Jordan denies financial problems

There have been a few teams rumoured to be in financial difficulty in the past few months and now Jordan Grand Prix has joined the list - but Eddie Jordan denies reports in the press that suggested his team was facing "impending financial destruction."

The rumours surfaced after Benson and Hedges, the tobacco company who have been Jordan's main sponsors for the last six years, was not named in the provisional 2002 entry list last month. It's been suggested that B&H may be replaced by another tobacco brand owned by the same company.

"This talk about our team being in trouble is total rubbish.” Eddie Jordan said. "For some reason people like to put the boot into us whenever they get the chance, but if they think we've had it, they've got another think coming. The team is in good shape and next season we intend to be back in the top four, where we belong. The future of Jordan Grand Prix has never been in doubt. There has been some prudent restructuring here, which you would expect of a responsible organisation."

Jordan has yet to announce a launch date for the new car - the team finished 5th in the Constructors' Championship in 2001 after a year that was beset with reliability problems, bad luck and abrupt driver changes. Eddie Jordan believes they can do better in 2002.

"The very least we expect next season is to finish fourth. I believe we should have been above Sauber in fourth place last season but we were simply unlucky."