is a former
British racing driver. He was born Edmund Irvine on
10 November ,
1965 , in
Newtownards , and grew up in
Conlig ,
County Down ,
Northern Ireland .
His professional racing career began in 1983 and he progressed to
Formula Three racing in 1988, before moving on to
Formula 3000 in 1989. He got his break in the top of the Formula racing series after he started racing for
Jordan in the
Formula 3000 series in 1990, and was subsequently picked up by the Jordan
Formula One team in 1993.
Irvine was influenced by his parents, who are also involved in motor racing. His reputation increased steadily in Formula One, eventually leading to
Ferrari signing him to partner
Michael Schumacher in 1996.
1999 saw his most successful season when he took the drivers' championship right to the last race, finishing a close second. He left Ferrari the following year for the new
Jaguar Racing team and was the only driver to get Jaguar to the podium in their short F1 history.
In the early stages of his F1 career, Irvine was known as a fierce competitor. Even when he had a weaker car with which he only qualified for the rear of the grid, he had a tendency to "try to win a race at the start", often causing himself and others to exit a race in an untimely and untidy fashion.
He was also noted for his personality, perhaps best described as anti-authoritarian. He finished 6th and secured a point on his debut Formula One race with Jordan in
1993 at
Suzuka . This race set the theme of controversy for Irvine that would follow him for the next couple of years. Seeing
Ayrton Senna coming up behind him in his rear-view mirror, Irvine allowed him to pass. However, when Senna seemingly did not bother to lap
Damon Hill who Irvine was racing against at the time, he felt he was being held up and, amazingly for a rookie against an all-time great, unlapped himself and immediately overtook Hill. Incensed, Senna walked into the Jordan motorhome after the race finished and punched Irvine.
Irvine continued with Jordan through 1994 until 1995, where he was generally quicker than his younger, though more experienced team-mate,
Rubens Barrichello . His lack of reliability as well as tendency to get involved in accidents in 1994 did not mirror his speed in the final championship standings.
Irvine's affinity for apparently reckless driving, later mirrored by
Juan Pablo Montoya , began to dissipate when he moved to the Ferrari team. F1 sports commentators even changed his
Nickname from "Irv the swerve" to "Steady Eddie" and "Fast Eddie".
As the Formula One world became more technical and the driver personalities less distinctive, his non-conformist approach was generally appreciated.
The
Ferrari team picked him as number 2 to
Michael Schumacher for 1996 but despite out-qualifying and beating the German in the first race of the season, Irvine was forced to play second fiddle and on many occasions, sacrificed potential good results to help his team-mate.
In 1998, Eddie Irvine's fitness level was in question as he had suffered from back pain. His seat was adjusted to help combat this problem. Possibly stemming from this, a journalist suggested he was unfit. His playboy image might also have contributed to the journalist's allegation. In stark contrast with the journalist's allegation however, three days prior to the publication of the article, Eddie Irvine had recorded one of the highest levels of fitness of an F1 driver.
1999 saw Irvine's career reach a peak as, through a combination of circumstance and the culmination of his much improved and matured style and performance during his years at Ferrari, he found himself battling for the World Championship following
Michael Schumacher's accident in the
British Grand Prix .
Irvine won the season's opening grand prix in Australia in a race with significant attrition and, with consistent points finishes and subsequent good form, was relatively well placed to take up the fight as the team's lead driver alongside Schumacher's replacement,
Mika Salo . A controversial victory handed to him by Salo, out of sight of TV cameras in the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim followed, although Irvine looked set to pass Salo with or without his help.
Further wins in Austria and
Malaysia heightened Irvine's title hopes. The normally flawless Ferrari pitcrew had messed up on Eddie's pitstops in two races, causing him a loss of some valuable points that left Irvine's championship lead smaller than it could have been. The returning Schumacher aided him in Malaysia, letting his team-mate past and then holding up title challenger
Mika Häkkinen . Both Ferraris were disqualified hours after the race as a result of a minor aerodynamic irregularity concerning the cars' bargeboards, seemingly handing the title to
McLaren's Häkkinen, and the constructors' championship to the British team. However, the decision was later overturned and both cars reinstated in the race results, meaning that Irvine headed into the final round leading the 1999 Formula One World Drivers' Championship.
In the title showdown at
Suzuka , only a win could guarantee Irvine the title. In the event, his third place finish behind Hakkinen and Schumacher handed the championship to the
Finn .
It is interesting to note, however, that under the current points system in
Formula One , Irvine would have won the 1999 championship.
, 2002]]
Notwithstanding his success in 1999, Irvine had become increasingly frustrated with a Ferrari team that had a team orders policy, meaning that he had to consistently take a backseat, as it were, to the admittedly superior Schumacher. He moved to Jaguar in 2000 to help establish the
Jaguar Racing team where he finally became the lead driver.
The team learned much from Irvine's experience with Ferrari, but ultimately the Jaguar package was unreliable and uncompetitive. Driving a car not half as quick as most others, and dogged by the reliability problems, he still managed to get podium results in
Monaco and
Monza .
Friction in the Jaguar camp and his vocal frustration at the lack of positive development of the car resulted in his contract not being renewed. He was considered for a return to Jordan for the 2003 season but, due to that team's financial problems, he was left without a drive. He announced his retirement from Formula One racing that year.
Irvine is seen by many as a playboy in the mould of
James Hunt , in contrast to the sport's modern stars, who are seen as staid and less flamboyant. Irvine is also remembered for his tendency to speak his mind, often to the irritation of some.
Following the collapse of talks with
Minardi in 2005, Irvine is now considering setting up his own ''
Formula One '' team from scratch. Outside of F1 Irvine is said to have built up a multi-million
Pound property portfolio, owning around 40 properties throughout the world. He is also the owner of Eddie Irvine Sports, a
Snooker ,
Pool ,
Kart Racing ,
Paintballing and
Football facility in
Bangor , close to his native Conlig.
He is now executive producer of a film being produced about
Paddy Mayne .
- He is a friend of the U2 frontman Bono , who taught him how to play the guitar.
- According to the Sunday Times Rich List , published in April 2006, Irvine is now the fifth richest person of Northern Ireland, having increased his personal fortune to approximately £160 million.
