Eddie Jordan Q&A

"Well, when everyone was having a little holiday break I had to spend most of the time in the factory sorting out some legal issues - and it's ironic that I was one of the instigators of trying to find holiday time for everyone! We've had Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Ricardo Zonta and of course now Jean Alesi, so we've had three different drivers in the past three races. That has been pretty demanding, for sure."



"It's in the past now, and he's in Prost and Jean is here. A lot of people seem to think that there was a swap, but there was no swap. In fact neither Alain nor myself, nor the two drivers, had any idea that this was in any way or form going to happen. It was a sequence of events where Heinz and I made it very clear that we disagreed about how we would progress through the future, on a number of issues. Sometimes you have to take very difficult decisions at not very convenient times, particularly coming up to the German GP. It was a hard decision for me to make. But I felt that in the long term it was easiest for Heinz, easiest for me, easier for the team that is. And when you have a situation like that to think about, OK not everyone's going to be happy, but overall you have to decide what is the thing that's going to give Jordan the best chance of outright success in the future. And I have to take that view. And that's what happened."



"People think that I have, in a strange way, a very deep relationship with Jean, through our families or children or whatever it is, and that's possibly true. He's a driver who retains friendships for a very long time, and we've been friends since he drove for Jordan in 1989 and won the F3000 Championship. He was a big success and he came and lived with our kids as they were growing up, and they've never forgotten that. He learned his English there, we won the championship together, we won a lot of races together. I was his manager and I put him into the Tyrrell team in the 1989 French GP, when he finished fourth. It was an unbelievable launch for an F1 career. So of course there is a great feeling of affection, but also for the right reasons, because I believe that he has enormous talent. He is a driver, nevertheless, who's at the end of his career. When that will be I don't know, but he's already done 197 Grands Prix. How long he can go on for? I don't know. But he's so excited and he's so motivated, and there is a very nice atmosphere inside the team that he's helped to create. That was one of the key issues. The second issue of course was his experience. With five races to go we must finish in the top four in the championship, and I believe he will help Jarno to achieve that."



"Normally the tradition at Jordan is to go for the up and coming young guys, but in a situation like this, I don't have that luxury at the moment. I have an opportunity over five races to get this right, and I have to take a view on what is going to give Jordan the best opportunity for now. And Jean Alesi is the choice I made, and time will tell whether it's the right one or not."



"These drivers are at such a high level professionally, and the talent that they've got is quite awesome in terms of the way that they are able to adapt so quickly to new circuits, new tyres, new engines and new cars. A whole new package is not much different in many respects, it just requires different application and focussing, with different people around him. You saw in the first session that Jean made a mistake and went to the Prost pits. A lot of people giggled because that's Jean - you would expect Jean to do something like that! And then he flies off and only makes five laps, but does a very good job in the second session. That's why people love Jean, because he is so unpredictable."



"In Jean's case very difficult, because technically he's different to anyone else. He still drives with the older style, he moves his right foot from the accelerator onto the brake. All the modern day drivers just have two pedals now, and brake with their left foot. That has no benefit or no loss. It was a thing originally perfected by Mika Hakkinen, and it's not accepted as the thing to do, it's an extension of karting. So all in all it was difficult for the team, because Jean is shorter than Heinz, he's blockier than Heinz, and he has this strange braking system. So there was a lot of work to do from a technical point of view."



"I think it's too early to say. You could say the first half was, although it's more than half at this stage. But because there was this natural break in the middle it seems that this is like the second half, or the 10th hole for example in golf. It sort of gives you a break so it gives you time to think a little bit, and it gives you some hope for the future. That's what life is all about anyway, hoping that you can make it better..."