Eddie Jordan initially slammed Ferrari’s decision to sign Lewis Hamilton and doubted whether the seven-time world champion could still cut it at the top, but the F1 legend changed his mind
Formula One icon Eddie Jordan revised his opinion on Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari. The seven-time world champion departed Mercedes after a 12-year stint to join the legendary Italian team for the 2025 season.
It was announced on Thursday that Jordan had passed away at the age of 76 following a fight with prostate cancer. The former F1 team owner and pundit initially thought Ferrari had slipped up by replacing Carlos Sainz with Hamilton, dubbing it his “for f**** sake moment of the year” before changing his mind last month.
Ferrari are pursuing their first driver’s title since 2007, but Jordan originally believed that Hamilton, who is also aiming for a record eighth world championship, was not the right person to break this dry spell.
Message to Ferrari
During a conversation with his co-host David Coulthard on their Formula for Success podcast in December, Jordan stated: “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 ‘trust’ snub
The next month, Jordan expressed doubts about Hamilton’s capacity to catch up with champion Max Verstappen, tipping his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc instead. “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 in the year, when confronted with Jordan’s critique, new Ferrari signing Hamilton implied it spurred him on to prove people wrong. “I’ve always welcomed the negativity,” Hamilton admitted to 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 U-turn
Hamilton kicked off his stint at Ferrari with a 10th-placed finish at the Australian GP last week, but Jordan was already sold on the 40-year-old’s signing even before he hit the track. His change of heart came after Jordan spotted Hamilton strike a pose in front of Enzo Ferrari’s former residence 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 said 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.”