Ted’s Shanghai Podbook | Celebrating EJ
Update: 2025-03-20
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Ted and Crofty are in Shanghai ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, on a sad day for F1 following the passing of former team owner and TV pundit Eddie Jordan.
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00:00:00
Hello everybody and welcome back to the F1 show here on Sky Sports F1 and Ted's
00:00:05
pod book from Shanghai in China. Now we've all flown here from Australia we've
00:00:12
had the media day but at the end of the media day Chinese time we had the
00:00:18
saddest news, the most awful news from Cape Town in South Africa about the
00:00:23
passing of Formula One legend Eddie Jordan at the age of 76. So we there's no
00:00:32
point me telling you what happened on the media day because I don't really want
00:00:36
to. Instead David Croft, Crofty and I would like to just celebrate the life of a
00:00:43
man we knew very well and just saying his name Crofty makes you smile doesn't he?
00:00:48
E.J. or E.J. or Eddie. He's one of these F1 people like you know Bernie or
00:00:55
Michael or Lewis I guess I suppose Max but doesn't you can just say you know
00:01:01
just one name Eddie or E.J. It was actually always E.J. Well yeah there's only one
00:01:06
word that will describe Eddie Jordan E.J. Eddie our friend and a man who brought
00:01:12
so much laughter and life to the paddock and that is legend and I'm glad you
00:01:17
used that word because it's just an overused word I think these days but but not
00:01:21
for E.J. He was a proper legend and he was the life and soul of this sport for
00:01:30
such a long time and it's weird Ted we knew that he was seriously ill and we
00:01:36
feared that this day would come but you just can't stop smiling when you think
00:01:41
about him even today on what is a really sad day he lights up your brain and
00:01:47
your minds in the way that he would light up you know the dullest of paddocks
00:01:52
whenever he walked into it and we should rightfully celebrate what he gave to
00:01:59
our sport what he did for our sport what he did for the people in our sport and
00:02:04
and the love that we all had for him indeed so before we talk a little bit
00:02:08
about his life let's just read the statement from his wife Marie and his
00:02:14
family here we go Cape Town 20th of March 2025 by the way 10 days before his
00:02:22
70th 77th birthday he's a fellow Aries it is with profound sadness that we
00:02:30
announced the passing of Eddie Jordan Obey the X Formula One T-Mona TV
00:02:35
Pundit and entrepreneur he passed away peacefully with his family by his side
00:02:39
in Cape Town in the early hours of the 20th of March 2025 at the age of 76
00:02:44
after battling as you say Crofty with an aggressive form of prostate cancer for
00:02:49
the last 12 months he was working until the last having communicated on St.
00:02:55
Patrick's Day about his ambitions for the London Irish rugby club rugby
00:03:00
football club of which he had recently become patron so his son had actually is
00:03:05
one of the co-directors and he's the patron of that so it was a it was saving it
00:03:10
saving London Irish from it was in trouble wasn't it yeah but yeah well what a
00:03:15
great you know in retirement still to get looking for the next you know
00:03:21
sporting enterprise to to revolutionize and make great and I'm sure they
00:03:25
will each a never retired he was he was always a very busy man and born on 30th
00:03:34
March 1948 in Dublin Ireland Eddie rose to prominence throughout racing in the
00:03:39
lower echelons of single-seater mode sport and then moving into driver
00:03:42
management and following and that for that founding the infamous privately owned
00:03:48
Formula One you might don't think they mean they don't mean infamous they mean
00:03:52
famous for something brilliant it in a sense maybe it was it maybe it was
00:03:57
infamous we'll get to that in a second let's talk about his his early racing you
00:04:01
know he was a good racing driver Formula 3 karting he was good what he was but he
00:04:08
realized I think very early on that he wasn't good enough for Formula One and
00:04:13
that his talents lay outside of the cockpit and I think it won't crash too
00:04:18
many rather made his mind upon on that one but yeah that's that's why EJ understood
00:04:25
drivers and and how he could spot talent in my office well because he was also a
00:04:31
driver and he knew his limitations so when he saw in others that there weren't
