{"id":54072,"date":"2017-07-03T15:55:07","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T14:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/issue_content\/reflections-with-nigel-roebuck-22\/"},"modified":"2020-11-23T08:05:06","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T08:05:06","slug":"reflections-nigel-roebuck-2","status":"publish","type":"issue_content","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/february-2017\/15\/reflections-nigel-roebuck-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Nico Rosberg’s retirement \u2014 Reflections with Nigel Roebuck"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Putting the world to rights with Martin Brundle<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Of course I\u2019m a bit jaundiced about him at the moment \u2013 about racing drivers in general, in fact. One of the reasons for this team\u2019s success over the last three years is that it\u2019s always had the very best of everything \u2013 including drivers \u2013 so his departure so late in the season, besides being grossly inconsiderate to us, is a big setback to our plans. By the time he informed us of his decision, there was no one else of his calibre available to us.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, all I care about is the team, and the points we earn. I\u2019m not bothered about who scores them \u2013 why should I care which one of them wins? They\u2019re only employees, after all\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

In light of recent events, and his response to them, you might reasonably take these remarks to be from Niki Lauda<\/a>, plainly irked by Nico Rosberg<\/a>\u2019s unexpected decision, after becoming world champion, to retire from motor racing, leaving Mercedes<\/a> in something of a quandary when it comes to a team-mate for Lewis Hamilton<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n

In fact, though, the blunt words are from Frank Williams, and they were uttered 35 years ago, when I went to his house shortly before Christmas. While delighted that Williams Grand Prix Engineering<\/a> had retained the championship for constructors, Frank remained livid about the departure of his number one driver, Alan Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs in everything, you have to learn the hard way,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to be realistic about racing drivers, to accept that most of them are in it to make as much money as they can, and as soon as they\u2019re satisfied\u2026 gone<\/i>!\u201d<\/p>\n

Given that such as Villeneuve<\/a>, Piquet<\/a> and Pironi<\/a> were unavailable to him, Williams eventually signed a driver who had never been near a competitive car, whose career was becalmed after desultory years with the Fittipaldi<\/a> team. This was K Rosberg<\/a>, and the agreement turned out rather well, Keke \u2013 against all expectations \u2013 winning the world championship in 1982.<\/p>\n

Now, all these years on, it is his son Nico<\/a> who has created the headlines recently, first by beating Hamilton to the title, then by announcing he would not be defending it in the coming season.<\/p>\n

\n \"Nico\n
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Rosberg celebrates his title win – he announced his retirement five days later<\/p>\n

\n Grand Prix Photo\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

If Lauda has typically made no secret of his disappointment at Rosberg\u2019s decision, at the position in which Formula 1\u2019s dominant team now finds itself, others at Mercedes have been more soothing, saying they understand why, having achieved his life\u2019s ambition, Nico should wish to leave the pressure behind, to devote more time to his family.<\/p>\n

Unlike such as Damon Hill<\/a>, Jackie Stewart<\/a> and Jody Scheckter<\/a>, Martin Brundle is in Lauda\u2019s camp. When we met for our traditional pre-Christmas lunch \u2013 four hours of good-humoured devil\u2019s advocacy \u2013 it was clear he had been left aghast by Rosberg\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cTimes have changed, and the thing is that these kids \u2013 David [Coulthard]<\/a> was one of the first \u2013 have been lifelong professional racing drivers since they were eight years old: they do 200-plus Grands Prix, 10 or 11 seasons, and by the age of 31 they\u2019ve been doing it for a quarter of a century \u2013 and they\u2019re burned out. Nico\u2019s decision is for me a sign of that \u2013 but still I can\u2019t understand why he\u2019s retiring!\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Remember Senna at Donington Park in 1993? Ran away with it in the pouring rain. One of the best drives ever. Yes, but how does it compare with, say, Moss…<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

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Well, I said, Rosberg\u2019s life ambition was to become world champion; maybe to do it once was enough \u2013 and realistically he must have been aware that his chances of beating Lewis again were slim.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hear what you\u2019re saying,\u201d Brundle replied, \u201cbut you don\u2019t have to be champion every year. The analogy that\u2019s been used is, \u2018I\u2019ve reached the summit.\u2019 Well, surely, if you do that you want to spend a bit of time enjoying the view \u2013 and then a jubilant descent. Nico hasn\u2019t stayed around to savour the journey he\u2019s had, getting to where he is. I suppose this is what I don\u2019t understand about his retirement \u2013 how can you replace that adrenalin rush?<\/p>\n

