Round 1. Australia.
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Qual : The season started with great expectations for the Irish team following its third places in both driver’s and constructor’s championships in 1999.
Frentzen and Trulli qualified well in 5th and 6th respectively, behind the two McLaren and two Ferrari.
Race : Heinz-Harald Frentzen started well but lost the chance of taking second place when a hydraulic leak forced him to retire on lap 19. His race ended shortly after a long pit stop in which he had been delayed by a jammed fuel nozzle. Jarno Trulli, running a one stop strategy like his team mate, was battling for third place when he suffered a broken exhaust which caused the engine to fail, leading to his retirement on the 36th lap.
Trulli, in his first race for the team unknowingly gave us a comment that could be repeated often during the year. “The car is potentially very good - we just need to improve the reliability."
Both McLarens retired, so the race was won by Michael Schumacher, with team mate Ruben Barrichello second to give Ferrari a one-two victory.
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Round 2. Brazil.
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Qual : Not a great qualifying session for the Jordans as rain interrupted proceedings before either driver achieved a trouble free run. Heinz-Harald finished 7th with Jarno back in 12th.
Race : On to race day and Jordan enjoyed an excellent race, with both cars winning points. A combination of strategy, strong reliability and excellent driving skills saw Frentzen and Trulli move from 7th and 12th positions to 4th and 5th respectively. Trulli ran a one stop strategy which worked to enable him to move up the field on a light fuel load in the early stages of the race.
Frentzen also made one stop, battling throughout the race with ex-Jordan driver Fisichella, who ultimately took third place. As Frentzen closed in on the Italian in the closing stages of the race he posted the second fastest lap time of the race, 1m15.192, behind Michael Schumacher's 1m14.755.
Michael Schumacher won, making it two in a row, from Coulthard and Fisichella, but Coulthard was later disqualified, giving the Irish team 3rd and 4th.
| Frentzen | 3rd place | 4 points |
| Trulli | 4th place | 3 points |
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Round 3. San Marino.
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Qual : Steady, if not inspiring, stuff in qualifying – Heinz-Harald would start from 6th with Jarno in 8th, although it was close from 5th all the way down to 13th.
Race : The dreaded gearbox gremlins, that would plague the team for a lot of the season, put in a double appearance here. Despite a strong showing throughout the weekend, both Frentzen and Trulli were forced to retire with gearbox problems, Frentzen after only five laps and Trulli when he was lying seventh with only three laps to go.
Heinz commented "After only four laps I had a gear-shift selection problem and couldn't shift down from sixth gear so I had no choice but to come into the pits.”
Jarno also had not much to say “I had made a good start and moved up to sixth place and the race went without any incidents until right near the end when I lost fifth gear.”
Michael Schumacher made it three in a row, Hakkinen got his first points of the season in 2nd with Coulthard 3rd.
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Round 4. Britain.
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Qual : The heavens opened for most of the weekend and qualifying didn’t escape the downpour, with a rapidly drying track making it exciting towards the end of the session. As a result, it was all about timing with Barrichello getting it right, only just, from Heinz-Harald in 2nd. Jarno was unfortunately caught up in the rush, both Williams’ getting in his way, so could only manage 11th.
Race : As with much of the 2000 season, the race did not live up to pre-race expectations. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was forced to retire with a potentiometre problem in his gear box. Having started from the front row of the grid and gone on to lead for three laps, his race ended on lap 54 when he became stuck in sixth gear.
Jarno Trulli came through the field from 11th to sixth place to win a point for the Jordan team but even he did not escape trouble free, "I had trouble with the gears for much of the race. But I was able to overtake Villeneuve and bring the car home in the points, which is a good result.”
Coulthard broke the Ferrari stranglehold, with Hakkinen in 2nd followed by Michael Schumacher.
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Round 5. Spain.
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Qual : Jordan drivers Jarno Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frentzen qualified 7th and 8th in Spain, with Villeneuve’s BAR ominously in front of both for the 1st time this season. “Seventh and eighth is not brilliant,” said Eddie Jordan, “but certainly not a bad result for Jordan here in Barcelona – it is a track we have never been very strong at.”
Race : In the race itself, there was some success with a sixth place for Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Trulli finished 12th dropping down the field from 8th after stalling during his pit stop. A two-car finish gave the team some respite from the reliability problems they faced in the early races of the season. “It is very encouraging to have finished the race after the difficult start to the season we have had this year,” said Frentzen.
