Englishman Anthony Davidson says he never gave up hope of finally getting a full-time Formula One race seat despite spending six years on the sidelines.
Davidson starts his first full season for Super Aguri this weekend, but has raced in only three Grands Prix despite his long tenure as a Honda test driver.
"I was always looking forward, telling myself that I was confident the chance would come," he told the Guardian.
"So at the end of the day, I wouldn't say I ever lost hope."
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Davidson was first employed as a test driver by the BAR-Honda team in 2001, and did two races as a stand-in for Malaysian Alex Yoong at Minardi in 2002.
He became BAR's reserve driver in 2004, and filled in for his Japanese team-mate Takuma Sato in Malaysia the following year.
He has always been highly rated by Honda, who took over BAR in 2006, and the Japanese company have rewarded his loyalty and hard work with a race drive alongside Sato at works-assisted Super Aguri this season.
"To bring a few points home for the team would make a dream year for me"
"I've been around long enough to know anything can happen," the 27-year-old said.
Aguri have had troubled preparations for the new season.
Their new car was delayed after failing to pass F1's mandatory crash tests, but has been given the green light to race following its unveiling in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The car has also been the centre of controversy as many of Aguri's rivals believe it is a thinly disguised copy of last year's Honda - and F1 rules dictate teams must design and build their own cars.
But the team insist their car is within the rules.
"We do the best we can within the existing rules... we want to respect the rules, we don't want to cheat," said Super Aguri sporting director Daniele Audetto.
The delay in the new car has meant the team has had to do all its pre-season testing in a development version of last year's car.
But Davidson shrugged that off as a minor inconvenience, and said he was optimistic the team could score their first points this season.
"To bring a few points home for the team would make a dream year for me," British driver Davidson said.
"But to finish the race in Melbourne and get to the chequered flag, that's the first goal."
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