Formula 1

Japanese GP: Jordan race notes

The final round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship was an unfulfilling race for Jordan Ford, with Ralph Firman finishing 14th following problems with the fuel rig in his pit stop and a fuel pick-up problem ...

Published: Oct 12, 2003, 5:00 PM

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The final round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship was an unfulfilling race for Jordan Ford, with Ralph Firman finishing 14th following problems with the fuel rig in his pit stop and a fuel pick-up problem throughout the race, and Giancarlo Fisichella was forced to retire on lap 34 when a refuelling error caused him to run out of fuel before his second pit stop.

RALPH FIRMAN

"That was an unfortunate end to the season. I had a fuel rig problem in the pit stop and a pick-up problem in the fuel tank, which meant in my second stint I had to carry a lot more fuel than planned. Nevertheless, the team have done a good job all year and I've really enjoyed working with them - hopefully I can look forward to a long future with them."

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA

"The car just cut out, it seemed to be a fuel problem. It wasn't going too badly before that, in fact I was having quite a good race as the car balance was quite reasonable. Unfortunately it was my last race with Jordan and we didn't get to the end so I'm a bit disappointed, but that's life. I'd like to say thank you very much to the team and I wish every one of them all the best and I hope we both have better seasons next year."

GARY ANDERSON , DIRECTOR OF RACE AND TEST ENGINEERING

"I can't deny that was a disappointment. In Ralph's first pit stop we had a problem with the fuel rig connector which lost a lot of time for him. We were forced to pit early as well because he had a fuel pick-up problem - we think one of the pumps in the tank failed - and he had to run with quite a high fuel load to the end, to try and keep it from cutting out. In Giancarlo's first stop we didn't get the quantity of fuel we thought we had during refuelling, so he was a lap short and ran out of fuel just before his second stop."

"There have been a lot of lessons learnt this year and the whole team is already working very hard to ensure we come back next year with a much more competitive package."

"On a personal note I'd like to thank the team and all my friends in Formula One, for some very memorable years. As I'm now heading to semi-retirement I won't see everyone as often but I'll certainly pop up now and again and hopefully I'll have a little bit more time for that little glass of red wine I've enjoyed with many of you over the years!"

RALPH FIRMAN
14th
CHASSIS NUMBER EJ13-04

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA
DNF (lap 34)
CHASSIS NUMBER EJ13-05

-jordan-

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