Giorgio Pantano gave a strong drive today to bring his Jordan Ford EJ14 home in 14th place at his first Grand Prix, while Nick Heidfeld experienced a clutch problem which prevented his car from stopping on his final pit stop and then forced his retirement from the race.  In the pit stop incident two Jordan pit crew members - Giorgio Pantano’s number 1 mechanic Matt Deane and spares co-ordinator and pit stop re-fueller Mick Gomme – were hit by the car and suffered some bruising, but are without serious injury.

Nick Heidfeld and Giorgio Pantano qualified for tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix in 15th and 16th positions following the first ever qualifying under the new 2004 format.  Both drivers were reasonably satisfied with their final qualifying laps, which followed trouble-free free practice and first qualifying sessions.

Heidfeld said afterwards, “My second qualifying lap was better than the first.  I was hoping to beat Cristiano da Matta but it did not happen even though I did the maximum possible.  The car has a good set-up for the race judging by this morning because we did a relatively long run, given that we have to be careful with engine mileage, and the car was quite consistent.  After this morning it looked like we would be stronger over a distance than on a single lap so I’m hopeful.”

Jordan Ford began its 2004 campaign with a new car and all-new driver line-up today at Albert Park in Melbourne, with Timo Glock joining race drivers Nick Heidfeld and Giorgio Pantano for both Free Practice sessions.  Heidfeld and Pantano worked steadily through a Bridgestone tyre and set-up programme without any major technical hitches, however Glock’s track time was cut short by a mechanical problem in both sessions which the team is investigating.

Giorgio Pantano said, “I am so happy to be just days away from my first Grand Prix.  It’s going to be quite exciting for me and I can’t wait to get out on the track – that’s when it will all seem real. I have had a limited opportunity to test because I joined the team quite late, but I have enjoyed working with the team so far and I will be giving my all as I really want to guarantee them good results. Jordan is a good environment for me, I can learn from them and from my teammate Nick. This team is one of the few that has won races and they want to fight back to that higher level. With the new car, we can work together to find how to get there.  Racing in Grands Prix is my dream and while I don’t expect it to be easy, I will do my absolute best. I hope to finish every race and if there’s the opportunity to score a point or two, I will go for it."

Nick Heidfeld said, "I feel really at home with the Jordan Ford team and I’m happy to be racing with them this year. Our early tests with the EJ14 have been promising as it’s been quite a reliable car and I think with any luck we will just keep improving and improving it all year. It’s going to be a challenge for sure and we won’t make huge steps all at once. But we have a good base and little by little I’m confident we will move forward, score points and keep the competition behind us. I am fully motivated and determined to prove myself."

“2004 is going to be Jordan’s fight-back,” said Eddie Jordan, Chief Executive of Jordan Grand Prix.  “This is a resilient and tenacious team: we came into the sport in 1991 and against all odds finished fifth in the championship.  Remember, we started modestly in both 1998 and 1999 - when we achieved our historic 1-2 and two other wins and were able to be third in the Championship.  Last year, we overturned everybody’s expectations and won a race so my point is you never know what the season is going to hold.   What I do know, however, is that we’ve worked so hard this winter, we are focussed, we have an exciting youthful driver line-up and we are determined to climb up the grid bit by bit until we are one day in a position to win races again. I would like to thank my staff for their hard work and commitment and I hope so much that our efforts are rewarded on the track.”