Australian GP Jordan race notes

The first points have been scored placing the Benson and Hedges Jordan Honda team in 4th place in the Constructors' Championship.

Heinz had a very good start to take 3rd place at the first corner after overtaking Coulthard, although a coming together with Barrichello on lap 3 caused him to spin, rejoining the field in 16th place. He fought a hard race with a one stop strategy, and claimed one point in the first race of the 2001 World Championship, later converted to two points following a penalty for Panis.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:
Before Panis's penalty, Heinz-Harald commented 'I was pleased with my start although Coulthard and I touched wheels before the first corner. The car was very well balanced and I was enjoying the race, but then on my racing line, Barrichello hit me from behind whilst trying to overtake me and pushed me into a spin. That ruined the race for me. After these two incidents the car was suffering with understeer. I chased Heidfeld for the last 10 laps and did everything I could, but was not able to close the gap. I feel however, scoring a point in the first race of the season is a good result for the team. It demonstrates the car's reliability which is a positive step to build on.'

Jarno Trulli:
'I made a very good start moving across to the right whilst the other cars moved to the left, and was moving up positions on the straight before Barrichello closed me into the wall, forcing me to lift off the throttle. From the first lap there was something not quite right with the engine, and it got more and more difficult each lap until I had to retire on lap 33. It's disappointing because I was having a good race in fifth position, and even with this problem I was still holding off Panis and making ground on Coulthard. The positive thing from this race is that I had a good car set-up as we were able to understand and resolve the problems I experienced during qualifying.'

Eddie Jordan, Chief Executive:
'This result is a bit disappointing after the qualifying positions we had. The collision at the corner between Heinz and Rubens hindered Heinz from having a really strong finish, but he did well to drive back to the points. The data from Jarno's car shows there was an engine misfire resulting in a loss of power, but he was driving a super race and through no fault of his own was unable to finish. The good thing about this weekend is that the car has really been on the pace and performed well.'