However, despite this controversial start he impressed enough in his two seasons at Jordan to be offered a berth alongside Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for 1996. During the first three years at
Maranello he played second fiddle to Schumacher as the number two.
But in 1999 he came into his own. He took his first GP win in the opening race of the year at Melbourne and took a further three victories to
provide the thrust of Ferrari's title challenge, after Schumacher broke his leg at Silverstone. Sadly for Irv it wasn't to be, as Mika Hakkinen stormed to championship victory in the season showdown in Japan.
Jaguar came in with a big offer for 2000 and Irvine jumped at the chance of leading the new project. But a difficult first year for the combination yielded just 4 points. Things can only get better in 2001.