Formula 1

San Marino GP: Jordan race notes

Unfulfilled potential characterised Jordan Ford's San Marino Grand Prix, with unrelated engine failures forcing first Ralph Firman and then Giancarlo Fisichella to retire on laps 54 and 59. Before his retirement, Firman reported clutch trouble, ...

Published: Apr 22, 2003, 11:57 AM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Unfulfilled potential characterised Jordan Ford's San Marino Grand Prix, with unrelated engine failures forcing first Ralph Firman and then Giancarlo Fisichella to retire on laps 54 and 59. Before his retirement, Firman reported clutch trouble, which the team believes was related to the engine problem. Fisichella lost time during his first pit stop due to a misunderstanding when he believed he had been given the signal to pull away while the car was still being refuelled. Later he had a hydraulics problem which had stabilised shortly before the engine went.

Giancarlo Fisichella:

"I'm a bit disappointed. I lost quite a lot of time on the pit stop and then more time to overtaking Trulli and a hydraulics problem and then I blew up the engine. I lost a bit of time behind Ralph, we were on different strategies but we were at the same part of the track. Anyway, our pace wasn't too bad and I'm looking forward to the next race."

Ralph Firman:

"I got held up by the Minardis at the start of the race but once I got clear of them, I was able to push on quite hard although the car had a little bit of oversteer on the turn in to corners. Later I had a clutch problem and after a couple of laps the engine just packed up. I'm looking forward to the Silverstone test next week, as the time in the car will be a great help to me. I think I still need to improve myself in qualifying but in the race I always seem to do a reasonably good lap time."

Gary Anderson, Director of race and test engineering:

"We first knew Ralph had a problem when he reported the clutch slipping, which we later discovered was caused by an engine problem which soon afterwards caused him stop. On Giancarlo's car something went wrong with the engine, there was a lot of smoke. We had a hydraulic problem as well but it stabilised and would have been okay for the last ten laps. When you're not in good condition it's best just to learn as much as you can about reliability. They say what a difference a day makes - well what a difference a week makes!"

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA
15th (engine, lap 59)
CHASSIS NUMBER: EJ13-04

RALPH FIRMAN
DNF (engine, lap 54)
CHASSIS NUMBER: EJ13-03

-jordan-

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article San Marino GP: Renault race notes

Next article San Marino GP: Winners' press conference

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Giancarlo Fisichella



Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?

Formula 1

Formula 1

Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?



How Jordan took its last F1 victory on this day in 2003

Formula 1

Formula 1

Brazilian GP

How Jordan took its last F1 victory on this day in 2003



On this day in 2005: Kimi Raikkonen’s Suzuka masterclass

Formula 1

Formula 1

Singapore GP

On this day in 2005: Kimi Raikkonen’s Suzuka masterclass

More from

Minardi



Alpine may be F1’s best ‘worst team’ of all time

Formula 1

Formula 1

Alpine may be F1’s best ‘worst team’ of all time



Alonso showed championship credentials in first F1 race - ex-Minardi boss

Formula 1

Formula 1

Saudi Arabian GP

Alonso showed championship credentials in first F1 race - ex-Minardi boss



Top 10 Minardi F1 drivers ranked: Alonso, Webber, Badoer and more

Formula 1

Formula 1

Top 10 Minardi F1 drivers ranked: Alonso, Webber, Badoer and more

Latest news



Esteban Ocon responds to Haas signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

4 min

Esteban Ocon responds to Haas signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027



Tim Clark wants NASCAR to be better storytellers to counter "brand perception problem"

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup 1 h

Tim Clark wants NASCAR to be better storytellers to counter "brand perception problem"



Why NASCAR's Zane Smith fine for Carson Hocevar contact was consistent

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Talladega II

1 h

Why NASCAR's Zane Smith fine for Carson Hocevar contact was consistent



Jimmie Johnson on the NASCAR business world: "It's a war"

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup 1 h

Jimmie Johnson on the NASCAR business world: "It's a war"

Feature

Discover prime content



Mission control: Inside the FIA and F1's latest answer to football's VAR

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Mission control: Inside the FIA and F1's latest answer to football's VAR



How Kimi Antonelli levelled up his character to be F1 2026's world champion-elect

Formula 1

United States GP

By Filip Cleeren

How Kimi Antonelli levelled up his character to be F1 2026's world champion-elect



Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40



How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1

Formula 1

By Pat Symonds

How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe