Eddie Jordan was full of praise for Damon Hill whose fighting drive at yesterday's San Marino Grand Prix seemed set to net the team their opening points of the 1998 season until engine trouble intervened and he was forced to retire three laps from the end when in eighth position.

Eddie Irvine grimly fought a severe back pain to join his team-mate Michael Schumacher on the podium for Ferrari's home race which was won easily by David Coulthard in the McLaren Mercedes.

Questions about Damon Hill's commitment were answered by the Englishman in the best way possible - he out-qualified Ralf Schumacher for the first time and then put in a strong race drive, though a first lap incident and engine failure thwarted his efforts.

"I had a good start but Alex Wutz was very slow to get going in front of me," Hill said before boarding his private plane for Dublin.

"I hit Alex and damaged my front wing and had to pit for a new one. I was annoyed but Imola is a tough race so I was determined to drive hard and see if we could finish in the points".

Hill fought back from 22nd and last at the end of the first lap, to seventh by two third's distance. He basked in the sun as he explained the race thereafter:

"The car was so much better with the long wheel base. You know the problem with the previous set up was you couldn't get consistently fast laps. The new set up is much easier to drive on the limit and clearly we are going in the right direction. I was feeling very comfortable with the car when the air valve bottle emptied," he said.

The air bottle supplies the engine valve system and valve system leakage is the normal cause of it being empty. Ralf Schumacher finished for the first time this season in seventh place.

"It's not a good result. The car is better but I was not happy with the set up," said the German whose fastest race lap was over a second slower that Hill's.

Eddie Jordan was optimistic afterwards: "The race has lifted the team's spirit. We are going in the right direction and Damon put in an excellent drive. It's a pity not to get some points but I am sure we will succeed in Barcelona".

Eddie Irvine and his team mate generated an electric atmosphere as they drove their red F300s in formation after the finish in front of a huge partisan crowd. But he was clearly in pain as he stepped from the car. "I've a real problem with my lower back now. If I drive five laps it goes into muscle spasm and I get distracted trying to move around to relieve the pain. Before the race I took an injection but that's not the answer."

Irvine now lies fourth in the championship a quarter way through the season which is becoming a two team challenge:

Irvine celebrated his podium finish with his parents who drove from Conlig, Co Down, to Imola. He talked about how Ferrari can get level with the dominant McLarens.