At the front, Hakkinen won from Coulthard and Barrichello bringing the gap to Michael Schumacher down to 14 points.
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Round 6. Europe.
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Qual : The Jordan drivers had mixed results in a tightly fought qualifying session interrupted by rain showers. Trulli took sixth place but Frentzen qualified a disappointing 10th; he was lying third after his first run, but his chances of maintaing this position were ruined by Jos Verstappen, who blocked Frentzen on his second flying lap. Rain fell immediately after, giving the German driver no chance to improve his position.
Race : The race at the Nurburgring brought huge disappointments; both cars were eliminated within three laps of the start of the race. Jarno Trulli’s car collided with the Benetton of Giancarlo Fisichella on the run down towards the first corner, damaging the left rear wheel and suspension and forcing him to pull off the track. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was forced onto the grass at the first corner, but recovered to hold 12th position before a suspected engine failure resulted in his immediate retirement on lap 3.
“Obviously a very disappointing day for us," said Eddie. "But this is what can happen in motor racing. Jarno was unlucky to come into contact with the Benetton, while Heinz-Harald was the victim of a technical failure. We will just have to keep working hard because the results will come.”
Michael Schumacher won one of his home Grand Prix to extend his lead to 18 points. Hakinnen was 2nd with Coulthard 3rd.
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Round 7. Monaco.
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Qual : Following the deep disappointments of the Nurburgring, Jarno brought a smile to the Jordan camp again. He produced his best-ever qualifying performance today when he put his EJ10 on the front row for one of the most prestigious races on the calendar.
"I'm really happy to be here!" he grinned. "I didn't expect this, I was not completely confident in the car this morning. But it was getting better and it felt good in qualifying. In fact, I could have gone even quicker but I came across traffic - particularly on my last run.”
Despite recovering from a setback in the morning Heinz-Harald Frentzen was disappointed with fourth fastest time. He was badly balked by Irvine who was driving ridiculously slowly in the tunnel and completely ruined Frentzen’s fastest lap.
Race : Unfortunately Qualifying proved to be the highlight of the weekend as both Frentzen and Trulli went out while running 2nd and 4th respectively.
Trulli's race lasted until lap 36 when gearbox trouble forced his retirement. “Obviously I am really disappointed after such a good weekend. I was comfortably in second place and I was not pushing too much, I was able to pull away from Coulthard when I had to. The car felt perfect but in the end there was a problem with the gearbox, which ended my race."
Frentzen moved into second place after Hakkinen was forced to make a long pitstop, but the German misjudged his braking point and slid into the barrier at Ste Devote corner eight laps from home. “The car was going like a dream," said Frentzen. "The pit stop was fantastic and I was really, really racing, keeping Barrichello behind me. But I pushed too hard and went off. There is nothing more I can say. It was my mistake.”
Coulthard picked up his second win of the season from Barrichello 2nd and Fisichella in 3rd following all the retirements.
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Round 8. Canada.
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Qual : Next was one of Jordan’s favourite circuits and Heinz-Harald Frentzen qualified well in 5th, two places ahead of Jarno Trulli in 7th.
Race : A cloudy Sunday, but the race started in dry conditions with Jarno Trulli working his way into fifth place just after one-third distance, overtaking Heinz-Harald in the process. Frentzen, who had begun to slow with brake trouble, lost a potential top-six finish and eventually retired on lap 32.
Jarno made his only scheduled pit stop on lap 39 but had to return six laps later when the arrival of rain, which would continue to fall for the rest of the race, forced a switch to wet-weather tyres. He pushed hard, lost fifth place to a flying Verstappen, and hung onto a well-earned sixth place to the finish. “I came under a lot of pressure all the way to the finish,” he commented, “but I didn't make any mistakes in the very slippery conditions and held on to sixth place. I've never had to work so hard for one point!“
Michael Schumacher won again, increasing his lead to 22, from Barrichello and Fisichella.
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Round 9. France.
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Qual : Not a great qualifying session for the team, with Heinz-Harald in 8th and Jarno in 9th place, but it was close for places behind the Ferrari and McLaren. Frentzen was only a couple of tenths away from fifth place with Trulli just one hundredth of a second behind his team mate.
Race : Unfortunately there was not even a hint of a repeat of last year’s win, it was a struggle right from the start. Frentzen was very unhappy with a seventh place finish after running in the top six in the first phase of the 72-lap race.
“It was disappointing,” said Frentzen. “The car oversteered throughout the entire race and I was a little upset with Jarno when we touched wheels as he tried to overtake me and that damaged something on my car.”
