Here's an interview with Harrison from March 2000, on Fangio, his F1 band, and more.
by Kevin Eason, for The Times
The anonymous figure loping through the Formula One grid before the 2000 Australian Grand Prix barely looked left or right until he got almost to the end and stopped in front of Jenson Button. He smiled slowly and said simply "Good luck Jenson" to the youngster about to start his first Formula One race and then loped away. Jenson accepted the good wishes and turned to his mechanic to ask: "Nice guy. Who was he?"
The answer: A legend. Mr Harrison to you, Jenson; George Harrison, a quarter of the most famous band ever, playing to crowds the size of a Formula One crowd before you were born. The Beatles still have No 1 hits 30 years after splitting up and Harrison plays on. Music remains his passion and his living, but fast cars and Formula One are a lifetime indulgence.
Q: What first sparked your interest in motor racing?
Harrison: I used to go to watch motorcycle racing at Aintree, in Liverpool, and I saw a poster advertising sports car racing. I used to go up to the railway straight at Aintree and my earliest memory of a car is a Jaguar XK120 racing a Mercedes-Benz 300SL.
Did you have a favourite driver as you were growing up?
Harrison: Yes, Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s. Another early memory was Fangio allowing Moss to pass him in the last 50 metres of the British Grand Prix at Aintree (in 1955 when they were both driving for Mercedes).
If you could own a team, which one would you choose?
Harrison: If I owned anything I would prefer it to be Formula One Management (F1's controlling company run by Bernie Ecclestone). I wouldn't want to be financially involved because only crazy people put their own money into it.
Q: Who is your favourite all-time driver and who among the modern crop excites you?
Harrison: I don't have one favourite driver, I have many. Button is cool, has humour and looks good too. I hope he wins many times. In fact, I am looking forward to anybody who can break into the top two. I would like to see six or seven grand prix winners in a given season - that will be the day!
Q: Is there one car that stands out for you down the years? Your colleague in rock-and-roll Chris Rea is mad about the 1961 Sharknose Ferrari in which Phil Hill won his championship.
Harrison: I loved the Mercedes W196 from the 1950s (driven by Fangio and Moss), the Lotus 25 (driven by Jim Clark in 1962) and Lotus 79 (the 1978 world championship-winning car for Mario Andretti), the Brabham BT52 (Nelson Piquet's world championship car of 1983) and the Brabham BT46B (the infamous fan car banned immediately after Niki Lauda won the 1978 Swedish GP) and the McLaren MP4/4 (in which Senna and Prost won 15 of 16 races in 1988).
Q: You are a keen driver and own two cars close to being racing models, don't you? They must give you a lot of pleasure.
Harrison: My McLaren F1 road car always gives me an awesome feeling when I am in it. Next favourite is my Rocket (for hooligans only). Respects to Gordon Murray (designer of both the McLaren F1 and the Rocket, and the BT46B, and now head of car design at McLaren International). Bit of a contrast to my first cars, a Ford Anglia and a Jaguar MkII.
Q: Which drivers or team owners have impressed you, and why?
Harrison: Sir Frank Williams for showing that spirit does not have to be limited by your physical bodily condition.
Q: Many people don't entirely understand the fascination of Formula One. What does it for you?
Harrison: It's the many different, amazing people and their ongoing soap opera that I can view closely without having any direct responsibility for. It beats Coronation Street.
Q: If you had never picked up a guitar, would you have wanted to be a Formula One driver? Or are you happy simply being involved with the crossover between rock-and-roll and F1?
Harrison: I don't think so. I have played guitar with Damon (Hill) and Jacques Villeneuve, drums with Eddie Jordan and taught Gerhard Berger the ukelele ... but the Formula One supergroup I am really in is called FLB with Norbert Haug (Mercedes Motorsport director) on accordion and lederhosen. I hear Max (Mosley, president of the FIA) and Bernie (Ecclestone) are thinking of joining...