00:04:38
those limitations there that was the the driver I was going to go after but he
00:04:43
loved drivers and he loved racing and he would always get excited about
00:04:50
drivers from the Brazilians Rubens Barrakello to Martin Brundel to Michael
00:04:57
Schumacher he'd always he loved getting his hands on the next big thing Eddie
00:05:02
Irvine Ralph Schumacher, Giancarlifters get you know all of the the ones in F1
00:05:07
Heights out Frenton even you know he's quick I like him we've got to have him but
00:05:14
he'd like he'd but he loved rate he loved driver he loved racing he was just a true
00:05:20
racer yeah he was he he lived for the buzz that racing brought him and and I'm
00:05:27
so glad because he was he was wasted as a teller at Allied Irish Bank you know
00:05:33
where he started out he was way too good to be a secondhand car dealer all his
00:05:38
life as well and we people find their niche in life and and EJ found that
00:05:45
within the the Formula One Paddock yeah let's pick up here on the statement from
00:05:49
his family moving into driver management and following that
00:05:53
founding the privately owned Formula One team Jordan Grand Prix Eddie and
00:05:57
Jordan Grand Prix were known for their rock and roll image bringing a fun and
00:06:02
exciting element to F1 as well as consistently performing above their weight
00:06:07
many successful F1 drivers owe their career breaks to Eddie and world champions
00:06:12
including Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill drove for him so the rock and roll
00:06:16
image I mean goodness we've got all sorts of stories but what Eddie understood
00:06:21
was that Formula One is fun it's exciting the image of his team was not to be
00:06:28
the appliance of science which is for example what Ron Dennis felt McLaren
00:06:33
should be or Ferrari have own you know it's all about the brand and the most
00:06:37
successful all of that Eddie understood and this was to his credit and and it
00:06:43
brought the money at the sponsors in that people want to come motoracing people
00:06:48
want to watch motoracing because it's a escapism form of escapism and it's fun
00:06:52
people want to go motoracing you know to do the business to business side and I
00:06:56
remember he was always good at that wasn't he there were people from one sponsor
00:06:59
that would talk to another and then if they did it at the circuit Eddie might ask
00:07:03
for a commission on something you know he's like well I introduced you to if
00:07:07
you're doing business together you know you know I want to come that or there
00:07:12
would be you know a bit bit or there would be parties you know the legendary
00:07:16
parties that he would because he understood that the sponsors want to go they
00:07:21
want to entertain their guests and sell their product and that's as important as
00:07:27
you know you might race and you might not win and even though Jordan did win
00:07:32
races they never won a championship okay but you know they did pretty well but he
00:07:36
understood that the fun element and and and just the joy of racing and that was
00:07:43
worth it but the motorhome was always a welcoming place yeah and and and I wasn't
00:07:48
in Formula One when when Jordan were we're a team but oh had he sold it to
00:07:55
Alex Schneider at Midland by then and Spiker when I first when I first came in
00:08:01
and but you know in getting to know Eddie over the years and listening to it
00:08:08
to some of the stories you were left with the impression that it was always a
00:08:11
welcoming place I mean not that Jordan didn't have their struggles with
00:08:16
money on several occasions you know he was he was he was turning to whatever
00:08:21
deal he could get to keep the team running but he did and he did keep it running
00:08:27
and you know the the Jordan ethos of you know fighting and scrapping away for
00:08:35
every last point still very much lives on at Astamarten which is the team
00:08:38
obviously now at Silverstone and there are a lot of people who work for
00:08:42
Astamarten that were were there in the Jordan days and and the loyalty that
00:08:47
Eddie you know that that people had for Eddie because he was the boss they really
00:08:53
wanted to work for and he and he knew everyone's name I was talking to someone
00:08:58
today and they said you know he invented the exit interview before even
00:09:02
existed he would he would he would make sure that he knew everyone who was
00:09:08
