Eddie Jordan was one of F1's biggest characters, we're all going to miss him
I still remember when Eddie Jordan and I met at the end of 1986 at a motorsport awards dinner. He approached me and asked if anyone had spoken to me about driving for them the following year. I told him no one had and so on the back of a napkin, before the end of the awards, we agreed to come together for 1987 when we would go on to win the Formula 3 British Championship together.
I still believe if he hadn't given me that chance in Formula 3, I'm not quite sure I'd have had that success or would have got to Formula One without him.
During that year, I got to know the real Eddie Jordan. You can see the Eddie that was on TV and when he was a team owner but when I went down to Sotogrande, to his place in Spain with his family that we became close. He was just a brilliant host and he made all his drivers feel very, very comfortable within the walls of Eddie Jordan Racing as it was at the time and of course then later with the F1 team, when he brought in Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill amongst many others.
What was also impossible to ignore was his work ethic; looking back, it's no surprise that he achieved what he achieved. His work ethic was continuous, all day and sometimes, literally, all night. There was always a deal to be done and there was always this passion for it.
We won together in 1987 and that gave him more drive to get himself through to his ultimate dream, which was Formula One. But he grafted for it, it wasn't given to him on a plate, he had to go out there and find that sponsorship that he needed to keep racing.
When we did Formula 3000 together in 1988, at the first race we had one sponsor on the car and it was plain white, nothing else on it. I got pole position and that evening Eddie phoned up Duncan Lee, who was head of Camel cigarettes at the time. Duncan wasn't interested in sponsoring us, so Eddie banged on until basically Duncan went: 'Okay, you can have a meeting on Tuesday'.
Eddie went away to another team, got a Camel sticker, stuck it on the side of the car on the Saturday night and I went out and won, so he had a photo of me winning the race, which he took to the meeting on Tuesday and got the Camel sponsorship for the next two years.
So it was the graft and the thought process. Having the meeting is one thing but then to think: 'Right, I get a sticker, stick it on, if we win the race, Camel's all over the car'.
That was what was so wonderful about the wheeler-dealer side of him. He was always thinking out of the box, always trying to think of new ways with his team to be able to promote himself, the brands that he had on board, his partners and that was very refreshing at that time and a lot of people have taken on board what he did in that early nineties period.
His strength was also in the team he had chosen. When they were in the factory he made sure that he and they were on the same page and there was a togetherness. Everybody had a free and open situation in their particular jobs and that got the best out of people on that limited budget. He had a lot of trust, Eddie looked after everybody and that just gave them a really good feel and there was a lot of love, because that was his type of character that he had, he was never, ever shying away from his emotions. He'd be hard when he needed to be but he also knew very well that he needed to keep everybody motivated, happy in the job that they were doing, so there was respect, both ways.
Jordan F1 were the underdogs, they were the ones that were there or thereabouts and then got very close to winning the drivers and constructors' championship with Heinz-Harald Frentzen in 1999. They were the underdogs everybody loved because there was just something about them that drew you in.
Look at the pictures of the British Grand Prix in 1995 after I won. Eddie had the truck with his band, Nick Mason was on the drums, Eddie was on the drums, Damon was playing guitar, me doing tambourine as that was the only rhythmic thing I could sort of play. It wasn't Formula One but the fun and the people that it dragged in after the race was brilliant and he loved it.
He loved that ability to enjoy what he was doing and the limelight that went with it all. That was why he was so refreshing, so very charismatic and the energy that he brought into the paddock is something that we are still benefiting from today. Eddie was one of the last of those successful characters who came in and he was probably one of the very last team owners who was also running the team, very, very involved with all the decision making that was going on. The way that he did it made it that much more special. He achieved so, so much with not the biggest budget on the grid and that is something that earned respect. There's a lot of respect for what Eddie achieved on track just as there's a lot of respect for what Eddie did off track with his TV career.
