Eddie Jordan Q&A: Silverstone is a home game for Lewis Hamilton

Eddie Jordan

Ahead of the British Grand Prix, BBC F1's chief analyst Eddie Jordan fields your questions, including whether Lewis Hamilton can handle the pressure, if women drivers can cope with the physicality of F1 and, of course, his dress sense...

Is the pressure of racing in front of his home crowd a plus or a minus for Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix this weekend?

Odysseas Plapoutas ‏‪

"I believe Lewis responds to pressure better than anything. It's a huge positive for him. It's like a home game. And we know in football that is vital. Just like Nico Rosberg had to win in Monaco, to stop Hamilton's run of four consecutive wins, Lewis really has to make a big mark at Silverstone."

Lewis Hamitlon and Nico Rosberg

Could Hamilton lose this year's championship simply by beating himself up if Rosberg continues with his winning ways?

Dale Coleman ‏‪

"Psychologically, this is a power game. On the one hand, Lewis knows he has the speed. On the other, Rosberg knows he has a plan and a structure. But I have always believed there is no substitute for ultimate speed and I feel Lewis is not beating himself up - and will not - because he believes he can win this championship."

Do you think Mercedes are favouring Rosberg because he is German?

Ken Wood ‏‪

"No. Not at all. They have demonstrated - not just this year but in previous years, with Michael Schumacher and Rosberg and now with Hamilton - that they are ridiculously correct, straightforward and playing the right way. I do not believe there is any favouritism on either side."

Will Jenson Button still be at McLaren next year?

Grant Harvey ‏‪

"Well, Jenson has to sit down and ask himself a couple of questions. If he stays at McLaren, is there any way he can believe that team, the way they are, can win grands prix, seeing where Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari and others are? At the moment, you'd have to say, 'No chance'. But only he knows what's going on internally and what he's been promised to him about the future cars.

Lewis Hamilton v Nico Rosberg: "This is now a war zone"

"I don't think he will leave to go to another team, not least because I don't think one is available to him that gives him the right exposure or possibility to win races. An honourable retirement is another option. Only he can decide."

Do you see Fernando Alonso leaving Ferrari at the end of this season given he has had another not great car?

Jonathan Dixon ‏‪

"No, for a number of reasons. Red Bull have had a dream signing with Daniel Ricciardo and they are certainly not going to get rid of a four-times world champion in Sebastian Vettel, unless there is a bit of backlash there, which I don't see.

"The Mercedes line-up is certainly not going to change. So where is Alonso going to go? Is he going to go to McLaren? Why would he do that?

"Ferrari is too big a name - to win a world championship with Ferrari is everybody's dream, and Alonso is no different.

"However, he is frustrated with the quality of the car this year and in previous years. The engine and car are not good enough."

What do Ferrari have to do to get back in the mix to win the championship?

Gerard Farrell ‏‪

"They have to demonstrate the passion, commitment and fire in the belly that we were so accustomed to seeing from them in the past. I am disappointed Ferrari are so lacklustre.

Fernando Alonso

"I do see them changing, though. Having spoken to Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo, he does have the fire in the belly. His intentions have been demonstrated to Marco Mattiacci, the new team boss, and I think we might slowly towards the end of this season see Ferrari making a bit of a move."

Do you think Williams can start to challenge the top teams given last weekend's performance in the Austrian Grand Prix?

Jordan James ‏‪

"Austria was a disappointment for me. Yes, Williams came away with a podium, but they could have tried harder to win the race. I just think the mindset was not brutal enough. Winning is the priority. And if they had the mindset and structure to exploit the opportunities, they could have had a one-two there."

Do you think Nico Hulkenberg deserves a drive with a top team?

Elliot Perry ‏

"Absolutely. I think the world of him. He is an outstanding talent, who has not suffered by having a year out in 2012, and leaving Sauber for Force India at the end of last season was an inspired decision in hindsight.

"But my concern is where does he go? There might be a possibility at Ferrari in the long-term, depending on what happens to Kimi Raikkonen."

Susie Wolff lines up for the Williams team

Will there be a time when a female F1 driver isn't a novel idea?

Stephen Dorme ‏‪

"I'd like to hope so. But Formula 1 is so demanding physically and in terms of aggression. You might say, why should that stop a female driver? But I have never seen a female fighter get into the ring against Mike Tyson. Women don't play tennis against Federer or Nadal. Some sports are not suited to different genders competing against each other. It's a matter of debate at the moment whether that applies to F1.

"There's all sorts of things we could do. Could we have five or six women drivers in the race competing in a separate category, like in the 1980s with the turbo and naturally-aspirated cars? Whatever it is, we need to get a grip of ourselves and give women the chance to see what they can do. They don't seem to get enough encouragement. And we need to see many women getting a chance, not just one."

Given your legendary skills for bringing in the cash, what do you really think of those who pay to drive?

Mark T

"Vital. Gone are the days when there is any stigma about anyone who brings any money to F1. Most teams cannot have a driver unless there is some commercial value to him coming. Look at Lotus and Williams. Even McLaren. Kevin Magnussen might not have brought a lot of money, although one of his sponsors is on the car, but the real thing is he costs little or no money, whereas Lewis Hamilton's salary was in the 10s of millions of pounds. That's a real saving.

"Could they do with Hamilton? Of course. So there is a trade-off. You can't win championships with kids. But who's going to pay for the drivers to get the experience?

"Just remember that even the great Michael Schumacher started as a pay-driver. If he had not paid for his first drive at Jordan, he would not have got the drive."

Eddie Jordan and Noel Edmonds

Do you get dressed in the dark?

Alun Porter ‏‪

"Only when I'm not going on television."

Do you think Silverstone and F1 as a whole will price themselves out of the market in the future?

Rick Walsh ‏‪

"Not at all. You cannot take races for granted - we have had no French Grand Prix for too many years now, and that would have been unthinkable not long ago - but Silverstone are on top of this and they know what to do."

How close did you come to signing Nigel Mansell for the 1997 season?

Rob Mynott ‏‪

Watch BBC F1's British Grand Prix preview

"We were well on the way. He came and tested for us in Barcelona. If he was going to drive for anyone, it would have been Jordan. We had had a long history of friendship. We drove together in Formula Ford in the 1970s. It was a very difficult decision for him. Jordan was not a winning team at that stage and he had been F1 and IndyCar champion a couple of years before. I believed he was very close to doing it, but you'd have to ask him."

Eddie Jordan was talking BBC Sport's Andrew Benson

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