The Benson & Hedges Jordan team announced today that 1996 World Champion Damon Hill would be driving for the team (who will use Mugen Honda engines) for 1998 and 1999.
At the press conference, Jordan revealed that the deal had been made 10 days ago, shortly after the Italian Grand Prix where Damon joined Eddie Jordan, Technical Director Gary Anderson and the B&H management on a private flight back from Monza. This predates announcements by Sauber, Prost, and Arrows indicating that Jordan was Hill's first choice rather than his last chance.
"Naturally I a delighted to have signed Damon, " said Eddie. "This gives us a blend of youth and experience, with Ralf and Damon making a very exciting line up for next season. We tried to get Damon last year but didn't, so we signed two young drivers and invested the money in the technical side. Now, one year on, we are able to sign Damon and hopefully that will help us become a winning team."
Damon said "I believe that the very strong Mugen Honda package, plus the technical facilities now in place at Jordan, means that I can win more races and go for my second World Championship. I am very positive about this deal. I did not sign for Jordan last year because I was not sure about the team's abilities, but this year they have joined the upper echelons of Formula One teams and they have an impressive package."
Benetton have confirmed that Giancarlo Fisichella and test-driver Alexander Wurz will race for them in 1998.
Wurz said "This is like a dream for me. I have known about this deal for some time and I wanted to tell the world, but until today I have not been able to mention it"
This will probably mean that Gerhard Berger will retire when his contract with Benetton expires at the end of the season.
Summary
The Williams duo seemed to be unbeatable today. Frentzen topped the times today followed by Villeneuve. Barrichello clocked an excellent third.
Notes
The Times
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.
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Frentzen (Williams-Renault) G Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) G Barrichello (Stewart-Ford) B Fisichella (Jordan-Peugeot) G Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) G Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) G M. Schumacher (Ferrari) G Berger (Benetton-Renault) G Diniz (Arrows-Yamaha) B Irvine (Ferrari) G Hill (Arrows-Yamaha) B Herbert (Sauber-Petronas) G Alesi (Benetton-Renault) G Trulli (Prost-Mugen) B Morbidelli (Sauber-Petronas) G R. Schumacher (Jordan-Peugeot) G Nakano (Prost-Mugen) B Magnussen (Stewart-Ford) B Katayama (Minardi-Hart) B Salo (Tyrrell-Ford) G Verstappen (Tyrrell-Ford) G Marques (Minardi-Hart) B 107% rule B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear |
1m 11.527s 1m 11.638s 1m 11.798s 1m 11.899s 1m 11.902s 1m 11.907s 1m 12.265s 1m 12.283s 1m 12.519s 1m 12.548s 1m 12.614s 1m 12.751s 1m 12.820s 1m 12.935s 1m 12.966s 1m 13.041s 1m 13.280s 1m 13.286s 1m 13.348s 1m 14.079s 1m 14.188s 1m 14.739s 1m 16.534s
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The Quotes