Jordan chief shares which F1 world champion Eddie Jordan never wanted to hire

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Former Jordan F1 commercial Ian Phillips has shared that team principal Eddie Jordan was set against hiring Formula 1 world champion Damon Hill.

Damon Hill only raced in Formula 1 from 1992 to 1999 but achieved an awful lot in his 115 Grand Prix starts.

Speaking on the Bring Back V10s Podcast, Phillips shared that when the opportunity first arose Jordan and Hill really weren’t keen on working together.

Jordan didn’t want F1 world champion Hill

Jordan F1 Team had a reputation for bringing through some of the finest young talent in the sport who would then move on to do bigger and better things.

Michael Schumacher is the most obvious example after his short cameo with the team led to winning championships with Benetton and Ferrari.

There were plenty of fine drivers that ended up working with Eddie Jordan.

He’s admitted how big a fan he is of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, while Takuma Sato was quick but slightly too accident-prone for his liking.

However, Jordan wasn’t keen when the opportunity to sign 1996 world champion Damon Hill arose.

The pair had worked together in the past and that seemed to play a role in his decision.

However, that didn’t last forever and Hill would eventually end up in the iconic B&H Jordan the following year.

Jordan was never the easiest team boss to work with in F1

Speaking about the option to bring Hill to the team, Phillips said: “To be honest, we didn’t get close [to signing Hill in 1997].

“I was the one that wanted it to happen, Eddie and Damon didn’t really get on.

“Eddie wasn’t the slightest bit interested and Damon, not really. They fell out during Formula 3000 I think.

“There was the pressure from Benson & Hedges and so they obviously wanted us to have a British driver if at all possible.

“The one thing that was missing from the team and why they listened to me a year later was, we had nobody at any level in the team that had ever won a Grand Prix.

“I felt that that is what we needed and Damon being a wise young lad, I thought would have brought that ingredient to the team.

“But it has to be said, we didn’t really get very far, because like I said, Damon and EJ neither really wanted it to happen.

“As much as I wanted it, there was really no enthusiasm from anyone else.”

Jordan benefitted from 1996 champion Hill joining the team in 1998 and winning the Belgian Grand Prix that year.

He spent one last season with the team in 1999, scoring points on four occasions before being replaced by Jarno Trulli.

Hill and Frentzen secured Jordan a third-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship before hanging up his racing gloves and the team never topped that performance.

Jordan’s stubbornness eventually subsided and it helped them achieve arguably their greatest season in the sport.