It was driven by Dutchman Jos Verstappen, who was in his second year with the team, and Enrique Bernoldi, a Brazilian rookie who brought sponsorship from Red Bull, at the expense of Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa who was unexpectedly dropped shortly before the season started.

Walkinshaw had been offered an exclusive and most importantly cheap deal and technical director Mike Coughlan believed the new engine suited the Arrows chassis package better.

This resulted in several high-profile, low-fuel strategies as the drivers, particularly Verstappen, used their light cars to good effect in the opening stages of many of the Grands Prix.

[8] There were other moments of promise, but Verstappen also blotted his copybook by getting involved in an incident with race leading WilliamsF1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya at Interlagos, taking the Colombian out and costing him a $15,000 fine.

Bernoldi's Red Bull sponsorship went some way to offset this, but European Aviation and the associated logistical support they provided was moved to Minardi after Paul Stoddart bought that team just prior to the season.