Quote #13

On leaving Ferrari for Jaguar at the end of the 1999 season: 'The timing is really fantastic. I was really desperate to get out of Ferrari this season, and I am a lucky, lucky guy. I could not have coped with another year because Michael Schumacher is so damn good. He is a back-breaker. He saps you, and the effort of working and competing with him drains you.'

More from Eddie Irvine

  1. On becoming Ferrari's number one driver after Schumacher's injury at the British Grand Prix: 'Ferrari didn't hire me to win the world champ…
  2. On his 'playboy' image: 'It's got me this far the way I do it. If you change it and get serious you are going to get depressed and you won'…
  3. After winning a race in Australia which everyone expected Michael Schumacher would win: 'I tell you what, my bookie is not going to be too …
  4. On his poor performance at the European Grand Prix: 'Life is strange, but F1 is simply crazy.'
  5. On crashing into Giancarlo Fisichella's Benetton: 'I don't want to blame anyone, but I will say it wasn't my fault. I couldn't put the car …
  6. On the reason behind his Australian popularity: 'Because it's full of Irish convicts'
  7. On whether he ever visited racing driver Damon Hill at his Dublin house: 'Well, to be honest, you'd have to be a pretty sad bastard to need…
  8. Asked which driver was his favorite: 'Hmmm...ammm...well we're all a bunch of tossers really!'

All Eddie Irvine quotes