Jordan Upbeat about 2002 Prospects

Jordan expect Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella to challenge for Grand Prix victories this season, the Formula One team's Irish owner Eddie Jordan said on Friday.

Fisichella, 29, returned to the Silverstone-based team for 2002 after four years with Benetton and Jordan said at the launch of the new EJ12 car in Brussels that the Italian should challenge for victories.

"We have two very talented drivers and I believe we will do much better this year," said Jordan. "A lot of people have been talking down our chances because this is a late launch, but we knew we were always going to come in and do this late. I have a lot more optimism. A win for Giancarlo could be on the cards this year."

Fisichella, who has scored five second place finishes in his career, played down his own chances of success and instead chose to hail the performance of Jordan's Honda engines.

"The new engine is a good step for us, it feels much better than the old one and I feel very confident," Fisichella said. But he did admit that returning to Jordan, who he first joined in 1997 before switching to Benetton in 1998, was like a homecoming.

"When I went to the team in England for the seat fitting last September I felt the same atmosphere as I knew lots of the mechanics who were still here from 1997," he said. "It felt good, like coming home."

Fisichella and Formula One debutant Sato have put the new EJ12 through a rigorous programme since the winter ban on testing was lifted in January, and Jordan is buoyed by the results. He is optimistic that the reliability problems that blighted the team's progress over the past two years are now gone and that the good times are ready to roll again.

"I am confident that after the last two weeks of testing and the performance we have found in our last test that we can do something," Jordan said. "We did a few things with the aerodynamics and they were successful.

"We have made some big strides and with lady luck on our side and the progress we have made in the last couple of weeks I feel much more positive and confident."