By Phil Giles
December 23 2002

Jordan have added two more names to the hunt for the driver to fill Takuma Sato's empty race seat for 2003. The team seem to have been contacted by nearly every driver who is without a race seat for next season! The team are looking at drivers young and old with new names having been put into the mix over the weekend.

Ralf Firman and Richard Lyons who both share Irish ancestry, along with the team have been mooted as contenders for the vacant seat.  Firman has recently tested for BAR and won the 2002 Formula Nippon championship.  Lyons also competed in Formula Nippon and the Japanese GT Series.

Jordan themselves don't seem to clear on the way that they want to push the team forward next year.  Mark Gallagher, the head of Marketing suggested to the BBC that a young gun may push Giancarlo even harder next season, however with the change in qualifying rules, experience may shine through.

The comments really leave no ideas as to the way the team might go.  Experience would suggest that Eddie Irvine, Enrique Bernoldi, Felipe Massa, Jos Verstappen etc could be in the frame.  However Lyons, Firman and Anthony Davidson would be the young guns out to push Fisi. 

Have Jordan learned from Takuma's early season in 2002?  The rookie didn't exactly push Giancarlo last year so why would an inexperienced driver do so again?  Perhaps the team should be looking to experience in an attempt to draw sponsors and save on the cost of repairing the damage!

The EJ13 will take to the Silverstone Circuit on January 14th 2003, the launch isn't necessarily before that date.  We may still have to wait a while for the eventual line up dependent on the contracts and sponsorship details.

Meanwhile Jordan Fans Online is out to celebrate it's first Christmas in style so I'd like to thank all our site visitors over the last 6 months or so.  Nadolig Llawen from JFO and here's to 2003!