Eddie Irvine

Interesting facts

Eddie Irvine grew up in a Northern Irish family and worked unpaid in the family scrapyard to fund his own racing career. On his 1993 Jordan debut at the Japanese Grand Prix he scored points immediately, but his move to unlap himself against leader Ayrton Senna so enraged the Brazilian that Senna punched him in the paddock, earning Senna a suspended two-race ban. From 1996 he partnered Michael Schumacher at Ferrari as the clear number two, but proved a resilient and competitive teammate over four seasons. In 1999, after Schumacher broke his leg at the British Grand Prix, Irvine took over as team leader, winning in Austria and Germany (the latter handed to him by teammate Mika Salo), and finished the championship just two points behind champion Mika Häkkinen - the peak of his career. Nicknamed 'Irv the Swerve' and later 'Fast Eddie,' he retired after ten F1 seasons with four wins and 26 podiums, never a champion. Eddie Irvine made his Formula 1 debut in 1993 and raced until 2002, 10 seasons in total as a British driver. He scored a total of 191 championship points over his career. His best season was 1999, when he finished 2nd in the championship with 74 points.