Jordan Ford is preparing for the challenge of Monaco’s unforgiving street circuit, and the team expects the new regulations will make for an even tougher contest at this celebrated Grand Prix. 

Gary Anderson, Director of Race and Testing Engineering, is looking forward to returning to Monte Carlo, “Giancarlo knows Monaco very well and I’m looking forward to working with him here because he’s a real specialist.  It’s a race that demands controlled aggression and a lot of finesse otherwise you end up with a lot of bits around you. The driver has a lot of input so it’s something of a performance leveller.  It will be very different and difficult to work strategies out.  There is almost no passing at Monaco and you have to be very careful to get the best out of it. The mistakes in one lap qualifying will have a much higher price so we could see a topsy turvy grid and certainly an interesting race.”

Bridgestone has spent a week of intensive testing in preparation for the Monaco Grand Prix, which presents a unique challenge in terms of tyre selection: how to go softer without compromising durability.

The qualities of the low grip, normal road surface of Monaco's street circuit mean that tyres will be the softest seen this year. Choosing tyres, however, is something of a challenge.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport, said: “Monaco is one of the most difficult circuits to test and select tyres for. The fact is that we need such a soft compound for Monaco that all the circuits we test on are far too abrasive. A Monaco tyre would not last a lap on a normal purpose built F1 circuit. After two or three corners, there would be significant graining and understeer."

Jaguar's Mark Webber emerged fastest in this mornings practice session in Monte Carlo, a tenth of a second quicker than Jensen Button's BAR.  Jordan Ford's Giancarlo Fisichella was among the most competitive drivers during the session, eventually setting the seventh fastest time, while team mate Ralph Firman came to grips with the track early on and set some very promising times en route to 16th fastest time.

The Ferrari team came out on top in today's first qualifying in Monte Carlo, but it was also a good day for Jordan Ford whose drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralph Firman were 7th and 13th fastest.  Fisichella's time split the two Williams cars while Firman made the most of a track which had, by that time, deteriorated badly due to oil having been spilt by the Sauber of Heinz Harald Frentzen, an incident which caused the session to be delayed by 20 minutes.

Britain's Jensen Button was stretchered away to an ambulance following a high speed accident in his BAR Honda during this morning's second practice session.  His car snapped sideways and hit the wall under braking for the chicane which follows the famous Monte Carlo tunnel, then bounced across the track and hit the wall on the other side of the circuit before spearing across the entry to the chicane and smashing into the retaining wall.

David Coulthard emerged fastest in this morning practice sessions in Monte Carlo, his McLaren confortably quicker than Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams with the two Schumacher brothers 3rd and 4th.  For Jordan Ford the session brought mixed fortunes for Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralph Firman, the former ending the session in 9th position and the latter frustrated in his efforts to set a time at the end when a minor electrical problem cut short his track time.

Ralf Schumacher has qualified on pole position for tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix, the German beating Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren by 0.036s to take the top spot.  With Juan Pablo Montoya third it was a good day for Williams but disappointing for Ferrari, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello only fifth and seventh.

Qualifying did not live up to expectations for Jordan Ford in Monaco, as Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralph Firman put their EJ13s in 12th and 16th positions on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Despite a promising start to the weekend on Thursday and during this morning’s free practice sessions, the drivers reported deteriorating grip levels as the track temperature rose to 32 degrees.

Juan Pablo Montoya won today's Monaco Grand Prix after a finely judged drive to win by just over half a second from World Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen.  Michael Schumacher was just behind in third place with brother Ralf 4th for Williams ahead of the two Renaults.