The outspoken Ulsterman, famous for his role alongside Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in the nineties and subsequently with Jaguar until 2002, hailed 23-year-old Kubica's emergence as a consistent challenger to the Ferrari and McLaren runners this year.

"You have to say he has done a fantastic job to be close to those guys," Irvine, who is now 42, told Virgin Media.

Irvine believes Kubica, the first Polish driver to race in formula one, has the measure of his current teammate, German veteran Nick Heidfeld.

"But Heidfeld's never been a top, top driver in my opinion," he added.

Irvine said the recent Spanish grand prix was "boring", but praised the flawless performance of current pacesetters Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, today's Ferrari duo.

"McLaren now have some catching up to do, that's for sure," he said.

Discuss this topic on NewsOnF1 Forums

Latest Formula 1 News Headlines
11 Feb: Sandstorm halts Bahrain testing
11 Feb: More bad news about Donington Park
11 Feb: Ralf secures new Mercedes DTM contract
11 Feb: F1 and sports cars no problem - Bourdais
11 Feb: Slim Buemi wants to lose 5 kilos
11 Feb: Vettel's new colour-changing 'disco' helmet
11 Feb: Singapore GP a financial success
11 Feb: No launch for new Force India next month
11 Feb: Dennis, Hamilton, win award
11 Feb: Red Bull fast in Spain, Toyota in Bahrain
11 Feb: Button facing end of F1 career - Coulthard
11 Feb: Chandhok blames 'finance' for F1 struggle
10 Feb: Hockenheim dilemma leaves Bernie 'unhappy'
10 Feb: Vettel plays down fears of driver 'strike'
10 Feb: Vettel gained weight ahead of 2009 season
10 Feb: Bourdais confirmed for Le Mans, Sebring
10 Feb: New helmet design for Vettel
10 Feb: Donington denies debt reports
10 Feb: French government gives Renault 3bn euros
10 Feb: Glitch halts new Red Bull's debut

The latest Formula 1 News