da sundance76 » 28/04/2011, 16:30
Una interessante intervista di Nigel Roebuck a Pironi effettuata a Hockenheim 1981 (quindi un anno prima del grave incidente) e apparsa su AUTOSPORT del 10 settembre 1981. Condivisibili le sue considerazioni sui circuiti, il declino di quelli naturali e il proliferare di quelli nuovi, anonimi e piatti:
Q: When did Ferrari first approach to you ?
DP: It was last year, at the end of February, soon after I got back from the South American races. I had quite a good race in Brazil, and I'm told that the Commendatore watched it on TV and was impressed by it.They asked for a meeting in Paris early in March, and we agreed a few things there an then. I promised to give them a definitive answer in July, after the British Grand Prix.
Q: Presumably this was dependant on Jody Scheckter's deciding to retire ?
DP: No, they were already sure that Jody was going to stop. I was to say “yes” or “no” immediately after Brands Hatch, and what happened at the race helped a lot to make up my mind.
I was very disppointed after that race, you know. I was on pole, and led the race very easily until we had that problem with the wheels cracking. Then I stopped to change wheels, went out again and really tried very hard. Near the end of the race, the same thing happened, and I had to leave the car by the side of the track.
Without the wheels problem, I felt that I would have won without problem. I got back to the pits, a little depressed, to find Guy Ligier telling the press that it was all my fault, that I was driving over the kerbs ! I thought his behaviour was very bad, and it was then much easier to go to Ferrari. Before that, I was not sure, you know, because the Ligier was very good – and the Ferrari T5 was very bad ! But I had already had political problems with Ligier...
Q: What was the basic problem for you at Ligier ? I remember asking Patrick Depailler why he'd left and he said that so long as Laffite was there...
DP: Yes, that's the problem. Jacques is driver, team manager, director, everything. Ligier is a good team in which to be a second driver, perfect for someone like Rebaque. But when you feel you are ready to win races – even the World Championship – it's not the right place. Whatever you do, you will always be behind Laffite. He manages everything.
Q: And yet you were usually quicker than he was last year...
DP: Yes, but I believe that I could have been World Champion last year, if everything had gone as it should. The car was fantastic, but Jacques made a few mistakes, a few wrong decisions. That was the problem.
Q: And they wouldn't listen to you ?
No, because Jacques is always talking louder ! They listen only to him. He has been in the team since the beginning. It is his team.
Q: On a personal basis, did you get along with Jacques ?
DP: Ye, of course. Everything was right between us. He is a very nice guy and it's very easy to be with him. But, professionally, it's different. I don't think Jacques understands the cars very well, but he suggests changes all the time – and those changes are carried out.
Q: Do you think Guy Ligier made a mistake by getting rid of Ducarouge ?
DP: Yes, I do. Gérard was a very positive element in the team, and he knows a great deal about racing cars. Maybe the problem is that Laffite wants Jabouille to be team manager. Then it will be a complete Laffite team !
Q: Going back to last year for a moment...when the time came to give your decision to Ferrari, your mind had really been made up for you ...
DP: That's right. But the main thing in my mind was that Ferrari had more potential to give me the World Championship – which is why I'm a racing driver. That was really why I changed. I saw that a turbo engine was something really necessary for the future, so that left only two choices: Ferrari or Renault.
Q: Is working at Ferrari everything you expected it would be ?
DP: Even more so. We have had a difficult time this season, but I always looked upon 1981 as a learning year, for development of the engine, the car any my relationship with Ferrari. In fact, the engine is already very good – already capable of winning the championship. I was very surprised that they were able to build such an engine so quickly, compared with Renault, for example.
When I first went to Ferrari, I had a couple of days testing with T5 – and I was very impressed with the flat-12 engine. The car itself was disappointing, much harder to drive than the Ligier, but it seemed a pity that the flat-12 would not race again.
Then I had my first run in the turbo ! And it was really something incredible. The chassis was bad, and Fiorano is not the ideal place for a turbo engine, but I was astonished by the power and response of the engine.
Q: The chassis, however, leaves a great deal to be desired, right ?
DP: Well, I don't really think the chassis is the problem. I know that might sound ridiculous, but I believe it. We've changed it thre times this year, you know, and each time the car's behaviour is the same as before. For me, the problem is aerodynamics, and I've said that since beginning of the season.
Q: How much influence do you think Harvey Postlethwaite will have ?
DP: We have to wait and see, but already they're listening to him more than I expected. And that's a real positive point. The main problem at Ferrari, you know, is to be listened to ! Also, Harvey doesn't speak Italian yet which may be better for him. He doesn't have to listen to all the bullshit !
Q: Do you enjoy life more with Ferrari ? Is it a romantic thing for you ?
DP: Yes, it's something different, without a doubt. Psychologically, I am in a completely different position from before. I have the feeling when I drive, that I am driving for somebody, you know rather tha some thing. That's very important to me. I always feel that there i somebody behind me, who is interested in what I can do, in the results I can get. And that's completely different from driving for Tyrrell or Ligier...
Q: What was the ource of your problems at Tyrrell ?
