The car that kickstarted Jordan's giantkilling
Later this year will be the 20th anniversary of Jordan's first win in Formula 1. It really should have celebrated that milestone already - though the 197 never won a grand prix, it laid the foundations for the success that followed
The Jordan 197 was strong right out of the box and was good enough to win on the right weekend if everyone did a good job. At the initial Jerez test the car wasn't quite ready, so Ralf Schumacher, who was a rookie for 1997, got some mileage in the '96 car.
Then he got in the 197 and, after the shakedown laps, on his first proper run he found it was a massive improvement in terms of performance and driveability. When he came in he had a huge smile on his face.
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