Last week Eddie Jordan had faithfully insisted that the troubles that had plagued his team in testing and at the season opener in Melbourne earlier this month were over.

"We have every reason to be positive," he enthused after a Silverstone test had seen Jarno Trulli clock up almost a thousand trouble free kilometres in the new EJ.

Yesterday the Jordan principal proved as good as his word as both Jordans comfortably finished in the points at the Brazilian Grand Prix, to kick start the team's season and put them joint third in the constructors' championship alongside Williams and just a point behind McLaren and Benetton.

The result, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen fourth and team-mate Jarno Trulli crossing the finish line some 15 seconds later to claim fifth, is a significant boost to Jordan's prospects as the season prepares for the trench warfare of Europe.

With only one McLaren finishing yesterday - David Coulthard in second place - and the failure of both in Australia, yesterday's finish keeps Jordan firmly in touch with second place in the constructors' championship.

"I'd have taken five points this morning, that's for sure," admitted Eddie Jordan afterwards. "You never know in this business. As I said yesterday `you only get points for finishing'."

However, despite the good result, Jordan was emphatic that his team still had a long way to go. "There is still a lot of work to do," he said. "The car is quick but we have to do it in qualifying. If we are going to start doing the business then we have to start taking the lead to people. We have to qualify better and race better. Today was a big improvement after the dramas of Melbourne." Frentzen, beginning the race from seventh, initially slipped back as the heavy fuel load he was carrying took its toll on his times, but as the two-stoppers pulled in for the final time, Frentzen's long first stint was rewarded with a leap back up to fourth, a position he never lost. Indeed in the closing stage the German pushed hard to catch third-placed Giancarlo Fisichella, but the Italian had done just enough to keep Frentzen at bay.

"Giancarlo is an ex-Jordan boy and I wasn't surprised at all by his speed," said Jordan. "Heinz was going very fast at the end but there is something missing in the middle (part of his race) because the structures and strategies were right. There is some cause for inspection of why we lost our momentum in the middle of the race."

Frentzen himself offered an explanation, claiming that his tyres had proved troublesome as the abrasive new surface at Interlagos took its toll.

"It is five points in the pocket," he said. "We can be happy with that but it was a little disappointing in the middle of the race when I was following Fisichella. I had some trouble with the rear tyres and I had too much oversteer so I had to come in early to the pits. With the new set it was much better at the end and I could catch up with him."

For Jaguar and Eddie Irvine Imola will mean a welcome return to Europe and the improvements regular testing can bring. Yesterday Johnny Herbert retired on lap 50 with a gearbox problem while Irvine's race ended on lap 20 when he spun off at turn 10, ploughing his still troublesome Jaguar into the tyre walls. But despite the mistake Irvine remained pleased with progress on the R1.

"I was pushing harder than I should have been and just lost the back end," admitted the Irish driver. "I didn't have a really clear picture of how competitive we are in a race situation before today, but I have to say I am impressed because I feel we can mix it at the top end."