Source: Alamy Stock Photo.
The F1 analyst addresses Zak Brown’s claim that Max Verstappen will leave Red Bull and provides an emotional tribute towards motorsport legend Eddie Jordan.
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What did you make of Zak Brown’s comments that Max Verstappen will leave Red Bull and join Mercedes at the end of the season?
I don’t know the basis of how any team principle can comment on another team’s driver or contract because the only people who know what is in Max’s contract with Red Bull are Max and Red Bull. McLaren don’t know it, Mercedes don’t know it, and I think it’s always worth taking a step back and asking why Zak Brown, who I have a lot of respect for, would say something like that. Is it to destabilise his biggest rival?
As I mentioned, Max is the guy most likely to upset McLaren’s plans this year so of course Zak wants to stir things, and it will be interesting. It’s difficult at the moment to understand why Max would leave Red Bull for Mercedes at the moment as it is clearly a less competitive team.
Ultimately Max will go with where he feels is the most competitive opportunity. There’s no room at McLaren, Ferrari is clearly full with Lewis and Charles, so if Max goes to Mercedes then he is going to a less competitive team.
If he did that, you’d have to question his motivation. But I don’t think Max would leave just for the money as he has plenty of money. He will be most interested in being in the most competitive car and Red Bull is more competitive than Mercedes right now.
Eddie Jordan sadly passed away, and you knew him very well. What memories do you have of him?
I first met Eddie when he was a racing driver, and I was 16 years of age when he was at Formula Atlantic and won the Irish Formula Atlantic Championship which is a kin to Formula 2 these days. We picked up our friendship when he was in Formula 3 and as a fellow Irishman, we had a good affinity with each other.
To work with, he was a very inspirational entrepreneur and a true definition of a self-made man, he didn’t create an F1 team because of being born into a fortune or anything like that. He made his own way and of course, he built Jordan Grand Prix into a multiple Grand Prix winning team with some very notable drivers.
All the way along, his unique personality really contributed to the team’s profile because whether we were winning or not winning, we enjoyed (it a lot) and had a very high profile. Eddie was always on the look out for talent with drivers, engineers and mechanics, and giving people an opportunity. A lot of very significant people ended up coming through Jordan Grand Prix and over the 15 years, he achieved a great deal. That team now continues to this day with Aston Martin. His legacy is a very impressive one.
One of the things that he believed in was that working in F1 and motor racing was a privilege, and you should enjoy it. I think when he came into F1, the top teams were McLaren, Williams and Benetton and Eddie’s view was that they perhaps take life a little bit too seriously at times. Eddie thought we should all be enjoying the privilege of competing in Formula 1 and he certainly knew how to celebrate successes.
He also celebrated his life and was a phenomenal family man, really admired his own parents and his children and wife. He had the impression when you worked for him you were essentially part of an extended family and he brought a lot of enjoyment to the business of an F1 team while at the same time, he was a hard-nosed businessman who could negotiate with the best of them. Eddie wasn’t anyone’s fool, but he ultimately made a great success out of his decade-and-a-half out of Formula 1.
I spoke to him just before Christmas and he knew he was fighting a very serious disease but I thought it was very admirable that he came out in public through the podcast with David Coulthard and told the world what he was suffering from, and told all of the listeners to get tested for prostate cancer and he was very open about that because he was shocked to have contracted the disease. Eddie was an incredibly fit guy, always a runner and a cyclist who didn’t carry weight and was a healthy guy. But ultimately got inflicted with this dreadful disease and despite his brave efforts, wasn’t able to escape it.
He was an unbelievable guy who took a lot of satisfaction out of motorsport generally, he loved the sport. Eddie made a lot of money out of F1 and could have easily sailed off in his yacht and not be seen again but he came back and worked in TV and broadcasting, punditry and commentary up until only a few weeks ago doing his podcast with David and most memorably getting involved with arguably one of the two biggest news stories in 2024 when he helped Adrian Newey manage his transition from Red Bull to Aston Martin.
He relished that, I can tell you from talking to him. Eddie was already 76 when that happened, and he was enjoying being at the epicentre of a big story. I’m sure even in his last days he was staying on top of the news and looking at all of the angles.