\u201cEven now \u2013 at 57 \u2013 if Mercedes offered me the drive, I\u2019d take it! When I was allowed to drive the car I only had 20 laps, in heavy rain, and it was unbelievable<\/i> \u2013 better than most cars I raced in the dry! How can you walk away from that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Austin, in 2015, seems to have been a turning point for Rosberg. For one thing, Hamilton declined to use much lock at the first corner, putting his team-mate off the road, but there was nothing new in that; more to the point, in Nico\u2019s mind, was that later, when leading, he made a mistake that let Lewis through for the victory \u2013 and the points he needed to clinch the title.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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\n Duel In the Desert | Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg – Mercedes – 2014 | Limited Edition poster\n <\/h3>\n
\n £99.00<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n<\/article>\n
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Thereafter Rosberg won the last three races of the season, and then the first four of 2016. Ask anyone at Mercedes what they most admire about Nico, and they will tell you that \u2013 apart from his unequalled work ethic \u2013 it is his ability to bounce back. As Lauda said, \u201cFor all his charm, Nico is one tough nut…\u201d<\/p>\n

This year it has seemed to me that Rosberg was not himself, in the sense that, while remaining unfailingly polite in endless interviews, his answers were more bland than before. Whenever invited to respond to Hamilton\u2019s latest jibe, he declined, just as when asked if he were yet starting to think about the championship. No, he insisted; he was \u2013 absolutely \u2013 taking one race at a time. It was as if he had gone into a cocoon, shutting out anything that could be a distraction.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Brundle agreed, \u201che did get that mantra going, and I thought it was really smart. \u2018Qualifying \u2013 the start \u2013 the race \u2013 25 points. I\u2019ll just keep collecting as many points as I can \u2013 and if I get to the end of the year with more than anyone else, I\u2019ll be champion\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

\n \"Nico\n
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Rosberg set fastest lap on his F1 debut at Bahrain in 2006<\/p>\n

\n Grand Prix Photo\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cThese days the drivers don\u2019t have the danger, or the ceaseless testing, any more, and they\u2019re pampered beyond belief \u2013 that\u2019s the way it is. What they do have, though, is relentless talking into a microphone \u2013 and inevitably being asked the same questions 20 times a day, especially when it\u2019s getting to the vinegar strokes of the championship. They need to have a strategy to manage the media, and I understand that. Of course, the Kimis<\/a> of this world quickly learn that if they\u2019re not good in interviews, they get fewer to do!<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as the rivalry between Rosberg and Hamilton is concerned, I think it\u2019s actually been more intense than that between Piquet and Mansell<\/a>, even \u2013 in some ways \u2013 between Prost<\/a> and Senna<\/a>. And I say that because those four guys \u2013 even if in the end they might become friends \u2013 could, at certain moments, really hate<\/i> each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cNico and Lewis, though, were friends from the age of 13, went karting together, talked about being world champion one day \u2013 and I think that emotional baggage made it harder for them, and when they did run into each other \u2013 at Spa or Barcelona or Spielberg \u2013 it was increasingly difficult for them to manage that. It\u2019s like a rivalry with your best friend, or your brother, and that must have added to the intensity of it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe season\u2019s over, and Nico has beaten Lewis \u2013 but now he\u2019s retired, and you know how this business is: when we get to Melbourne<\/a> next year, who will be talking about Nico Rosberg?\u201d<\/p>\n

True, I said, but probably he isn\u2019t going to worry about that \u2013 he\u2019s never had a towering ego.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBreakfast with… Niki Lauda\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
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Niki Lauda: Been there done that Many drivers have a corner named in their honour, rather fewer a breakfast. For those waking up in central Vienna, however, the \u2018Niki Lauda…<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