Jarno made a good start, passing Irvine and Ralf Schumacher before his first stop. He then controversially passed Heinz-Harald and closed in on Villeneuve before his second stop. His last set of tyres were not as good as others so was unable to pass Villeneuve and in fact allowed Ralf back through, so had to settle for another sixth place and another point.
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Round 10. Austria.
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Qual : There were mixed feelings in qualifying after Jarno Trulli qualified well in 5th place while Heinz-Harald Frentzen, running a different tyre compound, was only 15th fastest. Frentzen had chosen to use the harder of the two types of Bridgestone tyre available and the difference in performance during qualifying turned out to be greater than expected.
Race : Race day was disappointing for Jordan, with a first-corner collision, which eliminated Jarno on the spot. The trouble started as the two Ferrari ran side-by-side into the first corner, Michael Schumacher being hit from behind and sent into a spin by the BAR of Riccardo Zonta.
Trulli was unable to avoid the German’s Ferrari so had an early return to the motorhome. “'It is difficult to say exactly what happened because I really do not know. I found myself blocked by incidents happening around me. I saw Barrichello in front of me braking very early and then suddenly everyone seemed to come together and my way was blocked. I turned into the corner and found the blockage and then I hit Michael's Ferrari.”
Frentzen, having avoided the melee, moved up to seventh place from 15th on the grid. But, on lap 4, he realised there was a problem when the car began to smoke. A broken oil fitting sprayed lubricant onto the hot engine and finally got onto the rear tyres, causing Frentzen to spin into a gravel trap.
Mika Hakkinen led the race from start to finish as McLaren dominated this 10th round of the championship and moved to the head of the Constructors' Championship. Coulthard was 2nd, Barrichello 3rd and Villeneuve 4th.
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Round 11. Germany.
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Qual : The start of qualifying coincided with the arrival of a rain shower so nearly all of the drivers took to the track on dry-weather tyres in an effort to secure a quick time. The rain eased slightly, came back briefly and stopped again, but the track was never really dry again. Frentzen came out early but his time was disqualified as he used an escape road to avoid a collision. The conditions didn’t allow him to do another ‘dry’ time so could only manage 17th place. Jarno was in good shape, qualifying 5th.
Race : On Sunday Heinz-Harald Frentzen produced a storming drive as he charged through the field from 17th on the grid, taking his EJ10 into third place after two pit stops. He survived a confusing period when the Safety Car was brought out to deal with a protester who had run unto the track, and a rain shower which affected certain parts of the track but not others. He was engaged in a thrilling battle with Coulthard when the Jordan suddenly stopped with six laps to go, the electronics again giving up the ghost.
Jarno Trulli was less happy after finishing ninth despite having been second at one stage. He was running in the top three throughout most of the race but was called into the pits for a ten-second stop-go penalty. The call caused much controversy as the judges ruled he passed Barrichello while under a yellow flag, as he left the pits, but Jarno was on the racing line so should have been OK. The net result was to rob him of an almost certain podium finish.
"It's a massive disappointment," said Eddie Jordan. "To have both cars in the top three at various stages and then to come away with nothing is a particularly bitter pill. Jarno is very upset over the stop-go because he believes he was wrongly penalised."
The race gave Rubens Barrichello his first victory after a great drive from 18th on the grid. Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard finished 2nd and 3rd and closed to within 2 points of Michael Schumacher in the driver’s championship.
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Round 12. Hungary.
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Qual : Qualifying turned out to be a bit of a struggle as Jordan continued to fine-tune the EJ10 to the twists and turns of the Hungaroring. Frentzen did well to claim 6th place on the grid but Trulli was disappointed with 12th fastest time. Jarno commented “Having a lot of understeer is not normal for me. We tried everything we knew but it didn't help much.”
Race : On race-day, Jordan came away with a championship point after Heinz-Harald finished 6th at the end of a very tough Grand Prix. The EJ10 proved not to be the best when it came to tyre wear at the Hungaroring. “This was the maximum we could achieve, so I'm pretty happy,” said Frentzen. “It was one of the toughest races of the season and, given the problems we have with the tyres in such high temperatures, it was good to get a point at the end.”
Jarno, facing an impossible task from 12th on the grid, bravely chose a one-stop strategy and snatched 7th place. He was risking even greater problems with his tyres by choosing to stop just once instead of the two favoured by everyone else. Nonetheless, it was the only chance he had to make ground on a track where overtaking is next to impossible. “I have to say that the car was pretty good, especially in the second half of the race when I was able to catch and pass Button's Williams. But qualifying is 50 per cent of the race here.”
