MOTOR SPORT: Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella will start his 100th career grand prix this weekend at the Nurburgring buoyed by the arrival of the redesigned Honda engine he was denied in Canada a fortnight ago.
The Italian, who still managed to take a third consecutive fifth place in the Montreal race to bolster hopes of a mid-season Jordan revival, admitted after the event that all he now requires to continue Jordan's good form is more power.
"I hope we can really improve the car, get more power and then maybe we can fight for the podium," he said. "This Austrian qualifying engine (used in Montreal) is okay because it's reliable, but if there's more power I'll take that!"
This weekend, in today's free practice session and in tomorrow's crucial qualifying hour, Fisichella will finally have access to the power he has craved for so long. Yesterday Honda's race and test-team manager Shuhei Nakamoto confirmed that the team deficiencies that prevented the team using the new powerplant in Canada have been ironed out.
Fisichella said he was looking forward to the weekend's challenge. "Nurburgring is a circuit I'm quite familiar with as I've driven here many times, not only in Formula One but also when I participated in the DTM (German Touring Car) series," he said.
"This year we'll experience some significant changes to the track, which should be interesting, but I hope to be able to continue the series of good results which began in Austria."
Those changes to the track involve a radical redesign of the old Castrol S first corner, with the turn now being replaced by a tight hairpin which then loops quickly into a slightly more open left-right sequence before rejoining the old circuit for the short run down to the Ford Kurve.
The new complex, designed to be give spectators more action could prove hazardous at the start, with the 22 drivers funnelling into the hairpin, jockeying for position whilst braking from 170 m.p.h. to less then 65 m.p.h.
Fisichella will hope Honda's new engine will yield a beneficial qualifying position, a top-10 spot, where he will stand a better chance of staying out of trouble into the tight new complex.
But the redesign isn't the only variable the Italian will have to contend with. The Nurburgring's notoriously fickle weather is likely to feature at some stage during the weekend. Forecasters are predicting rain for Sunday.
That, though, could play into Jordan's hands. In a chaotic, rain-disrupted weekend in 1999, Heinz-Harald Frentzen won pole position through brilliant tactical work, and then led the race for 32 laps before an electronic problem sidelined him. It was a disaster for the German who, having scored victory at the previous race at Monza, would have moved firmly into world championship contention had he taken victory at the Ring.
Eddie Jordan though still ranks the race as one of Jordan's best performances and is hoping for a similar performance this weekend. "The European Grand Prix was a 'nearly' race for us in 1999 when we qualified on pole and led for so long," he said. "But we've all been encouraged by our results from the last three races, thanks to the team's hard work and Giancarlo's incredible expertise.
"It's important that we now look forward and focus on improving the car further so the drivers can continue to deliver points. I want to see Jordan close the gap on the teams immediately ahead of us in the championship and I'm optimistic we can achieve that."
If there is a driver who can deliver those results, it is Fisichella. He is now regarded as one of the grid's premium talents and is regularly rated among the top five drivers in Formula One. It is a shame therefore that the Italian has never found a drive worthy of his skills and this year's Jordan is hardly an exception.
The Irish squad is moving forward, however, and the Italian must still hold out hope that the EJ13, when and if it finally arrives with that nomenclature, proves lucky for him.