coming to work for Jordan when they on their first day and he would also make
00:09:13
sure that he saw them before they left on their last day to find out why they
00:09:17
were going sometimes to try and actually persuade him not to go but to find out
00:09:21
why they were going and and and and and and Jordan done anything wrong or was
00:09:24
just an opportunity for them as well he cared passionately about the people
00:09:30
that worked not so much for him but with him you know they they were his
00:09:34
people and and he was there man do you know until the Astamarten new factory opened
00:09:40
over the road having bought some of the land from Eddie Jordan I guarantee you
00:09:46
that if you'd asked some of the Astamarten and before that force India before
00:09:50
that racing point whatever you're spiker midland mechanics and people who they
00:09:55
work for I bet you they've said I work at Jordan's over the road at Silverstone
00:10:00
because it was the same factory and you take some bits out of the you took some
00:10:05
bits off the walls and they'd be green on the on the on on on the somewhere on
00:10:10
and that first Jordan one nine one and the green the sponsorship he got from
00:10:15
seven up which wowed the world which I don't know if there's any money in but it
00:10:20
was that everyone everyone thought wow and he's got the Pepsi company can he got
00:10:25
seven up seven up and he had the sponsorship from obviously the tourist
00:10:29
board of islands on the side and some other small sponsors but I remember when he
00:10:32
came in with that seven up people like wow you know he's got the Pepsi and what a
00:10:39
car that was designed by Gary Anderson of course one of the one of the many
00:10:42
people that that were the sort of stalwarts of the Jordan Grand Prix with Andy
00:10:46
Stevenson and Trevor Foster all these people and then then he had the yellow
00:10:50
car John Walton of course the late John Walton wow what a man and then he had the
00:10:54
yellow car work from the cigarette company and you have to own that with a
00:10:58
snake head on the front but he owned the the color yellow in F1 which was
00:11:04
incredible I mean what started with the with the sponsorship the cigarette
00:11:08
sponsorship which was gold and then went bright yellow and then he was synonymous
00:11:13
with yellow which is only recently disappeared I just think I bitten and
00:11:18
hisses on the side because obviously they couldn't mention the name of the
00:11:22
cigarette company and they're and the launches that he used to have as
00:11:27
well and the celebs that used to come down I actually went to so you're right
00:11:33
about the the Motown being an extremely welcoming place and all the chefs and
00:11:39
hospitality staff there would do anything for him do you know actually Eddie
00:11:44
Jordan's one of those was one of those bosses that that if he asked everybody to
00:11:48
jump off a cliff with him they'd all do it they would absolutely all do it and
00:11:53
he was one of the I would have done it with it if he'd said to me ah Ted where
00:11:58
I'll go and offer cliff will you come with yeah okay yeah why not because I
00:12:04
could only would have known there was a very good reason and I would have
00:12:08
right now it's a it's a it's a it's a it's a figure of speech but you would have
00:12:13
done anything for him yeah he inspired people and people wanted to do their
00:12:17
best but look we we work with Eddie on the broadcasting side you know our days
00:12:22
at the BBC I like that I'll always remember whenever I was on and and Eddie was on
00:12:28
the same show you get a call about 10 minutes before we were due to go on yes and
00:12:34
it be like Crafting City how you doing I'm good Eddie we're on air in about 10
00:12:38
minutes yeah yeah what are you gonna say so you tell any what you wanted to say
00:12:41
right brilliant what am I gonna say that's what am I gonna say so we're ready
00:12:46
Jordan to say what you want you went no you tell me what I'm gonna say and I'll
00:12:50
say something different to you and then just make it make brilliant brilliant
00:12:54
broadcasting and he was right you know he he he thought about taking the
00:13:00
alternative viewpoint because it made for good discussion and good debate but
00:13:05
and I was often left thinking why is Eddie Jordan asking for my opinion on this
00:13:10
what I mean what am I to Eddie Jordan absolutely nothing but he that was the man
00:13:15
he doesn't matter how much experience you had or or who you were you know you you
