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When Enzo almost sacked Gilles to keep Lolé


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#1 Mickey

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Posted 25 November 2008 - 16:07

These quotes are on today's Autosprint

Piero Ferrari: "In the midst of summer 1978, my father closed the deal with Jody Scheckter. The South African had been our target for quite some time, but for several reasons the agreement had always failed at the last moment. This time, however, everything came into place: Jody would have driven the Rossa in 1979...

"At that point we had to choose who, among Reutemann and Gilles, would stay as teammate to the South African. Well, looking in retrospect it may seem odd, but in the family and in the company we decided to edge our bets on the Argentinean. Lole was an expert driver with a moody character, which made dad label him as a tormented man. However, among him and Villeneuve, Ferrari chose him.

"So, one afternoon at the end of summer or thereabouts, we summoned both drivers at Fiorano. I still remember the scene. At the ground floor of the house next to the pits, dad would have met the Argentinean to announce him the renewal of his contract. By contrast on the first floor, more or less at the same time, Marco Piccinini and I had the unpleasant assignment of discharging Gilles. We had readied a speech that went something like: well, we feel affection towards you, you are audacious and persistent, however we need a tried pair in order to win...

"What we hadn't predicted was that Lole had played his cards ahead of us. Perhaps he hadn't figured our intentions, maybe he was irresistibly attracted to Lotus, who in 1978 with our friend Andretti won the championship by dominating the season despite the tragedy of Peterson's death at Monza. In any case, the Argentinean entered dad's office and said: 'Ferrari, I'm sorry, but our ways part here, thanks for everything and goodbye.'

"Meanwhile, Gilles was waiting for me and Piccinini on the upper floor. What happened was almost comical: my father barely managed to stop me on the staircase. He told me abruptly: 'go to Villeneuve and tell him he stays with us, then I'll deal with him directly.'

"It's strange, isn't it? Whatever the judgement on Villeneuve's years at Ferrari is, they would never had happened hadn't Lole wrongfooted us by taking us by surprise. Sometimes the legends of motor racing are truly born by chance..."

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#2 Formula Once

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Posted 25 November 2008 - 16:25

Great post Mickey, interesting tale.

#3 renzobalbo

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Posted 25 November 2008 - 16:37

from Leo Turrini

#4 David Birchall

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Posted 25 November 2008 - 18:33

Originally posted by renzobalbo
from Leo Turrini


Que'?

#5 renzobalbo

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Posted 25 November 2008 - 19:06

the journalist , give its credits for a notice hidden from 30 year

#6 COUGAR508

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Posted 25 November 2008 - 19:56

That's a fascinating story. It is true that Gilles had some detractors at Ferrari whilst he was finding his feet.

The other question would be, if Reutemann had stayed at Ferrari to partner Scheckter, which team would Gilles have gone to? McLaren? Or would he have taken the second seat at Lotus?

#7 Formula Once

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Posted 25 November 2008 - 20:10

Wolf maybe.

#8 Arjan de Roos

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Posted 25 November 2008 - 20:18

It was known that Enzo Ferrari was worried about his choice for Gilles. Mind you. Mid 1978 he had scored just 3 points (only to score a 3rd in Austria) and damaged quite some material. Ferrari seriously thought about replacing him for 1979..

Where would he have gone? Reutemann was of to Lotus. Peterson was to go to McLaren for 1979 with Watson I believe already contracted. I wonder if Chapman was interested in Villeneuve in July/August 1978. Maybe Wolf with canadian sponsors?

Originally posted by COUGAR508
That's a fascinating story. It is true that Gilles had some detractors at Ferrari whilst he was finding his feet.

The other question would be, if Reutemann had stayed at Ferrari to partner Scheckter, which team would Gilles have gone to? McLaren? Or would he have taken the second seat at Lotus?



#9 raceannouncer2003

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 04:38

Here's a photo I took in 2004 of a picture at the Gilles Villeneuve Museum in Berthierville, Quebec:

Posted Image

Vince H.

#10 Formula Once

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 09:31

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by COUGAR508
That's a fascinating story. It is true that Gilles had some detractors at Ferrari whilst he was finding his feet.

The other question would be, if Reutemann had stayed at Ferrari to partner Scheckter, which team would Gilles have gone to? McLaren? Or would he have taken the second seat at Lotus?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember Villeneuve already almost lost his Ferrari seat in 1977. Andretti, Scheckter and Jones were all being offered his/Lauda's drive for 1978 at some stage in the second part of the 1977 season.

