Eddie Jordan was not just seen as an icon in Formula 1 – but in all of motorsport. He did what countless people around the globe have dreamed of doing – running an independent Formula 1 team and taking it all the way to the highest echelons of the sport. With the passing of the F1 titan last week, Everything F1 takes a look back at a fan favourite of the sport who always proved to be both great entertainment and the ultimate underdog.
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Eddie Jordan – The Early Years
Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE was born on March 30th in Dublin, Ireland, in 1948.
Eddie was the son of Eileen and Paddy Jordan, and had one older sibling, Helen. At ten months old, Jordan developed a form of pink disease and his family were advised by doctors to move from Dublin to Bray to benefit from the cleaner air there. Once in Bray, Eddie’s condition gradually improved.
Eddie began his school life at Saint Anne’s Pre-School in Milltown. His childhood nickname was “Flash” as in (Flash) Gordon, as his surname rhymed. He later spent eleven years at the Synge Street Christian Brothers School. Here, he and his fellow students would be regularly beaten if it was felt that they were not studying hard enough. During his time there, Eddie would sell fruit to his fellow classmates – making sure that he always made a profit. From the word go, and much like Bernie Ecclestone in his schooldays, Eddie was a dealmaker.
It has been said that while at school Eddie briefly considered becoming a priest, though this idea, together with that of his family for him to enter dentistry, was dismissed. Much later on in life, during one of the numerous episodes of FFS (Formula for Success) with David Coulthard, Eddie put the record straight as this never having been the case. In the same breath, he made clear his thoughts on his Wikipedia page with some of his classic EJ wit.
Instead of either of these (non-existent) options, Eddie ended up taking a six-week accountancy course at the College of Commerce, Dublin. He then began working for the Bank of Ireland as a clerk. During a banking strike in Dublin in 1970, he spent the summer on the island of Jersey. Here, he worked as an accountant by day and worked at a bar in the evenings. It was at this time that he first encountered kart racing. He would later have his first (unofficial) races there at St Brelade’s Bay.
Eddie Jordan – Racing Driver
Upon his return to Dublin, Jordan bought a kart and began racing. He entered the Irish Kart Championship in 1971 – and won it.
In 1974, Jordan moved up to the Irish Formula Ford Championship. The following year, he then went on to Formula Three. But was forced to sit out the 1976 season after a crash at Mallory Park shattered his left leg. After his injuries had healed, he switched to Formula Atlantic. In this series, Eddie won three races across the 1977 season. He also won the Irish Formula Atlantic Championship in 1978. Eddie then joined forces with Stefan Johansson. The pair raced under the name “Team Ireland” in British Formula Three in 1979. He also managed to find the time (and the money) to drive in one Formula Two race that year. As if that wasn’t enough, he also managed to do a small amount of testing for McLaren in 1979.
Eddie Jordan Racing
At the end of 1979, despite being short of money, Jordan founded his first team – Eddie Jordan Racing. David Leslie and David Sears drove for the team in 1981 at various events in and around Great Britain. James Weaver was the team’s primary driver in 1982. In 1983, Weaver ran in the European F3 series and Jordan hired Martin Brundle, who finished second to Ayrton Senna in British Formula 3. Then, in 1987, the team employed Johnny Herbert. The British driver would proceed to win the British Formula Three Championship that year.
Jordan also entered a team into the Formula 3000 Championship. Their first wins came courtesy of Johnny Herbert and Martin Donnelly in 1988. In 1989, the Jordan F3000 team dominated the season with their driver Jean Alesi winning the championship. During 1989, Eddie hired Reynard Chief Designer Gary Anderson. Initially this was for the role as Donnelly’s engineer but later on, this role became one to oversee the operations of the team. Anderson then joined the team full-time in February 1990.
Jordan Grand Prix
Eddie founded Jordan Grand Prix in 1991 with Anderson as the team’s Chief Designer. The team quickly gained its respect and punched above their weight on a number of occasions during the season. That year, Jordan famously gave Michael Schumacher his Formula 1 debut at Spa. Never one to miss an opportunity, Eddie charged Mercedes £150K for the privilege. But the money was worth it as the young German qualified in seventh place. After just one race for the team however, Schumacher was lured away to rivals Benetton. The rest was history.
In 1998 the team achieved its best ever result when drivers Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher finished first and second at the infamous rain soaked and crash filled Belgian Grand Prix.
