Unearthed document reveals that Eddie Jordan was close to buying Team Lotus in 1990.

As if the Lotus saga wasn't complicated enough, what with the long drawn out legal battle that left lawyers almost as mystified as fans as various teams claimed to own the rights to the name, a newly discovered document reveals the waters could have been further muddied had Eddie Jordan gone ahead with a proposed bid.

The document reveals that in November 1990, the Allied Irish Bank in Northampton contacted lawyers acting for Team Lotus International confirming that Jordan, including Jordan Grand Prix Ltd and Eddie Jordan Racing had the necessary funding (£1.5m) to purchase 100% of the equity of the Norfolk based team.

In the eyes of many, 1990 marked the beginning of the end for Lotus, Derek Warwick scoring the team's only points (3) with finishes in Canada and Hungary, and Martin Donnelly almost losing his life in a horrific accident in Spain.

To compound matters, at the end of the season title sponsor Camel withdrew its sponsorship.

It was in 1991 that Jordan, whose teams had enjoyed success in F3 and F3000, founded Jordan Grand Prix, taking on Gary Anderson as Chief Designer.

In his first season in F1, the Irishman employed Andrea de Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot. When the Belgian driver became unavailable, having been imprisoned for a road rage incident in London, the ever-shrewd Jordan did one of his legendary deals which saw him pocket a bundle of notes in exchange for allowing a young protege of Mercedes to make his F1 debut.

The youngster, a certain Michael Schumacher, qualified seventh for his maiden race (Spa) but failed to complete the first lap after destroying his clutch at the start.

After 15 seasons in F1, the best being 1999 when it finished third in the standings, Jordan sold the team to Alex Schnaider's Midland Group.

Had Jordan bought Team Lotus International in 1990 one wonders how different the story might have been.