.jpg) The Jordan 191 ofMichael Schumacher | |||||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Jordan | ||||||||||
| Designers | Gary Anderson(Technical Director) Mark Smith(Senior Design Engineer - Transmission) Andrew Green(Senior Design Engineer - Suspension) | ||||||||||
| Successor | 192 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon fibremonocoque | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone, pushrod operated dampers | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbone, pushrod operated dampers | ||||||||||
| Engine | Ford HBA4, 3,494 cc (213.2 cu in), 75°V8,NA,mid-engine,longitudinally mounted | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Jordan /Hewland 6-speedmanual | ||||||||||
| Power | 650 hp (484.7 kW) @ 13,000 rpm | ||||||||||
| Fuel | BP | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | Team7UPJordan | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | 32. Bertrand Gachot32.  Michael Schumacher32.  Roberto Moreno32.  Alessandro Zanardi33. Andrea de Cesaris | ||||||||||
| Debut | 1991 United States Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last event | 1991 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
TheJordan 191 was aFormula One car designed byGary Anderson for use byJordan Grand Prix in its debut season in1991. Its best finish was inCanada andMexico, whereAndrea de Cesaris drove it to fourth place at both races. Driving the 191 at the1991 Hungarian Grand Prix,Bertrand Gachot took the fastest lap of the race.
Eddie Jordan was an Irish racing driver who had achieved some success inBritish Formula 3 but moved into team ownership after recognising he had reached the peak of his own racing career. His team,Eddie Jordan Racing (EJR), ran initially inFormula Ford and steadily progressed through the motorsport tiers. In 1988 EJR ran a pair ofF3000 cars forJohnny Herbert andMartin Donnelly and the following year won the F3000 championship withJean Alesi.[2]
Jordan then establishedJordan Grand Prix with a view to entering Formula One and hiredGary Anderson to design his team's first Formula One chassis.[3] Anderson had previously worked forReynard and had designed that manufacturer's F3000 car. He would carry out design work on what was eventually designated the 191[Note 1] in between F3000 racing weekends, during which he would engineer EJR's F3000 race cars.[2]
Anderson was the leader of a team of three that were involved in the design of the 191 car;[4] Andrew Green worked on the suspension, Mark Smith did the gearbox and this left Anderson the task of the bodywork and aerodynamics.[2] The car had a tidy form with a raised nose and a drooping rear diffuser. Originally designed for theJudd V8,[2] the 191 ended up being powered by aCosworth-Ford HB V8 engine, Jordan having arranged a customer supply[3] after fortuitously making contact with a senior executive at Cosworth.[2]
On the sponsorship front, after failed negotiations with the cigarette brandCamel that had sponsored Jordan's F3000 team, Jordan signed7 Up, a soft drink company, as the team's major sponsor. The 7 Up corporate colour was green and this tied in with that of the Japanese camera film company Fuji. After Eddie Jordan approached the company, terms were agreed and Fuji also joined as a sponsor. Jordan also gained sponsorship from the Irish Tourism Board as he knew that the Irish government was trying to get technology companies to base themselves inIreland, pitching to them "Look, here’s a country that is renowned for things like potatoes, butter,Guinness. It’s going to be a lot easier for you to advertise yourselves if you associate with an F1 team – it’s the pinnacle of technology".[2][5]
By November 1990, the 191 was complete and its first test run was conducted byJohn Watson at theSilverstone circuit. The initial feedback was relatively favourable and further testing was completed at the Paul Ricard circuit in France.[2] The team's drivers had been selected; they were to be the experienced ItalianAndrea de Cesaris and BelgianBertrand Gachot.[3][Note 2]
A total of seven 191 chassis were built across the year; one was destroyed in an accident at theBritish Grand Prix.[3]
Due to the number of teams taking part in the1991 Formula One season, Jordan had to complete pre-qualifying at the start of each race weekend in order to be allowed entry into qualifying proper.[3] A total of eight cars were entered for pre-qualifying, with the four fastest continuing onto qualifying.[2]
At the opening round of the season inPhoenix, de Cesaris failed to pre-qualify, blighted by engine problems.[2] In contrast, Gachot sailed through and comfortably qualified 14th for the race itself.[6] Engine failure ended Gachot's race on lap 75 and he was classified tenth,[7] having run as high as seventh at one stage of the race.[8]
Both drivers made the grid comfortably at the followingBrazilian Grand Prix, Gachot in tenth and de Cesaris in 13th.[9] Gachot was again not running at the finish but had completed enough laps to be classified in 13th while de Cesaris retired, having had an accident.[10] Both drivers retired from theSan Marino Grand Prix but at the next race, inMontreal, de Cesaris scored the team's best finish of the season, with a fourth place. He was followed home by the fifth-placed Gachot, earning Jordan its first points of the year.[11]
At the following race inMexico City, de Cesaris again finished fourth, having qualified in 11th place. Gachot started from 20th on the grid but had worked his way up to fifth place when he spun off the circuit.[12] He also retired from the next race, theFrench Grand Prix, spinning out on the first lap[13] having qualified 19th. De Cesaris, from 13th on the grid,[14] went on to finish sixth in the race, adding another point to Jordan's total.[13] By theGerman Grand Prix, the number of points scored by de Cesaris and Gachot meant that Jordan were not required to pre-qualify for the remainder of the season.[2]
After theHungarian Grand Prix, Gachot's season was curtailed by a two-month prison sentence, for sprayingCS gas at a taxi driver inLondon. Over the final six races, three drivers filled in for Gachot:Michael Schumacher,Roberto Moreno andAlex Zanardi. Schumacher was a revelation in his first F1 race weekend at the1991 Belgian Grand Prix, qualifing seventh on the grid (Jordan's joint-best ever at that time), outqualifying de Cesaris who was eleventh. Despite this, Schumacher retired from the race on the first lap after his clutch failed.[3] Having made his way into second place by the final stages of the race, De Cesaris also retired, within a few laps of the finish, and was eventually classified in 13th.[15]
Prior to the next race inItaly, a legal wrangle betweenBenetton and Jordan developed, with Schumacher signing for Benetton, a team with which he would later win his first two Drivers Championships and a Constructors Championship. This sent Moreno packing from Benetton and Jordan signed him up as a replacement. Moreno did two races, in Italy andPortugal, achieving little, before Jordan handed a novice, Zanardi, his debut in the final three races. He completed a pair of ninth-place finishes intervened with a retirement.[3]
In their first season, Jordan finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 13 points with the 191. De Cesaris was ninth in the Drivers' Championship with nine points while Gachot's four points earned him a share of 12th.[16]
The 191 is considered by many[17] to be one of the most beautiful Formula 1 cars of all time. The car won theAutosport Racing Car of the Year award for 1991.[4]
(key) (results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Team 7UPJordan | Ford HBA4 V8 | G | USA | BRA | SMR | MON | CAN | MEX | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | ESP | JPN | AUS | 13 | 5th | |
| Bertrand Gachot | 10 | 13 | Ret | 8 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 6 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Michael Schumacher | Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Roberto Moreno | Ret | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alessandro Zanardi | 9 | Ret | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Andrea de Cesaris | DNPQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | 4 | 4 | 6 | Ret | 5 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 8 |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Autosport Racing Car Of The Year 1991 | Succeeded by |
