71 replies to this topic

[the moon monkey]

Hi All,

I am new to this site and I hope you don't mind me providing a link to my Derek Warwick Fansite - this seems like the right forum to do so!

http://www.geocities.com/ukmoonmonkey/

Cheers.

The Moon Monkey

[man]

Excellent site. When I have the time, i'll dig up a few old Warwick interviews if you like.

[TODave2]

An excellent site. I read through it the other day - it was linked from another site that someone posted on here (and which the ol' brainbox has zero chance of remembering, natch)

[deangelis86]

Hiya MoonMonkey

Glad that you've found our little piece of F1 cyberspace. Been a while since I've been in touch, hope things are well with you.

Keep up the good work on the Delboy site, I for one am proud to sport a link to it!

[the moon monkey]

Thanks for the generous comments!

To the person who may have some Derek Warwick interviews, I would definitely be interested.

Let me know what you have got and we can sort something out.

Cheers.

The Moon Monkey

[Maldwyn]

I'll always remember the 1982 British GP and the sight of Warwick's Toleman taking 2nd place from Pironi's Ferrari Great stuff

[Professional]

He has some talent. He did well vs. Tambay at Renault. And as mentioned, his passing of Pironi in '82 Brands Hatch was to something else.

His career tailed off when some driver refused to have him as teammate.;)

[Haddock]

His career tailed off when some driver refused to have him as teammate

Call me a cynic, but I suspect a year of being Senna's de facto number 2 wouldn't have done wonders for his career either.

His career tailed off when he chose Renault over Williams in 1984. Which looked like sensible move at the time, to be fair. I've always liked to think he would have done better than Mansell at Williams, mainly, if I'm honest, because he seemed a much more likeable guy.

I've seen footage of him at Monaco in the Arrows in 1989 and there's no doubting he had talent....

[the moon monkey]

I personally think that he would have done reasonably well against Senna in '86 - at least enough to secure a decent drive elsewhere for 87 and beyond... It is a backhanded sort of compliment that Senna did not want him in the team - he recognised that Derek was too good to be a no.2 driver. (Senna certainly got clear No.2s in Johnny Dumfries in '86 and then Satoru Nakajima in '87

As I mention in the website, the decision to not join Williams ruined his career even if staying at Renault for '85 seemed like the best option at the time...

[Rediscoveryx]

It's hard to say what Warwick's career had looked like if he had been allowed to drive for Lotus. Anyway, he certainly had a lot of talent, it would have been interesting to see how well he would have done in a good car.

To those of you who have seen both drivers more than I have; who would you say had the most talent; Derek or Paul Warwick?

[BRG]

Originally posted by Rediscoveryx
who would you say had the most talent; Derek or Paul Warwick?

Oh, Derek, by a Hampshire country mile. Paul was a Ralf to Derek's Michael (although without Ralf's character defects ;) )

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by BRG
Oh, Derek, by a Hampshire country mile. Paul was a Ralf to Derek's Michael (although without Ralf's character defects ;) )

It's hard to say. Paul hadn't been terribly spectacular in anything until he got into British F3000, where he was just head and shoulders above anyone else (although he was also in one of the best car/team combos). Paul was still very young, fairly inexperienced and still improving and finding his way when he was killed. I think he was one of those drivers who thrived on bigger, more powerful cars.

I seem to recall that there was already some F1 interest in Paul at the time of his death. I think he certainly could've had as good an F1 career as Derek, although I think it would've taken him time to mature into a seasoned campaigner.

There's a slight danger that we always canonise the departed and see every driver who was killed as a potential world champion - I don't necessarily think Paul was that (although in terms of raw talent he probably had the edge on say Hill) but I think he certainly had it in him to win races in F1. (Then again, so did Derek).

The difference was, Derek always struck me as a fairly careful, methodical driver - I think Paul would've been a rather more volatile and meteoric prospect.

pete

[the moon monkey]

some decent comments from petefenelon. Paul would have needed some luck to get into and succeed in F1 but I do think it was a realistic proposition. No doubt, Derek would have helped and advised Paul from British F3000 (which he would easily have won in 1991) into Euro f3000 and then, touchwood, into f1.

