31st August 2001

belgian gp. friday practice.

Jarno Trulli 2nd

1:49.404 34 laps

Jean Alesi 9th

1:51.631 30 laps

The Benson and Hedges Jordan Honda team made a positive start to the Belgian Grand Prix

today. Both EJ11 cars and drivers showed to be in fine form as Trulli posted the second fastest time and Alesi finished ninth. The team was able to productively work through the car set-up and tyre evaluation programme in both wet and dry conditions, as the heavens opened twenty minutes into the second session. Trulli and Alesi were very complimentary about the balance and competitiveness of their cars in both weather conditions. Top 6: MS, JT, RB, GF, Mika, Kimi.

Jarno Trulli Car 11  Position: 2nd  Time: 1:49.404  Chassis: EJ11 / 05

T-car Chassis: EJ11 / 03

“I am very happy with my position and I had a very productive day as we were able to test a lot of things on the car and complete a good tyre evaluation. It was also good that we were able to run in wet conditions and I think the car looks and feels pretty competitive in the wet and dry, so I feel optimistic for a good result tomorrow. So much depends on the unpredictable weather here at Spa though. I experienced a few brake problems in the wet with the rears locking, so we altered the brake balance setting, but otherwise, the car feels very good.”

24th August 2001

belgian gp. preview.

Jarno Trulli on the Belgian Grand Prix

“Spa is a great drivers circuit and the race is often quite exciting there. You have to have a good car that is very well balanced at this circuit as it is very long and quite technical. 1998 was a great race for me at Spa as I worked my way up the field from thirteenth on the grid to finish in the points which felt good.”

CHASSIS DETAILS FOR THIS RACE

Jarno Trulli EJ11 / 05

Jean Alesi EJ11 / 04

T-car (set up for Trulli pre-race) EJ11 / 03

 

23rd August 2001

mugello. testing.

Jarno was second quickest in testing today with a 1: 25.70. Michael Schumacher was fastest with 1:24.90. Alesi was third with 1:25 87. They were working on reliability and chassis set-up for the upcoming Belgian GP.

 

23rd August 2001

JARNO TO DRIVE FOR RENAULT IN 2002!!!! Click on 2002 News on the home page for more information.

 

22nd August 2001

mugello. testing.

Jarno joined Jean Alesi at Mugello today, while Andrew Gilbert-Scott tested launch control in a private test at Silverstone. Jarno was 4th fastest with 1:25.750  after he and Alesi  both completed 57 laps . Jean was 6th with 1:26.780. Fastest was Barrichello,  (1:24.360) then Badoer and Heidfeld.

 

19th August 2001

hungarian gp. the race.

After a brush with Nick Heidfeld in Turn 1, Jarno maintained his 5th place, holding off Hakkinen, Heidfeld, Montoya, and Raikonnen, until his first pit stop on Lap 29, despite having a problem with the tyres for the last few laps. This stop proved to be a bit of a disaster when the Jordan pit crew had a problem with the fuel nozzle. This meant that Jarno rejoined the race in 10th place. He was up to 9th when he had to retire on Lap 55 with a mechanical problem. Jean Alesi found himself in 16th place at one time, before moving up the field after the pit stops. He did manage to finish the race, but in 10th position after retirements….including Jarno’s. Other than that, Michael Schumacher had the race in the bag from the first lap…..it was just a question of finishing. DC swapped second and third places with Barrichello a couple of times, a problem with the McLaren fuel rig settling the matter at his second pit stop. Michael Schumacher won the race (and his 4th World Championship…..well done Michael), Barrichello was 2nd, followed by DC, Ralf, Mika, Heidfeld. Michael’s win also means Ferrari win the Constructors’ Championship with 4 races to go!

Jordan Honda say:

Jean Alesi 10th

Jarno Trulli DNF (hydraulic problem on lap 55)

Alesi raced in his spare car as he felt it was better balanced than his race car and drove a steady and consistent race as he became more attuned to his EJ11.

Trulli pushed hard and drove assertively to maintain his qualifying position. He was able to achieve this until his first pit stop on lap 29, when a problem with the fuel nozzle extended his pit stop and he lost five places.

Jarno Trulli Car 11

Position: DNF {hydraulic problem) Chassis: E J 11 / 07

T-car Chassis: EJ11 / 05

"I kept my fifth position at the first corner, but was only able to keep pace for the first five laps as

the other cars were faster. I was running in fifth up to my first pit stop when there was a problem

with the fuel nozzle, so I lost five places and the chance to finish the race in the points. I was able

to push harder on the following two sets of tyres and never gave up trying to take the car to the

limit. My race was unfortunately then over when the car suffered a hydraulic problem."

Eddie Jordan, Chief Executive:

"Having qualified so well, once again we under performed in the race due to 3 combination of poor

car performance and the refuelling problem where we let Jarno down. We can be pleased with

Jean's tenth place in his first Grand Prix with the team and he drove a very solid and consistent

race. We have a lot of work to do if we are to obtain the crucial points we need in the last four

races."

