Piquet’s strategy may yet backfire. On the one hand, pushing Flavio Briatore into the frame hasn’t actually done Nelsinho’s standing much good with other players in Formula One. And, on the other hand, Briatore is well armed and extremely formidable. Painting him as some kind of titan of fallibility and blaming him for ‘The lowest point I had ever reached in my life’ is a risk. At the time of writing, we have no idea what evidence Briatore will adduce in the course of his appeal. But, by God, it ought to be interesting.
After this, the graceless removal of Max Mosley from the Presidency of the FIA came as something of an anti-climax. This had nothing to do with the recent newspaper revelations about his sporadically off-beat private life; nor, specifically, was it a riposte to the hand-in-glove, two-headed autocracy he had run for so long with Bernie Ecclestone. But it was to do with Mosley’s not altogether unreasonable attempts to shrink the costs of Formula One and reduce the amount of money hurled at technical problems, mainly by the larger teams. He saw budget caps; he saw a sensible use of resources at a time of international financial strain; he saw a slightly more level playing field; he saw new teams being able to afford to come into F1; he saw himself getting his own way.
The trouble was, instead of creating consensus, he managed massively to alienate most of the big F1 players – who announced that Mosley (due to retire from his job at the end of 2009, anyway) could go whistle, and that they were prepared to set up their own breakaway F1 series if he didn’t come to his senses.
Mosley had been around too long, was what it came down to. His writ no longer ran. His ability to get things done was now being seen as mere bossiness. Ferrari’s Luca di Montezemolo called him ‘a dictator’. Seething, Mosley let it be known that perhaps he wouldn’t pack his job in, but instead seek re-election, just to see who really had the power: ‘There was no need for me to involve myself further in Formula 1 once we had a settlement,’ he told di Montezemolo, but, ‘I now consider my options open.’ The summer wore on. Then, suddenly, he capitulated. He gave up on the budget question, leaving the teams to assure the world that they’d try to cut back, somewhere. His job at the FIA came up for re-election. He didn’t stand – but he did have the satisfaction of seeing his preferred player, Jean Todt, take over from him. Was it age getting to him (he was sixty-nine, after all), or had he decided that life was complicated enough, without the headache of Formula One to deal with?
Whatever the cause, the era of Max Mosley ended, just like that – a figure from the days of Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Gilles Villeneuve, Ayrton Senna, just gone. Change was in the air. And when the last race of the season took place at Abu Dhabi, on a man-made island, under artificial light, overlooked by an immense futuristic hotel building that electronically changed colour in the night sky, and was won by a Red Bull, with another Bull second, and a Brawn third, you couldn’t help but wonder where the sport would be in another ten years’ time. Perhaps Mosley reckoned that at last the scenery was changing too fast for him too keep up.
We will see, indeed.
Appendix I
GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONSHIPS
(Note: Constructors’ Championships began in 1958)
1950
Drivers’ Championship
Nino Farina
Juan Manuel Fangio
Luigi Fagioli
1951
Drivers’ Championship
Juan Manuel Fangio
Alberto Ascari
Jose Froilan Gonzales
1952
Drivers’ Championship
Alberto Ascari
Nino Farina
Piero Taruffi
1953
Drivers’ Championship
Alberto Ascari
Juan Manuel Fangio
Nino Farina
1954
Drivers’ Championship
Juan Manuel Fangio
Jose Froilan Gonzales
Mike Hawthorn
1955
Drivers’ Championship
Juan Manuel Fangio
Stirling Moss
Eugenio Castellotti
1956
Drivers’ Championship
Juan Manuel Fangio
Stirling Moss
Peter Collins
1957
Drivers’ Championship
Juan Manuel Fangio
Stirling Moss
Luigi Musso
Appendix II
TOP TWENTY-SIX GRAND PRIX DRIVERS BY RACES WON
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allsop, Derick, Formula One Uncovered, Headline, London 1998.
Botsford, Keith, The Champions of Formula One, Stanley Paul, London 1988.
Collings, Timothy, with Sykes, Stuart, Jackie Stewart: A Restless Life, Virgin Books, London 2003.
Dodson, Mike, Nelson Piquet, Hazleton Publishing, Richmond, Surrey 1991.
Donaldson, Gerald, Fangio: The Life Behind the Legend, Virgin Books, London 2003.
Donaldson, Gerald, Gilles Villeneuve: The Life of the Legendary Racing Driver, Virgin Books, London 2003.
