The Decline of Jordan GP by Patrick Treacy

June 19, 2009 - PRLog -- In June 2003 Jordan sued mobile phone company Vodafone for £150 million, claiming that the company had made a verbal contract for a three-year sponsorship, then given it to Ferrari instead. Jordan withdrew the action two months later, agreeing to pay Vodafone's costs. This was a double financial blow from which the team did not recover. The judge was highly critical of Eddie Jordan, branding the allegations against Vodafone "without foundation and false".

Nick Heidfeld driving for Jordan at the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix.

In 2004, Jordan struggled financially, and their status for the future was questionable. The team fielded German Nick Heidfeld, formerly of Sauber and Prost, and Italian rookie Giorgio Pantano. Ex-F3000 champion Heidfeld showed promise, but could not achieve many good results, the car's pace being poor. Pantano's season was dogged by sponsorship problems. He missed Canada due to a lack of finance, Timo Glock stepping in and scoring a point on his debut. Later in the season, the German replaced Pantano for good. The team finished ahead of only Minardi in 2004.
After the Ford Motor Company's decision to put Cosworth up for sale, Jordan had been left without an engine deal for 2005. However, at short notice, Toyota agreed to supply Jordan with engines identical to those in the Toyota F1 cars. At the beginning of 2005, the team was sold to Midland Group for US $60 million.

Monteiro at the 2005 US GP.

The Jordan name was retained for the 2005 Formula One season, before being changed to MF1 Racing for the 2006 season. Throughout 2005 journalists questioned whether Midland were in Formula One for the long haul. Rumours circulated throughout the season that the team was for sale, and that Eddie Irvine was interested in buying them. The year also saw the induction of two new rookie racers, Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro. 2005 merely confirmed Jordan's status at the back of the grid. A final podium came in the farcical race at Indianapolis, Monteiro leading home a Jordan 3-4. Monteiro managed a welcome eight place at Spa to give the team its last ever point. The final grand prix for the team saw a low-key exit, Monteiro not scoring and Karthikeyan crashing out. Over the years Jordan introduced many star names to the sport, something that will not be forgotten. Jordan also has a link with the leading German drivers of the era, with Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Timo Glock and Nick Heidfeld all driving for the team.In early 2005, the team was sold to Midland Group, who competed for one final season as 'Jordan', before renaming the team as MF1 Racing for the 2006 season, before being sold later in 2006 to Dutch car manufacturer Spyker Cars to become Spyker F1 for 2007, and then sold again to become Force India in 2008.

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The author is a travel writer with Ireland's 'Social and Personal' Magazine and an invited video contributor to many travel websites including TripFilms, Backpacker magazine and National Geographic's 'Everyday Explorers'. See website www.patricktreacy.com