EDDIE JORDAN has been warned he may have to quit to save his Formula One team.
The Irishman who put a smile on the face of Grand Prix racing is desperately seeking investment to bolster his cash-strapped operation.
He is willing to sell up - especially if the buyer is a major manufacturer - but wants to stay on as team boss.
That stance has put off potential bidders in the past and now Formula One insiders contend he must give in - or suffer the consequences.
John Watson, former runner-up in the world championship and aide to Jordan when the team graduated to Formula One in 1991, believes the man affectionately known as EJ has to confront the most difficult decision of his life.
Watson said: "I recently spoke to someone close to the situation, who suggested the team would be better off without EJ.
"I don't think EJ wants to sell unless it's to a manufacturer and he can stay on, but the survival of the team has to be the priority. The Jordan team would now probably benefit from the sort of management Ron Dennis brings to McLaren." Jordan's swaggering Silverstone-based troops shook up the stony-faced old order of Formula One to plunder a breakthrough victory in 1998 and finish an amazing third in the Constructors' Championship the following year.
But that Herculean effort took a heavy toll on the team's resources and they simply couldn't sustain their challenge to the giants of the business.
Last season was their worst for a decade, despite a win in the chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix. They finished ninth in the standings, beating only the minnows of Minardi. A failed court case against Vodafone compounded Jordan's humiliation.
Jordan has had contact with Roman Abramovich, billionaire owner of Chelsea, but the Russian's cohorts maintain he has no intention of taking over the Formula One camp.
In the absence of a sugar daddy, Jordan is having to sweeten sponsors and other potential investors, as well as attract drivers with generous backers .
Jordan have waited longer than other teams to name their drivers for this season, which starts in Australia on March 7, with candidates on tenterhooks.
Britain's Ralph Firman knows his chances of staying with the team are slim. Justin Wilson has given up hope of claiming one of the seats and another compatriot, Allan McNish, needs the financial influence of Benson & Hedges to support his case.
Proven Formula One drivers Nick Heidfeld and Jos Verstappen have been on hold all winter, but last week Jordan tested two relative unknowns in German Timo Glock and Belgium's Bas Leinders. Both crashed on their testing debuts last week.
Watson added: "It's typical of EJ to have drivers on hold, wondering what he's up to. It's a way of putting the price up. He's a born wheeler-dealer.
"Sure, he wants to find the next Michael Schumacher. As he's always telling us, he was the one who brought Schumacher into Formula One and that's perfectly true.
"EJ's also a great character in a Formula One world full of grey, boring people. He and Flavio Briatore are about the only team bosses who brighten up the place. The sport needs colour and individuals.
"EJ thrives on the limelight and the public respond to him. Sadly, he would have no purpose to his life without Formula One. He's made his money out of motor-racing but he gets more than that out of it.
"It gives him the platform for what he wants out of life. Call it ego, the need for recognition, whatever. He thrives on it.
"He's done an awful lot as a privateer entrant. He's won four Grands Prix and been third in the championship. That's a hell of an achievement.
"EJ would be a sad loss to Formula One, but the loss of the team would be even sadder. That has to be the concern for everybody."
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Jos Verstappen
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Originally Posted by 4me2
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