Former Formula 1 team owner and entrepreneur Eddie Jordan has died at the age of 76. A statement from his family said he passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town in the early hours on Thursday.
“He was working until the last, having communicated on St. Patrick’s Day about his ambitions for London Irish Rugby Football Club, of which he had recently become patron,” the statement added. “Eddie and Jordan Grand Prix were known for their rock and roll image, bringing a fun and exciting element to F1, as well as consistently performing above their weight.
“Many successful F1 drivers owe their career breaks to Eddie, and world champions including Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill drove for him.
“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 tons of great memories to keep us smiling through our sorrow.”
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Jordan had revealed in December of last year that he had been diagnosed with bladder and prostate cancer in early 2024, that had been “quite aggressive” and spread into his pelvis and spine. On a podcast he hosts with former F1 driver and business partner David Coulthard he also spoke about undergoing chemotherapy treatment earlier this year.
The colorful Irishman established the Jordan Grand Prix team in the early 1990s that launched the F1 career of Michael Schumacher, with the team winning four grands prix and entering 250 races before it was sold at the end of 2005. Evolving through various guises, it is still on the grid as the Aston Martin team, based at Silverstone. But Jordan had been a racer before he was a team owner.
Born in Dublin, Jordan originally worked in the city in banking, but a bank strike in 1970 saw him work the summer in Jersey, discovering go-karting on the island. After purchasing a kart on his return to Dublin, he won the Irish karting championship in 1971 and soon moved up to Formula Ford.
Known for his wheeling and dealing, Jordan would sell used cars to help fund his racing career and also had a sponsorship deal with a carpet company that led to him selling offcuts at market stalls to add to his budget.
In 1975, he continued to climb into Formula 3, but a crash at Mallory Park forced him to miss almost an entire year with a broken left leg. Returning to full-time action in 1977, he took three victories in the Formula Atlantic series, going on to win the Irish Formula Atlantic Championship the following year.
There were Formula 2 entries and even an F1 test for McLaren, but in 1980 Jordan established Eddie Jordan Racing at Silverstone.
In 1983, Eddie Jordan Racing ran Martin Brundle in an epic British Formula 3 Championship battle against Ayrton Senna, ultimately finishing second to the Brazilian. It took four years until an F3 title was won with Johnny Herbert, and then in 1989 an F3000 title followed with Jean Alesi.
Formula 1 was the next target and by late 1990 Jordan Grand Prix had been established and was shaking down its first F1 car at Silverstone, with John Watson behind the wheel. In 1991, the team made its debut with the iconic Jordan 191, finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship and seeing Schumacher make his F1 bow in Belgium before signing with Benetton.
It would be the first of a number of big-name moves for drivers who cut their teeth with Jordan, as it could also boast Alesi, Stefan Johansson, Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello among its alumni.
Jordan put up an ultimately unsuccessful fight for Schumacher’s services and after also seeing a major sponsor leave the team, it lost millions of dollars. With just a solitary point scored in 1992 and an uncompetitive Yamaha engine, it endured a tough run before again climbing the standings in the mid-1990s, culminating in its first victory in Belgium in 1998.
On that occasion, Damon Hill led home Ralf Schumacher in a one-two finish, but there were further highlights a year later as Heinz-Harald Frentzen led a true title challenge, finishing third in the drivers’ championship after a heartbreaking retirement from the lead in Germany with just two rounds remaining.
Third in the constructors’ standings that year also proved to be the peak of Jordan’s F1 success, as the loss of a Honda engine deal in the early 2000s coincided with a steady decline, and the team was sold to the Midland Group in 2005.
Jordan had been a popular member of the F1 paddock throughout his time as a team owner, with his love of rock and roll often seeing him playing the drums on stage both at F1 events and bespoke gigs, including with Mike and the Mechanics.
After selling his team he remained a significant presence within the sport, as a manager and also a pundit, appearing on the BBC coverage from 2009 until 2015, and also on Channel 4 from 2016. Away from F1 he was a host on the “Top Gear” motor show, and launched his own podcast titled “Formula For Success” alongside Coulthard in 2023.
As Adrian Newey’s manager, Jordan helped the design guru negotiate his exit from Red Bull and subsequent move to Aston Martin last year, prior to the Irishman making his cancer diagnosis public in December.