I often wonder whether Derek's return to F1 in 1993 with Footwork (Arrows) was somewhat pointless, but then again, I guess it was pretty special for a driver to say "I am a grand prix driver" (even if there is little chance of success)... Maybe I was disappointed as to how the '93 season panned out really. The Footwork team was always making the numbers up to be honest

[BRG]

I am sorry, but the results do not suggest that Paul was very special as a driver. I fear that there is a tendency with those who have lost their lives prematurely to suggest that they were better than they really were. If we look at Paul's results from his tribute site http://www.thruxton.f9.co.uk/paul.htm it shows that he was very good indeed in FF. But that early promise was not sustained. Three seasons of Brit F3 with Eddie Jordan and Intersport (who were both good teams) netted no wins AFAIK. then a few International F3000 outings that were not particularly good. Then he was dominating Brit F3000, but with a one year old car run by Madgwick in a never very competitive series, so he should have. I really don't see, and thinking back to those days, didn't see back then, Paul Warwick as having F1 potential.

This isn't intended a bashing and I don't want to attack him - I am sure that he did his best and I am sure he was a super bloke - but we can't all be superstars. I know that his death really hit his brother Derek very hard and I felt very sorry for him and the family.

[the moon monkey]

Originally posted by BRG
I really don't see, and thinking back to those days, didn't see back then, Paul Warwick as having F1 potential.

Fair enough BRG. That said, had he got an F1 testing contract in 1992 while racing in Euro F3000, it could have led to something.... For example in terms of test drivers, look at Damon Hill or Allan McNish. Hill being a good example of being in the right place at the right time whereas if any of us had said, say circa 1998, that McNish would make F1 we would all have laughed. But McNish still made it to F1... Paul could have got to F1. He would have needed luck, but all drivers need luck at some point in their careers to "make it".

Incidentally, some new pics have gone online on my Delboy site, courtesy of Rob Ryder, including a great 1990 RAC Rally shot (see gallery on the linked page below).


http://uk.geocities....warwick/dw8.htm

Cheers.

The Moon Monkey

[Reynard]

Results maketh not the racing driver...

Derek Warwick always stated categorically that Paul was better than he was and I would be inclined to agree. However, one thing that is clear to me is that the background and circumstances behind Paul's poor performances is not particularly well known, so let me fill you in:

Paul signed for EJR as a replacement for outgoing champion, Johnny Herbert. However, as EJR moved up into International F3000 with Johnny, key personnel moved with him, leaving the F3 team somewhat short-handed. Also, the Reynard 883 chassis was not the best out there, and neither was the VW Speiss engine - as a result the overall package was not very good, and in F3, the difference between midfield and front of grid is very small. If it isn't right, then it won't happen.

On the face of it, Paul's move to Intersport looked good on paper, but again the Reynard 893 chassis (like in the previous year) wasn't up to the Ralt RT33. The TOM's Toyota engine was even worse than the Speiss, but that was only the beginning of Paul's problems. Intersport were backed by Cellnet at the time, and it was Cellnet who were calling the shots, not Glenn Waters (Intersport boss). Intersport usually ran Ralts, but in 1989, Cellnet had negotioated a contract with Reynard without consulting the team, so all the best-laid plans went to pot. Which meant starting from a clean slate with something totally unfamilliar.

In fact, Intersport had nothing to do with the running of the cars at all as a result of Cellnet meddling - all they did was bring the cars to the races. It got so bad that the sponsors were trying to tell the drivers how to set up thir cars. How the hell do you expect a driver to perform in that sort of an environment? When Cellnet brought Damon Hill back into the team for a few races, Paul blew Damon comprehensively into the weeds. Putting it into perspective, in all of Paul's time in F3/F3000 where he had a team mate, he was consistently the faster of the two drivers and turned in the better results. Guys like Jason Elliott and Vincenso Sospiri were no slouches after all...

After the debacle at Intersport, Paul could have moved back down into FVL (would have been nice to see him race against a mate of mine) but instead he stuck his neck out and went to Superpower for a third crack at F3. It didn't really work out, so he cut his losses and quit - to be honest you couldn't blame him for that, particularly as he was already actively looking for an F3000 drive at the time...

Admittedly the drive he got at Leyton House was crap - the car was terrible and he knew that, but it was a good way of getting into an F3000 car and picking up some experience without having all the pressure on his shoulders. You only need to look at what happened to Allan McNish in F3000. Even so, it goes to show that Paul still managed to get the best placing all year for any Leyton House 90B chassis in only his second race for the team - the 1990 Birningham Superprix. Even what looked on paper like a mediocre performance was in fact probably one of the best drives of his career, and made quite a few team managers sit up and take notice.

