Camel's all over the car' Wheeler-dealer work ethic turned F1 dream into reality

I still remember when Eddie Jordan and I met at the end of 1986 at a motorsport awards dinner.

- Johnny Herbert

I still remember when Eddie Jordan and I met at the end of 1986 at a motorsport awards dinner. He approached me and asked if anyone had spoken to me about driving for them the following year. I told him no one had and so on the back of a napkin, before the end of the awards, we agreed to come together for 1987 when we would go on to win the Formula 3 British Championship together.

I still believe if he hadn't given me that chance in Formula 3, I'm not quite sure I'd have had that success or would have got to Formula One without him.

During that year, I got to know the real Eddie Jordan. You can see the Eddie that was on TV and when he was a team owner but when I went down to Sotogrande, to his place in Spain with his family we became close. He was just a brilliant host and he made all his drivers feel very comfortable within the walls of Eddie Jordan Racing as it was at the time and of course then later with the F1 team, when he brought in Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill among many others.

What was also impossible to ignore was his work ethic; it's no surprise that he achieved what he achieved. His work ethic was continuous, all day and sometimes, literally, all night. There was always a deal to be done and there was always this passion for it.