 

18th August 2001

hungarian gp. qualifying.

Jarno Trulli 5th 1:15.394 Position: 5th  Chassis: EJ11 / 07    

Jean Alesi 12th 1:16.471 Position 12th. Chassis: EJ11 / 06     

A very exciting qualifying for the Benson and Hedges Jordan Honda team, with Trulli and Alesi finishing with impressive 5th and 12th positions on the grid. Trulli further displayed his strong qualifying form as he pipped Hakkinen to fifth place by two hundredths of a second on his final run in the closing stages of the session. Adjustments to Alesi’s EJ11 prior to the session greatly improved the car’s balance and the Frenchman demonstrated a good pace and solid performance given his limited time in the car.

Top 6: MS, DC, Barrichello, Ralf, Jarno, Mika.

Jarno Trulli Car 11

“It was a very good qualifying for me and the team and I had no problems at all. We made a few adjustments to the car during the session and it performed and handled very well. The new aerodynamic revisions seem to be effective and the team has done a great job this weekend. I now hope that we can continue in this vein during the race tomorrow.”

Eddie Jordan, Chief Executive

“This is a great result for the team and I’m very happy. It was always going to be difficult for Jean but he put in a tremendous effort to qualify twelfth after having had such limited time in the car. For Jarno to be in front of one of the McLarens is a big thing for him and he certainly made the session exciting in the final minutes. To pip Mika at the end meant that Jarno had to get everything absolutely perfect, which he clearly did.”

 

18th August 2001

hungarian gp. saturday practice.

A change in track conditions with a low grip level presented a few difficulties in preparing for qualifying. Jarno had a trouble free morning, firstly finalising his EJ11’s race set-up before concentrating on its qualifying specification.  Alesi struggled to find the optimum balance for his race car. He tried varied settings to improve the car’s rear grip so was unable to fully focus on set-up for qualifying. Jarno finished 6th quickest overall with 1:16.021, after 23 laps, while Alesi was 16th with 1:17.334 after 21 laps. Top 6: DC, MS,RB,Heidfeld, Mika, Jarno.

 

17th August 2001

hungarian gp. friday practice.

In Friday practice today, all eyes were on the new debutants and Alesi and Frentzen did not disappoint. Alesi had a spin early in the first session and did not reappear until the second. Taking time to familiarise himself with the EJ11, he pulled out a hot lap in the dying laps of the session to finish 6th quickest with a time of 1:17.862.  Jarno had been faster than Jean until that last lap, but had to settle for 12th with 1:18.277. Frentzen, debuting for Prost, spent time adjusting to the car, but finished a creditable 14th with 1:18.724, almost 2 seconds quicker than his team mate Burti. Top 6: MS, RB, Mika, Ralf, Irvine, Alesi.

Both 60-minute sessions were run in sunny, dry conditions with the ambient temperature reaching 30 deg C. Jordan Honda, along with several teams, took advantage of the three-week break since the last race to introduce revised aerodynamic packages to suit the slow and twisting 2.47-mile track. Jordan have four cars present in Hungary, with one for each driver carrying the latest developments. Trulli ran that car today; Alesi will use his for the first time tomorrow.
Jarno Trulli Car 12:

A routine first day, as usual doing tests on race set-up. Everything went okay. We had to get used to the new package on the car and we gathered a lot of data on that. We are learning fast, but there was nothing unexpected. It's been a positive day even though, as usual on a Friday, it's difficult to know exactly where we are because we don't know what fuel loads and tyres everyone else was running. I'm pretty confident we can be quick tomorrow.”

Tim Holloway, Head of Engineering:

“We have new development parts and a few aerodynamic modifications. It has been very difficult for Jean, coming straight into a race weekend without having seriously tested the car. He made a mistake early on with his spin but I think, all in all, he did quite a good job today. With Jarno, we were doing our usual Friday pre-race preparation and there were no problems there. From our point of view, all the components on the new package are behaving as we expected. So that has been satisfying.”

 

10th August 2001

hungarian gp. preview.

Jarno Trulli on the Hungarian Grand Prix:

“Hungary is always described as a ‘mickey mouse’ track but I must say I like it. My driving style is

well suited to it and I have usually been quite competitive here, even if I have not always had much

luck during the races.”

CHASSIS DETAILS FOR THIS RACE

Jarno Trulli EJ11 / 07

Jean Alesi EJ11 / 06

Jarno Trulli spare car EJ11 / 05

Jean Alesi spare car EJ11 / 03

 

8th August 2001

It was announced by Jordan GP today that Jarno’s team-mate, at least until the end of the season, will be Jean Alesi, as was widely expected.  Jarno’s former team-mate, Heinz-Harald Frentzen will take Alesi’s seat at Prost. Ricardo Zonta reverts to test driver.

 

During the enforced 3 week break, Jarno will be spending some time in Italy, pondering his future. He will decide where he is driving next year in the next two weeks.