McLaren had Ronnie Peterson signed for 1979 and it would have been unlikely that they, or rather Marlboro, would have replaced Tambay by Gilles, as they had chosen between the two already in 1977. Wolf could have been an option (Gilles knew Walter well, had driven from him, and in fact Wolf had recommended him to Enzo Ferrari), but if I remember correctly Hunt had signed for the team not that late in the 1978 season (hence Peterson signing for McLaren before Monza), so unless they would have considered entering a second car, that may not have been an option. Lotus? Who knows? Jarier did quite well at the end of 1978, so maybe he would have been a candidate too.

#11 Formula Once

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 09:39

Oh, and don't forget that much earlier in 1978 Ferrari had agreed to sign Hunt and that this deal only collapsed when the team and Agnelli found out about James's contract with Vauxhall.

#12 Spaceframe

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 11:28

Originally posted by Formula Once
Oh, and don't forget that much earlier in 1978 Ferrari had agreed to sign Hunt and that this deal only collapsed when the team and Agnelli found out about James's contract with Vauxhall.

The pens were busy at the Scuderia in those years - I seem to remember that Eddie Cheever also had a contract?

#13 dentistTubster

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 13:01

Originally posted by Spaceframe

The pens were busy at the Scuderia in those years - I seem to remember that Eddie Cheever also had a contract?

It was strange how many drivers were signed in those few years, Villeneuve, Reutemann, Schekter, Pironi, Arnoux...

#14 Formula Once

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 13:34

Well, with Lauda and Reutemann leaving, Scheckter stopping plus the accidents of Gilles and Pironi, all the changes were quite inevitable. Nine drivers raced for Ferrari between 1976 and 1983, yet in the sixties I guess the team had at least as many drivers in the same period of 8 seasons.

As for Cheever, much was made of a test he did (in 1977 I believe) as was of the run De Angelis had in a T3 a year later, but there was never a contract with either driver.

#15 Arjan de Roos

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 15:33

Originally posted by Formula Once
Well, with Lauda and Reutemann leaving, Scheckter stopping plus the accidents of Gilles and Pironi, all the changes were quite inevitable. Nine drivers raced for Ferrari between 1976 and 1983, yet in the sixties I guess the team had at least as many drivers in the same period of 8 seasons.

As for Cheever, much was made of a test he did (in 1977 I believe) as was of the run De Angelis had in a T3 a year later, but there was never a contract with either driver.


Number of Ferrari F1 drivers in the sixties, much more:
Allison, Ginther, Hill, Gonzalez, Von Trips, R. Rodriguez, Baghetti, Mairesse, Gendebien, Bandini, Surtees, Amon, Bell, Brambilla, P. Rodriguez, Parkes, Scarfiotti, ....

Eddie's career move:
Cheever tested a T2 mid-september 1977. He tested 4-5 days Michelin tyres. Autosprint had organised a non-championship race at Imola for F1 drivers who were yet to score points in the championship. Cheever was to be the Ferrari driver (he did have a one race contract). However the race was cancelled and so was Eddie's Ferrari drive. Later that year Villeneuve was signed (Cheever still had a Ferrari contract but also had been injured at Vallelunga). Enzo wanted Cheever to mature with testing, but Eddie wanted out of this contract....

In January 1978 De Angelis tested a T3 as Enzo was not so sure on Gilles end of 1977/early 1978: He did break a lot.

#16 Paolo

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 15:40

Originally posted by Formula Once
Well, with Lauda and Reutemann leaving, Scheckter stopping plus the accidents of Gilles and Pironi, all the changes were quite inevitable. Nine drivers raced for Ferrari between 1976 and 1983, yet in the sixties I guess the team had at least as many drivers in the same period of 8 seasons.

As for Cheever, much was made of a test he did (in 1977 I believe) as was of the run De Angelis had in a T3 a year later, but there was never a contract with either driver.


Cheever stated numerous times in interviews that he had a signed contract with Ferrari.
It was up to Ferrari if and when he would race, he could have well been used just in testing.
When Cheever understood this, being very young and hot headed, he asked Ferrari to release him from the contract.
Enzo asked him if he was sure and at the affirmative reply he teared the papers in front of him.

Cheever has said to regard this as the worst mistake in his life.

#17 Formula Once

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 15:51

Thanks Paolo and Arjan, interesting stuff. I never understood why at the time - for a while - there was such a fuss made about Cheever as he never stood out that much in the lower formulae, nor later on in F1 or even Group C and CART. Liked the helmet design, though!

PS I once heard Cheever is somehow related to Mansour Ojjeh, hence the talk of him joining McLaren at some stage in the early/mid eighties.

