Jordan Grand Prix

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Jordan

Full name	Jordan Grand Prix
Base	Silverstone, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
Founder(s)	Eddie Jordan
Noted staff	Gary Anderson Mike Gascoyne Sam Michael
Noted drivers	Rubens Barrichello Giancarlo Fisichella Heinz-Harald Frentzen Damon Hill Michael Schumacher
Formula One World Championship career
Debut	1991 United States Grand Prix
Races competed	250
Constructors' Championships	0 (Best finish: 3rd in 1999)
Drivers' Championships	0 (Best finish: Frentzen 3rd in 1999)
Race victories	4
Pole positions	2
Fastest laps	2
Final race	2005 Chinese Grand Prix

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Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan. Jordan and his team were well known for a "rock and roll" attitude which added colour and character to Formula One in the 1990s.

In early 2005, the team was sold to Midland Group, who competed for one final season as 'Jordan', before renaming the team as MF1 Racing for the 2006 season, before being sold later in 2006 to Dutch car manufacturer Spyker Cars to become Spyker F1 for 2007, and then sold again to become Force India in 2008.

[edit] Early history

Bertrand Gachot giving Jordan its F1 début at the 1991 United States Grand Prix.

Eddie Jordan had a brief stint as a race driver in the late 1970s and ran a successful Formula Three team, called Eddie Jordan Racing, in the late 1980s. The team graduated to International Formula 3000 for 1988, winning its first race in the category with Johnny Herbert. In 1989, Jordan won the F3000 drivers' championship with future Formula One star Jean Alesi. The team also ran future F1 drivers such as Martin Donnelly and Eddie Irvine in F3000.

Jordan's success in lower formulae inspired the creation of a Formula One programme for the 1991 season and a change of name to Jordan Grand Prix. The first driver to test a Jordan F1 car was veteran Ulsterman John Watson. Jordan hired Italian veteran Andrea de Cesaris and Belgian Bertrand Gachot to race his first cars, which were powered by Ford. The team had a very solid debut finishing 5th in the Constructors' Championship, with de Cesaris finishing 9th in the Drivers' Championship. Gachot failed to end the season after being sent to prison for attacking a taxi driver. Gachot was replaced for the Belgian Grand Prix by Michael Schumacher, for whom the team received $150,000 from Mercedes-Benz who were keen to give their young German sportscar star experience of Grand Prix racing in readiness for the firm's future F1 ambitions (ironically, it was Schumacher that proved Mercedes Benz's biggest hurdle to achieving success in the late 1990s and early 2000s).^[1] Despite Jordan's signed agreement in principle with Mercedes for the remainder of the season, Schumacher was signed by Benetton-Ford for the following race. Jordan applied for an injunction in the UK courts to prevent Schumacher driving for Benetton, but lost the case as they had not yet signed a contract.^[2] Future Champ Car title winner Alessandro Zanardi and ousted Benetton driver Roberto Moreno filled the second car afterwards. Success for Jordan literally came at a high price. The team was forced to switch to cheaper Yamaha engines for the 1992 season. With Maurício Gugelmin and Stefano Modena driving, the team struggled badly and failed to score a point until the final race of the season.

1993 saw further changes, with the team again changing engines, this time to Hart designed and built f1 engines, . Again, the season started with two new drivers, Ivan Capelli and Brazilian rookie Rubens Barrichello. Capelli left after two races and Barrichello saw five other drivers become team mates of his during the 1993 campaign. Jordan only had moderate improvement, scoring three points. Signs of stability were beginning to show near the end of the season when Barrichello was joined by Eddie Irvine, a former Jordan driver in F3000. The Ulsterman finished sixth and secured a point on his debut Formula One race at Suzuka. It was further memorable because Irvine unlapped himself against an F1 great, McLaren's Ayrton Senna, in order to overtake Damon Hill. After the race finished, an incensed Senna stormed into the Jordan paddock and punched Irvine in the face.^[3]

Barrichello and Irvine returned for the 1994 season, as did the Hart engines, but Irvine had a bad start to the season, earning a three-race ban for reckless driving. Barrichello earned the team their first top three finish in Japan, but was nearly killed during the following race in San Marino following a frightening practice crash. The team overcame these difficulties and returned to their initial form as they finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship again. Barrichello earned Jordan's first pole position, and finished 6th in the Drivers' Championship. This achievement stunned the Formula 1 big teams given the fact that a team with such a low budget with an engine designed and built by Darrell O'Brien / Hart Engineering achieved 6th in the F1 drivers championship

Jordan switched to a Peugeot-powered engine in 1995. During the Canadian Grand Prix that year, both Irvine and Barrichello finished on the podium, finishing second and third respectively. It was the highlight to an unspectacular but relatively solid year for Jordan, as they hung around mid-pack to finish 6th in the Championship.