A very fast start by Mika Hakkinen from 3rd on the grid allowed the McLaren driver to take a lead he would never lose. David Coulthard shadowed Michael Schumacher for most of the race but could not dislodge the Ferrari from 2nd place.
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Round 13. Belgium.
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Qual : Trulli produced a brilliant performance during qualifying to give Jordan Grand Prix a place on the front row of the grid for the team's 3rd time this year. Trulli set 2nd quickest time while Heinz-Harald Frentzen, having lost time with mechanical trouble during morning practice, managed the 8th fastest time.
Race : Jordan collected another championship point when Heinz-Harald finished 6th, but Jarno’s luck continued to be all bad.
With Jarno struggling on a heavy fuel load, Button chose the wrong moment to try to pass and hit the Jordan side on. ”Once again, I had no luck," said Trulli. "I am very disappointed. I think Jenson was a bit too aggressive too soon. He should have waited a couple of laps as he probably would have got past me since I was struggling with the heavy fuel load.”
Frentzen had a steady race, moving from 8th to 6th as retirements took their toll. “It was a typical Spa race, starting wet and then drying out. Basically, I ran my own race, with no incidents or problems; everything went as it should have done.”
Hakkinen won again (to take a 6 point championship lead), from the Schumachers – Michael in 2nd and Ralf in 3rd.
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Round 14. Italy.
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Qual : After a very difficult morning, Jordan Grand Prix staged a recovery during qualifying to claim sixth and eighth places on the grid for tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix.
Jarno Trulli, who had very little running in the morning, was pleased to be in the 6th while Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who had to start from scratch during qualifying after crashing during the morning, did as well as could be expected to finish in 8th.
Race : The race day was a sad day for Jordan and for Formula One. Going into the 2nd chicane on lap one, six cars braked hard and there was an initial collision between Jarno, Heinz-Harald and Barrichello. Immediately Coulthard, Herbert and de la Rosa, all unable to slow in time, joined the pileup in front.
All spun off the track into the dirt and the Arrows somersaulted through the air and landed on Coulthard’s cockpit. Although all drivers were left unhurt, a fire marshall, hit by a flying wheel, received fatal injuries. 30 year old Paolo Ginslinberti, was taken by helicopter to hospital, but later died of his injuries.
Eddie commented, before the seriousness of Ginslinberti's injuries were known, “This was a dreadful accident involving both our drivers, but we must be thankful that no driver was injured.”
The race was won by Michael Schumacher from Hakkinen and Ralf Schumacher, finally ending Coulthard’s championship hopes.
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Round 15. USA.
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Qual : First visit to a new circuit so there was a lot of set-up work to be done. Jordan eventually brought a difficult day's work to a satisfactory conclusion as Jarno qualified 5th and Heinz-Harald claimed 7th place on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
Race : Jordan scored their first podium finish since Brazil when Heinz-Harald Frentzen took 3rd place in a very exciting contest. Jarno Trulli's race lasted for just 12 laps before he retired with broken suspension, the result of a collision with Jenson Button's Williams.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen was made to work very hard for his well deserved 3rd place, being under severe pressure for most of the 73 laps. “It was very tough," said Frentzen. "I had set the car up for straight-line speed but this meant I was struggling on the infield. I was pushed very hard by Jacques Villeneuve. He chased me all the way to flag but I knew how important this third place would be for me and the team.”
Trulli was less pleased after his 3rd retirement in a row from a potential points finish. Again his EJ10 was damaged by a collision with Button. “Button was pushing me hard and tried to out-brake me - but it was too late. He collided with me and we went off. I'm obviously very unhappy about that."
Hakkinen retired with an engine failure so in front of Frentzen, Michael Schumacher brought home a Ferrari 1-2 to give himself an invaluable 9 point championship lead.
| Frentzen | 3rd place | 4 points |
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Round 16. Japan.
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Qual : A disappointing qualifying for as Heinz-Harald and Jarno set 8th and 15th fastest times, both drivers continuing the struggle to make their cars work competitively on this difficult track. “I don't know why, but the balance of the car was perfect yesterday but no good today,” said Trulli.
Race : Also a disappointing race for Jordan Grand Prix in Japan as Jarno Trulli finished 13th and Heinz-Harald Frentzen was forced to retire with hydraulics trouble.
