Eddie Jordan’s verdict on Lewis Hamilton’s early Ferrari shunt: “I’d rather see…”

Eddie Jordan is confident Lewis Hamilton’s early crash for Ferrari will not “phase him in the slightest”, backing the seven-time world champion’s approach to finding the limits.

Hamilton crashed on his third day driving Ferrari’s 2023 challenger at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week.

During one of his TPC outings, the 40-year-old crashed out in the final part of the lap at the Spanish track.

Ferrari were quick to play down the size of the incident, although it did impact Charles Leclerc’s running as a result.

Crashes in testing are common though, particularly for Hamilton, who shunted his McLaren in 2007 ahead of his debut season.

In 2013, he crashed in a Mercedes during his first test at Jerez due to brake failure.

Speaking on the Formula for Success podcast, Jordan, who previously owned the Jordan Grand Prix F1 team, shrugged off Hamilton’s crash.

“I don’t think that little off will phase him in the slightest because it happens to everyone. Team bosses like myself at the time, you got used to it,” Jordan said.

“You have boxes and boxes of spares and racing drivers need to push cars to the limit. If you don’t know where the limit is you’re not going quick enough. That’s the issue. I’d rather see Lewis make these smaller errors at this stage than on the race track or the qualifying track.

“He will be given plenty of time by Ferrari. I think Ferrari will make and build more road cars, and will have a bigger profit centre because of Lewis. So they will be able to absolutely adequately off-set any outside income or expenditure that they would have had with Lewis it will be justified.

“I have absolutely no idea that it was a calculated financial commercial decision by Elkann and I think they will have recoup that manyfold.”

Hamilton gears up for Ferrari debut

It’s just over a month until Hamilton makes his official Ferrari debut at the Australian Grand Prix.

Albert Park has been a successful track for Hamilton over the years, particularly in qualifying.

In preparation for the new season, Hamilton has been testing Ferrari’s 2024 car as part of the Pirelli tyre test.

After that, Ferrari will launch their car on February 19 - one day after the livery launch as part of F1’s official season event at the O2 in London.

Pre-season testing in Bahrain kicks off on February 26, and Hamilton and Leclerc will share three days of testing.