Eddie Jordan, founder and owner of Jordan Grand Prix, greets the fans in Montreal in 1996

When Irvine left in 1996 to become Michael Schumacher's team mate at Ferrari, Jordan replaced him with veteran Martin Brundle, the ex-Le Mans winner and World Sportscar Champion. The team failed to make the podium, but both drivers managed to score a string of fourth place finishes as the team scored yet another 5th among the constructors.

[edit] Late 1990s ascent

Jordan introduced nose arts from 1997 to 2001, their snake mascot Hissing Sid in the first year.

1997 saw the departure of both drivers from the previous year. Barrichello left for the newly formed Stewart Grand Prix, whilst Brundle became a Formula One commentator for ITV. Jordan replaced them with Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, who had raced for Minardi the previous year, and young Ralf Schumacher, Michael's brother. Again, the team finished 5th in the Championship, with Fisichella scoring two finishes on the podium. At Hockenheim, Fisichella had led the race, but lost out to an inspired Gerhard Berger and a puncture. The Italian scored fastest lap at the Spanish Grand Prix. A lowlight of the season came in Argentina when Ralf Schumacher took out his Italian team-mate during the race. This was tempered by Ralf's first podium.

In 1998, the team made its biggest signing as former World Champion Damon Hill, a graduate of Jordan's F3000 programme, replaced Fisichella. The team also replaced its Peugeots, which went to Prost, with Mugen Honda motors. Up to the halfway point of the season, Jordan had failed to score a single point due to reliability problems. However, things improved greatly towards the end of the season. At that year's rain-soaked Belgian Grand Prix in which only six cars finished, Hill earned Jordan their first ever Formula One win, which was also Hill's 22nd career Grand Prix victory. Ralf Schumacher sweetened the victory by finishing second. Hill finished 6th in the driver's standings with Ralf 10th. Hill's heroic last lap, last-corner move on Heinz-Harald Frentzen at Suzuka enabled him to finish the race in fourth and also earned Jordan fourth in the Constructors Championship for 1998 (this was tempered by speculation that Frentzen had "gifted" the place to Hill, the German having confirmed a move to Jordan for 1999, after a tumultuous career with Williams).

The 1999 season was Jordan's most successful in F1, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen winning two races. The team finished third in the constructors' championship.

Yet another former F3000 driver of Jordan's, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, joined his F1 program in 1999, replacing Williams-bound Ralf Schumacher. The season was a nightmare for Hill, who was to retire at the end of the 1999 season. However, Frentzen's season was immensely successful, with the German earning two victories and a pole position. For a short while Frentzen had entertained thoughts of a world title, but poor luck and greater speed from McLaren and Ferrari ended his hopes. Frentzen finished third in the Drivers' Championship and the team also finished third amongst the Constructors'. 1999 was to be the team's finest season.

[edit] Decline

Noses and front wings in the Jordan garages at the 2005 United States Grand Prix

For 2000 Hill was replaced by Jarno Trulli, fresh from a couple of years at Prost and Minardi. His one-lap speed in particular impressed, but he was unable to score a podium. Frentzen was unable to replicate the glories of 1999 and the team slipped back to 6th in the Constructors' Championship. The team had been on course for major points at Monaco, but poor luck intervened.

Both drivers returned to start 2001 and Jordan switched to works Honda engines which were already being supplied to rival team BAR. This would lead to a battle for the right to use the Honda engines in the long term. Frentzen was released from the team in mid-season, a series of disagreements with team boss Eddie Jordan a possible explanation. Jordan himself has hinted that he dropped Frentzen to bring in Takuma Sato for 2002, an attempt to appease Honda. Frentzen was replaced by test driver Ricardo Zonta at the German Grand Prix, but thereafter in 2001 Jean Alesi, in the final stages of his Formula One career, took the seat. Amidst all the turmoil, Trulli managed to score points every now and then, and the team, as it had done many times before, finished 5th.

Giancarlo Fisichella driving for the Jordan Grand Prix team at Indianapolis in 2002.

