Hamilton should join Red Bull alongside Verstappen - Jordan

While Hamilton is likely to extend his contract to remain at Mercedes beyond the end of this year, Jordan believes that a more enticing prospect for F1 would be him quitting the German car manufacturer and switching to Red Bull.

He thinks that would set up a fascinating battle between Hamilton and Verstappen – with him suggesting that the young Dutchman could come out on top.

Speaking to Dutch TV channel Ziggo Sport, Jordan said: “I personally believe that Lewis should go to Red Bull and not to Ferrari.

“I’ll tell you that is perfect, because… the best young driver of all of Formula 1 at the moment is Max Verstappen. There is no question about it.

“His style, his speed, his intellect, his control on the track. Also his arrogance. And grand prix winners and grand prix champions need a level of arrogance. That is obvious. And he has that.

“Whether he got it from Jos or whatever, I have no real idea, but the facts are that he has an unbelievable talent. And what I believe is if he had a teammate like Lewis Hamilton, then I do believe he would be able to beat him.”

Jordan has no doubts that Hamilton is on a level with F1’s greatest ever drivers like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost.

But he also believes that Verstappen has the capabilities to match what Hamilton is doing right now, if he is given the right car.

“I think Lewis at the end of this year will be better than everybody,” added Jordan. “I have to say that Lewis is on a level with Prost, Senna and Schumacher. And I think he is about to pass them, until Max gets himself sorted.

“Then once Max gets on a roll, he will be exactly the same. I don’t think Red Bull are far away. They are extremely close. And I think they haven’t really been that lucky this year.

“We saw the DNFs of Max and a few little issues, you know. [Alex] Albon finished third last race. I do believe that the engine, the Honda engine, has the equal or will be the equal very soon of the Mercedes.

“So as I said to Adrian, Adrian Newey: 'You have to make a better car, because if you perform like I know that Max can perform, then it is a world championship there for you to have with Red Bull'.”

Additional reporting by Erwin Jaeggi