Frentzen Talks About Being Fired by Jordan

Heinz-Harald Frentzen has broken his media silence and talked for the first time about being fired by Jordan, giving an interview to German newspaper Bild.

"I don't know what was behind it. You'd have to ask Eddie Jordan," he said when asked why he was sacked last Wednesday. "Why fire me? He can tell us himself. He could at least be honest and say what was wrong.

"We had a discussion after Silverstone and had a difference of opinion. But there was no row and nothing was said when I was fired."

Asked how he discovered he had been let go, just four days before his home Grand Prix at Hockenheim, he said: "By fax. It suddenly came out of the machine, I was completely baffled. There was no discussion, nothing. Just the fax and then it was all in the hands of the lawyers."

Frentzen also flatly denied paddock speculation that linked him with a move to the new Toyota Formula One team ahead of their debut next year.

"I was never with Toyota in Cologne. I was not in negotiations with Toyota about a deal. And I signed no contracts or anything," he said. "Why would I? Until last week I assumed I would be driving for Jordan Grand Prix. This year and next year."

Frentzen said watching the German Grand Prix, where he was replaced by test driver Ricardo Zonta, had been difficult. "Suddenly you are on the outside, sitting watching television and seeing your fans in the grandstand," he said. As for the future, the 34-year-old said he had no intention of retiring. "The fire still burns inside me and I will remain in international motorsport, and my first priority will naturally be Formula One," he said.