Former Formula 1 team owner Eddie Jordan initially disapproved of Ferrari’s decision to dump Carlos Sainz for Lewis Hamilton, but now he feels it was a wise choice.
Hamilton announced his departure from Mercedes to the Scuderia at the start of last year, forcing the Spaniard to relocate to Williams.
At the time, Jordan criticised Ferrari chairman John Elkann for the decision stating that he “must have rocks in his head”.
The 76-year-old even pleaded for the Italian squad to consider backing out of the deal after Hamilton’s “I’m definitely not fast anymore” verdict after the Qatar Sprint Qualifying.
However, the Irishman has since changed his tune after witnessing the seven-time World Champion complete his first outing in a Ferrari F1 car.
What especially caught his eye was the photo of the 40-year-old in front of Enzo Ferrari’s house, dressed very sharply in classic Italian menswear.
“What I thought was unbelievably eye-catching, that photograph of Lewis Hamilton in that coat,” said Jordan on the Formula For Success podcast.
“It just depicts why I think Ferrari went for him.
“He’s box office, absolutely, and please check, I think you will find there’s close to six million likes about the way he looked and his appearance.
“It’s a very stylish photograph and it’ll be iconic.
“That photograph will be used for many, many, many, many years to come.
“It depends, of course, how he gets on, but at the same time, I think the photograph will be used.
Jordan: Ferrari made the right decision commercially
As Jordan mentioned, Hamilton’s post on Instagram of the iconic photo attracted plenty of attention with 5.6 million likes on the social media platform.
The first official photograph for his new team even broke the record for the most-liked F1 post on Instagram.
The ex-BBC F1 pundit ultimately feels Ferrari made the “right decision” to sign Hamilton, even with the latest “unfortunate” crash during the Barcelona test with the SF-23 car.
“We hear recently about the crash, which is unfortunate,” he added.
“Because I also saw the photograph of the many, many, many thousands of the Tifosi that turned up to take photographs, wish him well, just on a little reconnaissance trip with the car, so you can imagine what it’s going to be like on grand prix day.
“I think he will be a huge draw.
“I think he’s not just box office for Formula 1, I think he’s box office everywhere, particularly in the Americas, in Asia, we know about Europe.
“I’m totally warm to the idea that Ferrari, for all sorts of reasons, particularly commercial, made the right decision.”
Jordan’s podcast co-star and former Red Bull driver, David Coulthard, disagreed with his friend’s stance on the matter.
“This isn’t a personality or a column inches World Championship,” Coulthard said.
“It’s a points World Championship.”
READ MORE: David Coulthard suggests why Lewis Hamilton crashed in Ferrari F1 test