#18 COUGAR508

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 20:42

Originally posted by Formula Once
Wolf maybe.


Yes, I think there were suggestions that a Wolf team would be built around Gilles at some point.

In order for McLaren to have signed Gilles, Teddy Mayer and co would have had to eat some humble pie, after favouring Tambay over him a year earlier...

#19 cpbell

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 21:18

Fascinating thread - I never knew that Villeneuve almost lost that Ferrari drive. :rolleyes: It begs the question in my mind: what would have happened at Zolder that fateful day in 1982 had Villeneuve been driving for another team? If he had gone to Wolf, would his performances have saved the team, or would he perhaps have gone to McLaren, thereby causing Lauda to have to go elsewhere upon his return?

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#20 Gabrci

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 21:23

With all due respect to Gilles' talent and sheer speed, was he really a better racing driver than Reutemann?

#21 RStock

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 21:29

Originally posted by COUGAR508


Yes, I think there were suggestions that a Wolf team would be built around Gilles at some point.


There was a connection there from Can-Am .

#22 Formula Once

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 21:35

Some said Villeneuve was poised to join McLaren after the whole Team Villeneuve bubble burst and things turned sour at Ferrari (to which he apparantly was far less attached than often portrayed). Also, he regularly spoke of returing to North America and wanting to do the Indy 500, as he much disliked the F1 politics.

As for Lauda (who also had offers from Brabham, Williams and Arrows when he decided to come back), I don't think it would have mattered if Gilles had been at McLaren in 1982. Marlboro wanted him for the publicity anyway (building in a clause that if he'd be too slow they could sack him as early as after race 3 - which he won!) and to Dennis he was the final piece for putting together the Marlboro-McLaren-Porsche puzzle.

#23 Formula Once

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 21:41

Quote: With all due respect to Gilles' talent and sheer speed, was he really a better racing driver than Reutemann?

Different for sure. Better is a bit abstract. By the end of 1978 (Austria, Monza, Montreal) Gilles certainly did not seem to be worse.

#24 cpbell

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Posted 26 November 2008 - 22:02

Originally posted by Formula Once
Some said Villeneuve was poised to join McLaren after the whole Team Villeneuve bubble burst and things turned sour at Ferrari (to which he apparantly was far less attached than often portrayed). Also, he regularly spoke of returing to North America and wanting to do the Indy 500, as he much disliked the F1 politics.

As for Lauda (who also had offers from Brabham, Williams and Arrows when he decided to come back), I don't think it would have mattered if Gilles had been at McLaren in 1982. Marlboro wanted him for the publicity anyway (building in a clause that if he'd be too slow they could sack him as early as after race 3 - which he won!) and to Dennis he was the final piece for putting together the Marlboro-McLaren-Porsche puzzle.


I'd forgotten the clause - the only thing I'd say is that, given that the Lauda-McLaren relationship was somewhat rocky, maybe a driver of Villeneuve's ability may have tempted Ron Dennis, especially as Dennis would have been aware, I suspect, of the fact that Mayer didn't take-up the option on Gilles in 1977?

#25 Updraught

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Posted 27 November 2008 - 01:39

Ron Dennis was trying hard to sign Gilles as late as the Canadian GP in September, 1981. The team would be Lauda and Villeneuve. According to Donaldson's book, Dennis though he had reached an agreement that weekend, but in the end Gilles chose to stay with Ferrari.

#26 canon1753

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Posted 27 November 2008 - 02:56

Niki and Gilles....

That would have been an interesting combination. I actually got the impression from Lauda's books that he liked Gilles a good deal. It would have been Prost 84 all over I suspect. Maybe Niki would out point him, but more wins for GV....

Or Lotus with Andretti and Gilles, another one of Gilles friends and supporters.

#27 dbltop

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Posted 27 November 2008 - 04:37

Was Gilles better than Reutimann? Would Gilles have lost that championship to Piquet? I would doubt that.

#28 Speedy27

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Posted 27 November 2008 - 11:57

Wow - the stuff you don't get told in books! Thanks for sharing this.

Adding to the preceding speculation, although moving the clock forward a bit, I seem to remember reading immediately after Imola that there were rumours of Gilles moving to McLaren (for 1983). I remember thinking then that it just wouldn't seem right seeing him in another car!

One can reasonably guess that he would never have stayed at Ferrari if Pironi was retained. Ferrari's weak response to the events at Imola indicated to me that Pironi was suitably entrenched there at the time. He certainly was close to Marco Piccinini, who was Enzo's 'eyes and ears on the ground' in 1982.