Frentzen was forced to make a last-minute switch to the spare car when a power steering failure affected his race car as he was about to go to the grid. Heinz-Harald ran in the mid-field but began to have trouble selecting gears and was forced to pull off the track with hydraulics trouble on lap 30.
Jarno started on a 3-stop strategy in the hope that it would enable him to improve on his low grid position. He moved up to 10th place, but on his 1st stop it was decided to change to a 2-stop race. When he came out after his second stop the extra weight of fuel on board made the car bottom out in places and it was a nightmare to drive. All he could do was to just hang on to the finish.
Michael Schumacher's eighth win of the season gave the Ferrari driver the World Championship with one race remaining.
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Round 17. Malaysia.
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Qual : Jarno and Heinz-Harald managed to salvage 9th and 10th places on the grid for Jarno Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frentzen after a troublesome morning of practice preparing for today's qualifying session. Jarno got his tyre strategy wrong and Heinz-Harald missed most of the morning practice with electronics problems.
Race : There was a disappointing end to the season for Jordan when Heinz-Harald Frentzen was an early retirement and Jarno Trulli finished 12th, one lap down after a two unscheduled pit stops.
Trulli's troubles began on the first lap when he touched Eddie Irvine's Jaguar and had to make a stop to change the front wing. Jarno continued at the back of the field before stopping at the end of lap 10 to change a rear tyre which had a slow puncture. The team took the opportunity to fill the car with fuel but, as at Japan, it was very hard to drive after that. “I think everyone is ready for a break after such a long and hard season,” he commented, ”but despite these disappointments, I can't wait to start all over again in 2001!”
Frentzen was running in eighth place when he left the road twice on lap five. An electrical connection broke and affected the car's systems, including the hydraulics and the power steering. After two visits to the pits, Frentzen was unable to continue.
Michael won for the 9th time this year, from Coulthard and Barrichello. No points in the last 3 races meant that Jordan had to settle for a disappointing 6th in the constructors championship
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Summary.
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So, what are the team's feelings about the 2000 season?
Eddie Jordan
“2000 has been an incredibly tough season, especially coming on the back of the successes of last year. Arguably, though, we have learnt more this year than last, and the disappointments have made us more determined than ever to be back winning races. Our new partnership with Honda will play a key part in achieving this goal. Honda has a huge reputation, a great name. But the first part of the year is to get to understand and work with each other.
"The target stays, despite the 'familiarisation' period - the top three. We have to start winning races again, pole positions - if we don't develop the car for 2002, we would have failed.
“Heinz and Jarno have done a good job under difficult circumstances and I know they are really looking forward to the 2001 season.”
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
"We have gained a lot of experience and have made a lot of improvements to the car, which might not have always have been visible. Psychologically, nothing is wrong with Jordan, it looks like we have taken a step backwards, but we have just been unlucky. Many of the failures were not our fault but involved parts we did not build. It is tough to prevent that.
"We have the Honda engine in 2001, which is great, and that has made the whole team very motivated for next year. With Honda we will grow immensely and I think that we can drive with the aim of victories again.”
Jarno Trulli
“I think without a doubt it has been a very disappointing year for me and the Jordan team because of the high expectations that were surrounding us since the beginning of the season. I still believe, however, that we as a team have so much potential and so does the car. But I feel, at the end of the day, we were let down by reliability problems at the start of the season which didn't serve us too well. We also suffered a bit of bad luck, which meant that we didn't get the results we needed.
“There have been some pleasing moments for us. I was pleased to get on the front row on two occasions and we ended up being the only team to split the Ferrari and McLaren team on the front row of the grid, so that was extremely pleasing.
“I believe that the Honda deal will be key to the success of Jordan next season, and that they will be a big boost to the team. They are big on success and they will be working closely with us to hopefully enable us to build a bigger and better team and take us to victory next season.”
There was not much to take out of the 2000 championship in terms of results, the single word 'disappointing' sums up most of the season. But, looking ahead, Jordan have two drivers with obvious talent - both are capable of winning races - and there is the invaluable works engine agreement with Honda to look forward to.
While Williams, BAR, Jaguar and Benetton will all be expecting to improve in 2001, Jordan will be as well, and they have more potential over their 2000 performance than most.
Many thanks to all at Jordan Grand Prix - irrespective of the results, there can be no doubting the level of work put in by all the team.
Poles
Wins
Podiums
Second Places
Third Places
Fourth Places
Fifth Places
Sixth Places
Points Finishes
Points Total |
0
0
2
0
2
1
0
6
9
17 |
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