The team have since clarified the absence of a title sponsor on the entry list by saying that at the time when the FIA requested to have the teams' entries, they were still in discussions with a number of companies, including Benson & Hedges regarding title sponsorship for the 2002 season.

There is likely to be more than a simple timing issue at work here, though. It is thought that Benson and Hedges, due to the current economic uncertainty, has chosen to decrease their funding to the team and there are obvious difficulties in replacing the money shortfall created by the pullout of such a major sponsor. This situation is said to have left the Jordan marketing and commercial teams scrambling to replace the loss with less than a month to go before testing starts again.

It is though unlikely that the tobacco giant has pulled their sponsorship from the Silverstone based team, just that they have reduced their annual spend. They will stay on as a sponsor, in a lesser capacity.

No hint has been given as to who will replace them as title sponsor, but it is rumoured that the sponsorship spot has been filled and an announcement will be made by the team before the New Year.

Unfortunately, the replacement is unlikely to be investing as much as B&H were, so there could well be cutbacks. The first being a reduced test team for 2002. Jordan is thought to be thinking of running only a one-car test team in 2002, compared to the two it ran in 2001. Front runners, such as Ferrari, McLaren and Williams use three, even four-car test teams to help with pre-season and in-season development, so Jordan will be at a disadvantage in their push to the front of the grid before the season even starts.