“That's not going to happen,” said Irvine. “Mugello's hard work, the idea of driving around Mugello for two or three days and then... you'd actually need a week of recovery after doing three days hard testing for Ferrari at Mugello. No, that's a joke that made a headline.”

But Eddie wasted no time in opening that mouth of his and slated Ferrari for their dominance in the Hungarian Grand Prix. A touch of envy perhaps from the Ulsterman who led Ferrari backwards when he had his big chance in 1999. Irvine reckons Ferrari are taking the mickey out of the sport. Surprisingly though he never complained when the 99 season saw him receive the team orders.