I will miss him massively. I think we will all miss him, to be honest. We all have memories in different ways of what he was like but it was the energy that he gave all of us at the end of the day. He was one of the biggest characters we had in the paddock and his popularity is going to live on for sure.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Telegraph
Max Verstappen vs Michael Schumacher: Why German great still the benchmark for dirty driving
In Telegraph Sport' s most recent Formula One driver ratings, I wrote that Max Verstappen was channelling Michael Schumacher in the 1990s. This was in reference to his ability to compete in a car that was not the fastest. In Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, he took this imitation to extremes by petulantly crashing into George Russell's Mercedes. Clearly, both champions possess immense talent, but also the tendency to cross the line in high-stakes moments. After Verstappen's latest misdemeanour we list, compare and analyse the most famous and controversial incidents from each man to assess whether it is Verstappen or Schumacher who has a worse reputation for their on-track antics. Schumacher vs Hill, Australian Grand Prix 1994 The first significant black mark of Michael Schumacher's F1 career came in the season-deciding Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide. Heading into the race, Benetton's Schumacher led the Williams of Damon Hill by a single point in the standings. Running first and second in championship order on track on lap 36, Schumacher made a mistake at the East Terrace corner and hit the wall, heavily damaging his Benetton. Hill did not see this but did see Schumacher rejoining the track. He tried to take his opportunity by putting his Williams up the inside at turn six. Schumacher was having none of it. He took the corner almost as normal, crashing into Hill before tipping up onto two wheels, sliding into the barriers and retiring. The damage to Hill's car was enough to put him out of the race, meaning Schumacher became champion. Written off by many at the time as a racing incident, Schumacher can clearly be seen looking in his mirrors to see where Hill was. Inexcusable driving. Schumacher vs Villeneuve, European Grand Prix 1997 In Ferrari colours this time, Schumacher faced another rival at Williams in 1997: Jacques Villeneuve. Once more, he led by a single point heading into the final round, this time at Jérez. On lap 48 Villeneuve saw an opportunity when Schumacher left the door wide open on the run down to turn six. The Canadian dived up the inside of the Ferrari. Yet again Schumacher drove the corner as if his competitor was not there, slamming his front-right tyre into Villeneuve's left sidepod. Unlike in 1994, this time, Ferrari slid impotently into the gravel trap, becoming beached and retiring. Justice was not yet served, though, as Villeneuve still needed to score two points. He finished third, claiming a maiden title. Schumacher was eventually disqualified from the championship – a fair punishment for an incident that tainted his reputation further. Michael Schumacher led Jacques Villeneuve by a single point going into 1997's final race... We saw one of #F1 's great season finales! #HistoryAwaits 🍿 — Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2021 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying, 2006 By 2006 Schumacher had racked up a record seven world championships. But 2005 was a fallow year, with Renault's Fernando Alonso taking the honours in a season during which the Ferrari driver won just a single grand prix. The following year was different, as the apprentice took on the master in closely matched machinery. As it is today, qualifying was of supreme importance in Monaco. With two seconds left on the clock and on provisional pole ahead of Alonso, Schumacher appeared to overcook it at the Rascasse hairpin, stopping on track. The yellow flags came out. That meant Alonso had to slow, compromising his final flying lap and robbing him of a chance to snatch pole. Schumacher claimed he stalled accidentally. The stewards disagreed and sent him to the back of the grid. Alonso won the race the next day with Schumacher fifth. Masterclass para asegurarse la pole en Mónaco Michael Schumacher aparcó accidentalmente el coche en la rascasse de Mónaco, impidiendo así a los demás pilotos cerrar su vuelta y evitando que le quiten la pole 👏 — MarioRZ (@mariorz_) December 30, 2024 Schumacher vs Barrichello, 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix While a motorbike accident and three seasons out may have dimmed Schumacher's abilities somewhat, his ruthlessness was as strong as ever on his Mercedes return. Fighting for 10th with his old Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello in Hungary, Schumacher squeezed the Williams on the pit straight, leaving him barely a foot from a concrete wall at 180mph. 