Jordan aims for reliability

Two excellent performances in the opening grands prix in Australia and Malaysia by the German were brought to early conclusions by clutch and gearbox related problems. Which is frustrating for the team because Heidfeld had managed to place the under-financed and under-developed EJ14 in amongst runners he should not have been able to race with.

"I'm a little disappointed not to have finished a race so far," said Heidfeld. "However on the positive side I have made good starts and my speed has been quite encouraging.

"I was keeping a few cars behind me at the Malaysian Grand Prix and our pace was quite good. I know the team has been working really hard to sort out the technical problems I have experienced and my target for this race is to finish, and maintain the pace that I have been able to find so far."

Jordan's head of race and test engineering James Robinson agrees: "In terms of where the team is, the first races are always about reliability and again we will be focusing on that. Our target for Bahrain is to get two cars home."

Pantano, having already achieved his first full GP distance on his rookie debut in Melbourne is looking forward to the Bahrain Grand Prix for a different reason, it
offers him some equal opportunity to shine.

"I think this race is going to be quite exciting as the circuit is new for everybody so nobody knows it and in that respect we're all equal," said the Italian. "It will be interesting to see who is quickest at finding a good set-up for this race.

"I am happy with two race finishes at this stage and I don't think we have done a bad job. Now we can start to improve in terms of speed and results. I am feeling more confident with the team and with the whole environment. It's starting to come together a little bit more easily now and I hope we will see that in Bahrain."