Poor performances forced Hill out?

Sources closed to the Silverstone-based F1 team claim that Hill's lacklustre start to the championship concerned Jordan, which felt he wasn't getting as much from his race car as German team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

'After the first few races there was growing concern Damon was not at one with himself,' a team insider said.

'He is the one with the experience and a world championship behind him so we automatically felt he would be way ahead of Heinz-Harald [Frentzen].'

Major Jordan sponsor, Benson and Hedges, which pays £15 million per year to have its branding on the car, is also rumoured to be unhappy with Hill's performance.

Hill has only managed fourth and seventh place so far, while Frentzen has notched up second, third and fourth.

He was also on for a second place in Canada, before a right front brake disc failure caused him to crash out on lap 65.