7 replies to this topic

[William Hunt]

I am wondering about Monza 1988, back then Schlesser was almost 40 (well he actually turned 40 one day after that race) and had a succesful carreer in sportscars & touring cars but not in single seaters. He failed to score points in Formula Two in 1982 and failed to qualify in F1 with March during the French GP (which was no shame, the car was not competitive enough).

But why did Williams turn to Schlesser for Monza? I realise that Martin Brundle was not available that day but still... a 40 year old driver with just 1 non qualifying effort 5 years ago on his F1 cv?

Edited by William Hunt, 07 January 2015 - 03:05.

[Jack-the-Lad]

There's a rumor that Enzo mentioned something to The Almighty over a nice bottle of Vecchia Modena....

Edited by Jack-the-Lad, 07 January 2015 - 03:44.

[Tim Murray]

It seems pretty logical to me. After Brundle turned down the drive (at Walkinshaw's behest) Williams were left with a very short time to come up with a replacement. According to Autosport they considered the likes of Rosberg, Unser Jr, Moreno and Lehto, but clashing events or clashing sponsors ruled out all of these.

Schlesser was a known quantity at Williams. He had been a test driver for them on a regular basis for several years, and had impressed them with his easy-going nature and reliable test info. He was very popular with the Williams mechanics, and he was available. Problem solved.

[William Hunt]

ah I forgot that he had also tested for them, can anyone tell how many times he tested for Williams and in which years?

[William Hunt]

JJ Lehto was still doing British F3 in 1988 (he did win that title) so I would find it strange if he was already under consideration by Williams back then.

[Tim Murray]

The race report in Autosport said it was 14 months since he had last tested for Williams. In this interview with Joe Saward:

http://www.grandprix...ft/ft00002.html

Schlesser himself said 13 months. He also said that Patrick Head had invited him to do some testing at the start of the 1988 season, but he couldn't make it. He regretted this at Monza, as he found the FW12 very different to anything he had driven before and would have benefitted from some previous experience with the car.

[Richard Jenkins]

JJ Lehto was still doing British F3 in 1988 (he did win that title) so I would find it strange if he was already under consideration by Williams back then.

Why do you find it strange?

Lehto was seen as a future multiple World Champion, his stock was extremely high and having him doing a one-off could only be of benefit to him for his prospects and Williams for any potential deal.

[GroupC2]

Why do you find it strange?

Lehto was seen as a future multiple World Champion, his stock was extremely high and having him doing a one-off could only be of benefit to him for his prospects and Williams for any potential deal.

 

JJ was a Marlboro driver, Williams were Barclay sponsored that could have been a barrier to considering him!