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Picking an ’82 winner

Nigel Roebuck — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:27:05 +0000

Dear Nigel,

We’ve just had a season when a Ferrari driver could/should have won the F1 title but didn’t. Very rare for it to slip through the fingers of Ferrari of all teams when in the driving seat! The most recent occasion this happened prior to 2010 was perhaps 1982, for very different and tragic reasons of course. I know you were a fan and also a close pal of Gilles but, if you are able to look at it without bias, who in your mind would have got the upper hand had we been treated to a season-long Villeneuve-Pironi battle? Sure, Gilles appeared the more spectacular/quicker of the two, but Pironi perhaps the more shrewd and he was, after all, at the time of his accident beginning to stamp his authority on the season. And, no, nor can I believe that 28 years have since passed!

Joe Gillis

Dear Joe,

Yes, Gilles was a friend, and I think I’ll always believe him to be the fastest racing driver there has ever been, but your question is a good one, and I’ll do my best to be unbiased in answering it!

We know what happened in 1982: Pironi ‘stole’ the victory from Villeneuve at Imola, and two weeks later, at Zolder, Gilles was killed at the end of qualifying. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind – after talking at length to Villeneuve on the phone a couple of days after Imola, and again on the Friday at Zolder – that Pironi’s duplicity was responsible for the all-or-nothing frame of mind in which he went to his last race.

Three months later, of course, Didier – leading the World Championship – had the accident in practice at Hockenheim which was to end his motor racing career. And five years after that, having taken up powerboat racing, he was killed in an accident in the Needles Trophy.

At the end of 1982 Enzo Ferrari had a trophy made for him, inscribed – in Italian, of course – ‘Didier Pironi, the true World Champion of 1982’. And, had he not been so grievously injured at Hockenheim, I’m sure he would have taken the title that year. Would he have done so, however, if Villeneuve had still been around?

It’s certainly not impossible. No, he wasn’t as quick as Gilles – no one was – but in 1979 that had also been true of Jody Scheckter, and although Gilles had been the Ferrari driver who supplied the blinding speed and the drama, Jody had been the one to concentrate on points, and thus came out of the season as World Champion.

It could have gone that way for Pironi, too. Let’s bear in mind that Didier had gone beyond being merely a good Grand Prix driver, and was becoming a great one. As Mauro Forghieri put it to me, “Because Gilles was on another level, it wasn’t until he had gone that we began to realise just how good Pironi was…”

So… I think it could have gone either way, as in 1979. In my heart, though, I’ll always believe that Villeneuve would have done it, and you wouldn’t really expect me to say anything else, would you?

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Does Ferrari not want an Italian star?

Rob Widdows — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:13:59 +0000

Does Ferrari not want an Italian star?

My thanks to those of you who have so mercilessly pointed out the weaknesses in my 2010 motor sport predictions. I do like a bit of feedback…

I am a huge fan of opera, particularly Italian opera. More specifically I am a devotee of Giacomo Puccini whose passions in life, other than his music, were women and fast cars. The music brought him wealth, enabling him to indulge in the fastest and raciest of the 1920s. I am referring here to the cars.

In daring to predict the outcome of a sport such as Formula 1, risks must be taken. Following the premieres of La Boheme and Tosca, two of Puccini’s finest, both were demolished by the critics who were they alive today would be squirming.

This brings me to motor racing, which aside from food and opera is the abiding passion in Italy. Ferrari of course is akin to a religion, vying with the Vatican and Serie ‘A’ football for devotion.

Back in the day, a Grand Prix grid without Italians was unthinkable, whether they were hotshots from lower formulae or sons of a wealthy Papa who brought bags of lire to the party. Both were welcome. There has been a Gran Premio d’Italia every year since 1950 without exception, and always at L’Autodromo Nazionale Monza, a circuit first used for racing in 1922. The country oozes motor racing and has done all the way from Ascari to Zanardi and beyond. Astonishingly, Alberto Ascari was the last Italian to win the World Championship in 1953, unless we’re counting Mario Andretti as an Italian. Today, there are but two Italians on the F1 grid: Jarno Trulli, in his twilight years, and Vitantonio Liuzzi fighting to keep his seat.

