Every time I saw Eddie, he’d say, ‘I made you!’, which goes all the way back to Formula 3. I knew of his own racing – he wasn’t a bad driver – and at the end of 1986 I saw him at the Grovewood Awards. He said, ‘Has anyone signed you yet?’ and I said no, so basically on the back of a napkin we did a deal.
He had backing from Stelrad so had about three-quarters of a budget and was able to give me the chance – I had no budget. He had been close to the F3 title before and he was desperate to win it. Obviously he found the right driver! When it did happen you could tell in his body language the lift it gave him. The dream of F1 was there, that’s what he wanted to do.
