SAN MARINO GRAND PRIX, IMOLA, 18 - 20 April 2003

Jordan Ford’s remarkable Brazilian victory has given the team a welcome boost, in spite of the delay in confirming the final result at Jordan’s 200th Grand Prix.  Eddie Jordan said, “It’s good to have achieved our fourth win and I am hoping that success will breed success.  In my experience something like this lifts morale and although it’s difficult to say exactly why, more points do follow.  We know that we have a lot of work to do on the performance on the EJ13, but the buzz from a result like this is the best motivation to push ahead.  Giancarlo’s first win will unquestionably go down in history, and you can be sure that this is not his last.”

Staff celebrated briefly at the factory when Eddie Jordan and Giancarlo Fisichella telephoned the Silverstone headquarters from Paris, France and Viareggio, Italy as soon as Fisichella’s win became official following the stewards’ meeting with the FIA.  However, with urgent technical issues to address, there was no time for indulging in revelry.  Gary Anderson, Director of Race and Test Engineering, explains, "The team has been working flat out to resolve the two different front suspension structural failures Ralph experienced in Malaysia and Brazil.  We know the problems and are addressing them.  Neither was Ralph’s fault and it was just bad luck that both failures happened on his car.  He has a new chassis (3) from this race and hopefully he will be able to show his true speed.  In Brazil, he was on the same strategy as Giancarlo and before his accident, he was as quick as anyone on Bridgestone tyres.  I don’t usually like to say “what if” but I do believe that had the race unfolded differently for Ralph, we may have had two drivers in yellow on the podium.”

Giancarlo Fisichella
"San Marino is like my home Grand Prix, it’s also where I won my first F3 race and scored my first points in F1 with Jordan in 1997, so I hope it will bring good fortune.  I am coming back to Italy as a GP winner, 11 years after the last Italian driver won an F1 race (Riccardo Patrese, Suzuka 1992), so I am very excited to return to this circuit.“

“I am expecting a tough race weekend though, with higher expectations from everybody, which is good, but it puts more pressure on me and the team.  To ease some of that I am playing soccer at a charity event on Wednesday in San Marino and on Friday I will stand on the podium again. It’s incredible - I must be the first F1 driver in history to win his first GP on a Friday and receive the trophy a week later!"

Ralph Firman
“Giancarlo’s win is a great boost for the team's morale and confidence. I know the team have been working hard to resolve the suspension failures that have affected my race weekends so far, and I'm looking forward to having a really good race in San Marino.” 

Martin Leach, President & COO, Ford of Europe
“Everyone at Ford of Europe is absolutely delighted with the start that Jordan Ford has made to the championship and the win in Brazil has underlined the value that the company places on our involvement in Formula One. There is nothing like victory to strengthen a new partnership.  We always look forward to the first Grand Prix in Europe and especially this year when Giancarlo, the Brazilian winner, can race in front of his home crowd in Imola.”