EJ ponders F1 return

Eddie Jordan has hinted to autosport.com that he may be interested in making a full-time return to Formula 1, to work with Bernie Ecclestone in helping boost the sport's popularity, despite ruling out any ambitions to get involved with team management again.

Although Jordan will maintain some commercial ties with his Jordan Grand Prix team this year, following its takeover by the Midland Group, Jordan will no longer have a full-time role with the outfit and is scheduled to attend less than five races.

But amid speculation that he is keen to work with the sport's commercial boss Ecclestone, on the back of the pair spending time together recently, Jordan has hinted that he would be interested in boosting the sport's glamour appeal.

"We can make F1 more exciting and create a more razzamatazz weekend that will encourage people to come along and say, 'well, wasn't that the most incredible weekend!'"he told autosport.com in an exclusive interview. "Once I have had a bit of time off and got my head around it, and if I can be a help to Bernie, then that may be something that may or may not happen, I cannot say.

"I don't want it to sound like the razzamatazz is peripheral. I am talking about sensible promotional things that can encourage and make the actual GP race into a much bigger spectacle for the people who are there. And of course there are opportunities in TV that we need to exploit.

"I think that if celebrities come, as I said to Bernie the other day, if celebrities are given passes and are able to come, then the team should tell the promoter, the organiser, and the TV companies what celebrities are coming for the day so we can help them. That happens in other sports

"What happened with Jaguar at Monaco last year was mad. Here was a company, Ford, that had spent a lot of money placing cars in 'Ocean 12', putting it on the F1 car, and the celebrities were kept away from everybody. I am not getting at Jaguar, don't think I am, but at Monaco last year we had Lionel Ritchie, Bono and Roman Ambramovich on the grid. That is our style...”

Jordan has also claimed that he may do some television work later this year - and emphasised that he will only appear at grands prix in 2005 if he has got plenty of work to do.

"In terms of bits of pieces of television, I enjoy it so much,"he explained. " I know the first couple of races I won't have been at I will miss it terribly, so I will make a plan to do at least three or four races this year. But I don't want to go unless I am busy. There are a couple of opportunities for me and I will go being busy.”