Due to its tumultuous nature, that Grand Prix is widely regarded as a classic Formula 1 race.
In 1999, Jordan achieved their F1 zenith when Heinz-Harald Frentzen became a genuine contender for the World Championship. Ultimately however, he would finish in third. Third was the number of the season for the team. In the Constructors Championship, it was the lofty height that Jordan was able to attain. Of the other ten teams in contention that year, only Ferrari and McLaren were able to finish ahead of them. The team won the French and Italian Grand Prix and were on the podium at a further four races.
The End of an Era
After losing their Honda engine partnership deal to the BAR team in 2002 and numerous difficulties within the team, Jordan was forced to switch to expensive Cosworth engines.
Naturally, this became an added burden to the team. Money is always scarce in motorsport, even for those at the top of the food chain. In 2001, for example, Jordan had sued Vodafone for allegedly breaking a three-year sponsorship agreement worth $150 million. The loss of this deal and the cost of the case would lead to further setbacks for the team.
The reduction of their sponsorship income, soon began to add up. The lack of funds made Eddie’s team go from bad to worse in 2003. Against all probabilities however, Jordan once again managed to achieve the seemingly impossible. At the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2003, Jordan won the race, thanks to the superb efforts of Giancarlo Fisichella.
This was the first of three wins for Fisichella but the last Formula One victory for both the Ford Motor Company and the Jordan team.
The Jordan team would fall from the high of third in the Constructors Championship in 1999. Despite the sponsorship from Trust computers and new drivers Nick Heidfeld and rookie Timo Glock for 2004, Jordan were now in serious trouble. Eddie retained complete ownership of his team until that year. He would eventually sell the team to the Midland Group.
Legacy
While Eddie retired from this role in the sport, his team continued on. So much so, that against the odds, fittingly, the team still exists on the Formula 1 grid today. After Midland, it became Spyker before merging into the infamous Force India Team. From there, it became Racing Point and is now known around the globe as Aston Martin – attracting drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to race for the outfit.
F1 Punditry
After a break away from the sport, Jordan returned to the F1 scene in 2009. This time however, Jordan became a pundit for BBC Sport F1 coverage. This would be the start of a long and illustrious career in this role and fans loved him even more for it. In March 2016 he was announced as Channel 4’s lead analyst for C4F1 – after Formula 1 made the switch from the BBC to Channel 4.
“I’m never afraid to say what I think, so on this occasion, I’m going to abstain.” – Eddie Jordan
Jordan has broken many stories before they were due to be confirmed. These include Michael Schumacher’s return to Formula 1 with Mercedes in 2010 and Lewis Hamilton’s move to the Silver Arrows to replace him. Nobody quite knew how he did it.
He wasn’t just aware of these seismic deals before they happened – he also created them. In 2024, it was revealed that Eddie was the one responsible for brokering the deal that would see Adrian Newey leave Red Bull after almost two decades and join his old team, Aston Martin.
Away from Formula One
Eddie Jordan loved rock and roll music and even played the drums with his band – “Eddie & The Robbers”. Each year at the British Grand Prix, he would perform and inevitably drag a number of current and former Formula 1 drivers into the mix.
In 2007 he was appointed Chairman of Rally Ireland, a round of the World Rally Championship.
Jordan was been awarded two honorary doctorates from the University of Ulster and the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland. He also received the James Joyce Award from the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin, in honour of his contribution to motorsport in Ireland.
In March 2012, it was announced that Jordan had received an honorary OBE for services to charity and motor racing.
Away from motorsport and his television work, Jordan was also a patron of the child cancer charity CLIC Sargent – the UK’s leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families.
Eddie was married to his wife Marie for many decades and they had four children together. The couple lived in Ireland for a time before moving to South Africa where other notable names from the world of F1, such as Adrian Newey and Jody Scheckter reside.
In March 2025, after a lengthy battle with cancer, Eddie sadly passed away at his home in South Africa. He was open and honest about this fight, using his struggles to urge others to go and get themselves checked. Even when he was fighting for his life, Eddie was still finding a way to look after everyone else as best he could.
There are a seemingly endless array of stories about Eddie Jordan. But throughout all of them, he’s portrayed as an eccentric, caring, witty and loveable dealmaker who lived every day of his life in the fast lane.
Feature Image: Newspress
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