Jordan: Teams must keep control of F1

Speaking exclusively to Autosport magazine, Jordan believes the fabric of the sport could be damaged if corporate giants are allowed to have too much say in how Formula 1 is run.

"The teams are the people who are the fibre - the bedrock - of what he made F1 strong," he said. "Bernie Ecclestone and the teams are the people who have given huge stability to the sport. We are the people who will be there on the dry days and the wet days in 50 years' time."

Several big corporations currently involved in F1, including DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Renault, Ford and BMW, are looking to buy shares in Formula 1 from German media group EM.TV, which owns a 50 per cent stake in the sport.

"The manufacturers are very welcome, and should be a part of the EM.TV programme, or equity participants in teams [ie: Mercedes with McLaren] and F1 as a business," added Jordan. "But I have made it very clear that I'm nervous about manufacturers taking over whole teams. The whole fibre of F1 teams has historically been based on individuals such as Jackie Stewart, Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Tom Walkinshaw or myself coming in and taking the intensive risk to start."

Jordan is adamant that takeovers, such as that by Ford of Stewart Grand Prix, could lead to problems when the manufacturers' review their marketing strategies.

"I believe that a company such as Ford has an obligation, having taken the benefits out of its marketing exercise, to make sure that the team itself is allowed to stay intact and is turned to a new owner in good and proper working order," he said. "They can let it go, but they can't just chop it. In all other walks of life, major corporations regularly say, 'this is no longer part of our plan' and - swoosh - it's gone. I want to see guarantees from those manufacturers."