Eddie Jordan claims a BBC producer 'went ballistic' after he spoke Irish with Michael Fassbender on an F1 grid walk a decade ago.
Jordan has been one of the biggest names in the sport ever since he founded his own team Jordan Grand Prix in 1991. He spent 15 years as team principal before spending another few years as a pundit on BBC's F1 coverage.
Red next: Eddie Jordan has reservations over Michael Schumacher 'greatest' claim
Part of Jordan's role in the BBC was to do the grid walk before the beginning of Grand Prix's. Similar to what Martin Brundle now does for Sky Sports, Jordan would speak to famous spectators ahead of the race's beginning.
On one such occasion, Jordan bumped into actor Michael Fassbender. As the movie star is a fluent Irish speaker, Jordan decided to share a couple of words in Irish with the beloved actor.
A harmless enough exchange. However, Jordan claimed recently on the first episode of David Coulthard's new podcast "Formula For Success," that one BBC producer wasn't happy with Irish being spoken live on air.
"Michael - even with such a strong German name - was actually brought up and educated in Kerry in Ireland. He's a fluent Irish speaker," Began Jordan.
"I remember going on the pitwalk in Montreal, and I started to speak as Gaeilge to Michael, as I normally would have done.
"[A producer] from the BBC went absolutely ballistic asking what I was doing speaking a foreign language on the great BBC?! I said, 'oh, get stuffed' - or whatever I said.
"Fassbender tells this story to everyone, because it was kind of unique that someone would just use the Irish language.
"You can't imagine how involved he is in Formula 1."
Jordan worked for the BBC while the broadcaster had the rights to show F1 from 2009-2015.
READ NEXT:
- Peter Hickman pays tribute to competitors killed at 2022 event
- Michael Dunlop laments 'struggles' after podium finish in Superbike race
- Watch: IoM TT riders narrowly avoid ball hazard on road during race
- Where is Eddie Irvine now? Life after Formula 1 for the Co Down superstar
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.