What always makes me cross was the fact that the people who were slagging Paul off for his performances in F3 were then singing his praises when he was winning in BF3000 - talk about being hypocritical... A driver doesn't suddenly become good overnight. A lot of Paul's problems were caused by circumstances that were well out of his control, so he can't be blamed for that. Another problem that Paul always had, was being tagged as Derek's little brother, rather than as a racer in his own right.

As an aside - not every driver takes to F3 cars well, as they have a lot more grip than power and consequently, they are very difficult to set up. Finding the right balance is not easy and if you haven't quite got it right, the car becomes very twitchy and almost undriveable - the drivers who have an innate feel for the handling of an F3 car are very few and far between. Paul was one of those drivers who performed better in cars that had more power than grip i.e. Formula Ford and F3000, probably as a result of his background in short track oval racing.

But as far as raw talent goes - I think he was one of the best we've ever had and it is a shame he never got the real opportunities to prove that. Since Paul's death, I have only seen one other driver with the same level of abilities.

[BRG]

Originally posted by Reynard
Since Paul's death, I have only seen one other driver with the same level of abilities.

An eloquent defence of Paul Warwick and I am sure that there is much in what you say. But do tell who the one other driver is......

[Reynard]

There is much in what I say about Paul, mainly because it is fact - it's what comes from talking to the right people and asking the right sort of questions.

As for the one other driver...

None other than Kelvin "The Iceman" Burt - undeniably quick, versatile, astute racing brain, technically aware and one of the best when it comes to setting up a car that I know. When I watch Kel drive, it is like watching Paul all over again though certainly over the years, Kel's style has become smoother and far more assertive.

[the moon monkey]

Reynard,

May I state that your post on Paul Warwick is particularly informative and in a way reinforces that racing drivers may have plenty of talent but they also need plenty of luck, being "in the right place at the right time" and all the other cliches to succeed.

Reading the post has reminded me that I actually attended the 1990 Birmingham Superprix. Had totally forgotten. The memory is clearly not much these days... I do remember looking out for Paul Warwick at the race, what with him being my favourite driver's brother and all that...

the MoonMonkey

[Maldwyn]

While certainly a fan of DW's it did take me a while to forgive him for taking Marc Surer out of the 1983 Monaco GP. Arrows were doing a great job that year and Marc was running in a superb third place until...

[deangelis86]

Just out of interest Mikey, what was Riccardo's relationship like with Delboy during the season that they drove together at Brabham?

I know that Elio and Riccardo were good mates, but I've never really read much to suggest that Derek and Riccardo were anything other than just team-mates.

[Maldwyn]

Digging through some old notes I found this:

I've got a lot of time for Riccardo. He's a good strong runner, not what I'd call a strong #1, but he's an excellent #2. A nice guy who always motivates the team, gets the maximum from the car and he's lost that chip he had on his shoulder. A really good team man.

It comes from a review of the 1990 season where DW rated RP 8th in his top 10 drivers of the year.

IIRC Derek also described RP as the best team-mate he'd had, but I can't find the exact quote. I've seen very little said by either driver about that period. Most of their recorded thoughts were about Elio and the "difficult" BT55. Perhaps the moon monkey might be able to dig that one out from somewhere.

[the moon monkey]

Originally posted by Maldwyn
IIRC Derek also described RP as the best team-mate he'd had, but I can't find the exact quote. I've seen very little said by either driver about that period. Most of their recorded thoughts were about Elio and the "difficult" BT55. Perhaps the moon monkey might be able to dig that one out from somewhere.

Yes - you are right - Derek definitely said that RP was the best teammate he ever had and I think I mention this on my site - I am struggling to remember where I found that info though. I will have a good think about it and get back to you!

The Moon Monkey

[the moon monkey]

Dear deangelis86 and Maldwyn,

i have found a quote attributed to Derek from the 1989 editon of Autocourse in the Top 10 Section. On Alan Henry's assessment of Riccardo Patrese (#4) he quotes Derek (on RP) as "the fastest and best teammate I have ever had" . I still don't know exactly when Derek said this but obviously at some point between mid 86 and 89.

Incidentally, Derek was 9th in the Autocourse top 10 drivers of 1989, which is not bad considering he only scored 7 points that season....

Hope this helps.

The Moon Monkey

[the moon monkey]

news - there will be a development on this website over the weekend.

watch this space.