Donaldson, Gerald, James Hunt, CollinsWillow, London 1994.
Donaldson, Gerald, Teamwork, CollinsWillow, London 1998.
Dymock, Eric, Jim Clark: Racing Legend, Motorbooks, St Paul 2003.
Edwards, Robert, Stirling Moss: The Authorised Biography, Orion, London 2005.
Fangio, Juan Manuel, with Carozzo, Roberto, Fangio – My Racing Life, Patrick Stephens, Wellingborough, Northants 1986.
Hamilton, Duncan, with Scott, Lionel, Touch Wood!, Barrie and Rockliff, London 1960.
Hamilton, Maurice, Frank Williams, MacMillan, London 1998.
Henry, Alan, Jochen Rindt, Hazleton Publishing, Richmond, Surrey 1990.
Henry, Alan, The Power Brokers, Motorbooks International, St Paul, MN 2003.
Hill, Bette, with Ewart, Neil, The Other Side of the Hill, Hutchinson, London 1978.
Hill, Graham, Life at the Limit, Patrick Stephens, Yeovil 1993.
Hilton, Christopher, Alain Prost, Partridge Press, London 1992.
Hilton, Christopher, Ayrton Senna: The Whole Story, Haynes Publishing, Yeovil, Somerset 2004.
Hilton, Christopher, Michael Schumacher: The Greatest of All?, Haynes Publishing, Yeovil, Somerset 2002.
Hilton, Christopher, Nigel Mansell: The Lion at Bay, Patrick Stephens, Yeovil, Somerset 1995.
Ireland, Innes, All Arms and Elbows, Pelham Books, London 1967.
Lauda, Nike, with Völker, Herbert, To Hell and Back, Stanley Paul, London 1986.
Lawrence, Mike, Colin Chapman: Wayward Genius, Breedon Books, Derby 2002.
Lovell, Terry, Bernie’s Game, Metro Publishing, London 2003.
Ludwigsen, Karl, Emerson Fittipaldi, Haynes, Yeovil, Somerset 2002.
Monkhouse, George C., Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Racing 1934–1945, White Mouse, London 1984.
Moss, Stirling, with Purdey, Ken, All but My Life, William Kimber, London 1963.
Neubauer, Alfred, Speed Was My Life, Barrie and Rockliff, London 1960.
Nye, Doug, Jim Clark, Hazleton Publishing, London 1991.
Nye, Doug, Racers: The Inside Story of Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Arthur Barker, London 1982.
Nixon, Chris, Mon Ami Mate, Transport Bookman Publications, London 1991.
Prost, Alain, with Moncet, Jean-Louis, Life in the Fast Lane, Stanley Paul, London 1989.
Roebuck, Nigel, Grand Prix Greats, Patrick Stephens, Wellingborough, Northants 1981.
Rendl, Ivan, The Chequered Flag, Weidenfeld, London 1993.
Stewart, Jackie, with Dymock, Eric, World Champion, Pelham Books, London 1970.
Tipler, John, Graham Hill: Master of Motor Sport, Breedon Books, Derby 2002.
Watkins, Professor Sid, Life at the Limit, Macmillan, London 1996.
Williams, Richard, Enzo Ferrari: A Life, Yellow Jersey Press, London 2001.
Williams, Richard, Racers, Penguin, London 1998.
Williams, Richard,
The Death of Ayrton Senna, Bloomsbury, London 1999.
