We Talk to Eddie Jordan

Eddie Jordan, a man who went from buying and selling cars, to running his own successful F1 team, to Badger’s favourite BBC F1 pundit and now, following the superb German grand prix, we had the chance to enjoy some banter with Eddie about this season, his love of music, possibilities of F1 having a ‘greener’ future, Twitter and his fantastic choice of shirts…

First off, we’ve learned he doesn’t like to be referred to as ‘Mr Jordan’ –

Mr Jordan, how are you? – Please don’t call me ‘Mr Jordan’, call be Eddie or I’ll feel old!

After having time to reflect, we asked Eddie about Sunday’s race and whether it’s potentially the beginning of a ‘dip’ for Sebastian Vettel.

Great Race at the weekend, – has the fat lady sung or is she sitting down for a bit – Is vettel suffering a mid-season dip?

Vettel is a class act.  You cannot question his ability and speed, and his way of hooking the car up in qualifying.  Dominance is wavering ever so slightly on Sunday, but yes it was a brilliant race – loved every moment.

Back to Vettel – won’t take risks in wheel to wheel combat, but that’s to be expected.  In terms of a mid-season dip – I dont think so –  Vettel wont go through the same dip – he wont take risks – he has a solid lead.  what I’d say, if I were in the position to do so is that this is great – Hamilton, Alonso, Webber and Button are all battling him, so there’s a good spread of points and I’d be Mr consistent and walk this title.   Rosberg won the title with only one win back in the day.

Amazingly, not a single grand prix goes by without a mention Eddie’s choice of clothing amongst fans on Twitter.  In Germany he was wearing a coat, which was lent to him by the Sauber team to help shield him from the freezing cold GP weekend.  Being as this was a phone interview, we had to ask what his choice of clothing was…

Your shirts are world famous amongst F1 fans nowadays – can you describe the shirt you’re wearing right now?

The shirt I am wearing at the moment is non existent!  I’m trying to catch some rays – I was so cold over the weekend, I’m only just warming up.  I woke up this morning with a headache, from all the travelling, but the sun was shining so I thought I’d catch a few rays before heading off to Hungary – so I can’t describe the shirt I’m wearing because I’m not wearing one!

Some say that F1 is a sport of ‘excess’ – either way, in our opinion, those in control of the sport should be looking ahead to the future and be putting in place plans to help F1’s environmental image – yes we want fast cars racing across the world, but it would be good to see more talk of how F1 could be greener – we asked Eddie for his thoughts…

How do you see F1 improving it’s “greeness” as a sport?

You’re going to have different views from everyone you ask – but with the new engine regs for 2014, thats a step forward.  All the exotic fuels are gone, F1 is running on pump fuel, the same as you or I would fill up with.  As for electric enngines – two issues – cost and development of them and also, are we chasing this green idea at the potential jeopardy of the small teams that couldnt afford it.  We mustn’t rush into this, it needs to be mapped out carefully to ensure that our kids and their kids can still enjoy F1.

When it comes to social media and F1, Twitter is king, with all the teams on there, posting updates and many of the drivers too.  Then there’s the millions of fans on there too.  In terms of the folk from the BBC, Jake, Martin, Lee and Ted are all on there keeping the fans entertained and informed.  Now, Badger’s not the only fan of Eddie Jordan’s contributions to the BBC coverage, and would be great to have Eddie on there too – will he ‘join in the conversation’??

Twitter and Eddie Jordan – will it ever happen?

Is there a chance of EJ joining the millions on Twitter and enjoying some banter with F1 fans?  Right now, I’m trying to shut someone down – we have an impostor amongst us!

I’m at an age where I’m in a different era- not to say I’m an old fuddy duddy – it just takes up so much time and i dont want to sat in front of screen or busy texting on a phone.  To lose stress and chill out, i like to just bang my drums!  Twitter is fine is fine, but I have no real plans – but then, I am a late mover – maybe in a year’s time….

Away from F1, Eddie loves his music, he has a band – Eddie and Robbers – played 3 gigs at Silverstone this year loves listening to his tunes and playing the drums, as he said above – but what’s on his stereo right now we ask…

All sorts – Adele is just great, but I’m currently listening to Amy Winehouse – she had just such a incredible voice, ‘Valerie’ is just a pure classic – the tone of her voice – I think what makes somebody very special, just like with racing drivers, there are thousands of them, but what makes a Vettel a Vettel etc is the same – only few have something special – for Amy, it was her fantastic yet quirky voice, great impact and delivery – something I look to and admire, and well I’m so so upset and disappointed that she’s no longer with us.  It’s a huge loss to the music industry, the British music industry in particular – there’s no doubt she would have been an all time classic.

Eddie’s a busy man, we all know that – so to wrap things up, we asked him a few quick questions, ok so he didn’t stick to the rules of one or two word answers, but we’d have been disappointed if he had…

2011 Champion? – Vettel, he’s virtually already done it.

Downside to being Eddie Jordan? – hideous travel amounts and airports.  The BBC job is so enjoyable – no rehearsal, all ad-lib and so much fun.  But then, I wasn’t back until 12.30 this [Monday] morning and then on the radio at 7am, it’s tiring!

Dream team of all time? – Senna & Schumacher – I’d like to find Adrian Newey and then also Gary Anderson – the most naturally gifted Mechanical Engineer I’ve ever known – amazing talent and hugely under valued.  It’s great to see so many people from the Jordan days still in F1, sure we took them on as graduates from universities and yes they were cheap, but they’ve gone to have great careers.

You’re a busy man over the GP weekends, what do you have for breakfast to set yourself up? – It varies – I’m really strange about my food, but I have real policy about breakfast.  I do watch my diet, avoid sugary things and minimise the drink – so breakfast should porridge and then bacon & eggs for me.

Who’s your best friend in F1? – that’s a difficult one.  I like to go places on my own, I do hang out with Lee McKenzie, she’s great and then Ian Philips – my old team boss who’s now at Marussia Virgin.  I like to talk to people about music or golf or go find something live going on – I played a gig with Mercedes on Sunday.  I like to travel alone, less to worry about!

And that concludes our chat with Eddie “the legend” Jordan.  If you have any comments on the points he’s made, share them below – the man himself will be reading the article – yes folks, that’s right – Eddie Jordan reads BadgerGP, fantastic!

Thanks to PUMA, the fashion and sportswear brand for arranging this opportunity to chat to Eddie.

We suggest you have a look at their Puma Motorsport page on Facebook and their Puma Motorsport website.