TheMoonMonkey

[the moon monkey]

The exclusive Q&A with Derek Warwick is now online at

http://uk.geocities....warwick/dw.html

It is an excellent read, especially his views on Bernie Ecclestone!

Many thanks.

TheMoonMonkey @ go on derek!

[deangelis86]

An excellent interview Wayne

Most interesting was Delboys comment on the BT55, he didn't hold back did he!!

[the moon monkey]

yes - I was quite surprised how candid he was!!!

Still, I was dead chuffed that he took the time out to answer my questions and would recommend it to anyone as a good read...

If I can also ask the forum members - I am always on the lookout for any Derek Warwick information that I could use for the website - I want to build up the website if possible but dependent on finding new sources of info etc...

For example, can anyone tell me where he finished in the 1984 Autocourse top 10 drivers???

PM me or contact me via my website (url below).

Many thanks.

the moon monkey

http://uk.geocities....warwick/dw.html

[Maldwyn]

Autocourse 1984 Top Ten:

1. Alain Prost
2. Nelson Piquet
3. Niki Lauda
4. Keke Rosberg
5. Elio de Angelis
6. Michele Alboreto
7. Derek Warwick
8. Ayrton Senna
9. Nigel Mansell
10. Patrick Tambay

[TODave2]

Is it just me or does that interview look a bit dicky? Something about the poor English just nags at me a bit. Was it actually done face to face or via email? If it's genuine then I apologise.

[the moon monkey]

Originally posted by TODave2
Is it just me or does that interview look a bit dicky? Something about the poor English just nags at me a bit. Was it actually done face to face or via email? If it's genuine then I apologise.

I can confirm that it is genuine - Derek answered my questions via email.

I would not disagree that some of the answers are in "poor english" - but then again I was loathe to change too much in case I diluted the sense/feeling of some of his answers. I am not a journalist and I would accept that somebody better qualified may have done a better job than me - in any case it is too late now as it has been online for over a week now.

To be honest, I was dead chuffed that he agreed to answer my questions and I think I asked some decent questions!

Hope this clarifies things.

The Moon Monkey

PS - Maldwyn - thanks for the 84 Autocourse top 10. Nice one!

[the moon monkey]

the latest update is online now (see weblink below) - a recent interview Derek gave to Adrian Chiles on BBC Radio 5 Live! As ever, Derek gives an entertaining account of his F1 career!

Many thanks.

MoonMonkey

http://uk.geocities....warwick/dw.html

[Bob Amblard]

Derek Warwick during the Master GP tests at Silverstone in october 2005 :





Copyright Motorsport.com

[bigears]

Originally posted by the moon monkey
Reynard,

May I state that your post on Paul Warwick is particularly informative and in a way reinforces that racing drivers may have plenty of talent but they also need plenty of luck, being "in the right place at the right time" and all the other cliches to succeed.

Reading the post has reminded me that I actually attended the 1990 Birmingham Superprix. Had totally forgotten. The memory is clearly not much these days... I do remember looking out for Paul Warwick at the race, what with him being my favourite driver's brother and all that...

the MoonMonkey

I got the full race of the 1990 F3000 race at the BSP on tape.

He was running well and fell down the grid as a fellow British driver, Phil Andrews collided into him at the Cavendish Finance corner trying to avoid an early braking Paul Belmondo.

Paul continued on the race and climbed up to finish 8th in his difficult Leyton House car.

[the moon monkey]

Derek will be racing next weekend at Qatar in the GP Masters (28/29 April).

I will be rooting for him to do well, as ever!!!

[Melco Hairpin]

Originally posted by the moon monkey
Derek will be racing next weekend at Qatar in the GP Masters (28/29 April).

I will be rooting for him to do well, as ever!!!

Will you have some pictures, because it's very HARD to have pictures of the GPM races ?

[Maldwyn]

Originally posted by Melco Hairpin
Will you have some pictures, because it's very HARD to have pictures of the GPM races ?

A search for 'GP Masters' on Getty Images or Sutton Images makes it easy ;)

[Vicuna]

Did DW use the white hat or his familiar blue and white at Kyalami?

It was one of the nicest ever IMO - both in terms of colour and design.

Always wondered if it was just a coincidence that the design was the same as another DW from a few years earlier - or did DW copy DW's?

[FLB]

Originally posted by the moon monkey

Incidentally, Derek was 9th in the Autocourse top 10 drivers of 1989, which is not bad considering he only scored 7 points that season....

