Formula 1 Legend Eddie Jordan, 76, Discloses His Fight Against ‘Aggressive’ Cancer: Former Team Boss and Analyst Opens Up About Prostate and Bladder Cancer Diagnosis, Urges Others to Get Screened

F1 legend Eddie Jordan has revealed he is battling ‘aggressive’ cancer after being diagnosed earlier this year. 

The team principal turned pundit announced he has prostate and bladder cancer, which he said had spread over the past few months. 

The 76-year-old, who ran his own team in F1 between 1991 and 2005 – before continuing to be involved in the sport as a broadcaster for the BBC and Channel 4 – is also the manager of design guru Adrian Newey.

He compared his condition to six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy who revealed in October he was terminally ill with prostate cancer.

Speaking on his Formula For Success podcast alongside co-host and 13-time grand-prix winner, David Coulthard, Jordan said: ‘We’ve kind of alluded to it over the shows, way back in March and April, I was diagnosed with bladder and prostate cancer, and then it spread into the spine and the pelvis, so it was quite aggressive.

‘We’ve all heard about our wonderful friend, Sir Chris Hoy, who’s an absolute megastar, and he is coming out and talking about illnesses like what I’ve got, but he’s a far younger man.

‘But this is a little message, and everybody listening to this: Don’t waste or put it off. Go and get tested, because in life, you’ve got chances.

‘And there is so much medical advice out there and so many things that you can do to extend your lifetime. 

‘Go and do it. Don’t be stupid. Don’t be shy. It’s not a shy thing. Look after your body, guys.’

Coulthard, who competed for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, replied: ‘EJ, wise words. 

‘You’ve had this personal experience, and it’s good to see you are looking sharp actually considering the chemotherapy.

‘I’m sure that is not the work of a moment and not a pleasant experience, but it is great that you are sharing your experience with all of our listeners.’

Jordan continued: ‘We move on, but yes, some very dark days in there. 

‘We pulled out of it, thankfully.’

Jordan’s team was named after the Irishman and entered 250 races, winning four times. 

Jordan is renowned for giving Michael Schumacher his F1 debut in 1991, while Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, ended his career with his team.

Earlier this year, Jordan oversaw Newey’s transfer from Red Bull to Aston Martin. 

It is expected that Newey, who is considered the greatest F1 technical mastermind of his time, will earn in the region of £20million-a-year to make him one of the best-paid figures in British sport.

Jordan is known for his punchy commentary, and earlier this month urged Ferrari to rip up Lewis Hamilton’s contract after he lamented his form. 

Hamilton said after a sprint race in Qatar: ‘The positive is that the car is fast and George should be able to shoot for pole tomorrow. Who knows? I’m definitely not fast anymore.

‘I’m just slow, same every weekend. Car felt relatively decent, no issues, and not really much more to say.’

Responding to the comments, Jordan urged Ferrari to back out of the contract, fearing that the British driver is ‘f***ed’ because he lacks ‘belief’. 

Speaking on his podcast, Jordan said: ‘If you don’t believe 100 per cent, you’re f***ed. Do you understand that?

‘Because belief, 99.9 per cent, means that there is that tiny, little, little thing in there knocking on your head that gives you the things that maybe, ‘Oh, I don’t really have that confidence. I don’t really have the ability’.

Chris Hoy revealed in October that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and had two to four years to live.

The six-time Olympic gold medallist, 48, told on Tuesday how he had been reduced to tears while recording a heartfelt message to his children in his new memoir, All That Matters.

Appearing on Lorraine, Hoy spoke about how he and his wife Sarra Kemp broke the news to their children Callum, nine, and Chloe, six. 

The cyclist also emphasised the importance of screenings and his campaign to get the age that GPs recommend PSA tests lowered, as he heartbreakingly admitted if he had tested earlier, he believes the disease could have been caught quicker.

He said: ‘It’s been an overwhelming response, so many people getting in touch and going to doctors for checkups. As men we’re a bit guilty of not checking our health, and that’s now changing.

‘Normally the threshold is 50, then your doctor might ask you to get a PSA test. But for me with family history – my grandpa and dad both had prostate cancer.

‘In my opinion if I had been screened earlier, then there was a chance we might have caught it. 

‘Nothing against my own GP, my doctors have been amazing, but I think in general as a nation if we can have the threshold lowered, we could save a lot of lives.’

Hoy revealed in February he was being treated for cancer, but the disease then spread to his bones, with tumours in his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine, and rib.

He appeared on BBC Breakfast News and shared his ‘absolute shock and horror’ as doctors told him the ‘nightmare’ diagnosis.

He said: ‘It’s been the toughest year of our lives so far by some stretch. 

‘No symptoms, no warnings, nothing. 

‘All I had was a pain in my shoulder and a little bit of pain in my ribs.’

‘It was the biggest shock of my life. I remember the feeling of just absolute horror and shock.’

The Mail’s End Needless Prostate Deaths campaign is raising awareness of the disease.

Currently, many of the 52,000 yearly cases are being discovered after the cancer has spread, when treatment options are limited.

Prostate cancer is responsible for 14 per cent of all male cancer deaths and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the UK.

Around 10,200 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year, with symptoms including blood in the urine, needing to urinate more often or more urgently than normal and pelvic pain.