So that would have made Gilles available to Lotus (which I doubt would have been his first choice, as that would have been a step down after the competitiveness of the 126C2), McLaren ('which would have caused the very undeserved termination of John Watson's career a year earlier than actually happened) or ... Williams!

Now, Gilles and Keke as team mates - there's a thought!

#29 Formula Once

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Posted 27 November 2008 - 12:02

Also, at around the same time (Imola) when the whole Porsche-McLaren deal was far from sure, Lauda was rumoured to be talking to Ferrari. Now that would have been interesting too: I wonder how much octane Piquet would have needed in his fuel to have beaten Lauda in a C2B/C3...

#30 Speedy27

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Posted 27 November 2008 - 12:46

Originally posted by Formula Once
Also, at around the same time (Imola) when the whole Porsche-McLaren deal was far from sure, Lauda was rumoured to be talking to Ferrari. Now that would have been interesting too: I wonder how much octane Piquet would have needed in his fuel to have beaten Lauda in a C2B/C3...


One never knows, but based on the form in 1983, I don't believe that Lauda (in a Ferrari) would have necessarily been able to beat Piquet to the title. Remember that Prost was level-pegging with Piquet in '83 and a year later was seemingly quicker than Lauda - in the same car.

To add a little spice to your question though, it is interesting to note that, according to Autocourse's 1983-84 'super grid' (based in practice times over the whole season), the Ferrari's (with Arnoux approx. 0.5 seconds clear of Tambay) were placed 1 and 2 on the grid. Prost and then Piquet filled row 2! So one should also remember that, in those days, reliability was still a fairly big factor in determining race results!

#31 byrkus

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Posted 30 November 2008 - 01:06

That article also in some way puts the events of early season 1982 -particularly Imola- into different perspective. IF Gilles was retained at Ferrari for 1979 just to be no.2 driver for Jody, why would it make any difference, if the first driver wold be changed? Like - when Didier replaced Jody, wouldn't he also 'inherit' the no.1 position inside the team? Gilles was of course a very fast driver, no doubt about that, and he could -and would- frequently 'embarass' his higher priced team-mate(s).

But - was he REALLY a no.1 driver in 1981 and/or 1982? Sure, he won two races in 1981, and both were masterpieces, while Didier couldn't do much with the same car. And when the 126C2 arrived in 1982, Gilles was probably certain he could easily become World Champion.

And then came Imola - which could also very easily be seen not just as a 'betrayal' of the team, but also as his personal 'Barrichello moment', so to speak. In that moment it probably all just revealed to him: he was NOT the team's first choice, but still the same 'helper', as he was to Jody three years before. And maybe -just maybe- he wasn't really furious at Didider himself, but to whole Ferrari as the team! That would also put that infamous 'look' on his face at the Imola podium into quite other perspective.

I'm of course quite aware, that lots and lots of stuff were written about last laps of 1982 San Marino GP. But, who knows. Maybe the truth was not simply Gilles v. Didier, but rather Gilles v. Ferrari? Quite interesting, really, how some things could be revealed, or at least put into different views after quite some time.

#32 Speedy27

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Posted 30 November 2008 - 07:34

As I remember, Gilles was very supportive of Pironi’s appointment to Ferrari when Scheckter retired. At that stage, Pironi had already established a reputation for being a very quick driver through his exploits at Ligier. I imagine that Gilles wouldn’t have felt threatened by any team mate. He knew that he was prepared to ‘push the envelope’ as least as far as the best of them.

Ferrari in those days preferred stimulating competition between it’s drivers, as opposed to rigidly enforcing team leader status - until it was in the more short term interest of the team. They certainly didn’t hold Gilles back when he beat Jody to 2 wins in the first 4 races of 1979. So, I don’t believe that being number 1 or number 2 at Ferrari gave any breathing space to the number 1 driver in the same way as, for example, it did at Lotus.

Scheckter, ironically, had shown the same courageous tendency as Villeneuve at the beginning of his career, but Ken Tyrrell sorted him out on that score – and quickly too! By 1979, Jody had fully matured as a racer and no doubt realized then that Gilles was ‘quicker’ than himself – he even said so at Gilles’ funeral. Jody responded after Long Beach by lifting his game quickly and racing for the title, as opposed to trying to out-race Gilles.

If Gilles had any ‘flaw’ – certainly as a potential championship limiting factor - the single minded determination of his to be quickest at all times was surely it. One must remember that this was perhaps the single most stand-out reason for the devotion he received from his fans and, surely, being in his 5th full season at Ferrari, they must have enjoyed that aspect of him too?

