But for every driver who praises his asphalt ability, there is another who questions whether Panizzi has sufficient all-round ability to challenge for the title. In his early career, his pace on loose surfaces was patchy at best, but in 2003 there were signs of improvement. He was quick enough in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus to suggest that he may yet be maturing into a complete driver.
The man himself has no doubts about his ability. Returning to his favorite theme, he explains that speed comes with time and confidence in the car. "If you have the confidence, if you feel well inside the car, where is the problem? You have to do all the rallies and all the tests in order to be competitive at each moment. This year, I stopped after the Cyprus Rally in June and then I didn't return to gravel until the Network Q Rally in Britain in November. How can you compete in these conditions? I had five months without testing or rallying."
He looks me in the eye, shrugs theatrically and then continues without a prompt. "Today you are a specialist and then tomorrow you are bad. Maybe in January I will be the specialist on snow." Panizzi is clearly relishing the chance to prove the doubters wrong.
His new role reunites him with managing director Mario Fornaris-the two worked together to hone the championship-winning 206 WRC. "Who developed the Peugeot in the past? I did," Panizzi says. "The challenge is very big because we start from zero but I am looking forward to it."
Panizzi's reputation as a test and development driver attracted the Mitsubishi management. "He is definitely the fastest driver on tarmac and he had some good results on gravel last year. But his real plus points is that he is able to develop a car," explains Sven Quandt, Mitsubishi's President of motor sport. "He and Mario worked together at Peugeot and developed a good car. Why should they not be able to do that again?" This is very much Panizzi's team. He has a three years contract and the second car will be shared by three young guns. The buck stops with him, but he insists that "there is no pressure."
Although the car will officially be launched later today, it did a shakedown run in Wales in mid-November. "It was really not so bad," explains Panizzi. "I don't want to compare it with the 206 which has had four years development, but the balance of the car is good. Immediately when you drive a car you can feel its character."
Under the terms of the Mitsubishi deal, Panizzi will continue to be co-driven by his brother, Herv. The two have competed together since '88 and I admit to being intrigued by their relationship-can brotherly love survive in the high-pressure cockpit of a modern rally car? Panizzi laughs. "For us there are no problems," he says. "Like me, he has some passion inside the car and wants to be competitive, to try to go to the maximum."
But the brothers may have to wait a while before they are genuinely competitive. "To be in the top six is the first objective," he admits. "Then in the second half of the season I hope to be more at the front."
It will be fascinating to watch how the relationship between the fiery Frenchman and the conservative Japanese manufacturer develops. If the man who, in 2000, was thrown out of the Safari Rally and fined $50,000 for punching a fellow competitor, can channel his passion to a positive end, then the results could be spectacular. Rallying needs more characters like Gilles Panizzi and it needs Mitsubishi to reclaim a foothold at the top of the sport. If the two gel, it can only be good news.