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The Frenchman has only one F1 victory to his name – but the Monaco GP is some race to win, particularly in the circumstances that outsider Panis did in 1996.
Panis’ career appeared to be fading at the end of 1999 but a year testing for McLaren in 2000 gave him a second wind and spells at BAR and Toyota since have shown the veteran has lost none of his pace.
2001 Joins BAR as team-mate to Jacques Villeneuve and pushes the 1997 world champion hard. Finishes 14th in the championship with five points.
1966 Born in Lyon, France.
1979 Won first of five kart titles.
1987 Won Volant Elf scholarship.
1988 Raced in French Formula Renault series.
1989 French Formula Renault Champion.
1990 Fourth overall in French Formula 3 series.
1991 French Formula Three Champion.
1992 Moved up to Formula 3000 with Apomatox, one second.
1993 Became Formula 3000 Champion after a strong end-of-season charge netted three wins in a row for the DAMS team.
1994 Made Formula 1 debut with Ligier and astonished with his accomplished behaviour, bringing the car home in every Grand Prix but one to be classed 11th overall after taking a surprise second in the German GP after most of the front-runners were eliminated on the first lap.
1995 Improved to eighth overall in second season with Ligier, finishing second in the season-closing Australian GP, again more through diligence than outright speed.
1996 Had a very mixed season and scored only three times, but one of those was a runaway win in the wet/dry Monaco GP to give Ligier its first win since
1981. Ended year ninth overall.
1997 Stayed on as team leader, with the team now known as Prost in deference to its new owner. Ran very strongly in the early races, with third in Brazil and second in Spain, thanks largely to durability of his Bridgestone tyres. But he was pitched into the barriers in Canada, breaking both legs. Returned before season was out and scored points on his return to be ninth overall.
1998 Failed to score a single point as Prost team struggled, with ninth place in the season-opening race in Melbourne his best result.
1999 Matters improved at Prost, but only just as Olivier was twice in the points with sixth place finishes to be equal fifteenth overall as team-mate Jarno Trulli finished second in the European GP to be ranked equal eleventh overall.
2000 Became McLaren test driver after being dropped by Prost.
2002 Suffers a succession of mechanical failures in disappointing second season at BAR. Scores three points to finish 14th in title race.
2003 Moves to Toyota but continues to suffer from unreliability. Scores six points including fifth place at Hockenheim. Qualifies impressive third at Indy.
Drivers: Rubens Barrichello | Gerhard Berger | David Coultard | Giancarlo Fisichella | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Mika Hakkinen | Eddie Irvine | Olivier Panis | Michael Schumacher | Ralf Schumacher | Jacques Villeneuve
Teams: Ferrari | Jordan | McLaren | Renault | Williams
