The team had only just survived the winter break after the 2003 season, and when the EJ14 broke cover for the first time, it carried the message "Lazarus",
referring to the team's resurrection from the dead. For the rest of the
season the car would run with various messages of peace on the engine
over. These included a dove at the 2004 Australian GP, and a picture of Ayrton Senna at the San Marino GP, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his death. The changing images were chosen by the Bahraini government, who purchased sponsorship space on the team's engine cover to celebrate the inaugural Bahrain GP.
It was driven by Nick Heidfeld, who was swapped with Sauber in favour of Giancarlo Fisichella and Formula 3000 driver Giorgio Pantano were the two drivers. Heidfeld was chosen for his skill, while Pantano
got a drive primarily because he had sponsors who would contribute money
to the team. It was expected that unemployed Jos Verstappen would take the second seat, but the deal for him to drive fell through. In Canada, Pantano was replaced by Timo Glock, as Pantano's backers were unable to pay for his drive in time. Glock went on to score two points in that race after both Williamses and Toyotas
were disqualified for brake duct infringements. Glock would then
replace Pantano for good in the final three rounds, when it became clear
that Pantano would not be able to pay for his seat any longer.
Unfortunately the team's budget was very small, which directly affected their performance. Benson & Hedges was the main sponsor, with only smaller sponsors such as Trust contributing small amounts of money to the team's budget. A lack of testing and development, plus the need to have drivers who could pay for their seat, rather than be skilled, affected the team's results.