With three action-packed races completed and the teams moving onto the European leg of the season, Eddie Jordan tackles your questions. Thank you for all your e-mails, a selection of which the former team boss answers below. Pay TV or free-to-air for F1's future? Marc Walker, England It is free to air and it can only be free to air. I think the prosposed takeover and the possibility Formula 1 could go onto subscription television is a nonsense. I can't believe any team manager would agree to fundamentally change what he has agreed in the Concorde Agreement and with the European Union. Do you think Williams are doing the right thing in getting rid of Sam Michael and Jon Tomlinson. And do you think it's right to have Mike Coughlan back in the sport? Philip Parkinson, Pontefract, West Yorkshire My understanding is that technical director Sam Michael, chief aerodynamcist Jon Tomlinso and chairman Adam Parr all actually resigned. While Sam and John's resignations were accepted, Adam was not.  Michael departs with Williams yet to register a point this season |
I think all three have probably seen there is upheaval within the team. As a team they have won seven drivers titles, but they have lost their mojo compared to years gone by. In recent years they have been hit by the loss of sponsors, the loss of Nico Rosberg, the loss of Nico Hulkenburg and difficulties in the flotation of shares in the team on the Frankfurt market. Maybe they have become disillusioned, or perhaps they have been there too long. What I do know is that Sam Michael, a guy I know very well, is one of the best race engineers I have ever come across. Given the political situation in Bahrain, where pro-democracy demonstrations have been crushed in such a brutal fashion by the government, do you feel it is appropriate that F1 is even considering allowing the race to take place? Richard Lowe, UK We mustn't allow ourselves to think about just the political situation, of course it is an important aspect in the overall decision, but nevertheless Bahrain has been a great supporter of Formula 1. They had a legally-binding contract and the organisers are hugely polite people and they will let us know when they think they are in a position to run the race in the right way. I do not believe they would run the race unless there is complete stability. Robert Kubica has left hospital. Do you think it likely that he will be back in a F1 this season or any season for that matter? Peter, England This is a huge ask. From what I understand the medical people desereve great credit because the damage caused by the crash, particularly to Kubica's hand, was massive. The technical work to unite his hand back to his body and all of the nerve ends was a hugely complicated business. But if you ever had to pick a body capable of overcoming things like this through willpower, youth and determination, Robert Kubica is probably who you would go for. He is that type of person. I wish and hope he comes back, this is a very good car with Renault and it would be interesting to see what he could do with it. Do you think Red Bull will keep Mark Webber next year or do they want a stronger partner to support Sebastian Vettel? Or has Mark had enough? Nasif Uddin, High Wycombe If I was the boss at Red Bull I would be reluctant to change what is already a hugely successful situation and I think Mark has plenty of years left in him at the highest level. Sebastian and Mark together is a very strong team because if one makes a mistake the other can win and vice versa. One thing for sure is that they have got over that spat over the nose cone at Silverstone and their coming together in Turkey this is a very nice tream they work well together there is respect for both cars. Few people this time last year believed that Mark could lead the drivers' championship for a considerable time as he did. This season, for me, he was the star of that race in China. He drove from 18th on the grid to seven seconds behind a winner with a very good strategy. He overtook brilliantly and made great moves. If you were the team boss of the one of the top teams with no budget limit and everyone was available, which two drivers would you pick? Mark Wilkinson Leyland, Lancashire The most important thing is getting drivers to work together. I want two guys who respect and complement each other and put their heads together to make the car and the team better.  Webber and Vettel have started 2011 on good terms |
So rather than trying to find the two quickest drivers, which for most people would be two from Fernando Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel, one of the most important things is compatibility. I would try and avoid having two megstars in the team. Clearly Fernando and Lewis didn't work when they were at McLaren together for instance. The top four teams have the right kind of balance that really works and that is why they haven't changed this year. With Webber taking third place despite starting 18th in China, do you think we will see some teams sacrificing grid position in order to have an extra set of tyres in the race? Craig Moore,England I really like this question from Craig because it has really made me think about strategy. There are no points for grid position and what Mark Webber did was spectacular in China. Sergio Perez was just as impressive in finishing seventh in Australia on a one-stop strategy, before he was disqualified. I think there were elements of luck in each case though. If you go back to the first three races each was won by the polesitter or the man beside him on the front row. I don't see that changing. What I think you will see is less startline shunts and less pacecars because a driver is not going to put himself in a hideously difficult position on the first corner. The drivers are starting to realise that with the drag reduction system they can pass the guy who has just squeezed him out in two laps time. People now know they can pass in the race whereas historically it was a mad helter-skelter into the first corner with noone giving way to anyone. Are Ferrari missing Rory Byrne, their chief designer who retired at the end of 2006 and left the team completely at the end of 2009 Richard Beyond doubt. In years gone by guys like Rory Byrne at Ferrari would have been able to come up with the double diffuser or the f-duct [aerodynamic device] or another type of innovative, groundbreaking technology. That is sadly missing at the moment. the prancing horse is somewhat lame and tired. It is not at the forefront of technology and its designers and race engineers have to come up with a little bit more. Do you think Ferrari should keep on Felipe Massa after his recent improvement in form? Jamie Nottage, England The great think about Felipe is that he has such a strong fanbase in Formula 1. He is an extraordinarily nice man and we were all overjoyed when he overcame that horrific accident in Hungary.  Massa has collected 24 points this season - two behind team-mate Alonso |
Alonso is the chosen one in his team, but you do need someone to keep pushing Fernando. I thought that there was to be an effort to have him replaced, but Massa's form improved this year. He is more on the pace as we saw in China and I don't think this team is suffering from any defects on the driver side. In addition I think this works well because we know from his time with Hamilton at McLaren that Alonso does not thrive alongside a similar kind of driver. Among all the technical challenges and complexity of modern F1, luck must still play a big part. Of all the drivers you've come across who has been most superstitious and how did they show it? Andy North, England I have no doubt they have all sorts of little rituals, in the intensity of the moment all drivers are superstitious in some shape or form. My own colleague here, David Coulthard has reportedly used the same pair of lucky underpants for the last 13 years! Many drivers, like Rubens Barrichello, will only get in the car in one particular way. I remember some wearing their gloves inside out. They all have them but not all of them tell us about them. We know that F1 drivers get good salaries but do they earn extra for the championship points they recieve? Bill Smith, UK Certainly in Jordan they did and I believe contracts in other teams are similar. You get a reasonable basic salary and then you are rewarded for what you have done. We had a point bonus and a win bonus - if they won a race they got one amount and if they finished on the podium they got another. It continued all the way down the points. You would be surprised how much drivers are motivated by money and as they points could be worth millions to the team at the end of the season, why should the driver not share in that good fortune.
Eddie Jordan is the former owner of the Jordan Grand Prix team and a BBC F1 pundit. He was talking to Sarah Holt.
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