Jordan Look to Lazarus for Inspiration

Eddie Jordan declared his Formula One team very much alive on Wednesday with a mocking message for the obituary writers.

To emphasise the point, the new EJ14 emerged at a windswept Silverstone with German Nick Heidfeld at the wheel and the word 'Lazarus' prominent on the sidepods next to an Irish shamrock.

"Lazarus is about coming back from the dead," the Irishman told reporters gathered at the circuit over the road from the Jordan factory. "As most of the journalists had us written off for this year, we decided that the reincarnation of Lazarus was probably the most appropriate.

"So it's good to be back and I'm very, very buoyant about this particular year."

Jordan finished ninth out of 10 teams in 2003, their worst performance in a decade, and struggled to raise and retain sponsorship at a time of financial belt-tightening.

Despite a lucky win in Brazil, they were unable to develop the car last year and the team boss was caught up in costly litigation with mobile telephone giant Vodafone over an alleged sponsorship agreement, which he lost.

Jordan have still to complete their 2004 line-up, with just Heidfeld confirmed so far a month before the start of the season on March 7. Several sponsorship deals are still to be concluded, not least for the sidepod space occupied by Lazarus.

Jordan Promise

Wednesday's small gathering in a spartan garage at Silverstone, with the wind banging the shutters and no glitz or glamour, harked back to the team's first launch in 1991 from a lock-up at the track. From there, Jordan emerged as race winners and top three challengers in 1999 and the boss said he was determined to bring the good times back.

"I have a very good feeling about this car," he said. "I'll never let what happened last year happen again.

"In the last 11 years, we have had one bad year," he added. "I got embroiled in some things that took my attention away, the car didn't get developed and therefore we finished ninth last year which was the worst ever position in recent years.

"In the previous 10, we were always in the top six and I have a promise for you - we will be back in the top six," he vowed.

"It will take a struggle because there are a lot of really well-financed, well-structured and well-run teams but Jordan is as well-structured and as well-focused and directed and it is properly funded this year.

"So we're going to be back there, I'm absolutely sure about that."

Jordan added the new car was quite radical, almost unlike a traditional Jordan, in aerodynamic terms and the team could make a huge step forward.

"We have seen better figures in terms of aero gain on this car from the previous year than we have ever seen," he declared. "That might mean that last year's car was not up to the mark and that therefore we should have got that gain. But the gain is there. It's real."