Former team owner Eddie Jordan believes Eddie Irvine could have become an F1 world champion had the flamboyant Ulsterman been less lazy and worked more on his fitness.
Irvine, a four-time Grand Prix winner, who raced for Jordan, Ferrari and Jaguar kickstarted his career in F1 with Jordan's outfit in 1993.
The former team owner recognized his driver's talent but also a propensity to spend too much time sweating in the nightclubs rather than in the gym.
"He used to sit on his butt all day in his apartment," Jordan said in a lengthy interview with 'Off the Ball'.
"He’s the laziest driver of all time, and it's a shame because he could’ve become World Champion so easy.
“That was his style. He was a nightclub guy and didn’t really wake up until 12 o’clock in the day or even later sometimes, and my attitude to him was, I went out and hired a teacher who used to look after my gym classes three times a week.
"And I said ‘Barry will you please come and try and sort this guy out’. I intimidated him into almost embarrassment to make sure that Irvine would be out running around the streets of Oxford in the morning.
"I often wondered then whether he was on his way home from the clubs or had just gotten up. But that was Eddie Irvine, he was a different animal.
"Hilarious to work with but very infuriating I tell you. He used to drive me around the twist. But then that’s the way life is. Sport kicks up all sorts of wonderful characters and wonderful great stories all the way through life."
While fitness certainly wasn't Irvine's main asset, Jordan singled out the character and personality traits that allowed Irvine to achieve success in his life, on the race track and beyond.
"He had a very cunning way of doing things and on reflection he was probably one of the cleverest and smartest people, not by education but just by guile and intuition," added EJ.
"He had a great ability to know where he was and how to maximise it. Not just in motor racing but also in latter life. His ability to make money, when the best time is to move in, to move out of things.
"He has an uncanny knack of seeing the position that's in front of him and taking full value out of it."
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