. However, Force India provided their drivers with some very effective upgrades prior to the Belgian Grand Prix, and Fisichella made the most out of them by taking a stunning pole position.

Though Fisichella was overtaken into the first corner by Kimi Raikkonen's KERS-powered Ferrari, raceday went similarly well for the Italian and he was able to take second place in what is still Force India's best finish. This result opened a window of opportunity for Fisichella, as two races prior to Spa, Felipe Massa had been ruled out for the season with a head injury. Ferrari had been running their second car with their test driver Luca Badoer, but his results were poor and the team decided to sign Fisichella until the end of the season instead.

It had been a career ambition for Fisichella, who naturally admired the Ferrari team. In his five races for Scuderia, he failed to score a point in what was unfortunately a disappointing drop in form, but Ferrari offered him a deal to become their test driver for 2010. Fisichella was still intent on finding a race seat instead, but when he realised that there simply wasn't any room for him on the grid, he decided to spend his time helping to develop the Ferrari car.

Fisichella remains a part of the Ferrari team, and since his exit from Formula One racing he has competed in Sportscars, namely Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

51. Eddie Irvine (Great Britain) 146 Starts, 4 Race Wins, 241.9 F-Points

Eddie Irvine came very close to becoming an unlikely champion in Formula One, a feat which had its seeds sewn in his childhood. Irvine grew up in a family that loved motorsport, with his father racing single-seaters as a hobby and the whole family attending the British Grand Prix every year. Irvine practiced his race-craft in his father's cars, and by the age of 18 he had started competing in Formula Ford. 

It is often believed that Irvine's laid-back, informal attitude towards racing held his career up at times. He performed well in Formula Ford for his first four seasons in the series, but it wasn't until 1987 when he won 19 races and took two titles that he made the step up to Formula Three. He continued to produce results for the teams he raced with in Formula Three, but while his peers were finding F1 race seats, Irvine appeared to be stuck in place. Specifically his teammate JJ Lehto, who Irvine had outpaced in 1989, found his way into an F1 team midseason while Irvine remained in the lower division.

Irvine transferred to Japanese Formula 3000 in 1991, and the success and money he earned from the series proved decisive in his breakthough to Formula One. With some extra cash and experience, he was able to secure an opportunity to drive the final two races of the 1993 season with the Jordan team. His debut was an eventful one, as he finished in sixth place to take a point for himself and the team. However, towards the end of the race he decided to unlap himself ahead of race-leader Ayrton Senna. In a post-race altercation, Senna punched Irvine in the face, but the Ulsterman could only laugh the incident off.

Irvine's performance had done enough, and he was retained by Jordan for the 1994 season. His first race of the year ended prematurely after a controversial incident in which Irvine caused a dangerous pile-up at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the result of which was a car slamming into Martin Brundle's head. Irvine was handed a three-race ban for the incident, and further spins and crashes including an incident in which Irvine collided with Damon Hill during Friday Qualifying at the Portuguese Grand Prix, forced the FIA to contemplate revoking his superlicense. Though Irvine had shown flashes of raw pace, his reckless nature had given him the nickname "Irv the Swerve". 

1994 had not been an easy year for Eddie Irvine, but he dusted himself off and was able to improve for the following season. At the Canadian Grand Prix he was able to take his first career podium in what was an all-round tremendous result for the Jordan team, as he finished just behind teammate Rubens Barrichello to complete an impressive 2-3. While point-scoring opportunities were few and far between, the two drivers did a reasonable job for Jordan that season, and Irvine's Championship standing was just behind that Barrichello's.

It was a huge surprise when Ferrari announced that Irvine would be partnering Michael Schumacher in their set-up for 1996, giving Irvine the unexpected opportunity to drive in a car capable of winning races and titles. While Schumacher hit his stride very quickly and was considered the darling of the team, Irvine underwent a much longer, more difficult learning curve. At his first race for Scuderia he finished third in Melbourne, but that was to be the only podium he could score that year. Irvine hit an extreme low after the Italian Grand Prix, where he spun off to record his eighth consecutive retirement. While Schumacher took three race victories and demonstrated his talent, Irvine was stuck in a rut and could only score points on four occasions all season.

Irvine continued along his learning curve in 1997, where his results began to improve. At the Argentinean Grand Prix he took his best result so far by finishing second to Jacques Villenueve, whom he had chased down but couldn't quite catch in time to pull off a maiden victory. The podium ceremony after the race was marked by controversy after the Irish flag was shown behind Irvine instead of the Union Jack, leading to angry loyalists bombarding his parents' phone with threatening calls. The issue was a complicated one, as Irvine identified himself as Irish while the FIA went by who had issued a driver's passport as nationality. After the debacle, Irvine asked for a neutral Shamrock flag to be shown behind him, but the FIA refused.

