2002 German GP

Travelling through the small village of Hockenheim you could be forgiven for thinking that you've taken a wrong turn on the way to the Hockenheimring, before seeing the circuit's main entrance which almost looks out of place. Nestled deep in the forest, the circuit was until recently one of the fastest on the F1 calendar with incredibly long straights and speeds well over 200mph. For 2002 the straights have been replaced with a more conventional circuit layout that includes at least one corner, the hairpin, to facilitate overtaking. The circuit's grandstands, when full of klaxon-wielding spectators, provide an awesome noise and sight.

DHL Jordan Honda approaches the German Grand Prix determined to exploit its technical package, strengthened by an improved specification engine from Honda and recent developments on the EJ12, with the aim of scoring more points in the midfield contest for fourth place in the Constructors' Championship. Giancarlo Fisichella feels well after several days of rest following his high-speed accident during Saturday morning practice at the French Grand Prix and, subject to examination by Professor Sid Watkins, will compete this weekend.

Gary Anderson, Director of Race and Test Engineering, said, "Giancarlo's chassis was sent back to the factory on Saturday night of the French Grand Prix and arrived in Hockenheim on Wednesday morning. Essentially the damage was superficial and only to the bodywork."

As expected, Giancarlo Fisichella was given the all-clear to take part in this weekend's German Grand Prix. First port of call for the Italian, when he arrived at Hockenheim, was the Medical Centre, where F1 doctor Prof. Sid Watkins and local medical man, Dr. Klaus Zerbian declared Giancarlo fit for battle.

Rubens Barrichello eclipsed team mate and newly crowned World Champion Michael Schumacher by setting the fastest time in this morning's first practice session at the heavily revised Hockenheim track in Germany. It was a promising session too for DHL Jordan Honda, both drivers in the top ten as they learned the track and lap times began to fall steadily.

Michael Schumacher was quickest overall in today's practice, lapping the revised Hockenheim circuit just two tenths of a second faster than his Ferrari team mate Rubens Barrichello. For DHL Jordan Honda the day was relatively drama-free, although Giancarlo Fisichella had a minor excursion across the grass in the morning, and a suspected blown engine in the afternoon.

Michael Schumacher was quickest in this morning's first practice session, while team mate Rubens Barrichello was second in spite of an accident in the dying minutes. Jensen Button was also in trouble, shunting his Renault quite heavily into the wall after 35 minutes of the session.

DHL Jordan Honda enjoyed a promising practice session this morning with Giancarlo Fisichella a competitive 7th and Takuma Sato inside the top ten until the last few minutes when he dropped back to 13th. Michael Schumacher was fastest in his Ferrari, with brother Ralf second quickest in his Williams.

Giancarlo Fisichella put his Jordan Honda EJ12 on the third row of the grid for tomorrow's German Grand Prix after producing a strong performance throughout qualifying to give DHL Jordan Honda a vital boost. Team mate Takuma Sato pushed hard and was only four tenths of a second slower, enough to push him back to 12th place.

The strong showing from DHL Jordan Honda in Hockenheim continued this morning with Giancarlo Fisichela 3rd and Takuma Sato 5th in warm-up after producing highly competitive times throughout. Whilst the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello headed the field, Fisichella put in a series of consistently quick laps, at one point the quickest car on the track, to eventually clock a 1.17.290 with Sato a mere two and a half tenths of a second behind.

Takuma Sato claimed a solid 8th place, his best result to date, in today's German Grand Prix, giving DHL Jordan Honda an important finish in a race notable both for the total domination of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari and the attrition which saw 12 of the 21 starters fail to finish. This was Schumacher's first victory at Hockenheim since 1995 and was a perfect way for him to celebrate his 5th Formula One World Championship in front of a rousing home crowd.