Jordan: I told Schumacher to eff off during 1998 Belgian GP
- Farhan Khurram
- Jan 12, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 15, 2019
During an interview with the Irish Independent, former F1 team owner, Eddie Jordan recalled an encounter with Michael Schumacher during which Eddie asked him to "fuck out of my garage" after Michael tried to ask Jordan to let his younger brother, Ralf pass Damon Hill and win the race.
The 1998 race at Spa was won by Damon Hill driving a Jordan. That was the first win of the Jordan F1 team and had Eddie Jordan make some cautious decisions, including the one to not let Ralf Schumacher pass Hill and win the race. Eddie Jordan had to capitalize on Michael's retirement and strictly implement team orders on Ralf Schumacher in order to secure a 1-2 and his first win as a team owner.
When Paul Kimmage asked "Because Ralf was quicker?" in relation to the post Michael crash scenario, Eddie replied, "Damon should never have won. Of course, but I wouldn't let him pass, or I made it very clear to him that he wasn't to pass.
"And then Michael came to me after, upset because he should have won and because of Ralf.
Eddie told Michael to:
"Fuck off out of my garage."
Eddie then further recounted that how he told Schumacher that Ralf had been driving for him for a long time and he hadn't seen Michael in years. He also recalled how Michael left for Benetton in 1992 after debuting with Jordan midway 1991.
"I said, 'Look, Ralf has been driving for me [for years] and I haven't seen you. The last time I saw you was when you fucked off to Benetton and thought you were smart but I still got your money. Now fuck off out of my garage.'
A bemused Schumacher then told Eddie:
"My brother will never drive for you next year."
This was further followed by a warning from Michael that his brother, Ralf will not drive for Eddie in 1999 to which Jordan replied that Ralf was bound to him with a contract and the only way he could not drive for Jordan was that he negotiates a buy-out.
"I said, 'Let me give you a small piece of advice. There is a document. It's called a contract. Ralf has a contract with me next year and in that contract there's a buy-out clause. So pay the money and you can have your brother.'"
The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps happened under treacherous conditions. A shunt at the race start caused by David Coulthard en-route to Eau Rouge saw 13 cars crashing into each other, resulting into carnage across the track.
This led to a second restart that had Mika Hakkinen being spun coming out of La-Source and getting rammed in by the Sauber of Johnny Herbert. This left Damon Hill leading the race until a quicker Michael Schumacher passed him at Bus-stop a few laps later.
David Coulthard, who had restarted the race in another car, was about to be lapped when Schumacher collided into him and as a result, retired. Schumacher then controversially went on to force his way into the McLaren garage to confront the Scottish driver.
Eddie further continued to recall that how Ralf never won a single race with Williams after he left Jordan (Ralf won 6 races with Williams) by the end of 1998 and joined Williams in 1999. On the other hand, Eddie managed to secure Heinz Herold Frentzen who then went on to win two races with the Irishman's team and even came close to winning a world title.
"They paid me two-and-a-half million! Ralf went to Williams and never won a race. I took (Heinz-Harold) Frentzen from Williams for nothing - he won twice and nearly won the Championship!
Upon being asked by Kimmage that "you got a fair buzz from that one?", Eddie replied, "Fuck me! Did that give me an erection! Oh my God!"
Jordan reflected on the fact that how Williams used to be a mighty team and their Chief Engineer, Patrick Head was tough a man to work with. He also stated that he wanted to give Frentzen a rather comfortable environment so that the German could perform far better than he did at Williams.
"That gave me the greatest buzz because Williams were all-conquering. But Patrick Head (the chief engineer) was a tough man to drive for, and they were very tough on Frentzen, but I knew that if we looked after him he could be very quick." said Jordan.
"And he was awesome, not the cleverest driver but fast like crazy."
Eddie Jordan further continued talking about how his team struggled to stay afloat in the years that followed with less cigarette branding and sponsorship and how he eventually had to sell the team. Jordan also reflected upon the fact that he was approached by Honda in 1998 for a buy-out of his team but he instead, turned them down.
The complete interview of Eddie Jordan by Paul Kimmage can be read on the Irish Independent's website.
This interview was originally published on the Irish Independent. Click here
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