Jordan re-organised in 2002, with Fisichella returning and Takuma Sato joining the team, thanks in no small part to Honda's influence. Due to a drop in sponsorship money the team slipped backwards. Fisichella often exceeded the car's abilities in qualifying, a sixth place on the grid for Montreal surprising many onlookers. Yet results-wise, the Italian had to make do with a trio of fifth places and a final point from Hungary. Sato showed flashes of speed, but managed just two points, at Suzuka. Despite the drop in form, Jordan still managed sixth in the championship, ahead of BAR. For 2003, Honda left Jordan to concentrate on their partnership with BAR. Jordan had to make do with Ford Cosworth engines, and the season was not regarded as a success. Despite beating only Minardi to score 9th in the standings, Jordan won in 2003. The win came under extraordinary circumstances in the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix which took place in torrential weather conditions. Following a massive accident on the start / finish straight, the race was red flagged and stopped. After some initial confusion, Giancarlo Fisichella was initially ruled to have finished a still remarkable second behind Kimi Räikkönen who took the top step on the podium. However, an FIA inquiry several days later led to Fisichella being officially declared the winner of his first F1 race. Fisichella was, therefore, unable to celebrate his first career victory on the top step of the podium, although he and Räikkönen swapped their drivers' trophies in a presentation at the following Grand Prix, while McLaren's Ron Dennis handed over the constructors' trophy to Eddie Jordan. Aside from the unlikely win, neither Fisichella or new teammate Ralph Firman were able to have any sort of success in their Jordans. After Firman was injured in practice for the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix Jordan fielded the first ever Hungarian Formula One driver, Zsolt Baumgartner. Firman returned for the final two events, but was unable to add to the point he won in Spain. Fisichella only managed two points on top of his victory and unhappy at the team's slump he departed for Sauber.

In June 2003 Jordan sued mobile phone company Vodafone for £150 million, claiming that the company had made a verbal contract for a three-year sponsorship, then given it to Ferrari instead. Jordan withdrew the action two months later, agreeing to pay Vodafone's costs. This was a double financial blow from which the team did not recover. The judge was highly critical of Eddie Jordan, branding the allegations against Vodafone "without foundation and false".^[4]

Nick Heidfeld driving for Jordan at the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix.

In 2004, Jordan struggled financially, and their status for the future was questionable. The team fielded German Nick Heidfeld, formerly of Sauber and Prost, and Italian rookie Giorgio Pantano. Ex-F3000 champion Heidfeld showed promise, but could not achieve many good results, the car's pace being poor. Pantano's season was dogged by sponsorship problems. He missed Canada due to a lack of finance, Timo Glock stepping in and scoring a point on his debut. Later in the season, the German replaced Pantano for good. The team finished ahead of only Minardi in 2004.

After the Ford Motor Company's decision to put Cosworth up for sale, Jordan had been left without an engine deal for 2005. However, at short notice, Toyota agreed to supply Jordan with engines identical to those in the Toyota F1 cars. At the beginning of 2005, the team was sold to Midland Group for US $60 million.

Monteiro at the 2005 US GP.

The Jordan name was retained for the 2005 Formula One season, before being changed to MF1 Racing for the 2006 season. Throughout 2005 journalists questioned whether Midland were in Formula One for the long haul. Rumours circulated throughout the season that the team was for sale, and that Eddie Irvine was interested in buying them. The year also saw the induction of two new rookie racers, Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro. 2005 merely confirmed Jordan's status at the back of the grid. A final podium came in the farcical race at Indianapolis, Monteiro leading home a Jordan 3-4. Monteiro managed a welcome eight place at Spa to give the team its last ever point. The final grand prix for the team saw a low-key exit, Monteiro not scoring and Karthikeyan crashing out. Over the years Jordan introduced many star names to the sport, something that will not be forgotten. Jordan also has a link with the leading German drivers of the era, with Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Timo Glock and Nick Heidfeld all driving for the team.

[edit] Notable Sponsorship

From 1996 to 2005, Benson & Hedges was the primary sponsor of Jordan. At races where the ban on cigarette advertising was in force, the name was substituted for "Bitten & Hisses" (in 1997 when Jordan's mascot was the snake Hissing Sid) or the names of the team's drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher, with additional 'S's, "Buzzing Hornets" (while the mascot was an un-named hornet from 1998 to 2000), "Bitten Heroes" (during 2001, when the team's mascot was a shark), and from 2002 onwards 'Be On Edge' (BENSON & HEDGES). It was in the sponsor's first year that the team coloured their cars in the gold of their cigarette packet and then switched to yellow after that.

For 2001, title sponsorship went to delivery company DHL, before reverting back to Benson & Hedges.

