'Jean came to live with me and my family in Oxford,' recalls Jordan. 'It is where he learnt his English and how his friendship with my family first developed. In recent years, my daughter Mikki has gone to stay with Jean in France to improve her French for her GSCE and A Levels.'

'It is ironic that there are a lot of circumstances, both on Jean's side, and on Jordan Grand Prix's side, which are similar now to how they were in 1989. From a team point of view, Eddie Jordan Racing in '89 had a lot of key things in place, but we hadn't managed to pull them all together. Jean's arrival completed the jigsaw and we won the Championship that year. Jean's arrival at Jordan Grand Prix in 2001 brings to the team a driver with a huge amount of experience added to enormous commitment and enthusiasm – which can only be a good thing. From Jean's side before he came to work for me in 1989 he'd come from an environment which was perhaps too comfortable, and the same could be said today. He'll really have to graft at Jordan over these last five races, but he is in a perfect situation to revive his career.'

'Jean has battled so hard this year. No-one can question his motivation. I believe Jordan can get something special out of him and that he can do something special for us. Signing Jean in 1989 was seen as a big risk, much as it is today. The fairy tale of twelve years ago is unlikely to happen again, but there is no reason why we can't have some good results over the next five races.'

Jordan Grand Prix