OCTOBER 9, 2004

Jordan at the end of his tether

Eddie Jordan has hit out at the Ford Motor Company and Formula 1 in general, saying that the decision-makers are getting old and have no succession plans.

Eddie Jordan has hit out at the Ford Motor Company and Formula 1 in general, saying that the decision-makers are getting old and have no succession plans.

"To say I am disappointed with Ford is an understatement," Jordan told The Guardian newspaper. "I have been trying to keep my total dismay under control. I am angered that after a long relationship I should get seven minutes' notice that they were pulling out. It's now almost too late to build a sophisticated car around a new engine. We already had an agreement and we'd agreed to design and build a car for next year. Ford said they would find a way of making an offer. And do you know what they suggested? They doubled the price for engines which were not going to be subject to any development. You cannot believe their behaviour and believe me, I am only scratching the surface. Ford have behaved appallingly, I kid you not. I can't get an appointment to talk to anybody to talk about it. This is a very sad state of affairs."

Jordan admits that he is considering selling the team.

"It's better than going bust," he said. "If I have to I will. I believe that F1 is in danger of having an ageing population in key positions. People believe in themselves too much. There is no form of succession. There is no obvious succession for Bernie Ecclestone, for Frank Williams or for Ron Dennis. When I came into F1 I was in my late 30s and now I'm in my 50s. It's also just too expensive to come into this business."

There ae rumours in Suzuka that Jordan is considering legal action against a number of F1 targets if he is forced to go out of business because of broken promises.