Jordan Grand Prix
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| Full name | Jordan Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| Base | Silverstone, Northamptonshire, UK |
| Founder(s) | Eddie Jordan |
| Noted staff |
Gary Anderson Adrian Burgess Mike Gascoyne Sam Michael Rob Smedley |
| Noted drivers |  Rubens Barrichello Eddie Irvine Damon Hill Nick Heidfeld Heinz-Harald Frentzen Michael Schumacher Jean Alesi Ralf Schumacher Jarno Trulli Andrea de Cesaris Giancarlo Fisichella |
| Next name | Midland F1 Racing |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 1991 United States Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 250 |
| Constructors' Championships |
0 (Best finish: 3rd in 1999) |
| Drivers' Championships |
0 (Best finish: Frentzen 3rd in 1999) |
| Race victories | 4 |
| Podiums | 19 |
| Pole positions | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Final entry | 2005 Chinese Grand Prix |
Jordan Grand Prix was an Irish Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan. Jordan and his team were well known for a "rock and roll" attitude which added colour and character to Formula One in the 1990s.
In early 2005, the team was sold to Midland Group, who competed for one final season as 'Jordan', before renaming the team as MF1 Racing for the 2006 season, before being sold later in 2006 to Dutch car manufacturer Spyker to become Spyker F1 for 2007, and then sold again to become Force India in 2008.
Eddie Jordan had a brief stint as a race driver in the late 1970s before founding Eddie Jordan Racing in the early 1980s. The team first came to prominence in British Formula Three with a legendary duel between one-time Jordan test driver Ayrton Senna and Jordan-Ralt driver Martin Brundle, edged out by the Brazilian at the last round of the championship. The team graduated to International Formula 3000 for 1988, winning its first race in the category with Johnny Herbert. In 1989, Jordan won the F3000 drivers' championship with future Formula One star Jean Alesi. The team also ran future F1 drivers such as Martin Donnelly and Eddie Irvine in F3000.
Jordan's success in lower formulae inspired the creation of a Formula One programme for the 1991 season and a change of name to Jordan Grand Prix. The first driver to test a Jordan F1 car was veteran Ulsterman John Watson. Jordan hired Italian veteran Andrea de Cesaris and Belgian Bertrand Gachot to race his first cars, which were powered by Ford. The team had a very solid debut finishing 5th in the Constructors' Championship, with de Cesaris finishing 9th in the Drivers' Championship. De Cesaris ran second for much of the Belgian Grand Prix, and was actually gaining on leader Ayrton Senna until the car failed in the closing laps. Gachot failed to end the season after being sent to prison for attacking a taxi driver. Gachot was replaced for the Belgian Grand Prix by Michael Schumacher, for whom the team received $150,000 from Mercedes-Benz who were keen to give their young German sportscar star experience of Grand Prix racing in readiness for the firm's future F1 ambitions. Despite Jordan's signed agreement in principle with Mercedes for the remainder of the season, Schumacher was signed by Benetton-Ford for the following race. Jordan applied for an injunction in the UK courts to prevent Schumacher driving for Benetton, but lost the case as they had not yet signed a contract. Future Champ Car title winner Alessandro Zanardi and ousted Benetton driver Roberto Moreno filled the second car afterwards. Success for Jordan literally came at a high price. The team was forced to switch to cheaper Yamaha engines for the 1992 season. With Maurício Gugelmin and Stefano Modena driving, the team struggled badly and failed to score a point until the final race of the season.
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