Eddie Jordan Q&A

"It hasn't been a great season. There have been all sorts of ups and downs. We talked about it a number of times but we particularly talked about it after Silverstone. There were a couple of things that I was unhappy about and I wanted to do various things and we couldn't agree. It sounds as if it was all contrived but it was as easy and simple as that."



"Heinz is one of the nicest people who could drive a racing car. There is no doubt about it. I think everyone knows that he is a fantastically nice man. But that doesn't mean that if there are certain things that you just can't see a view on going forward, then you can't agree to disagree."



"The future of the team is everything to me. I have to think about what will deliver the best results for our sponsors, our partners, our drivers and our staff, me included. I have to be sure whether I am right or wrong and that the path we are going to go down is going to give us the best results. As I have said, I was unhappy about certain things going forward and that is how it all occurred."



"I don't think there was a row. There was a discussion. In fact, at no stage in two years could you ever say there has been a row because I have never heard his voice raised and I don't believe I have ever raised my voice to him. There was never any question of a row."



"Absolutely. You will never find an easier and nicer driver, so from that respect it is very disappointing. It is also very disappointing to lose a friend in circumstances like this. Hopefully, time will mend a wound, but every so often people see it in different ways and this may not necessarily be the time to try and do that."



"I am not getting into this. You are assuming one thing follows another - that he is the bad guy or I am. It was just a range of things that I needed to do to take the team forward. There were a number of things that we had different opinions on how things did happen and would happen in the future."



"Honestly, I have just read that the same as you have. That is not unusual. He has to protect himself and I would expect that. The same as we have to protect ourselves. That is a function of management. His management has obviously put that in there. We have kept it out. Let's hope what has happened rebounds to be the best for Jordan and the best for Heinz. I would hope that Heinz has a long racing career in front of him. It is up to him."



"I think people say we were too soft at the beginning. I don't think we have changed in terms of our attitude and if things need to be changed some short-term pain can be long-term gain. Someone also mentioned the analogy with Damon Hill [that his retirement saga was allowed to drag out for half a season]. This has got nothing to do with Damon Hill. This is an independent situation whereby Heinz and I couldn't agree. We were both upset about performance at the end of last year and this year."



"I have to sort that out quite soon."



"Yes. I don't want to mislead anyone. We are going to have to have a very serious look at him here. We like him enormously as a test driver. He is absolutely brilliant. He deserves his chance to show that he can do a good job."



"If I could reserve a comment, there are still seven races to go. Jarno is convincing me that he believes he has got a shot at coming through. He is very optimistic for the future. But, who knows what will happen. We could have a complete disaster over the remaining races or we could go and win one."