00:13:20
were always an equal in his mind and and you know even more so if you if you
00:13:26
were a party from time to time with him and he loved he just loved to embrace
00:13:32
life and to and to live it to to his absolute fullest very good drama well he
00:13:38
was a magnificent drama and he played the spoons as well he was pretty handy on
00:13:41
the spoons I remember hosting the the Grand Prix baller couple years ago and and
00:13:47
every year Eddie would come on and he'd be him he'd be like that one of the last
00:13:51
musical acts that have a DJ on afterwards and Eddie and the robbers would come
00:13:54
on and the dance floor would be absolutely packed and everyone would be singing
00:13:58
along and Eddie be at the back of the stage playing the drums with a massive
00:14:02
grin on his face and the last time we did it he was due to be on for about half
00:14:07
an hour and and I said to him look we've got a tight schedule make sure you set
00:14:11
only half an hour Denise Van Alton is coming on to be the DJ at the end and he
00:14:16
went on for twice that length and he's like croughly I'm just gonna do one more
00:14:20
track you know Eddie you need to get off the stage now we've got to be out of
00:14:23
here by by one I am you know we can't carry on all night oh the crowd are
00:14:28
loving it we've got to keep going and and the crowd in fairness we're loving it
00:14:33
and he did keep going and he did keep Denise Van Alton waiting but I don't
00:14:36
think she might did too much because it was EJ yeah she knew she knew him
00:14:41
work very well all right let's pick back up on the on the statement from the
00:14:44
family following the sale of the team in 2005 to Alex Schneider who was a
00:14:50
Canadian Russian steel magnate as I remember and I mean he always towards the
00:14:57
end that was the sort of period of high spending and you never know I mean if
00:15:01
Eddie would have been able to to hang on I mean he wouldn't have probably been
00:15:06
able to hang on with the money until Formula One reached the the days of
00:15:11
currently where they're all worth a billion but he sold it for you know a good
00:15:18
a good amount but he was just he had to sell it really it was tight good money was
00:15:23
so hard at that point I'll put that don't think that EJ hasn't done the best
00:15:28
thing for his old team what is now asked to Martin because in the last few
00:15:37
weeks Adrian Neue has started at Silverstone at that place and EJ was
00:15:44
instrumental in doing that deal in persuading Adrian Neue to come out of
00:15:50
retirement and to pick up the drawing board the pencils once again and to start
00:15:57
on and in a new adventure with what is Aston Martin now and what used to be
00:16:02
Jordan and EJ as Adrian's manager was the man that got that deal through that
00:16:07
that was very good for both parties but also brilliant for Aston Martin as
00:16:12
well and I remember it Silverstone last year I was trying to get my car out of
00:16:17
the backstage area by the concert and Adrian was just was crossing in front of
00:16:24
me and I said oh hey you doing Adrian how crafty good to see you I said um so you
00:16:29
going to Aston Martin then so I can't say a thing I said no he said Eddie
00:16:34
Eddie tells me all about it he said as he and then Eddie came in a view I said
00:16:38
Eddie I'm just telling Adrian about the Aston Martin deal that you told me all
00:16:42
about I've said nothing I've said nothing to this man I will never say anything
00:16:47
to this man as he shouted and made a brilliant piece of theater about it and I
00:16:51
don't believe a word he's told me everything I know it's happening and a massive
00:16:56
smile on their face they hadn't told me anything at all and but the massive
00:17:00
smiles on their faces rather gave gave away that something had gone down in
00:17:04
Monaco and a deal had been done I know Eddie negotiated Adrian News deal to
00:17:07
to Aston Martin it says here Eddie successfully moved into TV
00:17:11
planetary and commentary for the BBC as well as continuing to be a prolific
00:17:16
entrepreneur having made many successful investments in a variety of sectors
00:17:20
and that is absolutely true and you know I have so many stories about our time at
00:17:26
BBC TV when I joined them in 2009 it was Jake Humphrey it was David Coolthard and
00:17:36
Eddie Jordan they became known as the sort of three Amigos I was in the
00:17:41
Pit Lane Martin Brunder was in the commentary box you were already there for
