Eddie Jordan reveals ‘ridiculous’ demand Damon Hill made to join his F1 team

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Eddie Jordan has now revealed the ‘ridiculous’ demand that Damon Hill requested to join his Formula 1 team and saw him hold hurried talks with the outfit’s title sponsor.

Hill spent the last two seasons of his career in Formula 1 with Jordan Grand Prix in 1998 and 1999. Yet the deal that took the 1996 drivers’ champion to the Silverstone-based squad was far from straightforward. But it led to Jordan GP’s first win when Hill was triumphant at Spa.

The chaotic Belgian Grand Prix of 1998 finished with a Jordan GP one-two as Hill lead home Ralf Schumacher. It was carnage from the start with 13 drivers crashing as David Coulthard spun his McLaren after Turn 1. Michael Schumacher even later hit the Scot to see him retire.

Damon Hill demanded a ‘ridiculous’ wage to join Eddie Jordan’s Formula 1 team

Schumacher rear-ending Coulthard after losing sight of the McLaren driver in the spray tore the front-right tyre off his Ferrari. It also left Hill in the lead of the mere eight cars still going, so Jordan accepted his driver’s plea to instruct orders for the team’s first win after 126 races.

Ralf Schumacher was visibly faster than Hill, who told Jordan to issue team orders and avoid the pair colliding. The decision paid off as Jordan GP won for the first of four occasions, with Hill also recording his 25th and last victory as a Formula 1 driver over his 122 entries in total.

READ MORE: The most successful F1 drivers at the Belgian GP of all time and at Spa

But just to get Hill in the car for 1998 saw Jordan plead with his team’s title sponsor, Benson & Hedges, to pay for his ‘ridiculous’ salary. Jordan GP paid Hill £5m in the 1998 season after joining from Arrows, following earlier stints with Brabham (1992) and Williams (1993-1996).

“When Damon came, his demand was ridiculous by my standards,” Jordan has now revealed on the Formula For Success podcast.

“And I said, ‘Listen Benson & Hedges, it’s very simple. You want him for publicity, you want him because he’s British [and] you want him because he’s a world champion. That’s fine. But he would not be my choice based on the money that he’s costing, and you either stump up the money or you just let it roll’.

“And they stumped up the money, which I was very glad about because I didn’t have to pay for it.”

Damon Hill and Jordan GP were not a match made in heaven, despite winning the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix

Jordan was against signing Hill for his team in 1998 as the Irishman saw more value in hiring young drivers. But Benson & Hedges agreeing to cover his salary took the problem away and gave Jordan GP the services of the man who won the 1996 Formula 1 drivers’ championship.

It was not a match made in heaven, though, despite Hill going on to win Jordan GP their first race at the 1998 Belgian GP. His debut season with the team had largely been disappointing before heading to Spa, having only scored points in the previous two of the prior 12 rounds.

Tension also grew in the garage after the 1998 Austrian Grand Prix when Hill accused Jordan GP of miscalculating his laps in qualifying en route to securing P15. The team as well as their engine provider, Mugen-Honda, did not like that Hill made his frustrations evident in public.