Feature: Fisichella and Jordan Hope for First Points

The last time Giancarlo Fisichella raced for Jordan at Imola, five years ago, he left a happy man.

After going three races without reward for the Irish team, the Italian came fourth in the 1997 San Marino Grand Prix to secure the first points of his Formula One career.

This Sunday, after failing to score a point in three races since his return from Benetton, he will be hoping that history repeats itself in what amounts to a home race for the Roman. But he is not banking on it.

It has not been a good start to the year for either Fisichella or Jordan, who have suffered bad luck and engine problems as well as self-inflicted agonies.

The Italian retired from the Brazilian Grand Prix with a blown engine, crashed in Australia on the first lap and his car was shunted from behind by teammate Takuma Sato in Malaysia.

"We are still struggling with power. I'm not sure about San Marino, if it's good or not for us," he said. "The car doesn't look too bad. It's quite easy to find a good set-up but we just need more power.

"For Imola there will be a small step and then maybe in three or four races there is a big step, hopefully. We are going in the right direction. Maybe when we have more power we can get closer and get on the podium."

First Win

Frequently described as one of the fastest but most under-rated of Grand Prix racers, Fisichella has now made 94 starts without a win. He began his Formula One career with Minardi, whose factory at Faenza is near Imola, in 1996 after winning his first Formula Three race at the circuit.

He moved to Benetton after just one year with Jordan, taking four second places with that team before leaving just as they become truly competitive again as Renault.

Jordan are one of only five teams to have won a race in the last four years but they have slipped in the pecking order since their best ever season in 1999 when they finished third overall.

With Renault and Ferrari-powered Sauber leading the fight for fourth place, Jordan have a battle on their hands to retain their fifth place of 2001.

"I'm sure he (Fisichella) wants to forget the first three races, just like I do," said team boss Eddie Jordan after Interlagos.

"He's frustrated," said Nick Burrows, the Italian's number one mechanic in 1997 and once again this season, of Fisichella's current state of mind.

"But I think he's quite philosophical about it. He knows there is plenty of work to do on the car and engine and is patiently waiting for his season to get better. When he joined us in 1997, he came from a relatively slow car at Minardi and he didn't have any high expectations.

"Now he expects more but realises that he can't have it overnight and is prepared to wait for Honda and the team to work at it and also to work at it himself."

Worst Start

Jordan and rivals British American Racing, both powered by Honda engines, are, with Arrows, the only teams yet to open their accounts after three long-haul races dominated by Ferrari and Williams.

For Jordan, that rates as the worst start to a season since former champion Damon Hill was in the driving seat as Ralf Schumacher's team mate in 1998.

That year, Jordan took no points from the first eight races - and then turned everything around before an emotional first win and one-two finish in Belgium. Since 1998, Jordan have routinely opened the season strongly - taking a second place with Heinz-Harald Frentzen in Australia in 1999.

Frentzen was third in Brazil in 2000 and the team scored in the first five races of 2001.

"Things have been tougher recently," Jordan admitted in a defiant editorial in the latest issue of his team's glossy magazine J. "As a result, people seem to enjoy asking if Jordan has lost the plot, or if we can ever again reach the heights of 1999.

"Bottom line is this: F1 business is tough. And it is all the harder now with the major manufacturers putting in huge resources. In many ways, just as in 1991 when we entered the sport, Jordan continues to perform a giant-killing act. Our goal is to be World Champions.

"Jordan will achieve success again and we have things in place for that success," he said.