Luke Mc Media

Why I Love Jordan Grand Prix By Luke McNamara

Written 2019 on DRIVETRIBE reshared in loving memory of Eddie Jordan 1948-2025

Sitting proudly on a shelf in my bedroom is a model of an EJ14, basking in its glorious yellow livery complete with the iconic “Be On Edge” sponsorship. It was the final Jordan Formula One car produced before the team was sold to the Midland Group, and honestly, I still think that was a real shame. Jordan Grand Prix is sorely missed in the F1 paddock.

As a proud Irishman, I’ve always found it difficult to settle on a team or driver to support in Formula One, but Jordan provided a genuine connection to the sport. It was a team with personality, individuality, and, most importantly, heart.

If you’re going to talk about Jordan Grand Prix, you have to talk about its owner: the brilliant and utterly eccentric Eddie Jordan. A self-proclaimed “Irish chancer,” rockstar, ruthless businessman, and, in my opinion, one of the greatest pundits Formula One has ever had.

Modern Formula One team principals are often polished corporate figures. They speak carefully, say the same rehearsed lines in every interview, and run their organisations with cold precision. Eddie Jordan was the complete opposite. I can’t imagine Toto Wolff or Christian Horner starting their own rock band, launching a television show, or dancing around the paddock like a man possessed after a race win.

Working from the ground up, Eddie Jordan went from working in a bank to testing Formula One machinery for McLaren before eventually building his own racing team on a shoestring budget. Against all odds, he turned Jordan Grand Prix into a race-winning Formula One team. That alone is inspirational, but what makes Eddie truly special is that he did everything his own way. He never tried to hide his eccentricities or tone himself down to fit the corporate mould.

Stories of him chasing sponsors, dodging bailiffs, discovering future world champions, and somehow dragging an underfunded independent team into Formula One relevance are exactly why Jordan remains so beloved today. It was the ultimate underdog story.

In recent years, with Sky Sports dominating Formula One coverage, I’ve really started to miss Eddie Jordan on my television screen. His outrageous shirts, wild predictions, and often hilariously inaccurate “inside information” were all part of the charm. The chemistry between Eddie and David Coulthard was genuinely brilliant, and I was thoroughly disappointed when he left Channel 4 to join the BBC’s ill-fated Top Gear reboot alongside Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc.

When I eventually come to power — and I fully intend to — Eddie Jordan will immediately be reinstated as a Formula One pundit by official decree.

Of course, you cannot talk about Jordan Grand Prix without mentioning Spa 1998, one of the most chaotic and unforgettable races in Formula One history.

There was the enormous first-lap pile-up, somehow survived by both Jordans. Michael Schumacher looked certain to win before crashing into the back of David Coulthard’s McLaren in the spray before storming down the pit lane looking ready to commit murder. Then came the team orders that handed Damon Hill Jordan’s first-ever Formula One victory.

What followed was pure joy. Eddie Jordan sprinting through the paddock, dancing, screaming, and celebrating like a lunatic. It was impossible not to love.

So Eddie, although I highly doubt you’re reading this from up there somewhere, thank you. Thank you for the memories, the madness, and for showing a young Irish Formula One fan that it is possible to climb from the very bottom to the very top without compromising who you are along the way.

Thank you.