Ex-F1 team owner and media personality Eddie Jordan has died at 76

SHANGHAI (AP) — Ex-Formula 1 team owner and media personality Eddie Jordan has died, according to a statement by his family. He was 76.

Often known simply as “EJ,” he ran his own Jordan team in the 1990s and 2000s in F1. His humor, strong opinions and often extravagant dress sense made Jordan a popular pundit on TV after selling the team in 2005.

Jordan was undergoing treatment for what he had called “quite aggressive” cancer of the bladder and prostate which spread to his spine and pelvis.

The family statement, published by rugby club London Irish, where Jordan was a patron, said he “passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town” early Thursday.

“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.”

F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali, who was a senior Ferrari employee when Jordan owned his team, said Jordan was “a protagonist of an era of F1 and he will be deeply missed.”

“With his inexhaustible energy he always knew how to make people smile, remaining genuine and brilliant at all times.”

Irish businessman Jordan operated his own racing team in lower-level series before moving up to F1 in 1991, giving future seven-time champion Michael Schumacher his first race that year.

Christian Horner, then a young driver dreaming of F1 and now Red Bull team principal, recalled the advice he got from Jordan in 1991: “Get a good sponsor … welcome to the Piranha Club!” F1 has “lost a legend,” Horner said.

Jordan gave Schumacher his break in F1 because his regular driver Bertrand Gachot was sentenced to prison for assaulting a London taxi driver. The then-22-year-old Schumacher was with the team for only a single race before Benetton signed him in controversial circumstances.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of Eddie Jordan. Eddie was a great individual, who for decades always brought a smile to the entire F1 paddock," said Flavio Briatore, who then ran Benetton and became a close friend of Jordan, and is now executive adviser at Alpine.

"I have fond memories of the time spent on and off the track with Eddie, and his presence across the entire F1 world will be greatly missed.”

Other Jordan drivers over the years included Damon Hill, who won the 1996 championship with Williams and gave Jordan its first win in torrential rain in 1998, future Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who was third in the championship for Jordan in 1999.

Jordan Grand Prix won four races before Jordan sold the team in 2005. Following more sales and name changes since then, the team competes as Aston Martin.

“Eddie Jordan was one of the all-time motorsport greats. He was a one-off, a wonderful human being, and a charismatic leader who founded this team and took it to F1 in 1991,” Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell said in a statement.

“His vision laid the foundations for us and he leaves a lasting legacy for the entire motorsport community.”

Jordan also acted as the manager for car design great Adrian Newey when he left Red Bull for Aston Martin last year.

When he revealed his cancer diagnosis last year, Jordan used it as an opportunity to urge listeners of his podcast to follow up on any health concerns.

“This is a little message to everybody listening to this, don’t waste or put it off,” he said. “Go and get tested, because in life you have got chances. Go and do it. Don’t be stupid. Don’t be shy. Look after your body, guys.”

AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany, contributed.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

FILE - Eddie Jordan poses for a photo with former soccer player Pele, Nov. 6, 1998. (Sean Dempsey/PA via AP, File)

FILE - Britain's Nigel Mansell, right, speaks with Jordan-Peugeot team owner Edddie Jordan of Ireland on the pit wall at the Montmelo circuit in Barcelona Wednesday, Dec. 11, 1996. (AP Photo/Cesar Rangel, File)

FILE - Germany's Ralf Schumacher, left, poses for a photo with Jordan Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan at the launch of the new seasons car in London January 30, 1997. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

FILE - Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, right, of Britain shares a light moment with Eddie Jordan, owner of Jordan Grand Prix, which raced in Formula One from 1991 to 2005, as he arrives for the first practice session for the Singapore F1 Grand Prix on the Marina Bay City Circuit in Singapore, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File)

FILE - Eddie Jordan, former Formula One driver and team owner, listens during a press conference during a Moscow City Racing 2013 along the Moscow Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 21, 2013. (AP Photo/ Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr, File)

FILE - Eddie Jordan, center, poses for a photo with Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli, Jan. 31, 2000. (Matthew Fearn/PA via AP, File)

FILE - Eddie Jordan enjoys a pint of Guinness at the Toucan Bar after learning he is to be made an Officer of the British Empire, in London, March 28, 2012. (Anthony Devlin/PA via AP, File)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Three people were killed and 12 wounded in a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials said Saturday, in an attack that underlined Moscow’s intention to continue aerial strikes despite agreeing to a limited ceasefire.

Regional head Ivan Fedorov said that “residential buildings, private cars, and social infrastructure facilities were set on fire” in the attack Friday night, and published photos showing emergency services scouring the rubble of damaged residential buildings for survivors.

The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired 179 exploding drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks overnight into Saturday. It said 100 were intercepted and another 63 “lost,” likely having been electronically jammed.

Officials in the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions also reported fires breaking out due to the falling debris from intercepted drones.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, said its air defense systems shot down 47 Ukrainian drones.

Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders, though it remains to be seen what possible targets would be off limits to attack.

The three sides appeared to hold starkly different views about what the deal covered. While the White House said “energy and infrastructure” would be part of the agreement, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Zelenskyy said he would also like railways and ports to be protected.

The Ukrainian leader told reporters after Wednesday’s call with Trump that Ukraine and U.S. negotiators will discuss technical details related to the partial ceasefire during a meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday. Russian negotiators are also set to hold separate talks with U.S. officials there.

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is open to a full, 30-day ceasefire that Trump has proposed, saying: “We will not be against any format, any steps toward unconditional ceasefire.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraine’s military mobilization — demands rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters try to put out a fire following a Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Rescuers work on site of a residential building destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)

Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)

Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)

A clock with a family photo is seen among debris of a residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)

Police officers carry the body of a person killed by a Russian drone strike in a residential neighborhood in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)