Jarno Trulli, a 25-year-old Italian, is the driver taking over from ex-champion Hill, who quit after a dismal final season in racing.
It was left to Jordan's other driver, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, to take the team's fight to McLaren and Ferrari, and the German was rewarded with third place in the drivers' championship. Jordan also clinched third place in the constructor's standings, making it the most successful ever campaign for the Silverstone-based outfit.
But team boss Eddie Jordan is hungry for more glory, and he is confident his new signing will push Frentzen to even greater heights. "I have absolutely no doubt that Trulli will be good for Frentzen. Heinz needs Jarno to help him have a go at winning the championship.
"We are capable of putting up a serious fight for the championship. Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher are still the favourites, but we are the dark horses and that suits us. Anything is possible. But you can't do it with one driver. You've got to have two drivers pushing each other all the way - and if you have that then one can emerge as a genuine challenger to be champion.
"I'm not blaming Damon. He was at the stage of his career where he found it hard to dig deep for that little bit extra. I felt sorry for him. But the gap between him and Heinz was too big. Frentzen knew he could out-qualify Damon, and that's not an ideal situation."

Jordan is convinced Trulli, with three years' experience, is ready to step up in class despite his erratic form with Prost. "I view Trulli they way I did Frentzen last year - as potentially the major surprise of the championship," Jordan said. "People are not so sure about him and there is an argument to say he was guilty of over-driving and making mistakes at Prost. But remember there is always a lot of pressure on Prost in France, just as there is on Ferrari in Italy.
"I think the environment at Jordan will suit Jarno in the way it has suited Heinz. And then I believe you'll see he is something special. There are a number of talented young drivers coming through now and he is up there with the best of them. He's shown that ability in testing for us.
"He's an ex-karting champion and you can see that in his driving. He's got the feel for the car. He's working well with the team. He's already got a rapport with the engineers. He's got tremendous commitment and ambition, and I'm sure he can ultimately be a champion. I expect to see him competing for the championship in his second year. I think he'll get quicker and quicker with us and help Heinz get the best out of himself. And if McLaren and Ferrari don't move forward in the way they would hope, we'll be right there to take them."

Frentzen won two Grands Prix on his way to a tally of 54 points last season, compared with Hill's seven. Trulli also scored seven, but that was from Prost's total of nine.
Hill put himself out of his misery, parking a perfectly good car in his last race in Japan. He'd had enough. Team members were furious, but Jordan has since had clear-the-air talks with Hill and he draws a line under the whole sorry episode with a tribute to the Englishman.
Jordan said: " Of course I have to say I was disappointed the way it all ended with Damon, but we have had the opportunity to talk quietly about things since then and I have no problem with him. "We wouldn't have finished the season better than third, so it's not as though he cost us our rightful place in the championship.
"I was a driver and although I achieved nothing like Damon's success I know what it's like to come to the end of your career. Even to contemplate retirement is a very hard thing to do. "So I don't think we should make it harder for Damon. We should remember him for all the right reasons, the positive achievements and the good things he brought to Formula One and to Jordan. He gave us the leadership we looked for in his first season with us and he gave us our first Formula One win.
"Nobody can ever take that away from him."

Now Jordan is eager to look ahead to a new campaign and new horizons.
He has effectively chalked up his first success by fighting off fierce competition to strike a three-year sponsorship deal with Deutsch Post worth £45million. Title sponsors Benson and Hedges pump pounds 25m a year into the team effort.
Jordan has his sights on McLaren and Ferrari but knows any slip-up could let in the likes of Williams and Jaguar, the new racing banner for the Steward Ford team. "It is difficult to see the situation with the top four or five teams changing much," Jordan said. "But we are aware we can't afford to back off in the slightest. If we build a sensational car we could be right there with McLaren and Ferrari but if we don't go forward we'll be under attack from those just behind us."

Jordan's interest is at the sharp end and he added: "We've had some success and we like it. We are greedy for more."