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"With Honda we will grow immensely and I think we can drive for victories again." Such positive words from Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen reflect the dedication of a driver who, after a stunning first season with the team, worked through a disappointing 2000 season to look towards the future. His faith in Jordan was demonstrated by the renewal of his contract last year, which will see him drive for Jordan until the end of 2002. Winner of two races and six additional podiums for Jordan, the Frentzen-Jordan partnership is a strong one which has seen the German develop from someone many thought was in the twilight of his career to being a Championship contender and on towards an exciting future with Jordan-Honda.
Frentzen's motor racing career began in the early eighties, with five years spent karting before racing in Formula Ford and Formula Opel. A boost to his career came in 1990 from Mercedes. Driving for their Junior team, Frentzen's talent out-shone that of Michael Schumacher, but his progression into the higher echelons of motor sport was not to be as smooth as that of his rival. Finding himself without a full time drive in 1992, he came close to going back to his family business as an undertaker, but decided instead to race F3000 in Japan. His performance there was good enough to make the world of Formula One take note, and in 1994 he was snapped up by Sauber. After three years with the Swiss team he moved to Williams in a well documented step which saw him take the place of 1996 World Champion, Damon Hill.
The pressure on Frentzen during his years at Williams was high. Reflecting on that time now, Frentzen realises it gave him the chance to gain valuable experience of Formula One driving as well as of how to deal with the pressures of the sport.
"Nearly ten years ago, I was the wrong man for Eddie," Frentzen explains. "But before the start of our first joint season in 1999 I realised we had both changed. Eddie has learned to survive in F1, the toughest category of motor sport in the world, and I have learned this too. I am not as inhibited as I used to be. When you lack the gift of the gab, as I do, you have to compensate with experience and know-how, which is what I learnt in the two years before I joined Jordan. Eddie and I are united by the fact that we have both had setbacks in our careers but that ultimately, our career paths have constantly moved upward, and usually when people have least expected it!"
With Spanish parentage mixed with his German blood, Frentzen's quiet nature often hides his sense of humour. He lives in Monaco with his wife Tanja, whom he married in October 1999, and daughter Lea. Away from Formula One racing he enjoys jet skiing, water skiing and flying model aeroplanes.
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