Vettel arrival would risk ‘destroying’ Racing Point F1 team - Jordan

Ex-Formula 1 team boss Eddie Jordan says he would be unlikely to hire Sebastian Vettel if he was in charge of Racing Point due to the risk of destabilising the team.

Jordan founded and owned the Jordan Grand Prix team that operated from 1991 and 2005 which has since become the current Racing Point squad via the previous guises of Midland, Spyker and Force India. 

The team will undergo its latest rebrand in 2021 when it transitions into the Aston Martin works team, and recent speculation has linked Vettel to a seat at the outfit following his departure from Ferrari at the end of this year, despite Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll already being tied down to long-term contracts. 

But Jordan said he would not be making a bid to sign the four-time world champion if the decision was up to him. 

“Of course you’d love [Vettel] in the car,” Jordan told the F1 Nation podcast. 

“I got my best results, if you like, my first ever win was with Damon Hill, and he was bordering on retiring age… So for sure, four times world champion, Vettel is a huge prize for any team. But would you destroy the team that has Sergio, plus income, plus money, and a good rhythm inside the team?

“So now let’s talk about Vettel, can he rekindle a kind of sparkle and a fire and the enthusiasm and the charisma that he had? It’s going to be difficult at his age. Would I employ him? Probably not, because I think there’s far, far too many young kids coming through.

“One year ago, very few people would have given much credibility to the fact that Charles Leclerc would have completely destroyed him in many respects in his first year, but yet he did, and Charles will go on, probably, to be number one at Ferrari for a considerable time.

“Are you telling me, in a similar car that [Vettel] could fight toe-to-toe with Lewis Hamilton? At the moment, psychologically, he can’t even do that with Charles Leclerc. Can he do it with Lewis? I don’t think so, and that is the way that I would look at it if I was the boss of the team.”

Meanwhile, Vettel’s former Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo believes the German would need patience and an open mind if he was to make the switch to Aston Martin and drop into the midfield. 

"I think for Seb, in his situation, he's had pretty much his whole career in the sport running at the front,” the Australian explained. 

"Probably every year he's contested in Formula 1 he's been on the podium more or less, so if he goes into a midfield team it's foreign territory for him.

"I think it requires a bit more of an open mind, certainly some patience. But yeah that's obviously up to him and where he sees the next chapter of his career.”