'He should be black-flagged for that… it was horrible,' was the Brazilian's initial reaction from the cockpit. Yet again Schumacher maintained his innocence. Yet again the stewards disagreed, handing him a 10-place grid penalty for the next race. Sir Jackie Stewart said it was 'one of the most blatant abuses of another driver' that he had ever seen. Verstappen Verstappen vs Hamilton, Saudi Arabia 2021 In a scene that was repeated numerous times (see also Monza) throughout a season that was high in intensity and even higher on controversy, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were battling for the lead towards the end of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season. First, Verstappen appeared to run Hamilton off the outside of the track at turn one as the Briton attempted an overtake. Hamilton called him 'f------ crazy, man!', with Verstappen being told by his team to surrender the lead and give the place back 'strategically'. Taking that advice, Verstappen decided to let Hamilton pass on the back straight before reaching the DRS detection line. This would give him a high-speed advantage over the Mercedes on the pit straight. Hamilton was clearly not expecting this and ended up slamming into the back of the Red Bull when it slowed dramatically. 'He just brake-tested me!' Hamilton cried on the radio. Verstappen was trying to be smart and failed, but this was not exactly dastardly. Still, Hamilton crossed the line first and Verstappen finished second, even after a 10-second penalty for the crash. VERSTAPPEN BRAKE TESTS HAMILTON!!!! #F1 #SaudiArabianGP — Mr Matthew F1 (@NotMrMatthewF1) December 5, 2021 Verstappen vs Norris, Austria 2024 The first flare-up of Lando Norris and Verstappen's rivalry took place in Austria, after a tense duel for the lead over numerous laps. Following a couple of botched attempts to take the lead, Norris tried to brake later on the outside of the turn-three hairpin, but was forced wide by Verstappen, who appeared to move across the track in the braking zone, squeezing Norris to the outside. The Red Bull's rear-left tyre touched the McLaren's rear right on the way into the corner. Both men picked up punctures. As Norris tried to make his way around the outside, Verstappen ran him wide again. On the run down to turn four, Verstappen again did his best to keep Norris – who was carrying a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits – behind, forcing the McLaren onto the grass. Norris eventually retired with enormous damage to his car caused by the failing tyre, while Verstappen finished fifth after a 10-second penalty for causing a collision. It's a 10 SECOND PENALTY for Max Verstappen for causing a collision with Lando Norris! ⏱⚠ — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 30, 2024 Verstappen vs Norris, Mexico 2024 Austria was not the last clash between the pair that season. While Verstappen was firm but most likely fair in his battle with the Briton in Austin, the same cannot be said of what happened a week later in Mexico City. Defending third from the McLaren, Verstappen first forced Norris onto the grass at the second chicane, with Norris keeping the position. Verstappen then took it upon himself to right that perceived injustice. He did so by dive-bombing the McLaren at the high-speed turn seven, carrying far too much speed to take the corner. Norris, on the outside, took evasive action and lost the place. It was fortunate there was no crash. There was, however, a 10-second penalty for the Red Bull driver for each incident. New angles of THAT Verstappen-Norris clash in Mexico 🇲🇽👀 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 29, 2024 Verstappen vs Russell, Spain 2025 Slowing down to appear to let the Mercedes of Russell through – as his team had instructed him to do – Verstappen then accelerated towards turn five and crashed into the side of the Mercedes. It certainly looked more blatant and intentional than anything in his career, and definitely more inexcusable. Verstappen's antics on Sunday are in some ways the most egregious of these instances, largely because of how inexplicable it was. He did not do so when defending or trying to gain a position, but did so after slowing and then carrying such excessive speed into the corner that the only route was playing dodgems with Russell. Max Verstappen is told to let George Russell through and then the two collide! 😲 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 1, 2025 Verdict In some ways it is difficult to compare across eras. Schumacher drove (largely) in a different time to Verstappen. It was a period when every minor incident did not warrant a stewards' investigation and where 'racing incident' was often the outcome, even if one driver was clearly more to blame. Yet there are many similarities in their respective approaches to driving as well as their ability behind the wheel. Namely a win-at-all-costs ruthlessness. Fairness rarely comes into it and neither does contrition or apology. Quite often when they have wronged, they feel they have been wronged themselves. That said, there are a few differences between how Verstappen and Schumacher have operated, even in their most damning moments. Verstappen is clearly a driver who wants to use the literal interpretation of the racing guidelines to his advantage. His concern is primarily with keeping the position, but also doing that by getting as close to crossing the line as he can without actually incurring a penalty. Sometimes it looks smart, sometimes it looks ruthless and other times it looks unfair. Schumacher was different – he too often drove like the line did not even exist. It is difficult to look at any of the above examples of Verstappen at his worst and conclude that they are worse than even the weakest of Schumacher's transgressions.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
Max Verstappen's unadulterated petulance deserved a black flag
