Jordan Confident Ahead of New Season

Team-boss Eddie Jordan said he is looking forward to the new season with confidence and stated his team are ready to benefit from Formula One's new rules.

Jordan will start the season with Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralph Firman after an uncertain winter, and the Irish team owner believes they could return to former glories in 2003.

"In Giancarlo we have one of the best drivers in Formula One, while Ralph (Firman) has already proven himself to be extremely mature in his approach," Jordan said in an address to his 200-plus staff at the team's Silverstone base today.

"Our goal is to put Jordan back up there as a major threat - let's not forget that only four constructors currently in Formula One have won Grands Prix in the past five years, and we are one of them.

"And with the new rules bringing about a degree of unpredictability I believe we are one of the teams that can benefit - we are great racers."

Jordan, who sealed a sponsorship deal with Benson and Hedges, also believes that the team's new Ford-Cosworth engine will help push them up the grid this year.

"We have produced a great looking new car and, with the support of loyal sponsors such as Benson and Hedges, plus the new involvement of Ford Cosworth with a competitive engine, we can look forward to the start of the season with some confidence," he added.

"It's time to go racing, produce the very best results we can and remind people that Jordan is a team to be reckoned with."