Eddie Jordan believes his team adds a little “rock and roll” to Formula One and that’s why the sport needs him. He is hoping for point-scoring finishes from his drivers at Magny-Cours this weekend.
Eddie Jordan believes his team adds a little “rock and roll” to Formula One and that’s why the sport needs him. He is hoping for point-scoring finishes from his drivers at Magny-Cours this weekend.
Jordan told that most of the other F1 teams were very business-like, but as one of the few remaining privateer teams in the sport, he provides fun in the pit lane. Jordan was responding to claims that he did not take the sport seriously.
“We are not the clowns of the business, we are deadly serious about what we do,” he said. “But the truth is we don’t have the money to compete on a level playing field.
“Instead, we try and provide our own brand of entertainment – as do Minardi. We bring a bit of rock and roll to the paddock, while the corporate teams send out a very dull image. The sport needs a human element in it and that’s what we provide.”
The team has its EJ13s ready for the French Grand Prix this weekend and is aiming to finish in the points. The Jordan team has mixed memories of the Magny-Cours circuit: Heinz- Harald Frentzen won in 1999, but Giancarlo Fisichella had a dramatic accident during practice last year.
Ralph Firman and Fisichella finished last weekend’s European Grand Prix in 11th and 12th places after a difficult race in which they had to contend with considerable oversteer.
“The guys at the factory are all working very hard to make sure we have performance and reliability at each race and we are hoping to return to a points-scoring position. We have won this race in the past with a combination of team-work, strategy and a good driver and we still have the potential to deliver those ingredients. So if we can do the job with our car package on the day and have a little bit of luck, there’s a chance we can bring a few points home,” said Jordan.
Gary Anderson, Jordan’s director of race and test engineering said there have been a few changes to the circuit that could make a difference. “The new pit entry and exit will change the time lost during pit stops so strategies will need to be devised after Friday running. The traditionally hot conditions at this race haven’t really suited us so far this year but we have done some development to our package in that respect and we’ll have to wait and see how we fare when we go out for testing on Friday,” he said.
Fisichella said this could be a tricky race. “Our car suffers a bit in hot conditions and this can make things difficult at very ‘technical’ circuits like Magny-Cours. I am not expecting any miracles, unless history repeats itself and we go back to 1999 with a wet track and Jordan on the winners’ podium!” he said.