Lyons still pushing for Suzuka chance
Northern Ireland's Richard Lyons is hoping to get his first taste of a Formula 1 car at Jerez in Spain this week as he pushes for a race seat with Jordan at the Japanese Grand Prix, autosport.com can reveal

Further to our exclusive story earlier in the weekend that Lyons is targeting a Jordan drive in Suzuka, his advisor David Kennedy is understood to have held further talks with the team over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend and sources claim there is a chance Lyons could be drafted in for a run at Jerez this week.
Lyons, 24, led the Japanese Formula Nippon championship until hit by two recent non-finishes, but has been the most impressive driver in the series this year and has established a new record for successive pole positions. He always goes well at Suzuka and is keen on the idea of making his grand prix debut on the Japanese track, widely held to be one of the most challenging on the F1 calendar.
Lyons met with a number of F1 teams, including Jordan, on a visit to the Hungarian Grand Prix last month and it is believed that around £300,000 could secure him a Jordan seat at Suzuka. With Giorgio Pantano's contract with the team terminated after Monza and Timo Glock in the car at Shanghai this weekend, Eddie Jordan has confirmed that money is required to secure the second seat alongside Nick Heidfeld for the remaining two races.
Coming straight into F1 would be a tough task for Lyons but both the driver and Kennedy are confident that he would be up to the task and his form in Japan for the DoCoMo Dandelion team appears to support the theory.
To make an impression, however, he would be up against Nick Heidfeld, who has been impressive all season and who outqualified previous team-mates Kimi Raikkonen and Heinz-Harald Frentzen at Suzuka. Heidfeld has also put the rated Pantano firmly into the shade all season at Jordan.
Kennedy is hopeful that a raft of Japanese backers who appreciate Lyons' 2004 Formula Nippon performances can be persuaded to support his F1 graduation. But time is running out for Lyons to be given the green light for Suzuka.
It is understood that agreement must be reached later this week about Lyons, so that he can get the necessary mileage in an F1 car and get himself fully prepared for his possible grand prix debut.
Lyons' chances have certainly not been harmed by Timo Glock's relatively disappointing form in the Chinese Grand Prix. He finished 15th after a spin.

Sunday team by team: Part 1
Grapevine: Final News from the Paddock - Chinese GP

Latest news
Daytona 24: Westbrook’s Ganassi Cadillac tops second practice
Richard Westbrook ensured Cadillac’s new V-LMDh snagged top spot in second practice for the Daytona 24 Hours, ahead of the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura.
Auer suffers back injury in Daytona 24 practice shunt
Mercedes driver Lucas Auer has suffered a back injury and been taken to hospital following a violent crash in opening practice for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours.
Daytona 24: WTR Acura tops heavily interrupted FP1
Five red flags disrupted the first practice session for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours, while Filipe Albuquerque put the Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura on top.
Pedrosa to make KTM MotoGP wildcard outing in Spanish GP
Dani Pedrosa will make his first MotoGP race start since the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix with a wildcard entry for KTM at this year’s Spanish GP in April.
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? LUKE SMITH asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
When F1 ‘holiday’ races kept drivers busy through the winter
Modern Formula 1 fans have grown accustomed to a lull in racing during winter in the northern hemisphere. But, as MAURICE HAMILTON explains, there was a time when teams headed south of the equator rather than bunkering down in the factory. And why not? There was fun to be had, money to be made and reputations to forge…
What Porsche social media frenzy says about F1’s manufacturer allure
Porsche whipped up a frenzy thanks to a cryptic social media post last week and, although it turned out to be a false alarm, it also highlighted why manufacturers remain such an important element in terms of the attraction that they bring to F1. It is little wonder that several other manufacturers are bidding for a slice of the action
Why the new Williams boss shouldn’t avoid ‘Mercedes B-team’ comparisons
OPINION: Williams has moved to replace the departed Jost Capito by appointing former Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles as its new team principal. But while he has sought to play down the idea of moulding his new squad into a vision of his old one, some overlap is only to be expected and perhaps shouldn't be shied away from
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.