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By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSimon Arron<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>\n <\/div>\n
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\u201cNo, you\u2019re right \u2013 Nico\u2019s a very<\/i> nice young man. He may have grown up in a privileged background \u2013 as Lewis is forever reminding us \u2013 but he\u2019s been properly brought up, he\u2019s got lovely manners, a great sense of humour\u2026 It\u2019s always seemed to me that everything Jackie Stewart did was absolutely rational, and I think there\u2019s an element of that with Nico.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of our lunch, Mercedes had yet to make a decision on Rosberg\u2019s replacement, and neither Brundle nor I was terribly excited by the probable choices. Ideally, I said, I\u2019d like to see Fernando Alonso<\/a> back in a team with Hamilton, not least because he is the one driver in F1 immune to Lewis\u2019s attempts at intimidation, verbal or otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I agree,\u201d said Martin. \u201cI would love<\/i> to see him at Mercedes, I must say. He never has an off day \u2013 and he\u2019s bullet-proof. You\u2019re not going to intimidate Fernando. People like him are just driven<\/i> to superhuman performances, dissatisfied with every lap, every race. \u2018This is me, this is my calling \u2013 I\u2019m better than all of you\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cZak Brown is new at McLaren, and keeping Alonso from moving to Mercedes could have been his first challenge, but it\u2019s unlikely to happen: apparently Ferdy said at a Honda event in Japan that he was definitely staying put. The other thing about him is his comments about \u2018GP2 engines\u2019, sitting in the deckchair at Interlagos last year, and stuff like that \u2013 if you\u2019re on the Mercedes board, do you want all that?\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Rosberg-Schumacher line-up is announced to the world in late 2009<\/p>\n

\n Grand Prix Photo\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

I said I wasn\u2019t sure that would be a problem. These people have, after all, tolerated Hamilton\u2019s dark insinuations about his own team, his suggestion that there was more to the swapping of the two teams of mechanics for 2016 than Toto Wolff had suggested, his declaration after the engine failure at Sepang<\/a> that, \u2018Someone doesn\u2019t want me to win this championship\u2026\u2019 and finally his parting shot, as he left Abu Dhabi<\/a>, when asked if he were going to reclaim the championship in 2017: \u201cYeah \u2013 if we get equal cars\u2026\u201d These things being so, sitting in a deckchair shouldn\u2019t present too much of a problem.<\/p>\n

Brundle grinned. \u201cYeah \u2013 all right! It probably wouldn\u2019t have been too easy for Toto to manage \u2013 but he\u2019s got another problem, hasn\u2019t he? He\u2019s the manager of both Wehrlein<\/a> and Bottas<\/a>, the two favourites to be Hamilton\u2019s team-mate \u2013 so how d\u2019you think Lewis is going to take that? If you want to see some ghosts, try that<\/i> one!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing that Wehrlein is in this position, isn\u2019t it? Force India<\/a> didn\u2019t want him, preferring Esteban Ocon<\/a>, and he didn\u2019t seem to have much on offer \u2013 yet now he\u2019s possibly in line for Mercedes!<\/p>\n

\u201cWehrlein has a reputation for being truculent, as well as very pleased with himself. When he was doing the DTM for Mercedes, he succeeded in alienating all the team\u2019s other drivers\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Quite a feat, I said, at that age.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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\u201cIt is, isn\u2019t it? He comes across as quite a nice bloke when he\u2019s interviewed, but remember that incident in the Manor<\/a> at Austin<\/a>, when he got into a gravel trap, and refused to switch the engine off? Six times they told him before he finally did it \u2013 I thought that not only stupid, but also arrogant beyond belief.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019ve said, it looks certain that Alonso won\u2019t be with Hamilton, but I tell you what, if I were Toto, I\u2019d rather be managing those two than, say, Hamilton and Wehrlein \u2013 for all the occasional nuclear fall-out, it\u2019s a lot easier to manage two amazing<\/i> drivers than one who\u2019s under-performing. Toto\u2019s got a big ego and Lewis challenges it \u2013 I think he\u2019d love to bring in somebody who could spank him!<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing back to Nico, I wonder what Gerhard (Berger)<\/a> thinks, having negotiated a new deal for him? I bet he got his commission up front!\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in their karting days Hamilton was already the quicker of the two, so Rosberg has had a long time to think, \u2018How am I ever going to beat him?\u2019 Nico is extremely intelligent, and you get the impression he spent every waking minute thinking about it.<\/p>\n

As well as that, I said, anyone at Mercedes will privately tell you how much harder he worked than Lewis, in terms of time spent at Brackley, working in the simulator, and so on.<\/p>\n

\n \"Nico\n
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Happier times: Rosberg and Hamilton before the 2016 finale<\/p>\n

