Depending how far away the race is, the first trucks, which carry all the equipment needed to set up the garage, will leave on the Saturday or Sunday one week before the race. When the truckies arrive at the circuit, the so-called garage is just an empty shell, totally unrecognisable from what you see on TV – a bright yellow B & H Jordan garage full of IT equipment, TV monitors, wheel guns and draws full of all the mechanics’ tools. The truckies make the transformation, starting by painting the floor and finishing some two days later by putting all the electricity links, data connection points, sponsorship boards and so on, in place. As Jordan’s chief truckie, Gerrard O’Reilly says, "It is a bit like working as a roadie for a rock band. These days, it is important that the garage looks good and projects the right image of the team. And of course it is crucial that it is properly set up so that all the engineers and IT guys can gather all the information from the car they need."

The Jordan racing cars come out one day after the first trucks, arriving at the track by Tuesday. After the long journey from the UK, the trucks need a good clean. "We spend half a day washing the trucks," says Gerrard, "including the roofs, because of course these can be seen by the guests in the Paddock Club, and even sometimes on television in the aerial shots of the paddock!"

The first group of Jordan mechanics arrives on Wednesday. This onward party of about five sets to work building the cars. There is usually some last minute work to be done, as Jim Vale, Jordan’s Team Manager explains. "The engineers invariably come up with some last minute changes since the cars left the factory so the mechanics set about working on this when they get to the track." The remaining team members, including Jordan’s commercial department, the engineers and technicians, fly out on the Thursday. The hour or so in the air is about the only relaxing time the team members will enjoy until the race is over. As soon as everyone lands, its off to the track, where everyone does a quick change from travel uniform to race team kit before setting to work.

Thursday afternoons are relatively quiet. For starters, there are no F1 cars racing around to break the silence. Whilst the commercial team finalises arrangements for the weekend (allocating passes for the sponsors, sorting out the Paddock Club), and co-ordinates interviews between the drivers, Eddie and the media, the mechanics work on the car. "On Thursdays we have to take the cars down to the FIA weighbridge at the end of the pits so that they can be checked for their legality," explains Jim. "Then, at around 5pm, we do some practice pit stops and, if everything goes to plan, we leave the track around 7pm for our only early night of the weekend."

After the Friday and Saturday practice sessions, the decision is made by the engineers as to which tyres to run. The choice has to be made between the hard or the softer compound, but once chosen, the same tyres must be run in qualifying and in the race. At the end of Saturday, the engines on both race cars are changed. In an emergency, this job can be done in 45 minutes, but in the evening, this is usually done at a more leisurely pace. "Apart from changing the engines, we also change brake pads and discs and do all the set-up work to have the car in the right trim for the race," explains Jim. The most important thing to know is what gear ratios to fit, as this is a time consuming job. It can take the drivers and engineers a long time to decide what they want to do to the car, and that if there is a lot to do, the mechanics can be working until late into the night. Of course if one of the cars has been damaged in a shunt, that means even longer working hours!"

Sunday morning’s warm up is perhaps the most frenetic time of the whole weekend. The team and drivers have just half an hour to do as many laps as possible in the race cars and the spare car. The Jordan team brings one spare car to each race, and for qualifying this is reserved for each race driver in turn. When it comes to the race, the driver who qualified higher will have the spare car.

Warm up is followed by a four hour break until the race commences, four hours in which the drivers have to fit in final meetings with their engineers to confirm the race strategy, visit the sponsors in the paddock club, have lunch and a massage, and, with any luck, some quiet moments to focus on the race and prepare themselves psychologically.

Once the race is over, it is time to pack up. Everything in the garage is dismantled and packed up again for the journey home. The team flies home on Sunday night, leaving the truckies to drive back to the factory where they will arrive by Tuesday, giving just enough time to dismantle the cars, re-build them and set off again!

Some statistics on Jordan Grand Prix:

• In 1998, the Jordan transporters travelled 38,000 kms to and from the European races.
• The race cars were re-painted 56 times using 384 cans of paint.
• Jordan mechanics used 432 cans of polish.
• The team used 640 brake pads during the last season, with a value of £96,000.
• The cost of cleaning the team’s clothing was £39,000.
• 1440 race shirts were dry cleaned during the season.
• The team’s travel budget cost over £1million – this includes flights, hotels and transport for all 16 races.
• The average cost of completing one racing lap for the team is £1,500. This comes to £250 per km.