MARCH 15, 2003

Fisichella backtracks...

Giancarlo Fisichella says that reports in the media about him planning to leave Jordan have been blown out of proportion but he is not saying that he will stay where he is next year. The stories were obviously not appreciated by the Jordan team and Fisichella's denials will go some way to killing the story but the fact remains that Fisichella's message has been delivered to rival teams in time for them to consider what they want in the future.

"Eddie gave me my first proper chance to race in F1 and I had a fantastic season with the team in 1997," Fisichella said. "I was delighted to come back to them last year and when I said the last two years have been difficult, that included my final year with Benetton. My point is that I want to have a competitive car - Jordan know that and they have worked really hard to deliver a good car this season."

"I have been very pleased with the way the Jordan Ford EJ13 runs in race trim, and I'm looking forward to comparing our performance with other cars once fuel strategies become clearer. There is a lot of work to do until we fully understand the potential of the car and know where we can improve, so it's too early to make any definite assessments other than to say it's positive. The car and engine are running strongly and because I believe that the key to success is development, I am 100% behind the team in working together to achieve our objectives.

"I'm only committed to one team and that's Jordan. They have put together a strong package with Ford this season which I'm excited about, but I think every driver on the grid has a dream to drive the best car, and I'm no exception. Even Eddie has said he would love to see me in a winning car! My target for 2004 is to drive a car that can win and that doesn't exclude Jordan Ford. Right now I am committed to working with the team to make sure we are doing the best we can this year, and our common aim is to make the car competitive enough for Jordan to win races again."

Which just about says it all...