AUGUST 17, 2002

Jordan's engine puzzle

Eddie Jordan has a bit of a problem with engines. He has a deal with Honda for next year but it seems that Honda is not keen to continue and the wording of the contract apparently does not make any allowances for issues of payment.

In other words Honda says it will supply engines but there is no provision for what Jordan has to pay. It was assumed that the engines would be free but we hear that this was not actually written down and so when Honda decided that the best policy is to concentrate on one team Jordan found himself faced with a big engine bill.

Since then Jordan has been going from manufacturer to manufacturer trying to talk a deal. This has not been very successful and when Jordan suggested to Ford top management that he should take over the works engine supply from Cosworth, he did not please the people at Jaguar Racing.

The problem for Eddie is that now Cosworth has turned round and offered him a deal but it is for three years and he does not wish to commit to that as he hopes that in the future he can find another manufacturer to supply engines free of charge.

"He has a proposal from Cosworth for a three-year engine deal," said Niki Lauda in Hungary.

It is anticipated that Jordan will try to work out a deal with Red Bull, which appears to have withdrawn from the bidding for Arrows. There is also talk that Brazil's Petrobras would like to have a bigger sponsorship and that Jordan could be the recipient for that money if the team takes a Brazilian driver. This is a problem in that both Jordan drivers are already under contract for next year.