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Chassis/Engine Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Points	WCC
1991	191 Ford V8 G		USA	BRA	SMR	MON	CAN	MEX	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS				13	5th
		Gachot	10	13	Ret	8	5	Ret	Ret	6	6	9
		M. Schumacher											Ret
		Moreno												Ret	10
		Zanardi														9	Ret	9
		de Cesaris	DNPQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	4	6	Ret	5	7	13	7	8	Ret	Ret	8
1992	192 Yamaha V12 G		RSA	MEX	BRA	ESP	SMR	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN	AUS				1	11th
		Modena	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	15	DNQ	13	7	6
		Gugelmin	11	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	10	14	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
1993	193 Hart V10 G		RSA	BRA	EUR	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN	AUS				3	10th
		Barrichello	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	12	9	Ret	7	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	5	11
		Capelli	Ret	DNQ
		Boutsen			Ret	Ret	11	Ret	12	11	Ret	13	9	Ret
		Apicella													Ret
		Naspetti														Ret
		Irvine															6	Ret
1994	194 Hart V10 G		BRA	PAC	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN	AUS				28	5th
		Barrichello	4	3	DNQ	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	4	12	Ret	4
		Irvine	Ret	EX	EX	EX	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	7	4	5	Ret
		Suzuki		Ret
		de Cesaris			Ret	4
1995	195 Peugeot V10 G		BRA	ARG	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	PAC	JPN	AUS			21	6th
		Barrichello	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	2	6	11	Ret	7	6	Ret	11	4	Ret	Ret	Ret
		Irvine	Ret	Ret	8	5	Ret	3	9	Ret	9	13	Ret	Ret	10	6	11	4	Ret
1996	196 Peugeot V10 G		AUS	BRA	ARG	EUR	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN				22	5th
		Barrichello	Ret	Ret	4	5	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	4	6	6	Ret	5	Ret	9
		Brundle	Ret	12	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	8	6	10	Ret	Ret	4	9	5
1997	197 Peugeot V10 G		AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	AUT	LUX	JPN	EUR			33	5th
		R. Schumacher	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	5	5	5	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	9	Ret
		Fisichella	Ret	8	Ret	4	6	9	3	9	7	11	Ret	2	4	4	Ret	7	11
1998	198 Mugen Honda V10 G		AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	LUX	JPN				34	4th
		Hill	8	DSQ	8	10	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	4	4	1	6	9	4
		R. Schumacher	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	11	Ret	Ret	16	6	5	6	9	2	3	Ret	Ret
1999	199 Mugen Honda V10 B		AUS	BRA	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	EUR	MAL	JPN				61	3rd
		Hill	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	5	8	Ret	6	6	10	Ret	Ret	WD/Ret
		Frentzen	2	3	Ret	4	Ret	11	1	4	4	3	4	3	1	Ret	6	4
2000	EJ10 EJ10B Mugen Honda V10 B		AUS	BRA	SMR	GBR	ESP	EUR	MON	CAN	FRA	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN	MAL			17	6th
		Frentzen	Ret	3	Ret	17	6	Ret	10	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	6	6	Ret	3	Ret	Ret
		Trulli	Ret	4	15	6	12	Ret	Ret	6	6	Ret	9	7	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	12
2001	EJ11 Honda V10 B		AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN			19	5th
		Frentzen	5	4	11	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	Inj	Ret	8	7
		Zonta								7				Ret
		Alesi													10	6	8	7	Ret
		Trulli	Ret	8	5	5	4	DSQ	Ret	11	Ret	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	8
2002	EJ12 Honda V10 B		AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	GBR	FRA	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN			9	6th
		Fisichella	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	5	5	Ret	7	WD/DNQ	Ret	6	Ret	8	7	Ret
		Sato	Ret	9	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	16	Ret	Ret	8	10	11	12	11	5
2003	EJ13 Ford Cosworth V10 B		AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	ITA	USA	JPN				13	9th
		Fisichella	12	Ret	1	15	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	10	7	Ret
		Firman	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	8	11	12	Ret	11	15	13	Ret	Inj	Inj	Ret	14
		Baumgartner													Ret	11
2004	EJ14 Ford Cosworth V10 B		AUS	MAL	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	CHN	JPN	BRA		5	9th
		Heidfeld	Ret	Ret	15	Ret	Ret	7	10	8	Ret	16	15	Ret	12	11	14	13	13	Ret
		Pantano	14	13	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	13		Ret	17	Ret	15	Ret	Ret	Ret
		Glock								7								15	15	15
2005	EJ15 EJ15B Toyota V10 B		AUS	MAL	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	BRA	JPN	CHN	12	9th
		Monteiro	16	12	10	13	12	13	15	10	3	13	17	17	13	15	17	8	Ret	13	11
		Karthikeyan	15	11	Ret	12	13	Ret	16	Ret	4	15	Ret	16	12	14	20	11	15	15	Ret