Formula 1 will “never” see another team boss like Eddie Jordan, that’s according to his long-time friend and former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

But that doesn’t mean Ecclestone will attend Jordan’s funeral after the 76-year-old passed away in Cape Town on Thursday morning.

Bernie Ecclestone paid tribute to Eddie Jordan

The flamboyant-music-loving Jordan revealed last year that he was battling bladder and prostate cancer that had spread to his spine.

“EJ brought an abundance of charisma, energy, and Irish charm everywhere he went,” his family said in a statement.

“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.”

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Jordan spent 15 years on the Formula 1 grid as the team owner of Jordan Grand Prix, the Irish team earning a reputation as a plucky team that punched above its weight. And led by one of the biggest characters in the sport.

The team claimed four Grand Prix victories during its time on the grid, and finished a season high of P3 in the 1999 F1 World Championship.

Bringing new talent onto the grid, most notably Michael Schumacher, Jordan quickly became a fan-favourite, even through the struggles in the later years.

He left the grid in 2004 when he sold his Formula 1 team before becoming a much-loved pundit.

For Ecclestone, though, he was a much-loved friend.

“I am very, very sad because Eddie was a special guy,” he told Mail Sport.

“Tell me which team principal today is like him. You can’t give me one because there isn’t one. They don’t make them like that now.

“We will never replace him in Formula One.

“He had been ill for some months. I last heard he was given two diagnoses by different doctors. One told him he was in trouble and another that all his problems had gone away. Now we know the answer, unfortunately.

“With Eddie, you always knew where you stood. We could joke and laugh at each other. We very were close in a strange way. We trusted each other.”

Even when Benetton “stole” Schumacher from Jordan for the 1992 season, Ecclestone said trust remained in their relationship.

“We stole Schumacher from him,” he recalled, “telling him Michael would be going to Benetton in 1992, and we discussed this through a whole night session.

“You learn a lot about people in circumstances like those. He was fighting to keep his driver but was happy if he got a few dollars in exchange for Michael going. Eddie was always looking for a few dollars in a completely nice way.

“I would have given him an open cheque because I trusted him totally.”

However, Ecclestone will not be attending Jordan’s funeral.

“I won’t be going to his funeral. I don’t go to funerals. I may not go to mine,” he said. “He certainly won’t go to mine. So, it’s all fair. It always was with Eddie.”

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