12 replies to this topic

[chr1s]

I apologise if this has been covered before, but  I recently saw a picture from 1974, of Niki Lauda and Carlos Reutemann together and they appear to be talking and laughing! This made me think again about their relationship. Was it really all that bad? 

I read somewhere that Carlos was "extremely surprised and disappointed"  when he read what Niki  wrote in "For the record"  which seems to suggest that he thought their relationship was ok?

 I've often wondered if part of the problem on Laudas' part  was miss directed anger at Ferrari, for firing Regazzoni?

I know its a long time ago now, but did anyone here actually witness the pair of  them together, at any time, but especially in the year they were team mates?

[FerrariV12]

Im not really a good authority on this, being aged minus 6 at the time, but from what I remember reading about the Reutemann/Lauda thing, Ferrari moved to hire Reutemann while Lauda was still recovering from the Nurburgring crash, pretty much as his replacement. I think Regazzoni only got squeezed out after Lauda made an unexpected recovery, and 3 into 2 didn't go (they ran 3 cars at Monza in '76). And then even when he returned, Ferrari didn't have as much faith in Lauda and pretty much set up for Reutemann to be the 'number 1' going into 1977 (I think early in the season Reutemann had first call on new developments until Lauda started beating him on the track)

 

Of course given what I said, I stand to be corrected on any/all of the above

[john winfield]

Agreed V12, I have the impression that Lauda was so angry with Ferrari for showing little confidence that he, Niki, would recover from the crash, that the anger became channelled into competitiveness with, and some bitterness towards, Reutemann.  I'm not aware of any ill feeling between the two drivers before late 1976, nor of any incidents after that that really warrant a falling out.

[chunder27]

To be fair Carlos had a habit of winding people up the wrong way!

 

He managed it with Jones too.

 

Not sure if he and Villeneuve were great mates in 78 either?

[BRG]

He managed it with Jones too.

 

I knew there was a reason for liking Reutemann!

[chunder27]

To be fair the man totally ignored team orders and Jones was well within his right to despise the man, the boards were hung out lots of times and Carlos simply ignored them. Was actually more blatant than Pironi and Villeneuve in Imola.

[Nemo1965]

To be fair the man totally ignored team orders and Jones was well within his right to despise the man, the boards were hung out lots of times and Carlos simply ignored them. Was actually more blatant than Pironi and Villeneuve in Imola.

 

Chunder: right to despise is a bit strong. Reutemann was the stronger man Long Beach that year... and obeyed team-orders to not attack Jones. In Brazil he was the faster man, was ahead of Jones with, in my eyes, no chance for Jones to overtake Reutemann. It was more a Barrichello/Schumacher situation in Austria, where Barrichello obliged and Reuteman did not... Totally different than with Pironi/Villeuneuve where both drivers were ordered to slow down, and Villeneuve obliged and Pironi did not.

 

Regarding Reutemann and Lauda: according to me, they only had a feud during their Ferrari-time. I remember distinctly the year after, 1978, stories about Lauda and Reutemann could be found regulary meeting in the pits, and burst out in impersonations of Foghieri and Ferrari calling each other on the phone, in panic.

[JtP2]

Just been reading the Reutemann/ Jones race in Brazil , curtesy of Brakedisc. Reuteman's story was he was going to pull over on the last lap, 63. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on who you were. The race ran into the 2 hour rule and ended on lap 62. So there was no lap 63.

 

Reuteman didn't seem to get on that well with Mario Andretti either.

[Hank the Deuce]

Nicki's character assessment of Carlos was that he was cold and impersonal (from what I interpreted from "To Hell And Back/Meine Story"), but I'm sure I read something more recently - and interview or some such (Motorsport?) where it appeared that Niki held Carlos no ill-will, malice or other active antipathy... mellowed in old age perhaps?

 

Yeah, AJ and Carlos weren't friends.  Apparently Gilles Villeneuve had no drama with Carlos, but there was no disputing Carlos' standing in the team in 1978, whereas during 1997, and 1980-1 he had another top rooster to contend with in the henhouse... I'd never heard much of how 1979 went for Carlos... anecdotes?

[BRG]

To be fair the man totally ignored team orders 

Another reason for liking Reutemann.

[chr1s]

Thanks for all the reply's so far and well done Nemo, your post was exactly what I was hoping for when I started the topic. 

Regarding other team mates, some years ago I met a former Brabham mechanic and he told me that Reutemann and Pace got on very well together. Also, Nigel Roebuck said that Reutemann got on very well with villeneuve and wouldn't have a word said against him. 

Regarding Alan Jones, I was lucky enough to get to ask him about this very subject. To my supprize  he said "To be honest Brazil was blown up out of all proportion. I think if Frank, Patrick or Carlos came to me and said, look we want some help (in 81') I probably would have done it"

[Pablo Vignone]

I did an interview with Lauda at his airline office, Schwechat Airport at Vienna, in June 1996, and he was very kind of Reutemann on the talk, maybe because I was argentinian, maybe because it was nearly twenty years from that circumstance. I dont' remember exactly what he said, but he stated clearly that he wasn't upset with him. In fact I was surprised with his statement, having read in his book his derogatory comments regarding Reutemann. Of course, I got the book signed... 

[Nemo1965]

In 1980 or 1981 my mother found out Carlos Reutemann stayed in the American Hotel in Amsterdam, prior to the Dutch Grand Prix (Reutemann preferred to stay in other hotels than the other F1 drivers). I was a fan of Reutemann, my mother (married to my stepfather back then, who was on a business-trip) was quite enchanted with him, and as a joke she called the hotel and asked for mr. Reutemann's room. To her shock, the operator patched her through. 'Carlos Reutemann,' a deep voice said, and my mother sat bolt-upright.

 

She talked to him about fifteen minutes. He invited my mother to have a cup of coffee. 'Bring your son (that would be me) with you,' Carlos said. My mother declined... Afterwards she said: 'I find him a little bit too cute...' A shame, I could have been Carlos step-son... I am kidding, because I think Carlos had no amorous intentions at all, he seemed to have really relished the idea of some nice company.

 

The relevance of this story is: Carlos was not a cold and impersonal person at all. He was someone who sought solitude, perhaps because he thought that real men or real racing drivers should be like lonesome and silent cowboys. He had that Gaucho-behaviour but it did not fit with his emotions-prone mood at all. Look how he left F1. Hardly a cold and calculating decision that was.

Edited by Nemo1965, 16 February 2015 - 12:43.