Nevertheless, the result had helped to ease the doubt over Irvine's future with Ferrari, and he went on to score four more podiums during 1997 in what was a much better year. Technically he had finished ahead of Schumacher in the Championship, although this was only due to the German's disqualification. Schumacher was still comfortably outpacing Irvine, but in 1998 the Ulsterman was able to close the gap even more.

A back issue had raised doubts over Irvine's fitness prior to the start of the 1998 season, but with some seat adjustments he was able to race as normal and improved significantly on his previous seasons. Though Irvine's search for his first race victory would last another year, he was able to take eight podiums and finished fourth in the World Championship. By now he was becoming a valuable member of the Ferrari team - a driver who could deliver consistent results, but would not impede on Schumacher's title challenge. 

Things changed in 1999 though, as it was Irvine who mounted the serious title bid while his teammate was forced out of the picture. At the first race of the season in Melbourne, Irvine took his maiden victory after the McLarens retired with technical problems. Though it was a fortuitous victory, aided by a convenient safety car period, it was a springboard for Irvine's season. He continued to score points on a regular basis, and then at the British Grand Prix a moment of ill-fortune removed Michael Schumacher from the picture after he broke his legs in a crash. Though becoming Ferrari's outright championship challenger undoubtedly aided Irvine's title hopes, it is not fair to say that this was the only reason he came so close - following the British Grand Prix, both he and Schumacher were on the same points tally.

A rejuvenated Eddie Irvine won the next two races. The first was the Austrian Grand Prix, which Irvine won having just about held off the challenge from David Coulthard to cross the line first. The second, at the German Grand Prix, was somewhat more controversial as Irvine was running behind Mika Salo, who had replaced the injured Schumacher in the other Ferrari. Out of sight of TV cameras, Salo allowed Irvine to pass him and win the race in order to aid his Championship hopes. On the podium, Irvine handed his winner's trophy to Salo, grateful for the fact that the Finn's humility had allowed him to build up an eight-point lead ahead of Mika Hakkinen in the title race.

Ferrari's form began to dip, which was largely put down to them missing the developmental advice that Schumacher brought to the team. Irvine continued to score points, but struggled to even maintain podium form and was quickly reined in by Hakkinen, who was ahead of him by two points after the European Grand Prix. With just two races left, Schumacher returned from injury and proved decisive in the penultimate race of the season at Sepang.

With Schumacher on pole and Irvine in second, the two Ferraris led away and were able to build up a decent gap. Having done so, Schumacher allowed Irvine to pass and then worked tirelessly to hold Hakkinen up in third place. The plan worked, as Irvine took victory and was now four points ahead of Hakkinen going into the final race of the season in Japan. The Ulsterman now knew that finishing ahead of Hakkinen would be enough to incredibly win the Drivers' Championship.

Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix did not go too well for Irvine, as he put himself fifth on the grid while Hakkinen was in second. The saving grace on the day was that Michael Schumacher was on pole, and so long as Hakkinen didn't win the race Irvine still had hope of winning the title. It was never to be though, as Hakkinen sped past Schumacher into the first corner and comfortably took race victory. Irvine had come incredibly close, but he had just fallen short at the wrong moment.

Having put exhaustive effort into his title challenge, Irvine opted for a lucrative move to the Jaguar team in 2000. Though he was paid handsomely by the outfit, the cars they produced were very poor and Irvine struggled to score points during his three seasons with the team. In his first year at Jaguar, Irvine managed an impressive fourth-place at Monaco, but could only score points on one occasion. There were hopes that the experience Irvine was bringing from Ferrari would help to develop the car for 2001, but such improvements never materialised as the following year continued in a similar vein. However, Irvine did manage to surprise everyone with another stellar Monaco drive, this time dragging the car into third and taking Jaguar's first ever podium.

By 2002, it was clear that there was disharmony between Irvine and the Jaguar team. Irvine regularly criticised the machinery and it was eventually revealed that his contract would not be renewed. Irvine did manage one final grand result for Jaguar when he took a second podium for the team at the 2002 Italian Grand Prix, but Jaguar were only willing to retain Irvine if he would accept a pay-cut, which failed to interest the Ulsterman. He instead sought drives from elsewhere, but when it emerged that his only option would be to go further back on the grid, he decided to retire from Formula One.

He now makes various appearances in the media, and is a hugely successful property investor.