Well, he certainly showed what he could do at Montreal that year. He led for some laps. I genuinely think he would have won if the Arrows hadn't stopped.


One of my friends who was near the area where he got out of the car told me he gave it a few good kicks to get his blood pressure down to triple digits again...

[Rob Ryder]

Originally posted by Vicuna
Did DW use the white hat or his familiar blue and white at Kyalami?

It was one of the nicest ever IMO - both in terms of colour and design.

Always wondered if it was just a coincidence that the design was the same as another DW from a few years earlier - or did DW copy DW's?

His normal racing helmet - Blue and White

[Vicuna]

[Jerome]

If I can offer some softening on the blow (that Warwick didn't get the spot next to Senna at Lotus). I think that Senna did not want Warwick because he was 'afraid' of him, but because he genuinely was worried about the ableness of Lotus to prepare two equal cars... something that Lotus would have tried intensely, if Warwick (at time perhaps the most liked driver in the paddock, together with Tambay) would have come into the team.

I believe that Maurice Hamilton or Keith Botsford wrote: 'Please understand, everybody who's angry with Senna for blocking Warwick's entrance to a Top Team, that Lotus is not a Top Team anymore.'

I think the season of Johnny Dumfries showed how Senna received all attention that year. I believe Senna was extremely better than Dumfries, but two seconds a lap or so? No.

[bigears]

What was the response with the media and the fans when Derek returned to F1 to drive for the Footwork team in 1993?

I seem to recall that some people said that he shouldn't return to F1 as he made an embarrassment with himself in his return in 1993.

[Loud&Dangerous!]

From the videos I have of F1, Derek was a character Who can forget that Monza crash in 1990!

Why did he leave F1 in 1990 though and go back in 1993, only to leave again? From the 1993 video, I can remember him spinning off in South Africa in 6th, warm up crash in Germany and Irvine colliding with him.

[Twin Window]

Without a shadow of a doubt, Derek is one of life's genuine 'good guys'. I've got many memories; some good, some sad - but my favourites go back to the early '80s.

I'd known Derek and Brian Henton for a year or so by the time they arrived/returned to F1 as team mates at Toleman, and en route to Monaco a private joke began to evolve between a couple of snappers, a prominent racing insurance chap, myself and the two aforementioned pilotes. As F1's minnows, the two of them were able to go anywhere and do anything without being recognised and so we started calling Brian 'Derek' and Derek 'Brian'... well, it was funny at the time. Brian eventually drifting out of F1, but Derek remained - and the 'Brian Fan Fraternity' (exclusive membership of five, including Derek...) carried on for years with members being fined a round of drinks if they were discovered to not be wearing their BFF badge!

Anyway, the big day of 1981 for 'Brian' was a while coming - that Toleman chassis was a bit of a dog and he didn't actually get into a race until the final round in Las Vegas. The BFF didn't need much of an excuse for for a good time, and here we had something to genuinely celebrate right at the end of the season! We were all returning to Blighty on the same 747, but were transferring to LAX from Vegas on separate flights, so we arranged to meet at a specific bar at the airport.

Once it was time to board our trans-Atlantic plane we were all on, ahem... good form, and as soon as the plane was at altitude we got back into celebratory mood. To cut a long story short, we five drank the entire plane dry of champagne - including first class - and the ensuant practical jokes included persuading a large posse of female British pensioners in the section ahead of us to queue up and ask 'Brian' for his autograph...

When we landed at Heathrow pretty early local time, feeling (predictably) rough, and were all off to our respective offices - including Derek, who was still running the Warwick Trailers family business. I rang Derek later in the day to see how rough he was feeling, to be told that when he'd found his car he left in the long-term car park a fortnight or so earlier, he'd left the lights on...

Top bloke.

[Ruairidh]

Originally posted by Jerome.Inen
If I can offer some softening on the blow (that Warwick didn't get the spot next to Senna at Lotus). I think that Senna did not want Warwick because he was 'afraid' of him, but because he genuinely was worried about the ableness of Lotus to prepare two equal cars... something that Lotus would have tried intensely, if Warwick (at time perhaps the most liked driver in the paddock, together with Tambay) would have come into the team.

I believe that Maurice Hamilton or Keith Botsford wrote: 'Please understand, everybody who's angry with Senna for blocking Warwick's entrance to a Top Team, that Lotus is not a Top Team anymore.'

I think the season of Johnny Dumfries showed how Senna received all attention that year. I believe Senna was extremely better than Dumfries, but two seconds a lap or so? No.

