Three times F1 World Champion Niki Lauda once said that a monkey could drive a modern F1 car and that far more skill was called for in his day. Well, last Sunday, the world watched as the 51 year old Austrian got behind the wheel of one his Jaguar F1 cars; his first drive in a grand prix car for 16 years. Would he eat his words or would he "ape" his regular drivers' performance.

Lauda managed 10 laps of the Valencia circuit, supposedly to get a better understanding of what Eddie Irvine and Pedro De La Rosa were talking about during technical briefings. It soon became clear that Lauda had lost none of his competitive edge. He managed to spin twice at the same corner on consecutive laps, but his straight line speed and entry speed to the corners was on a par with the team's current drivers.

"Today, I have finally discovered what they experience and how I can better assist them in my capacity as team boss," said Lauda as he stepped from the cockpit. "Today, with the paddle-shift gear levers, you can keep both hands on the wheel all the time around the circuit; when accelerating, braking - even from a standing start," he said. "The gearbox and clutch combination is most impressive. It allows you to complete smooth up-shifts from one gear to the next at over 16,000rpm without a jolt. And when changing down, the engine management software adjusts the throttle opening to match road speed and engine speed, again with very smooth results.

"All this electronic technology of course makes today's car very different to when I raced. Back then, at the start of a race, you had to judge the precise point at which to feed in the clutch and adjust the engine revs to achieve a good start. Today, you press the button for 'launch control' and the engine revs are held at full throttle. You then just let the clutch in - bang! Via the software, the engine then knows that the wheels should not spin and you make a perfect start - every time. "

He obviously enjoyed the experience, but Lauda has no plans to make a habit of it. "I did no physical preparation for this test apart from reduce smoking!" he joked.