Despite the two team managers continual attempts to play down the rivalry between the two Honda powered teams, with the relative performances of the BAR003 and the EJ11 so close, it was bound to happen.

Jarno is quite happy to give his feelings on the competition. "They (BAR) are the first competitors for us so they are the first to beat," said Trulli. "Our performances are better than their performances and I don't think they can beat Jordan this year. We will only get stronger and stronger.

"For the first season with Honda we are doing pretty well because we are performing better than BAR, who are already in their second season with Honda."

Jordan are currently sixpoints ahead of BAR in the Constructors' Championship, 13-7, while Trulli and Frentzen have both outscored their BAR counterparts to date. The Italian has seven points, Frentzen has six points, while Villeneuve has four and Panis three.

Trulli believes that Jordan's improved performance could convince the Japanese Honda company to focus more on their team in the future, rather than the equal commitment Honda state they currently give to both teams. "As I can see, BAR is probably slightly slower than us and the Japanese people can also see this situation so they might help Jordan more in the future."

Jarno has also admitted he is enjoying his 2001 season, currently sitting sixth in the driver’s championship after the first five Grands Prix of the year, having scored points in each of the last three races.

He is now looking forward to the rest of the year. "I'm really happy about my situation in the last three races because three times in a row I've scored points and was close to getting on the podium," said Trulli. "I'm pretty happy not only because of the points but because I'm performing well.

"The fact that I'm scoring more and more points is helping me a lot, especially during the races. I can feel much more comfortable and when I want to put down a very quick lap I can now because I have the confidence."