We come to Jerez for the weather," one of the Ferrari mechanics cracked as we raced through the rainy darkness of an early December morning. He wiped his sleeve against the misted back window of the mini-bus carrying some of the Scuderia's pit-crew towards another day of winter testing at the fast but narrow track on the outskirts of Jerez de la Frontera, deep in the heart of southern Spain.

Half an hour earlier, at 6.45am in the Hotel Jerez, in a sure sign that Formula One had slipped back into gear after a six-week break from public view, the Ferrari and McLaren teams sat down together at the start of their next 18-hour day. Even at breakfast their consuming seriousness was apparent. The room was a sea of red and grey overalls, worn by quiet men who had only returned from the track at midnight. "It doesn't matter if you work for Ferrari, Jordan or Arrows," my Italian friend said as he offered a spare seat in the red corner. "Before a new year you start all over again. We are compatriots, facing the long winter tests together."

Those wry and inclusive sentiments made it possible to cadge a lift with Ferrari to Jerez. "You are going to Jordan?" the mechanic asked as we neared the circuit. "This will be a very interesting week for them."

The rain hammered against the roof of the cramped Ferrari bus. "All those people who only watch Grand Prix racing on Sunday afternoons," he suggested, "should see us now. This is Formula One reality. Testing is not about the glamour."

Outside garage three at Jerez, an enormous black puddle had spread across the entrance. A baby-faced Spaniard mopped up the muddy footprints which stained the gleaming floor as Jordan's mechanics scurried in and out of their pit. Ricardo Zonta, the team's new Brazilian test driver, jumped the water, clearing the puddle like a champion hurdler. He flashed a fleeting smile as he wandered over to check his revised programme for the day. At 7.35am, on such a morning, as a young driver who had just surrendered his own Formula One seat, Zonta did not feel much like a champion. He was no longer one of the 22 star drivers in grand-prix racing. Zonta still had to fight the belief that he had become just another cog in a giant machine.

Yet if the dazzling gadgetry of Formula One has diminished a driver's technical contribution - for an engineer inevitably turns first to a computer screen to assess the masses of data spat out after each lap - it has not reduced his place at the heart of the sport. In the grinding routine of testing, it becomes more plain that teams lean heavily on their test driver.

The most moving moment in an absorbing day at Jerez unfolded long before the cars screamed into life. As the rain lashed down, Zonta reflected on his fate in the Jordan motorhome. He spoke softly as he remembered his painful two years at British American Racing. "I didn't have any good luck at BAR and they didn't give me the same support as [Jacques] Villeneuve," he sighed. Zonta nodded bleakly at the truth that Villeneuve, a former world champion and confidante of Craig Pollock, the BAR owner, was always heavily favoured. "It was difficult," Zonta said. "I could have found a place with another small team but it will be good to build my confidence here. Jordan have a family atmosphere. I feel more like I'm an equal. But Jordan also want to become a big team. So I will get more technical experience here. Yesterday I did 60 laps. I was in the car for three hours. You get used to the fatigue. But I will miss the racing."

When I asked Zonta to name his deepest remaining ambition, he fell silent. "I still want to be world champion," the 24-year-old eventually murmured, as if reluctant to give voice to his most secret hope.

Tim Holloway, Jordan's chief of engineering, later spelt out the contrasting realities of Zonta's current role: "He'll do the mundane work. It's demanding. He has to be at our beck and call and ready to go in any direction we tell him. There's no leeway for a test driver. But his contribution is vital."

While Heinz-Harald Frentzen will return to test in Valencia and Barcelona, allowing Jarno Trulli to replenish himself after Jerez, Zonta will drive throughout December. "It is hard for him," Trulli said of Zonta. "But there are only 22 cars in Formula One. The pressure for a seat is very tough. Zonta can come back, but he has to show what he can do as a test driver. I think he will do well. In fact, the whole team is on the verge of something very exciting. I feel it."

The hushed conversations in the Jordan camp immediately defined it as the most intriguing place in Jerez. The battle on the front row is always fascinating, but Jordan held the attention, not least for the fact that British engineers were hunched over their glinting lap-tops alongside rows of Japanese boffins wearing Honda tops. A day before, the arrival of Honda as a direct supplier of their works engine had provided a timely boost to Jordan - and further confirmation that the technical and financial support of a big-hitting manufacturer has become crucial to any outfit hoping to challenge the supremacy of Ferrari and McLaren.