DP: Well, I must say immediately that I don't have any regrets,I think, for someone coming into Formula 1, Tyrrell is a good team. Ken knows very well how to teach a driver the job, and he was really a great help to me in my first year.
In my second year, though, I felt I was in a position to win races if I had a good car. And I was disappointed because the car was so bad. Ken never wanted to change anything, I tlked to him a few times about maybe getting some new engineers, but he never listened to me. Maybe I was wrong to suggest it, but I wanted something changed because everything was going badly.
Q: Are you saying, then, that the team is too conservative in its approach ?
DP: Yes, that's it exactly. When Chapman brought in ground effects, all the teams had to change the cars to get the best aerodynamic efficiency.But Maurice Phillippe just copied the Lotus 79, so we were a year behind already ! I don't think he understood much about aerodynamics. That was the problem.
Q: You had a lot of car failures, didn't you ?
DP: Mmmm, I had a lot of problems with the reliability of the cars, breaking suspensions, losing wheels...I had seven or eight crashes because of that. I began almost to expect an accident every time I got into the car. Yet, you know,I was never affected by the accidents themselves. What did affect me was Ken's attitude each time. He never said “I'm sorry about that” or anything of that kind. Everything was normal, yo know, even at Dijon, where I had two crashes in practice, losing wheels. I came back, jumped into another car, my legs hurt... And in the race I had to stop twice to have the wheel nuts tightened up. Nothing to worry about ! Well. I didn't want to continue like that. When the boss doesn't apologise to you, no one in the team feels they can either. I was disappointed by the attitude of Ken.
The accidents themselves were not the problem. They can happen – and sometimes they are very dangerous. But you must have psychological help from your team. I tell you one thing, if you crash one of Ken's cars and it's your fault, he will tell you !
Q: Do you get psychlogical backing at Ferrari ?
DP: Yes, I do, and that's one of the reasons why I'm so happy here. Here I feel I am driving for somebody who has the same passion that I have. I was never sure that Tyrrell or Ligier were racving only for passion. You can't feel good when you are ready to give your life for racing – and noboday else in the team fells the same way. I actually met the Commendatore for the first time at the press conference last year, the day after the Italian Grand Prix. I was very nervous, and very emotional. But I feel now that I have no wish ever to drive for another team.
Q: How do you get along with Gilles Villeneuve ?
DP: Extremely well. We have a lot of things in common. Our characters are similar, and we have a very nice relationship – much better than I had before in other teams.
Q: And you really are treated as equals in the team ?
DP: Yes, absolutely. We exchange all information. Usually we have a meeting between ourselves before we go to the engineersto discuss changes we want on the cars, and so on.
Q: Outwardly, at least, you're a very calm man. And the atmosphere at Ferrari is always noisy and volatile. How do you cope with that ?
DP: The atmosphere at Ferrari is different. But I am Latin, too, you know, and I can understand very well the way they are. In my childhood, my parents were a bit like that ! It was good training for me, maybe...
But, as you say, I am not like that. I don't know why, but I understand them very well. I am very timide – shy. But not in the car, you understand...
Q: Have you found a difference in attitude from yout fellow - countrymen since you left Ligier for Ferrari ?
DP: Yes, but I don't think this is simply because I left France for Italy, although that definitely comes into it. Before I went to Ferrari, I was very well “organised” by Elf with Tyrrell and by Gitanes with Ligier. They had very effective pres relations, but Ferrari does not get involved with that. For most of the French journalists, I don't exist anymore, in terms of promotion.
Q: But, when all is said and done, yo're still French. And you're driving for the most famous team in racing...
DP: Yes, it's true, but I've never been very popular with the French journalists. When I started, in Formule Renault, they said that everything was very easy for me because my parents were rich, and people still say the same things now. I've always had this problem. I thought it would change when I got to Formula 1 but it never did.
And the point is that it's not true. My parents never paid for my racing, but I've never been able to convince anyone of that. I started by going to a racing school, won the Concours, and then Elf picked me up.
Q: Finally, let's talk about the future – your own, and that of Formula 1. Soon we're going to Las Vegas for a race around a hotel car park, and there are signs that more circuits of a similar nature may be on the way. How do you feel about that ?
DP: I haven't seen Las Vegas yet, so I don't know about that. But I would hate to see the end of the natural circuits. In terms of driving pleasure and satisfaction, I like Interlagos, Brands Hatch, Spa, the Nürburgring and Monte Carlo. They appeal to me because they are a challenge. I hate circuits like Paul Ricard, which are plain and artificial and boring.
As for the future of Formula 1, I think that these stupid cars have to change. I can tell you, I feel stupid myself when I am in the car, raising the suspension for the test in front of all those spectators. How ridiculous it looks ! It has to change because it is too stupid to stay. There is no feel in the cars now they have no suspension movement. They are brutal to drive.
Next year I feel that they will be changed, and I'm looking forward to that. In fact, I'm expecting a lot next year...
"Chi cerca di conoscere il passato capirà sempre meglio degli altri il presente e il futuro, e non soltanto nel nostro piccolo mondo di effimere quanto amate frenesie corsaiole." G. C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygd67cDAmDI
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