What on earth has gone wrong? The last Italian to win a Grand Prix in a Ferrari was Michele Alboreto in 1985. Only Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella have raced recently for the Scuderia, and only then in place of the injured Felipe Massa.

Some lay the blame at the gates of Maranello. Enzo Ferrari could not tempt the likes of Moss, Clark and Hill to race the red cars, but he wanted them. The (itals) Commendatore cared not where his driver came from as long as he was the fastest, and the Prancing Horse won the race, taking all the glory. If you look upon Ferrari as the university of Italian motor racing, you’ll see that precious few locals have gained entry, let alone graduated with any kind of honours. In recent decades not one Italian has raced regularly for the team, and this may have adversely affected the country’s ‘staircase of talent’, as Sir Jackie Stewart likes to call it. Not Agip, Fiat or Marelli have been of much assistance in the way that Elf and Gitanes have invested in the future of French motor racing.

It is extraordinary to note that post-Tazio Nuvolari, Alberto Ascari remains the most successful Italian with 13 Grand Prix wins followed by ‘American’ Andretti with 12 – and these are the only two in double figures. Riccardo Patrese scored six, while Giuseppe Farina and Michele Alboreto won five apiece. Fisichella took three and de Angelis two, while the rest have only a single victory. This only reflects the modern World Championship, but it does tell a story.

The Scuderia has recently tested three young Italians, including Formula 3 hotshot Mirko Bortolotti. At the same time its ‘Advanced Driver Programme’ includes an 11-year-old Canadian boy who’s been winning kart races in Quebec. As stated, it’s winners they want, wherever they come from.

Forza Italia. Viva Veloce. But when? Not any time soon, it seems. And that’s a real sadness for someone like me, who would choose Italy over any country were I to move from Britain.

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Hall of Fame opens with a bang

Damien Smith — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:08:53 +0000

Hall of Fame opens with a bang

Motor Sport broke new ground last night – for both the magazine and for British racing – when we launched our Hall of Fame event at the Roundhouse in Camden.

It was a star-studded night as some of the biggest names in motor sport joined 400 guests for a celebration that looks set to become an annual highlight of the racing season.

The Hall of Fame format is a popular one in the US, particularly in sport and music. But it’s a new idea for motor racing here in the UK.

Last night our host – and BBC Formula 1 presenter – Jake Humphrey announced the eight ‘founding members’ of the Hall of Fame, a group best described as the most important and successful men from racing history. The eight founders are:

Tazio Nuvolari
Enzo Ferrari
Juan Manuel Fangio
Sir Stirling Moss
Jim Clark
Sir Jackie Stewart
Ayrton Senna
Michael Schumacher.

Moss and Stewart were on hand to mark their inclusion in motor racing’s newest and most exclusive club. Once this ‘virtual’ Hall of Fame had been officially opened, the first four inductees were invited to join them.

The motor racing knights welcomed Moss’s old friend, team-mate and rival Tony Brooks into the Hall of Fame. Brooks has never received the recognition he deserves for his performances with Connaught, Vanwall, Ferrari and Aston Martin during the 1950s, and he was delighted to be presented with a beautiful watch, courtesy of TAG Heuer.

Le Mans legend Jacky Ickx, McLaren boss Ron Dennis and American all-round hero Mario Andretti joined Brooks to complete the line-up of inaugural inductees. They were all there at the Roundhouse to accept the honour.

Once the formalities were over, the guests were entertained by the fabulous Kyle Eastwood Band. Kyle, son of movie icon Clint Eastwood, is one of the most highly rated young jazz musicians around – and we found out why last night.

To read more about Motor Sport’s special night, don’t miss the April issue of the magazine, which goes on sale on March 5.

Our thanks to: TAG Heuer, Virgin Cargo, Bahrain International Circuit, Mercedes-Benz, NSPCC, the Roundhouse, Hackett, David Weguelin, McLaren, Richard Frankel, DT Performance, Hugo Boss, Sky Sports, Jake Humphrey, LAT Photographic, The Macallan, Lord March, Janet Bradley at Goodwood, Rob Widdows, Sir Paul Vestey, Doug Nye, Stephen Vokins at the National Motor Museum, Richard Gadeselli of Fiat Group Automobiles SpA, Martin Stockham of Gemini Pictures, Renault

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