Thursday June 29th, 2000

Formula One is becoming a two-team show and needs a kick up the backside for its own good, team boss Eddie Jordan said on Thursday.

The Irish team owner said Formula One could only benefit from the re-entry of French tyre maker Michelin into the sport next season to end the current monopoly of Japan's Bridgestone.

"Formula One needs a kick up the backside. It's getting to the stage where there are only two teams capable of winning races and that's not healthy for anybody," Jordan said.

He said team owners had a duty to provide a spectacle for the fans and were "not quite doing that at the moment".

"The sooner other teams can compete with the top two the better," added Jordan.

Ferrari and McLaren have dominated this season, winning all eight races. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher has won five, McLaren's world champion Mika Hakkinen one and his team mate David Coulthard two.

Jordan, who had hoped to take on Ferrari and McLaren this season, have suffered from reliability problems after their best season in 1999 when they finished third in the constructors' championship.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen won at Magny-Cours for Jordan last year on a wet track but the German has scored only five points this season.

Jordan also said he would like pit lane speed limits to be changed.

"Let's hope the pit lane speeds will be increased and make it more interesting for everybody, stop the driver falling asleep when he comes into the pit lane," he said.