\n Grand Prix Photo\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Martin laughed, \u201cbut I worked harder than Michael (Schumacher)<\/a> and Mika (H\u00e4kkinen)<\/a> when I was in teams with them \u2013 but they were just quicker than me!\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought it unlikely that Rosberg had ever been under any illusions about that. On the other hand, while he might very occasionally have had a poor race, like Monaco<\/a>, fundamentally he brought his \u2018A game\u2019 to every Grand Prix, whereas Hamilton patently does not, and it is this that most mystifies me about him. For a driver of his greatness, how does one explain weekends like Baku<\/a> and Suzuka<\/a>?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s a confused boy,\u201d said Brundle. \u201cI don\u2019t know if he\u2019s Lewis from LA or Lewis from Stevenage \u2013 at different times he can be either. I think detail gets to Lewis \u2013 he can get distracted by things that shouldn\u2019t bother him, and he hasn\u2019t got anyone around him to give him some blinkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Come to that, the press conference at Suzuka\u2026 Why, at a time when he had the sympathy of the press, after what had happened at Sepang, did he turn up, spoiling for a fight with them?<\/p>\n

\u201cGod knows. It was disrespectful, arrogant and unnecessary. I presume something had pissed him off \u2013 maybe something he had read about Sepang, I don\u2019t know. Undoubtedly he was still upset with Mercedes \u2013 let\u2019s be honest, the blow-up cost him the title.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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So it did \u2013 but so, too, did the bad start at Suzuka\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue \u2013 and Melbourne and Monza<\/a>, come to that. I have no qualms in saying that at mid-season I don\u2019t think Lewis was fully dedicated \u2013 in fact, as a Mercedes man told me, it was only post-Suzuka that he came with a new attitude. Undoubtedly he screwed up at Suzuka, on the track as well as off: he made a terrible start and was back in eighth, but once he\u2019d cleared the pack I thought, \u2018Here we go\u2026\u2019 Didn\u2019t happen, though, did it?<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving said that, thereafter he turned up with such<\/i> a focus that he was unbeatable. Look at Interlagos<\/a> in the wet: justifiably we all raved on about Verstappen<\/a> \u2013 but there was one person that Max was not going to beat that day. It was a perfect drive by Lewis.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod knows why he chose to pick a fight with the press in Japan \u2013 but something that strikes me about Lewis is that he doesn\u2019t have anyone around him to talk things through, does he? I\u2019ve noticed that on Twitter he posts these pictures of himself, and he\u2019s always<\/i> on his own. Of course you see magazine photos of him with \u2018celebs\u2019 like Rhianna or Serena Williams, but he seems to have no friends among the drivers, and apparently he doesn\u2019t want any \u2013 on the truck, going around the circuit before the start, there he sits at the front, headphones on\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly it\u2019s \u2018a statement\u2019, and I find that sad. You look at these pictures of him on Twitter \u2013 it\u2019s always him with his jet, him with his dog\u2026 always by himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething that strikes me as odd is that in other sports, like tennis or golf, if you don\u2019t have a coach \u2013 a mind coach \u2013 you\u2019re nowhere, but if you employed one in motor sport you\u2019d be considered weak. I used to dismiss all that, but honestly I look at it now, and realise it\u2019s just a part of your performance that\u2019s wasted. I never thought I\u2019d say that, but if I had my time over again I\u2019d bring those people in \u2013 how can I be better?\u201d<\/p>\n

Something I have never understood about certain drivers, I said, is how they can be so great \u2013 yet at the same time so insecure that they feel a constant need to remind the world how<\/i> great they are, relative to their team-mate.<\/p>\n

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Rosberg leads Hamilton at Monaco 2016<\/p>\n

