Eddie Jordan, who has died aged 76, was one of the most flamboyant Formula 1 team bosses in the sport’s history.
Rising to wealth and notoriety at a time when motorsport was a kind of Wild West featuring many chancers and deal-makers, Jordan’s outspoken, over-the-top personality stood out.
He was a rogue who was sometimes loveable, sometimes dodgy, and occasionally both at the same time.
Jordan first encountered motor racing on Guernsey, where he spent the summer of 1970 when a banking strike in Dublin meant he could not work in his job as a clerk. On his return to Ireland, he bought a kart, and won the Irish championship at his first attempt in 1971.
He moved up into motor racing in 1974, first into Formula Ford and then Formula 3, only to suffer a nasty accident at Mallory Park in 1976 and badly break a leg.
In hospital, his hair fell out. On seeing this, his mother Eileen – by all accounts, a formidable woman – procured him a wig, and demanded he wear it.
Eddie Jordan Racing achieved considerable success in F3 and F3000 through the 1980s. And he helped launch the career of many top-level drivers including Eddie Irvine, Johnny Herbert, Jean Alesi, Martin Brundle and Damon Hill.
By the end of the decade, he had his sights on F1. He hired engineer Gary Anderson to create the car, and he and his small team produced the Jordan 191, an elegant design now regarded as one of the most beautiful grand prix cars in history.
Jordan earned himself a tidy packet by selling Irvine to Ferrari to join Schumacher at the end of 1995, and soon a series of dominoes started to fall that made Jordan major contenders for a while.
Jordan had taken works Peugeot engines for 1995 when they were cast off by McLaren after just one season. That helped them attract a major title sponsorship from tobacco company Benson & Hedges. Funding changed from being desperately sought to something that could be used for investment.
For 1997, Jordan wanted Hill, after he was dumped by Williams despite winning the world title at the end of 1996. Hill demurred, and made the error of joining Arrows instead.
But he did sign for 1998, replacing Giancarlo Fisichella as the team-mate of Ralf Schumacher, younger brother of Michael, with whom Hill had fought tense title battles in 1994 and 1995.
Along with Hill, Jordan had also secured a supply of Mugen Honda engines, more powerful and reliable than the Peugeots, and the services of highly regarded designer Mike Gascoyne.
After a disappointing start, Anderson left mid-season, and the team began to gain in competitiveness.
At a wet Belgian Grand Prix, after Michael Schumacher crashed out in his Ferrari after colliding with David Coulthard’s McLaren, the Jordan drivers found themselves running one-two, Hill in the lead. Jordan avoided a potential on-track drama by telling them to hold position, but created an off-track one.
The decision led to a visit from an unhappy Michael Schumacher to tell Jordan he had been unfair not to let his brother race for the win – ironic, considering the German’s status as Ferrari’s number one.
For 1999, Ralf Schumacher was tempted away by Williams, and their driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen went the other way. It became Jordan’s most successful season.
As Hill faded into uncompetitiveness, Frentzen won two races and emerged as an unlikely title contender, but a bizarre retirement when leading the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring ended their hopes.
Over the succeeding years, Anderson rejoined, drivers came and went, there were fights over engine supply, and the money began to dry up. But there was one more win – for Fisichella in the chaotically wet Brazilian Grand Prix of 2003.
McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen was declared the winner after a massive crash brought the race to a halt, but the officials had missed that Fischella had actually been leading at the crucial point – and the trophy was handed over at a ceremony at the following race in Imola.
Financial troubles worsened in 2004 and late in the year Ecclestone introduced Jordan to the Canadian businessman Alex Shnaider. Six weeks later, in January 2005, the team was sold for $60m.
Four years later, Jordan was back on the scene as an outspoken television pundit for BBC Sport, after the corporation won back the rights to F1, and he developed a reputation for being involved in breaking big stories.
He stayed on board as coverage switched to Channel 4 from 2016, albeit appearing with decreasing regularity. But, deal-maker as ever, Jordan was always working behind the scenes, and in 2024 he pulled his last master deal.
Now acting as the manager of his friend Newey, Jordan negotiated an exit from Red Bull for F1’s greatest ever designer, and a five-year deal with Aston Martin for a salary that could reach £30m with add-ons and bonuses.
Not long after the Newey deal was sealed, Jordan revealed in December 2024 that he was being treated for aggressive prostate cancer, though that did not stop him heading a consortium which bought London Irish rugby club in early 2025.
He is survived by his wife Marie, and their four children, Zoe, Miki, Zak and Kyle.
