FORMULA ONE
F1 is in flux, Eddie Jordan tells Simon Barnes — and the top teams could be outmanoeuvred
I HAVE THRILLING news about the new Formula One season. There are changes to the restrictions on the use of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) and, just as excitingly, to the sprint race format. Since I never understood the old format, I won’t explain them here, but it’s all about sport as an exhibition of automotive technology, isn’t it?
Well, you might prefer to enjoy Formula One as the crash-bang-wallop of personalities, while delighting in the way the whole mad set-up works like a chemistry experiment: sometimes producing pure gold, sometimes a bad smell, sometimes nothing at all – and sometimes blowing up with a boom that goes round the world.
And that’s why I’m talking to Eddie Jordan, former Jordan team boss and current co-host of the Formula for Success podcast with ex-driver David Coulthard. Sure, Eddie can give you a good conversation about technology (or any other subject), but ahead of another merciless 24 races, it’s of teams and personalities we speak.
“There is upheaval in all the top three teams,” he says, “and that could provide an opportunity.” Christian Horner, boss of Red Bull, has seen his number one driver Max Verstappen win the Drivers’ Championship three times in a row, but is currently under investigation for “inappropriate behaviour” towards a female employee.
Mercedes are also destabilised, because seventime world champion Lewis Hamilton has announced he’s moving to Ferrari in 2025 – which in turn means Ferrari are unsettled. “This could be an opportunity for McLaren,” says Jordan. “I’ve got a good feeling about them. They could be the silent assassins this season.”
He rates the two McLaren drivers very highly. “Oscar Piastri is a great qualifier and Lando Norris is a superb race-driver. If you could put them together you’d have a superhuman person. They have a significant technical team and they’re loving all the aggravation you can see in those top three teams. That can only help McLaren.
“I’m not judging the situation at Red Bull, but there’s a rift, and a disjointed team affects the drivers. Good management comes from the top down and this accusation disturbs everyone.”
SO HOW WILL Hamilton respond? Is this an interim season, mere preparation for the one that follows? “Lewis is the ultimate professional. He will give everything to Mercedes. The team will respect the fact that he needed a new target and new surroundings. Every driver longs to drive for Ferrari – it’s go
