Jordan ready to come back from the dead

From the splendour of the Theatre Royal to bacon butties in the back of a garage, Eddie Jordan returned to his roots today to…

From the splendour of the Theatre Royal to bacon butties in the back of a garage, Eddie Jordan returned to his roots today to herald the rebirth of his team.

Gone was the glamour of previous years as Jordan's latest car was unceremoniously unveiled at a damp Silverstone, just a stone's throw from the factory.

The unveiling of the EJ14 was a throwback to 1991 when Jordan announced his maiden foray into F1 to a handful of people over coffee and sandwiches. The rebirth theme was evident by the 'Lazarus' sticker which adorned the sidepod of the car as it was put through its initial paces at the English track.

It is partly a joke but also a gesture to those who were preparing to write the team's obituaries that Jordan are still very much alive and kicking.

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"It is about coming back from the dead," said Jordan. "People were writing us off last autumn. But we are back and I am very, very buoyant about this particular year."

That Lazarus sticker is likely to be replaced by the Trust logo which adorned the other side of Nick Heidfeld's car today. The Dutch company looks set to pump around £5million into Jordan's coffers with the proviso that Jos Verstappen is given the second seat for this year.

It seems only the finer points of the much travelled 31-year-old's contract have to be reached before the hopes of Ralph Firman and Allan McNish are dashed.

"We are talking to a number of drivers and Jos is one of them," added Jordan. "Trust and I have had discussions and we know the issues and what we want to do.

"We will announce the second driver when we are ready. There is still a seat available - we have not finalised it. I speak to Ralph all the time. He is a high quality driver and somebody I particularly like.

"If there's a way we can do something to help him get into the team in a testing role or as a driver then we'll do so."

Firman, who scored one point in his maiden season with Jordan last year, cannot test on the Fridays of race weekends this season because of the third driver limitations. McNish is also hampered by the rule that prevents anyone who has competed in six grands prix in the previous two years from testing because of his season with Toyota in 2002.

With Benson & Hedges pumping in around £11million to sponsor the team for a ninth season, a tie in with grand prix newcomers Bahrain and other sponsorships in the pipeline then Jordan's situation is looking far healthier off the track.

And on it Jordan, one of the few remaining privateers in Formula One, is hopeful he can again upstage his major manufacturer-backed rivals as he did in Brazil last year when Giancarlo Fisichella scored a surprise win.