Eddie Jordan says that he would be reluctant to recruit Sebastian Vettel to Racing Point if he was in charge of the Formula 1 outfit.
Racing Point can trace its roots back to Jordan’s eponymous team, which raced in Formula 1 between 1991 and 2005, before it was sold to the Midland Group.
After a brief stint as Spyker, and a decade-long spell as Force India, Lawrence Stroll acquired the operation mid-2018 and renamed it Racing Point.
Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of 2020 and his options appear limited, with Mercedes poised to retain its drivers, McLaren and Renault already confirming its line-up, while Red Bull has ruled him out of the running.
Racing Point has Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll under contract for 2021 but is understood to have held discussions with Vettel over a drive for next season, when it will morph into Aston Martin.
“Sebastian will be sadly missed in Formula 1, he’s a four-time champion, will he ever get back to the days he achieved with Adrian [Newey] and Christian [Horner], who knows,” Jordan told the F1 Nation podcast.
“For sure he’s had a couple of horrific years inside Ferrari.
“Vettel: can he rekindle the kind of sparkle, fire, and the enthusiasm and charisma 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 that might just squeeze him out at the time.
“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 [at Ferrari] but yet he did.”
Jordan also fears Racing Point risks upsetting its current dynamic if it was to recruit Vettel.
“Are you telling me in a similar car that he [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,” Jordan added.
“That would be the way I would look at it in terms of [if] I was the boss of the team.
“Of course you’d love him in the car, and I got my best results, first win, with Damon [Hill], and he was bordering on retiring age but yet he has that cunning guile just like I think Lewis is coming into that realm.
“For sure four-time 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?”