00:17:45
BBC Radio 5 live so many stories one when my wife Kate was visiting at the
00:17:53
Korean Grand Prix about the on the happy bus between the circuit and the
00:17:58
village and the town of Monaco and soul in Cheon Airport in Seoul and being sat
00:18:04
on the back row on that happy bus I can't tell you half of the things that went
00:18:10
on including at the service station we stopped at halfway through with Sarah
00:18:15
Holt our colleague from the BBC website who continues to make great podcasts
00:18:22
but yeah those will never forget that bus ride in Korea and you know some of
00:18:29
the our production meetings were always just a joy and absolutely hilarious and
00:18:34
our editor Mark Wilkin who was extremely experienced editor but used to you know
00:18:42
holding meetings short but you know well well organized and he would say
00:18:47
where everything when we'd have a kind of sober sober discussion about something
00:18:51
and then E.J. would pipe up with something you know well how about this Mark what
00:18:56
are we gonna do you know and there was one little less sober with thought well
00:19:00
there was one time when he said Mark here we were in Singapore he said anyway it's so
00:19:07
hot out there you got to get us an umbrella to protect us where did we go on
00:19:10
air we got to get a umbrella to protect us against the sun so hot out there
00:19:15
will you get us an umbrella sorry about the Irish accent but any story you
00:19:20
thought about E.J. will you not you know will you get us an umbrella Mark you know
00:19:23
you know you don't look after us and Mark just went it's a nightmare he said he the
00:19:28
sun would have gone down and Jake Eddie and DC and Martin we love that and but you
00:19:36
know his point was well made in the in the in the in the in the in the son it is
00:19:42
very hot every conversation with E.J. was was animated because he just he had a
00:19:50
never-ending passion for everything that he was involved in and not just
00:19:56
Formula One you know just just just a passion for life and you would just get
00:20:01
into animated discussion and heated debates with a massive smile on your face
00:20:06
and you'd wind each other up and and he and he loved the joke but he was he was a
00:20:12
very serious man when he wanted to be don't forget he broke the story that
00:20:18
Lewis Hamilton was going to Mercedes and and everyone was like are you serious
00:20:22
come on he does not really look like a Mercedes and he stuck to his guns on it
00:20:25
because he knew he had had the story on it he was well connected but he was well
00:20:30
loved and the paddock is a poorer place for E.J. not being there but he taught
00:20:37
as well and we will continue to live life to the fullest because that's what
00:20:44
you should always do and that's what he taught us to do. Eddie's family just
00:20:48
conclude the statement here he's family said E.J. bought an abundance of
00:20:52
charisma energy and Irish charm every time everywhere he went we all have a
00:20:56
huge hole missing without his presence he will be missed by so many people but he
00:21:01
leaves us with tons of great memories to keep us smiling through our sorrow. So with
00:21:08
that we obviously send our deepest sympathies and condolences to Marie to his
00:21:15
children Zoe Mickey Zack and Kyle Killer he used to call Kyle Killer it's killer
00:21:22
it's got to come down there and yeah you know it's so sad but wow what a life
00:21:31
what a life he lived what a life well lived. #ftb I think it's the
00:21:37
FTB F the begrudges yeah and that was his motto you have the tattoo for it as
00:21:48
well and and it was it was a great motto to have if someone's saying no there's
00:21:54
any naysayers out there someone who doesn't know what we're doing what the help
00:21:58
forget about them and plow your own for it yeah Zack and Zack and Kyle have the
00:22:05
same tattoo as Eddie did listen and Krofty thank you so much and thank you for
00:22:12
listening sorry if you were expecting some insights from stuff from the
00:22:17
paddock but I just didn't feel like making that podcast today I just wanted to
00:22:22
reflect with Krofty and and and and you'll hear all of our reflections and our
00:22:28
tributes throughout the weekend to a man a team owner a giant of Formula One
00:22:34
but also a friend and yeah we'll miss him thanks Krofty no I was made sleep
00:22:39
at LED yeah yeah thanks for listening see you on the TV throughout the weekend
00:22:44
bye bye everybody