\n Grand Prix Photo\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d said Brundle, \u201cit\u2019s strange, isn\u2019t it? Lewis said he was probably the only guy who saw Nico\u2019s retirement coming \u2018because he hasn\u2019t won anything for 18 years\u2026\u2019 When I first heard that, I thought it was a back-handed compliment, but then I realised it was no compliment at all \u2013 it was just back-handed! It was like this was his one last chance to rip Nico before he went out of his life\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Conversation went back to Abu Dhabi, where Hamilton scored his fourth victory on the trot, and Rosberg clinched the title. Before the weekend Lewis was asked if he planned to \u2018back up\u2019 Nico in the race, in the hope that a Verstappen or Vettel<\/a> or Ricciardo<\/a> might get between the Mercedes drivers, and take points from his rival. He said not: it was more in his nature to win by the biggest possible margin, as, for example, Nigel Mansell liked to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas his nose growing when he said that?\u201d Brundle laughed.\u00a0\u201cAs it happens, that\u2019s what Lewis should have done, because what he tried didn\u2019t work \u2013 he might as well have gone for it, and looked amazing. In fact, Mansell went on Twitter and said\u00a0what Lewis did\u00a0was disgraceful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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In the event Hamilton indeed backed up Rosberg in the late laps, and did it consummately, running flat out where overtaking was possible, crawling in the slow bits. Personally \u2013 save in the \u2018artistic\u2019 sense \u2013 I had no problem with that, accepting that it offered the only chance, however remote, of keeping his title.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Lewis did wasn\u2019t pretty,\u201d said Martin. \u201cI didn\u2019t enjoy watching it, or commentating on it, and I didn\u2019t respect him for it \u2013 but I grudgingly accept that it was his only option that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

What I really didn\u2019t care for, I said, was Hamilton\u2019s churlish behaviour in defeat. Whereas Vettel warmly congratulated Nico in the \u2018green room\u2019, before the podium, Lewis refused even to make eye contact with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t classy, was it?\u201d Brundle said. \u201cParticularly when you contrast it with Nico\u2019s behaviour in the same place two years earlier. The 2014 race was also a championship-decider between them, but although Nico had mechanical problems from the start, he chose not to park the car. That was absolute class \u2013 most drivers would have given up \u2013 and that mentality means the world to me. If you ask me what was the most impressive<\/i> thing I ever saw Nico Rosberg do it was that. And once the race was over, he went straight to the green room to congratulate Lewis\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like Massa at Interlagos in 2008, when for about half a minute he thought he was world champion. Under extreme circumstances, both guys behaved with grace and class. Sportsmanship still matters, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I will say about Lewis is that he\u2019s a thinker \u2013 he\u2019s more intelligent than he\u2019s given credit for sometimes. I\u2019ve interviewed him many times, and found that you very rarely catch him out\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

OK, I said, but if he\u2019s so much a thinker, why didn\u2019t he think, \u2018If I behave badly towards Nico, people aren\u2019t going to be very impressed?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he\u2019s not stylish, is he? My \u2018straighteners\u2019 in life were my parents, my grammar school, my technical college, Ken Tyrrell<\/a> and so on, but what straighteners do these kids have, when they\u2019ve never known anything in life but motor racing? Where are their reference points?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last conversation I had with Michael Schumacher was at the Hotel de la Ville in Monza. This was 2012, his last year of racing, and he came into the restaurant and sat down at a table on his own. Liz and I were nearby. As you know, Michael and I never had the greatest relationship, but I walked over, and said, \u2018Would you like to join us?\u2019 He said yes, he would, and we got talking. At one point he said something that hit me quite hard: \u2018You should always be totally supportive of your son, endlessly positive, arm round the shoulder\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