That view was echoed in the pit. "After one day," confirmed Darren Burton, one of Jordan's gearbox specialists, "you can feel the difference. Our test team has doubled in size and for the first time we've got access to two test cars, which automatically gives us twice as much track-time. For us, the Honda link is massive." As a loyal foot-soldier, having just been shifted to the test team after four seasons as a mechanic in the race crew, Burton's optimism was a revealing guide to the mood at Jordan. Having finished a surprising third in the 1999 constructor's championship, Jordan slipped to a frustrated sixth place in this season's campaign.

With Honda's backing, the team are now bent on recapturing the dream-like form of last year. Yet Tim Holloway also approached winter testing "with the sobering thought that, ultimately, my head is on the block. It's my responsibility to get the team into competitive shape. This year, by looking for more pace, we pushed the car to the limit. Although we were often third quickest in qualifying, we lacked reliability.
"It's perhaps also significant that, two years ago, Honda were heavily involved in our testing. We had zero input from them this season. Maybe the results reflected that. Now Honda are working with us, our increased resources should lead to a marked improvement."

Holloway's pragmatism deflected a bolder prediction. BAR, rather than Ferrari and McLaren, will provide the clearest benchmark for Jordan. After their woeful first year in Formula One, BAR benefited notably from their own liaison with Honda to finish three points ahead of Jordan in the 2000 championship. "We were much quicker than them," Holloway insisted, "and should have beaten them comfortably. But next season will offer the real comparison. When two teams use the exact same engine it comes down to a pure fight. The winner will be the team who produces the better chassis, the superior drivers and the cleverer strategy. I obviously expect that team to be Jordan."

When asked to consider how Zonta's experience with Honda at BAR might assist Jordan, Holloway sounded downbeat. "I don't think it will be that important. Ricardo can be an ice-breaker with Honda but, in the long term, any competent test driver would forge a working relationship with the Japanese engineers. We want Ricardo to concentrate instead on specific tasks for Jordan."

At Jerez, Holloway explained: "Like all the teams, we're still running the old cars. The 2001 cars will only be ready in January. So our task now is to test new components for reliability. If they pass the winter tests they can be added to the new car. This week we're running a different engine management system. If the electronics are dependable, that will be a huge step forward. The same goes for the transmission and some suspension parts. We're evaluating them in isolation before the drivers get their hands on the new machines."

As the first cars sped around the drying track, Trulli became increasingly animated. "Our deal with Honda is one of the most important of the year. This breakthrough can transform us. 2000 was very sad. I qualified twice for the front row, next to [Michael] Schumacher at Monaco and [Mika] Hakkinen at Spa. Those are the circuits which tell you most about a driver and I was there. We were chasing the podium but, like all year, we had mechanical failure and unbelievable bad luck. The car was also very difficult to drive. We never felt in control. Now we have hope. Honda give us the complete package. They want to aim for the championship in 2002. But, first, we have to have a good season and that's why I work so hard now. I am going to spend all day testing the tyres. It will be exhausting but you have to do it. We will only see how far we have come when we reach the first race in Melbourne, in March, but we start putting in the long hours at Jerez."

An hour later, amid the shrieking engines and flying spray, Trulli hit the track. Holloway stood on the pit wall, shielded by a flimsy tarpaulin cover, his eyes glued to his computerised readings as Trulli howled past. His yellow Jordan led Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari as they hurtled towards some of the quickest corners in racing.

As Trulli and Barrichello disappeared into the distance, their fading echo was swamped by the roar of Zonta's car. The Brazilian went through the familiar ritual. He raised a glove as his Jordan was lowered to the floor. As the noise of his engine climbed, he snapped down the visor. And then, with the entire pit-crew watching him, he snaked down the lane, gathering speed with each passing moment. Zonta looked ready to fly. It was 12.30pm. The mechanics returned to the back of the pit while the Jordan and Honda engineers bowed over their monitors. Another 11 hours were left before they would finally leave the circuit. Time no longer mattered. They were working. They were testing. They were lost, once more, in a new season of racing.