Across five frantic laps in the Barcelona heat, the world witnessed the best and the worst of Max Verstappen. First he showed astonishingly quick reflexes when, trying to put so much energy into his hard tyres at the restart that he veered on to a final-corner kerb, he snapped the car back into position and averted a smash into the barriers at 190mph. But then, in a fit of pique that has become his trademark, he activated 'Mad Max' mode, shoving George Russell so gratuitously that Lando Norris likened it to a move from Mario Kart. His fellow drivers recoiled in unison. Watching in the green room ahead of the podium ceremony, Norris, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc reacted with a mixture of horror and amusement. While they recognised instantly that Verstappen's behaviour was beyond the pale, they were also familiar with his reputation as, to use Russell's words, a ' win-it-or-bin-it kind of guy'. Except this time, the Dutchman's actions were less daredevil than dastardly. He did not even attempt to deny that he had targeted Russell, reacting to a question about whether the collision was intentional by shrugging: 'Does it matter?' Well, yes it does. I am not sure I agree with suggestions that he is setting a poor example to aspiring drivers hoping to emulate him in Formula One, which strikes me as too sanctimonious a view. The sport lives or dies, after all, by the raw theatre that Verstappen unfailingly provides. But the latest in a litany of transgressions does harm his reputation, sullying his otherwise compelling credentials to be regarded among the finest drivers in history. Verstappen will not, in all likelihood, win a fifth consecutive title this season. But the performance he is wringing out of a Red Bull vastly inferior to the two runaway McLarens is astonishing. By rights, his car should be nowhere near a championship battle. His pedigree behind the wheel is such that he has already seen off one team-mate this year, with Liam Lawson relegated to the junior Racing Bulls. And he could yet torpedo the career of a second, with Yuki Tsunoda also flailing helplessly in his wake. In the seven races since his promotion, the 25-year-old from Japan has finished no better than ninth. Over the same period, Verstappen has won twice and accumulated 110 points. Where the focus should be firmly on his scintillating skill, debate is drawn instead to his appetite for excess. Nico Rosberg, the world champion in Verstappen's maiden campaign in 2016, did not dial down his contempt for the dangerous manoeuvre against Russell, calling immediately for a disqualification. 'Seriously bad,' he said. 'He just rams him, full on. You need to black-flag that – there is no other way.' Nico Rosberg discusses the collision between Max Verstappen and George Russell. — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 1, 2025 A black flag, used to disqualify a driver and summon him immediately back to the garage, is rarely deployed in F1. When Nico Hulkenberg was given such a penalty in Sao Paulo last November, for illegally receiving physical assistance from marshals to rejoin the track, it was the first time in 17 years that such a sanction had been issued. Verstappen's infringement was easily as bad as Hulkenberg's, if not worse. For a start, it was dangerous, a full side-on bang that left a visibly shocked Russell reflecting: 'It seemed a little bit unnecessary – I don't quite understand the rationale.' Plus, Verstappen did nothing to dispute the impression it was premeditated, saying only of Rosberg's condemnation: 'That's his opinion.' Max Verstappen is told to let George Russell through and then the two collide! 😲 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 1, 2025 While stewards resisted brandishing a black flag, choosing to apply a 10-second penalty that dropped him from fifth to 10th, the case for Verstappen to receive a form of exemplary punishment is self-evident. His swiping of a hard-chasing Russell was not the product of strategy but of pure, unadulterated petulance. Gianpiero Lambiase, his race engineer, had already told him to let Russell through. But rather than begrudgingly complying with the team paying him £55 million a year, he refused to yield, all but barging the Mercedes driver into the gravel at the next corner. Quite apart from his defiance of Red Bull orders, Verstappen besmirched his image through his down-and-dirty tactics. Were it an isolated incident, you might be tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt. The reality, though, is that his hot-headedness, bordering on outright recklessness, forms part of a pattern. While there is an argument that he should be handed a race ban for the Russell episode alone, he could yet incur one for the sheer number of penalty points on his licence. He has accrued 11 so far: two for causing a collision with Norris in Austria last year, two for forcing the McLaren driver off track in Mexico City, one for being under the minimum delta behind a virtual safety car in Brazil, one for driving unnecessarily slowly on a qualifying cool-down lap in Qatar, two for a tangle with Piastri in Abu Dhabi, plus three for the Russell skirmish. One more, and the stewards will have no choice but to throw him out of the next grand prix. Verstappen, unusually, accepted some responsibility on Monday, writing on Instagram: 'Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened.' It was as far as he would go, clearly, as he stopped short of an outright apology. But on this occasion, the sport should hold its nerve and apply a single-race ban. Regrettably, Verstappen's genius as a driver is matched only by his propensity for causing mayhem whenever he feels hard done by. A meaningful deterrent is the only way he will ever learn.
