Jordan: F1's doomed without the minnows

Fighting Talk
By Phil Giles
July 2 2003

Eddie Jordan has given a revealing interview with Stan Piecha, the Sun Newspaper's F1 Correspondent. Eddie claims that F1 can't do without the minnows and that if either Jordan or Minardi go to the wall (god forbid) the sport faces a rapid extinction.

Both Jordan and Minardi are financially on the brink and unable to compete with the teams with manufacturer backing.  Without the sponsors, there is no way that they can match the budgets and the money that's being thrown into the teams by the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Toyota.

Along with Sauber and Minardi, Jordan are the last of the privateers.  They are percieved by the more "serious" corporate teams as the grids fools but EJ believes far from it.

"We are not the clowns of the business" says the Irishman, "we are deadly serious about what we do. But the truth is we don't have the money to compete on a level playing field.

"Instead, we try and provide our own brand of entertainment, as do Minardi. We bring a bit of rock and roll to the paddock while the corporate teams send out a very dull image. The sport needs a human element in it and that's what we provide. We give Formula One the David and Goliath battle and, occasionally, we slay the big guys."

Despite a great start to the season with a win in Brazil, Jordan are finding it tough to concentrate on the day to day tasks of finding people and companies ready to commit serious funds to the team.  It was doubted that Jordan would make the grid at the start of the year and with the comments in todays paper, the doubts must be raised again over the future and security of the team.

The timing could have been better with the current legal action over an alleged verbal deal with Vodafone for £150m worth of sponsorship.  If Jordan loose the case, they could face costs of up to £2m which may force the team over the brink.

Jordan however believes that F1 needs teams like them because they are "the darlings of the pit lane."  EJ is quick to remind people that the likes of Michael Schumacher, Jean Alesi and Eddie Irvine were all given their big breaks by Jordan.  The manufacturer led teams would do well to remember this. "The big teams fed off the small ones like Jordan.  While that is understandable, they still exert other demands on us which I find unfair." he said.

"They [the manufacturer teams] now form the bulk of the grid but what happens if they pull out tomorrow?  If car sales suddenly drop dramatically they will be gone.  If Ferrari is split from Fiat then where are they going to get the money to run the team? We have kept going through thick and thin.

I do not believe there are any teams that would wilfully try and squeeze us out but I feel certain things are happening which are making life more difficult for us. "

"We are not looking for hand-outs," he adds, "but just a fair share of the cake. Ferrari already get the biggest slice of the cake from TV money, and, on top of that, teams like Minardi and Jordan are having to put their hands in their pockets to find £13m a year for engines. It means we don't have a lot left to spend on developing the car."

With events like Bernie Ecclestone digging into his pocket to effectively sponsor Minardi surely the sports ruling body understands the importance of the minnows.  With the demise of Prost and Arrows last year, the FIA can't allow any more teams to disappear.  The rule changes put together at the start of the season have gone some way to bring the sport back into the public eye and have made the races far more interesting.   Jordan have retained sponsors and have gained new ones but still have a way to go to make up the short fall left from last season. 

One thing is for sure and that's while Jordan remains on the grid, they can count on all the support from their fans the world over.