Eddie Jordan 1948 – 2025

Founded in 1991, Jordan's F1 team would give Michael Schumacher his first chance in Formula 1, but his love for motorsport started far beyond his involvement in the sport. He won the Irish Kart Championship in 1971 and by 1975 he had competed for Formula Ford.

He was racing in Formula 3 when he shattered his leg in an accident at Mallory Park that put him out of the 1976 season, but he recovered to win three races in Formula Atlantic in 1977 and took the Formula Atlantic Championship in 1978. But the racing fully never worked out, and it was clear Jordan had another calling: team management.

Eddie Jordan Racing was founded in 1981 and would employ drivers like David Leslie, Martin Brundle and Johnny Herbert. Herbert would go on to win the British Formula 3 Championship in 1987, and more success would follow with Jean Alesi winning Formula 3000 for Jordan in 1989. 

Buoyed by his success, Jordan set up the Jordan Grand Prix with Chief Designer Gary Anderson in 1991, winning four Grands Prix in 15 years competing.

Ever the businessman, Jordan was reluctant to give the young Schumacher his first race start that year, but a promise of £150,000 from Schumacher’s Mercedes sponsor swung the deal. The seven-time World Champion would go on to stun Jordan, qualifying seventh in his maiden race and pushing his car to fifth at the start of the race, before clutch failure forced him to retire on lap one.  

A moment to savour for the team came in 1998, as drivers Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher brought home a dream maiden win and a 1-2 finish at the Belgian Grand Prix, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen was even more successful the following year, appearing like a title contender for the season but he and Jordan would ultimately finish third in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship respectively.

Jordan's last win came at the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, torrential rain saw the race suspended early and Giancarlo Fischella took a victory initially awarded to Kimi Raikkonen. 

The 2000s proved difficult for a team that had already struggled to compete against the might of the big manufacturers, and Jordan eventually sold his outfit to the Midland Group in 2006, the team morphing into the Spyker, Force India, and Racing Point F1 teams before becoming the Aston Martin F1 team we see today. 

Eddie Jordan reinvented himself just like his former team. Appearing as an F1 TV pundit who had a cheeky charm and an encyclopaedic knowledge of his sport's outer and inner workings, Jordan would soon become a fan favourite with a rock and roll nature for calling things as he saw them. His last recording on the Formula For Success podcast was released today, with his trademark 'Grrrrr' ending the show.

A statement from Jordan’s family said: "It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Eddie Jordan OBE, the ex-Formula 1 team owner, TV pundit and entrepreneur. He passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town in the early hours of 20^th March 2025 at the age of 76, after battling with an aggressive form of prostate cancer for the past 12 months.

“EJ brought an abundance of charisma, energy and Irish charm everywhere he went. We all have a huge hole missing without his presence. He will be missed by so many people, but he leaves us with tonnes of great memories to keep us smiling through our sorrow.”

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