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Max Verstappen made threat to quit F1 after receiving ‘silly' punishment
Max Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points on his FIA super licence after crashing into George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix Max Verstappen once threatened to walk away from Formula One after being punished by the FIA for swearing. The reigning world champion is now facing a potential one-race ban after he inexplicably crashed into George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. In the closing stages of Sunday's race, Verstappen was battling it out with the Mercedes driver into Turn 1 of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Russell seemed to have gained the upper hand following a safety car restart but a snap of oversteer led him to make contact with Verstappen, who then cut through the run-off area and held onto fourth place. The Red Bull team instructed Verstappen to let Russell pass after their collision, which was met with a fiery response over the team radio. The reigning world champion appeared to comply momentarily by slowing down into Turn 5, only to accelerate again and hit Russell. The FIA stewards hit Verstappen with a 10-second time penalty for his part in the shocking incident, causing him to drop from fifth to 10th place in the final standings. Verstappen also had three penalty points added to his license, meaning he'll need to tread carefully in the next two Grands Prix. He is just a single penalty point away from an automatic one-race suspension, having accumulated 11 points over the past year. Penalty points remain on a driver's super licence for 12 months before they expire, meaning his next point won't come off until the Austrian Grand Prix at the end of June. A ban is unlikely to improve his relationship with the FIA as he has already expressed his frustration towards the motorsport governing body. His anger was visible last year when he was handed a community service sentence for swearing, a day after FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had insisted that drivers needed to clean up their language. After receiving his punishment, which Lewis Hamilton also opposed, Verstappen argued that the FIA was draining the fun from racing. He said: 'Everyone is pushing to the limit. Everyone in this battle, even at the back of the grid. But if you have to deal with all these kinds of silly things: for me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that's for sure." He went on to add: 'I don't know how seriously they will take that kind of stuff but for me, at one point, when it's enough, it's enough. We'll see. Everything will go on, I have no doubt. It's not a problem because Formula One will go on without me, but it's also not a problem for me. So it's how it is.' Just under a year later, Verstappen has once again found himself at the centre of F1 controversy with Sunday's incident. Russell branded the Dutchman's manoeuvre as "deliberate" and "totally unnecessary". Meanwhile, former champion Nico Rosberg weighed in by suggesting that Verstappen deserved a black flag for the on-track incident. Verstappen remained unfazed and dismissed the criticism by saying: 'Yeah, that's his opinion, everyone can have his opinion.' He was also reluctant initially to answer the media's questions over the incident, saying: 'Does it matter? Yeah, okay, that's great. I mean, I prefer to speak about the race rather than just one single moment.' Having been informed that Russell said he was 'worried for young kids watching,' Verstappen replied sarcastically: 'Well, I'll bring some tissues next time. He has his view, I have my view. It's better to just focus on the race which I think was quite okay.' He has since backtracked somewhat on his post-race comments, taking to Instagram on Monday to write: "Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened.'
