Eddie Jordan reckons Lewis Hamilton's bombshell move to Ferrari is not about the cash or contract - but a much-needed fresh start.
The F1 community was rocked by the news Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes at the end of the season for the legendary Italian team. The switch comes after a tough time for him with the Silver Arrows since the contentious conclusion to the 2022 season, which saw him narrowly miss out on a record-breaking eighth world title to Max Verstappen.
While speculation about why Hamilton is making the leap has been aplenty, Jordan believes it's all about seeking a new challenge after over a decade with Mercedes, which will rejuvenate him both professionally and personally.
On his Formula For Success podcast alongside co-host David Coulthard, Jordan commented: "I think his mojo was up at Mercedes. I think he needed a new home. And often the case is when the time and the pressure and the stress on people is so intense - you need to find another set of parameters.
"I think Lewis, that's why he went there. I truthfully don't believe it's to do with contracts or money, I think he feels he wants to see his career finish at Ferrari because it's a magic place to go and he intends to go to live in Italy, which I can understand."
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He also noted: "He intends to learn the language fluently and I think they're all very important because if you don't do that, you will not be ingratiated within the Ferrari confines."
There are questions hanging over Hamilton's potential at Ferrari, with concerns about his age at 39 and whether the car can compete with Red Bull. However, Jordan sees the red overalls revitalising him like his Mercedes move did, tipping him to be a serious title challenger from next season.
Eddie Jordan feels Hamilton was in need of a fresh start, and that's why he's made the switch (YouTube/Formula For Success)"I think they are very strong," he added. "We are very impressed by Fred Vasseur because I think Fred has brought a magic calm to that team, and if you can see it, it's a bit like what McLaren is doing.
"They're slowly catching up. And that's great for us because we'll actually see better high-quality races and we hopefully won't see Max [Verstappen] going into the distance 20 and 30 seconds in the front."
It's rumoured that Hamilton was only offered a one-year extension beyond 2025 by Mercedes, whereas he's looking for a longer commitment similar to what Ferrari proposed. He's expected to bag a yearly wage of £42.7million (€50m), which would actually represent a slight decrease from his current £43.6m ($55m) salary.
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