Fisichella Ever the Nearly Man of F1

Eddie Jordan's heart went out to Giancarlo Fisichella in Brazil on Sunday after the Italian came tantalisingly close to a first win of his Formula One career.

Fisichella, in his team's 200th race and his own 110th, was leading the Brazilian Grand Prix against all the odds when the race was stopped 17 laps from the scheduled finish after a huge accident.

In the immediate pitlane confusion, Fisichella and Jordan both thought the Roman had finally won - only for the result to be taken from the 53rd of the 71 laps when McLaren's young Finn Kimi Raikkonen was still leading.

"We were 50 seconds from glory," said Jordan. "I think I felt more for Giancarlo than anyone," said the Irishman, whose team last won a race in 1999 and had not been on the podium since 2000.

"We've all witnessed winning and Giancarlo must be the most talented driver in Formula One, possibly ever, who has yet to win a Grand Prix. We talk about Chris Amon. I suppose Giancarlo is the modern Chris Amon."

New Zealander Amon contested 96 races for teams such as Lotus, Ferrari, BRM, March and Tyrrell between 1963 and 1976 without winning once. Fisichella, voted the driver's driver in this year's Formula One awards, has now finished second six times in his career and has long been considered one of the top three drivers in the sport.

Amazing Moment

The Italian said he and the team really believed they had won but put a brave face on being runner-up.

"It was an amazing moment ," he said. "I asked many times 'who won the race?' so it was a magic moment. I thought I had won the race and I still think I am the winner but rules are rules. I would never have thought I would finish in second place so I am pleased."

The result, with Jordan scoring their first points of the season, was pure Hollywood fantasy for an entrepreneurial team struggling to raise sponsorship over the winter to stay in a sport dominated by major manufacturers.

"It's fairy tales, isn't it?," said Jordan. "We're fighters and I think today shows that Jordan is always the master of the unknown and the unexpected. Even by my own standards I have to say that I am impressed."

Jordan said there had been some frantic calculating on the pitwall after the red flags came out.

"If you'd asked me before the race if we could possibly have been on the podium, I'd have had you certified in an institution. This would have been madness. To finish second, we take it as it comes. You can't be that lucky all the time and this was a big result for us.

"Eight points is more than we thought we'd go home with."

Jordan, rarely lost for words, said he had been almost forced to eat them after the extraordinary outcome at Interlagos.

"At the meeting of the other team principals, I said 'Guys, be sure of one thing. The days of a private team ever winning a Grand Prix again are over.' I was reminded of that by some people today."