Grapevine: Jordan Duo Face Wilderness Spell

His Jordan team's fitness trainer has taken Karthikeyan and Monteiro to a secluded lake north of Montreal to get in shape for the two back-to-back North American races.

"It's always great to exercise in such an environment," said trainer Gerard Gray in a team release. "The mind and body really benefits from the fresh air and challenging conditions.

"They both need to forget about their Formula One lifestyle at the moment and toughen up both physically and mentally," he added. "At the very least the presence of bears should focus their minds to the workouts."

The drivers will do up to six hours of exercise a day, including hiking and mountain biking.

Neither has scored a point in seven races for a struggling team marking time before being renamed as Midland F1 next year.

Canada, where Jordan scored their first World Championship points in 1991 under founder Eddie Jordan, could be considered a home race for the team now that they are owned by Russian-born Canadian billionaire Alex Shnaider.

Both Karthikeyan and Monteiro are Formula One rookies, although the Portuguese raced on the Montreal island circuit during his times as a Champ Car driver.

"The two North American races will be a bit difficult for me as I have never driven on these circuits," said Karthikeyan.

"However I think I will enjoy driving in Canada as it seems to be very similar to Australia, a track that I particularly liked."