UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX, INDIANAPOLIS, 26 - 28 SEPTEMBER 2003

Gary Anderson, Director of Race and Test Engineering

"Indianapolis is a very different type of track and it’s really enjoyable to race at a circuit with so much history. In F1 we usually do things a bit differently, here it’s the same and we go the opposite way round the track to everyone else that uses it. The track has a very slow, smooth infield, with a high-speed straight down the brickyard section. It makes grip level at the infield very low because we run low downforce levels, meaning there have to be fairly big compromises in terms of set-up. With qualifying and the race now, where you can’t adjust the car in between, it makes it double-difficult. Normally you could get a better lap time by running slightly higher downforce, but in the race that would mean being overtaken down the straight - so we could see some excitement in qualifying with a few mistakes down to the cars running with such low downforce."

"We’re going into the last two races fighting, intending to drag more points from a taxing season. It’s a shame to be at this point in the season with lack of development hurting our chances, but we won’t give up! You never know what is going to happen and hopefully we’ll be able to take advantage of whatever drops in front of us and reap the benefits of other people’s mistakes."

Testing information

Jordan Ford carried out 400km of track running at Silverstone with Ralph Firman on 17 September and Zsolt Baumgartner for half a day on 18 September. Firman completed 26 laps, and despite track time being limited by a gearbox problem, he completed some Indianapolis set-up work and ran various test items. In a more productive second day, Baumgartner added 50 laps, concentrating on Bridgestone’s tyre test programme for the United States and Japanese Grands Prix along with test work on front suspension, aerodynamics and brakes. Gary Anderson said, "We had positive results regarding tyres but the test was disrupted for a number of reasons, some of which were not within our control. We ran a front suspension development that we plan to use at the next couple of races but due to limited mileage we did not achieve as much as hoped."

Giancarlo Fisichella

"Monza did not start too well but it finished well and I seem to have interrupted the long spell of DNFs I have suffered, so I am looking forward to the United States Grand Prix. For me the next two races mean the last two opportunities to score points for Jordan before my departure from this wonderful team and I will make every possible effort for this to happen."

Ralph Firman

"The most important thing about going to Indianapolis is for me to race after the frustrations of the past few weeks. After my accident in Hungary I really would not have believed that I'd subsequently miss the Italian Grand Prix, but the effects of a 46G impact are obviously quite severe and I've been careful to rest, fully recover and get back into training. If there is an upside to what has happened it's that I have had a lot of time to concentrate on my next race. I have not raced at Indianapolis before, but I know it is a unique track and it will be interesting to race on the banked section. My objective is to have a strong weekend back in the car and I plan to work hard with the team to see if we can squeeze a few championship points from this and the final round in Japan two weeks later. From what I have heard Indianapolis is a great place with an amazing atmosphere, so I cannot wait to get there and be behind the wheel at such a famous venue."

Jost Capito, Director, Ford Team RS

"This is an important weekend for Jordan Ford, as it marks the first time since 1991 that the famous Blue Oval will have raced on American soil in Formula 1. It has been a season of mixed emotions for everyone in the team and there would be no better way to acknowledge the support that we will receive from Ford's headquarters in the US than with a points scoring finish."