Memorable interviews

Clive James interviews Michael Schumacher & Damon Hill (1995 Oz GP)


Dont know if anyone saw or remembers it but this was a great interview - pretty much at the height of their strained 94-95 'relationship'! Hats off to Clive James, quite a coup to get the drivers to agree to do this (+ driver coverage somewhat limited in comparision to the extensive behind the scenes we get these days). Such a direct confrontation took courage from both men, reminds me of tense Senna / Prost press conferences....



so here it is...




Have you two ever managed to laugh at something together?

MS- I think we did yeh. I don't remember it, we are not best friends, doing everything together but we respect each other much more than newspapers and television sometimes tell.

Damon, what do you really think of Michael?

DH- I think he is a very fine racing driver in all honesty, I can't take anything away from what he does as a driver. And the problems arise through ..erm.. this kind of barrier. I don't talk to Michael directly about what happens, you know I get to hear about something via the press, then they come and ask you what you think of that, then it goes backwards and forwards. That's how sometimes these things get out of hand.

Michael, what do you really think of Damon?

MS- I think, we have fantastic racing this year and the year before. Close racing, and we entertain the public, that's what the people are looking for when they look at Formula One. That's what I'm looking for when I race a car, I want to fight with someone, and that's what he done to me. He made it difficult for me, fortunately I was able to be ahead after the fighting, that is what makes yourself certainly more happy. But I'm looking forward to the future, to have more battles with him.

So, what about the race?

MS- For me, I really want to go and win this last race. Going into the wintertime with a victory, that would be nice.

DH- More victories
(all laugh at the fact that Schumi is so much better than anyone else)

DH- Yeh, it would be nice to get one actually. I've had a barren patch if you like, so the last race of the season does set you up nicely for the winter so it would be nice to win here.

Perhaps you would like to wish each other good luck for the race.

MS- Yeh, I do

DH- Good luck Mike [??!]
(they shake hands and then laugh again for no apparent reason)






Classic stuff! A Clive James, MS & JV interview 1998... one can have only dreamt of much a mouth watering clash of personalities lol

Anyone else have a favorite interview?

Originally posted by T.F.

Anyone else have a favorite interview?

Yes I do.

Actually, some of the ones I conducted were pretty revealing come to think of it! No, the one I was thinking of was Jackie Stewart hamming an interview with Graham Hill for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award (IIRC; circa 1971?).

The part which sticks in my memory is G Hill conceding to JYS that he was only "pretty fast on the straights, but not so fast in the corners..."

Sorry, I had to paraphrase, but I'm sure I'll be corrected!

Originally posted by Twin Window
No, the one I was thinking of was Jackie Stewart hamming an interview with Graham Hill for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award (IIRC; circa 1971?).

Didn't they appear together on the show a few times, certainly in each of Jackie's championship winning years?

The only snippet I can still remember is Graham asking something, to which JYS protested "That's not a fair question". Graham responded with "it wasn't meant to be a fair question".

The most cringeworthy interview ever was with Graham's son, shortly after Suzuka 1996. They were discussing Damon's world championship win, when the autosportically-challenged Eamonn Holmes asked Damon if he had spoken to his father yet :

Graham to Jackie (1972?): "So you've decided to carry on for another year at least...dammit..."

I don't know if it was from the same interview, Hill/Stewart, but I remember Graham saying to Jackie words along the lines of "To what do you attribute your great success?" Jackie's answer was a classic.

"My speed!"

Murray Walker interviewing Nigel Mansell after the 1987 Austrian Grand Prix and accidentally poking the bruise on Nigel's head, obtained courtesy of a low bridge as he was paraded around the circuit after winning the race.

Cevert interviewing Stewart for a french tv in 73

FC : What do you think of Emerson ?
JSY : Pardon ?
FC: What do you think of EMerson ?
JSY : Who ?
FC : Fittipaldi.... You know the guy who won the chamionship...
JSY: Oooooooohhhhh yes that guy....

Followed a great tirade on emerson driving skill, professinoalism, talent... and conclusion by JYS was...

... And overall, He is a very good water-skyier

JYS asking Senna why he had been involved in so many collisions - if looks could kill!
For comedy value, Brundle's gridwalk with Bryan Adams.

Originally posted by Barry Boor
I don't know if it was from the same interview, Hill/Stewart, but I remember Graham saying to Jackie words along the lines of "To what do you attribute your great success?" Jackie's answer was a classic.

"My speed!"

My favourite Murray "WTF?" moment in an interview:

MW: "So, Bernie, in the seventeen years since you bought McLaren, which of your many achievements do you think was most memorable?"

BCE: "Well, for a start, I don't remember buying McLaren...."

Yes, that was a cracker, Pete.

B.E. answered so smoothly it made it just so much funnier.

Originally posted by Garagiste
JYS asking Senna why he had been involved in so many collisions - if looks could kill!

Was that the same one which turned into a bit of a shouting match (a bit more on Senna's side than Jackie's)? Murray Walker was the poor chap who was next in line to ask Ayrton a few questions...

Brundle's interview with Ecclestone on the grid at Indy this year was one of his finer moments, I think.

Juan Pablo at the Sandown racetrack, during the week leading up to the 2004(?) Australian F1 GP.

I don't have the full verse, but I think Nigel Red 5 does, he had it as a signature for awhile. It's the one where the question from the floor was from a guy from an Aussie comedy show, and his question played up Juan's name, with one and won. Juan spat the dummy and walked out...

On a more serious level, the DSJ/Senna interview in Autocourse (1990? 91?) was a fascinating insight into the mind of both men. I think it's the closest Senna ever came to describing just how far "into the zone" he used to get, although it was at a point where Senna was very conscious of his image and Jenks may not have been quite as sharp as he was at his finest....

Anything from Amon, Hunt, Graham Hill, Gurney, Lauda, But most of all, Cheever !!

Originally posted by petefenelon
On a more serious level, the DSJ/Senna interview in Autocourse (1990? 91?) was a fascinating insight into the mind of both men. I think it's the closest Senna ever came to describing just how far "into the zone" he used to get, although it was at a point where Senna was very conscious of his image and Jenks may not have been quite as sharp as he was at his finest....

It's the 1990 edition that covers that season. Jenks comments that it was very similar to talking to Fangio in the 50s, and that fundamentally the skills required to be a world class driver had remained unchanged in that time. It's a great interview.

The first race at the 'new' Nurburgring (Jenks called it the Eifelring) was a celeb event using the Cosworth-engined Mercedes-Benz 190 Ayrton, who had just four GPs under his Nomex, beat an all-star cast. On the journey home, Senna made a point of sitting next to Jenks and picked his brains. Jenks was most impressed. He would have spoken to any driver, but only Ayrton thought it worthwhile to make the approach. The conversation may have had no effect on Ayrton, but he covered every base.

Originally posted by E.B.


The most cringeworthy interview ever was with Graham's son, shortly after Suzuka 1996. They were discussing Damon's world championship win, when the autosportically-challenged Eamonn Holmes asked Damon if he had spoken to his father yet :

Oh God.... is that true? I would have thought that everyone in the country, even those with almost zero interest in motor sport, would know that Damon was Graham's son and that Graham wasn't around any more. Even my mother knew that. Still, what can you expect from a man who is paid in excess of £1million annually to park his backside on a sofa?

About as much as you can from the minister of transport who said he wanted "Damian" to win the British GP.