By Phil Giles
May 18 2003

Ralph Firman finished his sixth Grand Prix outside of the points in eleventh place, however niggles plagued both his and Giancarlo's race, causing the Italian to retire. The race was started three times as Cristiano da Matta's Toyota experienced problems with it's launch control.  The restarts could not have helped Jordans chances as engines start to heat up and tyre pressures fall.  Giancarlo who qualified in 9th place couldn't capitalise on his grid position fell back at the start.

A fuel pressure problem caused Fisi's retirement and despite a win in Brazil, the Italian has failed to finish the last three Grand Prix.  "I'm not happy at the moment. That was another disappointing race and my third retirement out of three.  We had a very difficult race, with extremely low grip levels. It's not good at all and we need something for the future.  I know the team are working really hard and I hope we can find some improvements quickly." He said afterwards.

Ralph Firman's day was slightly happier.  At least he managed a finish.  "We were a bit worried about the temperature build-up with the two aborted starts, as the clutch can get too hot, but it was all okay with no problems. The car was quite good in the race and I managed to get past Coulthard at the safety car re-start, although my out-laps after the stops weren't very good. It rained on my first one and on cold tyres the car locked the rears when I downshifted and I nearly spun. On the second out-lap Da Matta got on the inside of me and pushed me wide, but the car was not too bad after that. It's a shame we weren't able to score points."

Results of this nature must be disheartening, not only for the drivers but for the backroom boys and the team heads of staff.  Eddie Jordan said "We are just not quick enough. It's disappointing that we had another failure with Giancarlo and we are working very hard to prevent these things from happening. Ralph again did a good job to finish."

Jordan's best asset is Giancarlo Fisichella and the team must realise that they need to keep the undoubtedly talented driver in the fold and the only way to do this is to provide the chap with a car that is capable of points.  The car can get to the finish but it appears to need a lot of nursing to get it there.  Fisi is an out and out driver.  He needs to push to get the best result, but without the car to get him there then Fisi no doubt will move on as soon as a place becomes available.

The tight Monaco street circuit is next on the calendar.  Let's hope that the team can get a few days testing in between now and then.