JUNE 14, 2002

Engines for Jordan

IT is no secret in Formula 1 circles that there is not going to be an agreement between Jordan Grand Prix and Honda next year. That much has known since around the time of the Austrian GP. The only way that is going to happen is if Jordan finds a rumored $42m to pay for the engines - and in the current economic climate that is not very likely to happen.

Jordan has been pretty busy in recent weeks, trying to find a replacement and is believed to have made a serious pitch to Ford managers for the Cosworth V10 engines which are currently being used by Jaguar and Arrows. Jordan was not planning to pay for his engines but rather take over as the official Ford factory team. This does not appear to have worked and so Jordan has been looking at the other available options. It does not take a rocket scientist to work out that there may have been talks with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota and Renault. The problem is that all these manufacturers are either looking for money for a secondary engine supply - or they do not want to supply a second team with engines.

The question of engine supply is believed to have come up at the F1 team managers' meeting yesterday at Heathrow but we hear that there was no agreement on the idea of the FIA instituting a Manufacturers' Championship to encourage the automobile manufacturers to supply more than one team.

In the circumstances Jordan is going to have to use all his skills of persuasion to come up with an answer to the engine problem, although if Minardi disappears there is the possibility that Jordan could end up with the free supply of Asiatech engines, which is currently enjoyed by Paul Stoddart's team.

That would be the cheapest option but it is doubtful, given the record of Asiatech so far, that these would put Jordan in a position to fight for points. The other option is to pay Cosworth something in the region of $20m for its third (or perhaps even fourth) supply of V10 engines...