Eddie Jordan's Lewis Hamilton U-turn, messages to Ferrari, seven-time champ's response
Formula One icon Eddie Jordan initially questioned Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari but changed his stance after the Italian team unveiled him.
Formula One legend Eddie Jordan changed his verdict of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. The seven-time world champion left Mercedes after 12 years to join the iconic Italian team ahead of the 2025 season.
It was announced on Thursday that Jordan had died at the age of 76 following a battle with prostate cancer. The ex-F1 team owner and pundit believed Ferrari had made a mistake in replacing Carlos Sainz with Hamilton, labelling it his "for f**** sake moment of the year" before reversing his stance last month. Ferrari are chasing their first driver’s title since 2007, but Jordan initially felt that Hamilton was the wrong man to end that drought.
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Message to Ferrari
Speaking to his co-host David Coulthard on their Formula for Success podcast in December, Jordan said: “We’re on the same page here, because my FFS is, I say to John Elkann, who’s the chairman of that group, what the f*** was he thinking about in getting rid of Carlos, when he had a very happy, friendly, structured team that knew how to work together. The drivers got on well together.
“[Team principal] Fred Vasseur had a real opportunity to bring this team great, great success. Now he has to start thinking about gelling and mending away, that he can get a new member of the team, egos, everything involved.
“Lewis is a particularly nice person. I’m not sure there’s many nicer people on the grid than Lewis Hamilton, so I don’t think he’ll have a problem there. However, my FFS goes to John Elkann of Ferrari for even authorising, signing off on that deal. It was absolutely suicidal to get rid of Carlos.”
Hamilton snub
The following month, Jordan doubted Hamilton’s ability to chase down champion Max Verstappen, favouring his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. "If I had a top team now and didn't get Max, there would only be one driver pairing that would be able to take on the fight with Verstappen: Charles Leclerc and, as a team-mate, Lando Norris,” Jordan told Sport1.
“Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, well-deserved champions indeed, I simply no longer trust that they can keep up with Verstappen because of their advanced age.”
Seven-time champ's response
Earlier this year, Hamilton was asked about Jordan's criticism, and the new Ferrari signing suggested it gave him added motivation to succeed. “I’ve always welcomed the negativity,” Hamilton told Time magazine.
“I never, ever reply to any of the older, ultimately, white men who have commented on my career and what they think I should be doing. How you show up, how you present yourself, how you perform, slowly dispels that.”
Jordan's U-turn
Hamilton began his Ferrari career with a 10th-place finish at the Australian GP last week. However, Jordan had already changed his mind before the 40-year-old took to the grid after seeing him pose for photos in front of Enzo Ferrari’s old home in Maranello.
“I think he’s not just box office for Formula 1, I think he’s box office everywhere, particularly in the Americas, in Asia, we know about Europe,” Jordan admitted last month. “I’m totally warm to the idea that Ferrari, for all sorts of reasons, particularly commercial, made the right decision.
“What I thought was unbelievably eye-catching, that photograph of Lewis Hamilton in that coat. It just depicts why I think Ferrari went for him. He’s box office.”
