Formula 1 pundit and former team owner Eddie Jordan is predicting that Mercedes will pull out of the sport after 2018 because they've achieved everything they wanted to and their involvement has therefore served its purpose from a marketing point of view.
Jordan, whose predictions often come to fruition thanks to some insider knowledge, was asked whether or not he thought Sebastian Vettel would leave Ferrari for the Anglo-German outfit at the end of the year, to which he replied: "No. Because he has everything he needs at Ferrari.
Before adding: "And also because Mercedes will probably pull the plug at the end of 2018."
When asked to elaborate, Jordan said the Mercedes board would likely recognise that they've hit their marketing targets and will therefore choose to quit as a manufacturer and return to being an engine supplier only.
"I think they will go for both titles this and next year, and then the board of directors in Stuttgart will decide to sell the team and only remain as an engine manufacturer in Formula 1.
"I would do the same because Mercedes have won everything, and now [things] can only get worse, so it's better to cut back on their old core business in Formula 1: to develop and deliver high-tech engines.
"If Vettel is aware of this, it's no longer a good thing for him to leave Ferrari."
