This stage of the season the car just doesn’t have the performance he thought it would have. "Three finishes in the points out of four starts, I guess the season could have started a lot worse, although I have to say that I am still a bit disappointed. I thought our Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda team was going to be battling with the front-runners this season, but the reality is after four races we are fighting hard to be the best of the rest.”

He does admit that the gremlins of 2000 have be sorted and he feels he is driving a car that will, at least, reach the finish. “We seem to have overcome our reliability problems of the last season, which is half the battle to doing well in the Championship; however the other half is not so easy. We still need to find some more speed if we are to match McLaren and Ferrari, while the BMW-Williams performance is amazing. If they can win like that in Imola, then we won't see which way they went in places like Monza, Spa, Suzuka, Silverstone and all the other quick circuits.”

He struggled in qualifying at the San Marino Grand Prix, but still feels he could have been much higher on the grid. “In Imola our car was pretty good through the fast corners but we are still lacking a bit through the slow stuff to match the times of the quicker teams. After a couple of good qualifying runs at the start of the session my final run, when the track was at its quickest and all the fast times were set, was spoiled by an understeer problem which only got worse the harder I pushed for the time. I was disappointed to have started ninth on the grid. A third row spot with Jarno would have been possible on a good run at the right moment.”

Despite both Jordan drivers starting very well so far this year, Imola was one where Heinz-Harald did not do well. ”I got a bit too much wheel-spin and Villeneuve and Raikkonen out-dragged me to the first corner putting me back in 11th place on the first lap.”
There after he had problems overtaking and, aside from a moment with Villeneuve, had a fairly lonely race. “At a place like Imola overtaking is so hard unless you are a lot faster on the straight as there isn't a lot you can do to make up places unless the guy in front makes a mistake or drops out. Raikkonen went off just in front of me which put me up to tenth and then I made ninth when Schumacher had problems.

“I had an exciting moment when I was chasing Villeneuve just after the pit stops. I was a few car lengths back when his engine suddenly failed on one of the quickest parts of the track. There was so much smoke I couldn't see a thing. I ducked left and managed to find some clear air and the right direction to steer. It was an exciting moment. Fortunately the engine didn't blow up throwing a lot of oil down as well or I probably would have ended up in the barrier like I did when Irvine's Ferrari blew up in front of me a couple of years ago.

"I found myself running seventh behind Trulli for the second half of the race and when Montoya had a problem I moved into the points for sixth spot. I'll take any points that come my way, but it certainly wasn't the most satisfying point of my life, especially with Ralf coming past me just before the end of the race to put me a lap back.”

Despite both EJ11s finishing in the points, there is still a big gap to the front of the grid, one the team are now going to have to work hard to close. “I realized then that we have a lot of work to do if we are going to be in the fight for any wins throughout the rest of the season. Honda is working hard on development and so are we at Jordan.”

He is starting the work with a test session where traction control is being put through its paces by all teams in advance of its reintroduction at Barcelona. “I got a day off on Easter Monday, but then it was back into the car for a three-day test at Silverstone after Imola, another test team running aerodynamic tests at Lurcy, in France.
“The next race, in Barcelona, sees the return of traction control to all the cars. Of course, we will be giving our system a good shakedown in Silverstone and it is going to be interesting to see what difference it makes. I don't expect a big change in the dry, but in the wet it should be interesting. I have made no secret of the fact that I am against traction control for what it takes away from the driver with regard to car control. However, if it's the only way to get a fair game, it's better to make it legal for everyone.