Hungarian GP Jordan qualifying notes

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.

Morning Practice
A change in track conditions with a low grip level presented a few difficulties in preparing for qualifying. Trulli 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 Trulli
“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.”

Jean Alesi
“Given my limited time in the EJ11, I am happy with my qualifying position. It was really embarrassing in the middle of the session to be in 15th place. I now know I can push harder and really want to for the team and myself during the race tomorrow. We made some changes to the car before qualifying and it was very consistent and well balanced, so the only real issue was with me adapting to the car. Jarno’s fifth position shows me what the car is capable of and I want to be able to maximise its potential - but this will take time. I feel confident for the race and it’s great to be racing in such a good car.”

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.”

-Jordan