Irvine: I Knew I Was Leaving.
Eddie Irvine has revealed that he knew his Ferrari career was over just days after Michael Schumacher broke his leg at Silverstone.
The Irishman recounts in his new book, Life in the Fast Lane, that he met with Ferrari bosses Luca di Montezemolo and Jean Todt on the Tuesday after the British Grand Prix, and was told that they had no desire to renew his contract. This, according to Irvine, co-incided with his own feelings that he should leave the team, but seemed 'strange timing' as he was now its only hope for the world championship.
Eddie Irvine has revealed that he knew his Ferrari career was over just days after Michael Schumacher broke his leg at Silverstone.
The Irishman recounts in his new book, Life in the Fast Lane, that he met with Ferrari bosses Luca di Montezemolo and Jean Todt on the Tuesday after the British Grand Prix, and was told that they had no desire to renew his contract. This, according to Irvine, co-incided with his own feelings that he should leave the team, but seemed 'strange timing' as he was now its only hope for the world championship.
The announcement convinced Irvine further that the team was built around Schumacher and, even with the German due to miss the heart of the season, it was prepared to tell his sidekick that he was no longer wanted - even if it meant that the championship went begging once more.
The Irishman also claims that greater emphasis was placed on Schumacher's pre-return testing - instead of preparations for the Malaysian and Japanese GPs - to the detriment of his own championship challenge.
"The team took its foot off the ball," he writes, "Whether [Schumacher] returned or not was not the main issue but, on occasions, I felt some people were reluctant to contradict Michael as they seemed scared of upsetting him."
Irvine signed for Jaguar soon after the meeting with di Montezemolo and Todt, and will form an all-British partnership with Johnny Herbert at the former Stewart outfit in 2000.
The Irishman, renowned for his apparent playboy lifestyle, also used his book to shock the outside world with revelations that he is a father. He has a daughter, Zoe, from a previous relationship during his time in Macau and Japan and, although he is no longer with her mother, has spent the past season getting better acquainted.
"Zoe is the bond which keeps us close," he says, "and she is mega! We've had a laugh, played on my boat and in the sea, and generally we've just hung out together. She's not a difficult child at all - she's a great kid and loves her bed - just like me!"