\n
\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018If I tell Alex he\u2019s always right, how\u2019s he going to know when he\u2019s wrong?\u2019 When I listed the guys who\u2019d straightened me up, both Michael and Liz said, \u2018That\u2019s great \u2013 but they\u2019re not your dad\u2026\u2019 I still didn\u2019t agree with them: I thought of Ken and Dave Price and Tom Walkinshaw, and the way they ripped me to bits, and the way I reacted every time: \u2018I\u2019ll bloody show you!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom King\u2019s Lynn to Ockham, where Tyrrell was based, was a seven-hour return journey, and I\u2019d get there, and eventually be invited into Ken\u2019s office. I\u2019m just back from Monaco, where I\u2019ve made 2700 manual gear changes, and there on his desk would be a gear cluster.\u00a0\u2018See the damage on these dog rings?\u2019 Ken would say. \u2018Any idea how much that\u2019s cost me?\u2019 I\u2019d say, \u2018I don\u2019t know, Ken, but I imagine quite a lot of money\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThen he\u2019d get out the Longines timing sheets from the race. \u2018On lap 43 you got lapped by Alain Prost, and you lost one and a half seconds. Do you know how much it would cost me to find one and a half seconds per lap?\u2019 \u2018I don\u2019t know, Ken, but I imagine quite a lot\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo things came out of that. One, I believe I became the best gear changer in F1 \u2013 and two, I also became the most hated driver! I remember Arnoux<\/a> complaining that I would never get out of the way, and I told him I wasn\u2019t allowed to!<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want a seven-hour drive to talk about Longines times and bloody dog rings, but when you get that kind of straightener from a man you respect enormously, it registers, believe me. When your dad\u2019s your manager, and you\u2019ve got this enormous comfort blanket around you, it\u2019s not the same, is it? Where are the straighteners in that? At Abu Dhabi Mercedes radioed Lewis, to tell him to get his foot down because he was risking screwing things up for Mercedes, and he says, \u2018I\u2019m very happy, thank you \u2013 I think you\u2019ll find I\u2019m leading this race\u2026\u2019 In other words, f*** off!\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact is, though, that there is such a thing as \u2018team orders\u2019 in Grand Prix racing, and always has been. In Alfred Neubauer\u2019s time at Mercedes, I murmured, anything considered to be \u2018insubordination\u2019 would not have been tolerated.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue. \u2018Let me remind you that the chain of command goes from me to you, not the other way round\u2026\u2019 If the chain of command goes in reverse, I think you\u2019re screwed \u2013 you cannot run a racing team from behind the steering wheel, and that\u2019s what Lewis tries to do. Problem is, F1 is a team sport \u2013 but with individuals!<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Monaco Rosberg was holding Hamilton up, so they asked him to let him through, and he did. Had their roles been reversed, would Lewis have done the same? I rather doubt it \u2013 but then give me an example of when capitulating to your team-mate ever did you any good? It doesn\u2019t. I did it \u2013 and regretted it every time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

So to 2017, and a Mercedes team without Rosberg \u2013 and apparently without Paddy Lowe. James Allison is expected to assume the role of technical director, and \u2013 as I write \u2013 Valtteri Bottas looks like the favourite to take over as Hamilton\u2019s team-mate. There were shades of Frank Williams \u201981 in Toto Wolff\u2019s response when he was asked if Lewis would be involved in the discussions: \u201cLike all the other employees, he\u2019ll be told when we\u2019ve made our final decision\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Employees\u2019 again. \u201cThat,\u201d Martin smiled, \u201cis a big statement, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

The 2015 season Brundle said he didn\u2019t particularly enjoy, but this last one he relished, for Red Bull<\/a> closed the gap to Mercedes, and Rosberg took his fight with Hamilton to a new level. As well as that, the \u2018new talent\u2019 greatly enlivened proceedings in 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a massive fan of Verstappen \u2013 but also of Carlos Sainz<\/a>, who I don\u2019t think gets his due. He might not be quite<\/i> as good as Max, but he\u2019s not far away.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought it significant that back in May, before R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen\u2019s season came to life, and Ferrari was considering alternatives for \u201917, Alain Prost suggested they should sign Sainz.<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree,\u201d said Martin, \u201cI\u2019d have him in a top team in a heartbeat. Like his dad, he\u2019s a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

It would be mighty sad, I suggested, if Sainz were to miss the boat, as H\u00fclkenberg<\/a> has apparently done. In signing for Renault, Nico has finally got himself into a factory team, but it seems ridiculous that one of his talent has yet to make the podium. There was a time, after all, when he was considered the logical choice to partner Alonso at Ferrari.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d said Brundle, \u201cbut although he\u2019s a nice guy, he\u2019s too arrogant \u2013 I think he has a sense of entitlement that\u2019s cost him a lot of results. Nico is a massively wasted talent, and I hope he hasn\u2019t missed his moment, but I think he might have done. I don\u2019t see that happening to Sainz \u2013 apart from anything else, Carlos Sr is too savvy to let it happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me ask you something. If you had a team \u2013 and had a free hand in choosing drivers for 2017 \u2013 who would you have?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alonso and Ricciardo, I answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I understand why you say that \u2013 but they\u2019d be my third and fourth choices, behind Hamilton and Verstappen. And if I were building a team for the future, I\u2019d go for Verstappen and Sainz.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interestingly, when recently asked whom he considered the best driver of the moment, Alonso went for Ricciardo: \u2018He\u2019s very quick, makes hardly any mistakes \u2013 and he\u2019s a great overtaker\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, you can\u2019t argue with any of that \u2013 but\u00a0I think you have to accept that when Max\u00a0turned up, Daniel found a quarter of a second he didn\u2019t know he had. I\u2019d hire him all day long \u2013 but I think Max will surpass him. I know Danny had a visor problem at Interlagos, but that day Max rewrote the textbook on how to drive in the rain\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The way Verstappen \u2013 alone \u2013 experimented with different lines reminded me of the Race of Champions in 1974, when Jacky Ickx<\/a> overtook Niki Lauda on the outside<\/i> at Paddock. That day, too, one wondered why no one else was trying moves like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, when Max was darting around behind the safety car, he looked like an over-eager child, but what he was doing was gaining knowledge \u2013 and he was the only one doing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fascinating situation at Red Bull. They\u2019ve got two great drivers, and Daniel has all the tools to come back at Max in 2017 \u2013 but at the moment but I feel Max is close to parking him, in the way that Danny parked Vettel two years ago\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Ah, yes, Sebastian. If anyone\u2019s season fell short of expectations, it was surely his. Few would have predicted he would be outqualified more often than not by R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen.<\/p>\n