Are you suggesting that Senna's prime criteria for blackballing Warwick was not a recognition of (a) Senna's bargaining power at that time and (b) Warwick's ability?

I doubt Senna would have taken any other stance, even if he believed Team had the ability to run two number 1 cars. Senna may not have been "afraid" of Warwick, but I reckon he respected him enough to want to veto him from being in his (Ayrton's) team.

Things were different when he moved to McLaren, there he had to accept the incumbent......

[Jerome]

It's a good question, Ruairidh.

I just don't believe Senna was afraid of competing with anyone. I firmly believe he would have loved to thrash any respected driver in F1, just to show them he was (in his own eyes) the best.

I was not there, so I am looking from the outside in. But for example think about how Senna thought about Prost, and how their rivalry would develop in later years. There are some excellent threads in Atlas about that. My impression: Senna wanted to be in one team with Prost, so he could show he beat the, then, highest regarded driver. Why would he have been afraid of Warwick? Ofcourse had bargaining power. But he was to selfassured to be unsure about the competition. I think in a way his absolute selfbelief led to his death...but that's another subject.

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by Jerome.Inen
It's a good question, Ruairidh.

I just don't believe Senna was afraid of competing with anyone. I firmly believe he would have loved to thrash any respected driver in F1, just to show them he was (in his own eyes) the best.

I don't think Senna was afraid of the competition from the likes of Delboy, I think he was more concerned that with two good drivers Lotus might spend too much time and effort trying to prepare two decent cars, when in those days most teams weren't at the level where they could do that. With a driver of whom less was expected, there'd be less effort going into making his car competitive...

[the moon monkey]

Originally posted by Twin Window
Without a shadow of a doubt, Derek is one of life's genuine 'good guys'. I've got many memories; some good, some sad - but my favourites go back to the early '80s.

I'd known Derek and Brian Henton for a year or so by the time they arrived/returned to F1 as team mates at Toleman, and en route to Monaco a private joke began to evolve between a couple of snappers, a prominent racing insurance chap, myself and the two aforementioned pilotes. As F1's minnows, the two of them were able to go anywhere and do anything without being recognised and so we started calling Brian 'Derek' and Derek 'Brian'... well, it was funny at the time. Brian eventually drifting out of F1, but Derek remained - and the 'Brian Fan Fraternity' (exclusive membership of five, including Derek...) carried on for years with members being fined a round of drinks if they were discovered to not be wearing their BFF badge!

Anyway, the big day of 1981 for 'Brian' was a while coming - that Toleman chassis was a bit of a dog and he didn't actually get into a race until the final round in Las Vegas. The BFF didn't need much of an excuse for for a good time, and here we had something to genuinely celebrate right at the end of the season! We were all returning to Blighty on the same 747, but were transferring to LAX from Vegas on separate flights, so we arranged to meet at a specific bar at the airport.

Once it was time to board our trans-Atlantic plane we were all on, ahem... good form, and as soon as the plane was at altitude we got back into celebratory mood. To cut a long story short, we five drank the entire plane dry of champagne - including first class - and the ensuant practical jokes included persuading a large posse of female British pensioners in the section ahead of us to queue up and ask 'Brian' for his autograph...

When we landed at Heathrow pretty early local time, feeling (predictably) rough, and were all off to our respective offices - including Derek, who was still running the Warwick Trailers family business. I rang Derek later in the day to see how rough he was feeling, to be told that when he'd found his car he left in the long-term car park a fortnight or so earlier, he'd left the lights on...

Top bloke.

Great post TW. He mentions in the Q&A article he did for my website that he got very p*ssed after the Las Vegas race - it is most appreciated that you have provided more "colour" to the story!!!

How long did you know "Brian" during his F1 days - any more anecdotes???

Regards,

The Moon Monkey

[MCS]

Originally posted by petefenelon


I don't think Senna was afraid of the competition from the likes of Delboy, I think he was more concerned that with two good drivers Lotus might spend too much time and effort trying to prepare two decent cars, when in those days most teams weren't at the level where they could do that. With a driver of whom less was expected, there'd be less effort going into making his car competitive...

Mmmmm...not sure I agree with this, Pete. But sort of prepared to bow to your better knowledge of the period.

Always had the impression (rightly or wrongly) that Senna suffered from paranoia; almost a mistrust of people in the same team, if he hadn't been involved in their appointment in the first place.