Above all, Gilles was respected as being a man of honour and character – witness his following Scheckter home to the title at Monza in 1979 and still smiling on the podium afterwards, knowing that he had just given up his claim to the title.

So, while he may have felt aggrieved at Ferrari for responding so weakly after Imola, at no point in what he said afterwards do I remember him calling for Ferrari to enforce number 1 status for him. I’d bet anything that being lied to by Pironi – as all accounts of the story still indicate – not least in Italy, would have hurt him most deeply of all. It went against the values he had already demonstrated he was proud to live by - both as a racing driver and a Ferrari driver.

#33 JtP1

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Posted 30 November 2008 - 13:32

Originally posted by Simon Davis
Returning to the start of this thread, I wonder how Reutemann would have fared in 1979 had he stayed at Ferrari? For sure, he couldn't have had a worse season than he did with Lotus...

What would the Scheckter/Reutemann relationship have been like? A foretaste of Jones/Reutemann at Williams?


What was Reutemann's relationship with any team mate after going to Ferrari in 1977, was there any of them that he liked or liked him? OK, AJ might have been the worst combination as he was the one closest to lifting the relationship to the physical level and not unknown for doing so on occasion.

#34 Formula Once

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Posted 30 November 2008 - 15:31

Well, Lauda didn't like Reutemann a lot to say the least...

#35 Arjan de Roos

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Posted 30 November 2008 - 16:55

Originally posted by Speedy27
So, while he may have felt aggrieved at Ferrari for responding so weakly after Imola, at no point in what he said afterwards do I remember him calling for Ferrari to enforce number 1 status for him. I’d bet anything that being lied to by Pironi – as all accounts of the story still indicate – not least in Italy, would have hurt him most deeply of all. It went against the values he had already demonstrated he was proud to live by - both as a racing driver and a Ferrari driver.


The Imola race was a boring event. Pironi and Villeneuve "made" a battle of what would have been a simple Ferrari walk over. Basically Gilles thought it was playing to the crowd and played along in mixing with the lead. Come the last laps when Pironi again overtook Villeneuve...
Villeneuve and some prominent Scuderia members thought the old racing adagio was held up and Pironi would at a certain point stop and no longer risk one or both cars from crashing. The pit crew also gave frantic signals to slow down. At the time fuel consumption also played a role.

It is also said that the Thursday before the race, a deal was made in the Olimpia in Imola. French was the language. A deal was made between the organiser and the drivers present that he who was leading 10 laps before the end, would win the race. Arnoux broke down, so it was up to the two Ferrari's.

Of course Gilles was disappointed after the race. But what must have infuriated him even more was Piccinini's explanation to the press that Ferrari did not have team orders for these circumstances. At the time Gilles was the senior member and had expected a senior role in the team (also after what he had done to make Jody WC in 1979). Also the thoughts of Forghieri and I think Tomaini. Yet maybe Gilles (and others) was a bit too naive to believe Pironi would act as he had done the years before.

At the time Villeneuve had become quite popular. Not only with the Tifosi. But also with the Old Man. His 1981 performances must have been seen as pay back for all damage made the years before. When watching the 1981 British GP and Gilles loosing it at Woodcote (after hamerring Pironi for some laps), Ferrari's comment was: "Tight chicane".
Still Ferrari's real appreciation of him will maybe never know. Much has been romanticised after Zolder. Still he did compare him with his all-time favorite driver Guy Moll. He must have had a weak spot for him due to his background and down to earth approach in many things (in contrast to Didi).

After Imola, Gilles disappeared for three days. He had locked himself up in the Real Fini Hotel, not known to Ferrari (EF). Piero knew. Gilles then came back for talks with Ferrari. A heated conversation between the two men, also as Enzo had the argument: a Ferrari had won, why worry.

Originally posted by Formula Once
Well, Lauda didn't like Reutemann a lot to say the least...


One thing that sparked this was El Lole's attitude to Niki (at the end of 1976), looking at him as a weakened man. Niki did counter that with some marvelous results.

#36 Formula Once

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Posted 30 November 2008 - 18:31

Lauda on Reutemann (1977) "To be with him in one team was not nice. Not for a second."

By the way: Alan Jones has downplayed much of what was made of his feud with Reutemann after Rio '81. Things are often not as black and white as what journalists (who often only limit themselves to their own imagination) like to make of it.

Check out this link and look at the pictures of Jones and Reutemann talking and laughing (the caption says its Rio, but it is Monaco (check out the RMC truck in the background), which make them all the more telling)

http://www.latphoto.co.uk/photos;search?query=%2BJones+%2BCarlos+%2B1981&pp=25