Jordan optimistic

Eddie Jordan is confident his team will again become a force in Formula One after so long in the doldrums.

Jordan is hoping last week’s fortuitous points-scoring finishes for his drivers will prove a turning point in a season which has been fraught with disaster.

Prior to the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last Sunday, Jordan had claimed just two points from Nick Heidfeld’s seventh place in Monaco, with previous races beset by problems to the cars as they were struggling to finish.

Jordan’s plight appeared to go from bad to worse when Giorgio Pantano was unable to race in Montreal due to a financial problem, resulting in young German driver Timo Glock being handed his race debut.

After the initial conclusion to the grand prix, Glock and Heidfeld were 11th and 12th respectively, but in the race’s aftermath they were elevated to seventh and eighth.

That was due to the disqualifications of BMW Williams duo Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, as well as Toyota drivers Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis.

It means Jordan now have five points in the constructors’ championship, and with team principal Eddie looking forward to seeing further light at the end of what has been a long, dark tunnel.

“I had no idea leaving the circuit what the outcome was going to be, but we were extremely fortunate,” reflected Jordan.

“But it does not matter what position you are in, two cars in the points is a result, and I was very pleased about that.

“It does not obviously mean we are any quicker. The quick cars are fantastic at the moment and it seems like the distant past when we were fighting for a podium.

“But the fightback is good, particularly after starting this year with a lot of doom and gloom about Jordan.

“We have kept our heads down and our mouths shut and what we have done is got on with our job and proved we are a significant member of the Formula One establishment.

“We will come again, and what happened last weekend is part of the fightback.”

But Jordan will need significant improvement in the final two practice sessions today from Heidfeld and Pantano, his problems now resolved, if his new-found optimism is to continue.

Heidfeld’s lap time of one minute 13.961 seconds was more than three seconds slower than that of leading driver Rubens Barrichello in his Ferrari, while Pantano was a further half-a-second adrift.