\u201cHmmm, Mr Grumpy! He\u2019s aged 10 years in the last five, hasn\u2019t he? I\u2019ve been really disappointed by Seb \u2013 he\u2019s got angry, frustrated and needs to refocus. This year has been a bit like 2014, when Ricciardo spanked him at Red Bull.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the endless radio calls I don\u2019t understand \u2013 \u2018Get him out of my way!\u2019 or, \u2018What\u2019s the guy doing out here\u2026?\u2019 It\u2019s so contemptuous and arrogant. I remember the days when Seb would turn up with his rucksack, smiling, ready to go\u2026I adored<\/i> him in those days. However, I still think the speed is there \u2013 when he was charging through in Abu Dhabi, I said, \u2018Welcome back, the real Sebastian Vettel!\u2019 and that came off the top of my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

How big a part, I wondered, did the looming spectre of Sergio Marchionne play in the tribulations of Ferrari in 2016?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, remember Shanghai<\/a>, where Kvyat<\/a> passed Vettel into the first turn? It was a completely legitimate move \u2013 Seb left the door open, then swerved into Kimi, and immediately blamed Kvyat for what had happened. That was the first sign of it \u2013 I thought, \u2018What the hell\u2019s the matter with you?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you listen to Seb on the radio, it\u2019s almost as if he\u2019s preparing for the meeting afterwards. If you look at what Ross Brawn did at Ferrari \u2013 with Michael and Jean Todt and Rory Byrne and everyone else \u2013 Marchionne is going about it in a diametrically opposed way to that, and it\u2019s not smart. The thing is, he doesn\u2019t understand racing, does he? It\u2019s a matter of, \u2018Here\u2019s one of my 20 problems today \u2013 fix it\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for Kimi, what do you say? I know him well \u2013 but at a Grand Prix I don\u2019t know him at all, and that\u2019s the way he chooses to be. Observing him, I think marriage \u2013 and having a kid \u2013 has focused him, and he had a new priority in life, and got back on it. I\u2019m pleased for him, because I thought it was over.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould I hire him, though? No, I\u2019d rather have Sainz all day long, to say nothing of Verstappen \u2013 I think Max\u2019s skill is sublime. The only thing he has to learn is that you cannot<\/i> move over on someone once you\u2019re into the braking area. Ayrton and Michael used to do it, and to me that\u2019s beyond the rules: once you\u2019ve committed to overtaking someone, that\u2019s it \u2013 you\u2019ve posted the letter!<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite Max\u2019s saying he doesn\u2019t care, I think he\u2019s learned that, and reeled it back in a bit. In the old days, Keke would have had him over the hedge, wouldn\u2019t he? We didn\u2019t have stewards or penalties back then \u2013 it was all settled on the track\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

After nine years of proudly working for what I\u00a0have always thought of \u2018Jenks\u2019s magazine\u2019, the time has come for a parting of the ways, so this \u2013 my 106th column for Motor Sport<\/i> \u2013 is the last. In saying farewell, my hope is that you have enjoyed the reading of them as much as I have the writing, and please let me thank you for your comments along the way.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"author":753,"featured_media":708371,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"tags":[343,35729],"issue_decade":[121600],"issue_year":[121674],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/54072"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issue_content"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/753"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54072"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/54072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":710008,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/54072\/revisions\/710008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54072"},{"taxonomy":"issue_decade","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_decade?post=54072"},{"taxonomy":"issue_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_year?post=54072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}