INDEX
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Adelaide
AGS
AIACR (Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus)
Ain Diab
Aintree
Aix-les-Bains
Albers, Christijan
Albi
Alboreto, Michele
Alesi, Jean
Alfa Romeo
and Enzo Ferrari
and Fangio
All American Racing (AAR)
Alonso, Fernando
and Ferrari
and McLaren
and Renault
wins Championship 2005
wins Championship 2006
Alpine Rally
Amon, Chris
Andretti, Marco
Andretti, Mario
Andretti, Michael
Anglo-American Racing
Argentine Grand Prix
1955
1956
1958
Argetsinger, Cameron
Arnoux, René
Arrows
Arsenal
Ascari, Alberto
Ascari, Antonio
Aston Martin
Atteberg, Orjan
Australian Grand Prix
Austrian Grand Prix
Auto Union
Avus
Bahrain Grand Prix
Balestre, Jean-Marie
Bandini, Lorenzo
BAR
Bari
Barnard, John
Barrichello, Rubens
BBC Sports Personality of the Year
Beaufort, Carel de
Belgian Grand Prix
1925
1947
1966
1982
1991
1992
2004
Beltoise, Jean-Pierre
Benetton
Benson & Hedges
Bentley
Benz, Karl
Berger, Gerhard
Berthon, Peter
Birkin, Tim
Blash, Herbie
BMW
Boavista
Bondurant, Bob
Boutsen, Thierry
Brabham
FanCar
and Piquet
record
and turbo technology
Brabham, David
Brabham, Gary
Brabham, Geoff
Brabham, Jack
appearance
on Clark and Stewart
as engineer
record
taciturnity
wins Chamionship 1966
Brabham, Matthew
Bradshaw, Ann
Brands Hatch
Brauchitsch, Manfred von
Brawn, Ross
Brawn-Mercedes
Brazilian Grand Prix
1972
1981
1990
2006
2009
Bremgarten
Brenton, Howard
Briatore, Flavio
Bristow, Chris
British American Racing
British Empire Trophy
British Grand Prix
1949
1950
1951
1955
1976
1986
1999
2009
BRM (British Racing Motors)
and Hill
sponsorship
unreliability
Brooke Bond Oxo
Brooklands, Surrey
Brooks, Tony
Brown, David
Brundle, Martin
Brunner, Gustav
Buenos Aires
Bugatti
Burton, Richard
Button, Jenson
and Brawn-Mercedes
and Honda
wins Championship 2009
Byrne, Rory
Cabianca, Giulio
CAD technology
Caldwell, Alastair
Camel Cigarettes
Campari, Giuseppe
Campbell, Donald
Can-Am series
Canadian Grand Prix
Canon
Carraciola, Rudolph
Carrera Panamericana
cars
active suspension
constructors
ground-effect
safety
technology
turbos
twin-chassis
Castellotti, Eugenio
Castro, Fidel
Catalunya circuit
Cevert, François
Champion Spark Plugs
Chapman, Colin
and Clark
death
and Rindt
and sponsorship
Charade
Cheever, Eddie
Chinese Grand Prix
Chiron, Louis
Clark, Jim
appearance
background and character
and Chapman
death
indecisiveness
and Lotus
record
technical ability
Collins, Peter
character
death
and Fangio
and Ferrari
Coloni
computer technology
Concorde Agreement
Connaught
Constructors’ Championship
Cooper
models
Cooper, Charles
Cooper, Henry
Cooper, John
Cordier, Louise
Costin, Frank
Cosworth Racing
Coulthard, David
Courage, Piers
Cranfield College of Aeronautics
Crombac, Jabby
Crystal Palace
Cunningham, Iain
Daily Express International Trophy
Daimler, Gottlieb
Dallas
Davis, Cliff
Davis, Joe
de Angelis, Elio
de Cesaris, Andrea
De Dion
De Lorean
Delage
Delaunay, Arnaud
Delauney, Jaqueline
Dennis, Ron
Depailler, Patrick
Detroit
Digital Equipment Corporation
Dijon
Domenicali, Stefano
Donington Park
Driver of the Century
drivers
appearance
culture of deference
income
interchangeability of
sons of
strike
Drivers’ Championship
drug abuse
Ducarouge, Gérard
Duckworth, Keith
Duetsche Post
Dundrod
Dutch Grand Prix
1967
1968
1970
1973
1975
1979
Eagle
Ecclestone, Bernie
Edwards, Guy
Eläintarhanajot
ELF petroleum
engines
and minor teams
power of
Ensign Racing
ERA (English Racing Automobiles)
Ertl, Harald
Espinosa, ‘Beba’
Esso
Estoril
Étancelin, Philippe
EuroBrun
European Grand Prix
Fagioli, Luigi
FanCar
Fangio, Juan Manuel
and Alfa Romeo
cars driven by
character and background
and Ferrari
German Grand Prix 1957
and Maserati
and Mercedes
record
retirement
universal admiration
Farina, Nino
Farina, Pinin
fatalities
Ferguson, Andrew
Ferrari
and Alonso
and Ascari
and Collins
deaths
and Fangio
and Lauda
lean years
loyalty to
models
and Moss
and Pironi
and Prost
and Raikkonen
record
relations with McLaren
Burning Rubber: The Extraordinary Story of Formula One Page 25
