Derek Warwick is one of the most liked and respected drivers ever to drive an F1 car, though he never won a race in F1 due to mostly being in the right team at the wrong time Derek had massive success in sports cars. Since retiring as a driver he has been a successful businessman, F1 driver steward and also on the board of the BRDC.

In an exclusive interview for Pitlane Magazine Derek looks back at his F1 career, the tragic death of his hugely talented brother Paul, gives his views on the 2012 season and more.

 

1) As someone who has been a driver steward in F1 do you sympathise with the F1 fans who question the consistency of verdicts and penalties from the stewards?

The problem with consistency within stewards are twofold, (1) You will always have different views when you have different stewards, it’s inevitable. (2) Most of the time no two incidences are the same, they might look the same but when you play back & see all the different angles they can be quite different. Do you feel for example a permanent team of stewards attending every event would be the solution? No, I don’t believe permanent stewards are the right way to go, I think mixing it up is healthy.

2) The freak weather leading up to the British GP was beyond everyone’s control, as head of the BRDC how much of a challenge was the 2012 British GP and what plans are afoot to prevent a repeat in 2013 of for example the events of the Saturday when many fans were advised not to attend?

I believe Silverstone & the BRDC did everything they could under the circumstances, we have to remember we had the wettest April & June on record plus 20mm of rain in one hour on the Tuesday night. The real problem on Friday was the camping site most of which are privately owned & run, just closed the sites & the camping traffic just sat on the roadways blocking the roads for everyone else. We were obviously to blame as well, but looking at other sporting event over this weekend in the UK, most were cancelled, at least we turned it around for race day which is the main event. The team at Silverstone & the BRDC have had many meeting since & have come up with several plans that hopefully will eliminate this in the future, never say never but we hope we have done our homework.

3) How are the investment plans in Silverstone going? Have new investors been found following on from Alpha Group?

We had to go back to the members to get some small changes to the resolutions, which the members put through with ease. This allows the investor a little more flexibility to realise their own potential in developing the site. We are quietly confident with the investors we are talking too & are very pleased with the quality of investors who want to be partners with us.

4) Ayrton Senna vetoed your recruitment by Lotus, what effect did this have on your career and did you forgive him?

I think Ayrton had a massive influence on my career, because I was left without a drive & never really recovered to get myself back into a top drive. There is nothing to forgive, he made his decision based on Lotus not being able to deliver two no one cars & he was probably right, he didn’t want a driver in the second car that might give him a problem & he achieved that.

5) what was the favourite moment / highlight of your F1 career?

Driver my first Grand Prix car & then qualifying for me first Grand Prix.

6) In all the categories you raced in what was your favourite circuit?

Monaco.

7) who do you think will emerge as the 2012 WDC?

I think Alonso is driver the best he has ever driven & will be very difficult to beat this year. But there’s still a long way to go & he hasn’t had a none finish yet? My heart is Lewis but my brain is Alonso.

8) who was your favourite team mate in your F1 career?

I had many, probably Patrick Tambay. I knew with Patrick if he said he gave the car two clicks of damper it was two clicks.

9) F1 has been dominated by Bernie Ecclestone for decades, how do you see a post Bernie F1 faring?

I think Bernie has been a great dictator/boss of F1 without him we all would have been much poorer, I think a lot of drivers & teams do not give him enough credit for exactly what he has done. Without Bernie F1 will change & I’m not sure for the better, the teams will end up with more power & that might not be good for the sport.

10) As a young boy with ambitions to be a racing driver who were your motorsport idols?

Moss, Clark, Stewart, Rindt & latter days Lauda & Senna.

11) You had a terrifying accident at Parabolica and went straight for the spare car, what were your thoughts during the time of the accident?

Bugger this is going to hurt….!!! Surprisingly I had so much time & then when i got out I knew they would stop the race & I had 15 minutes to get back to the pits & get out in the spare car.

12) To this day do you have any regrets turning down the Williams job given the career Nigel Mansell subsequently had in a Williams?

I never look back, yes my career might have looked different & yes I do think sometimes that if I had made a different choice at the time I may have won Grand Prix’s. But I can still look back & analyse the decision & with the facts at the time staying with Renault was the right decision, only hind sight proved it wrong. But then maybe had I taken the Williams drive I might not be where I am now.

13) Many F1 fans talk about you as being ‘right team, wrong time’ is this a view you share and do you feel you were an unlucky driver in F1?

I think I could have won races & championships, which I showed when I drove the “right” car in World Sportscars. Unlucky? There was a lot of drivers who are not here today, they are unlucky & this includes my brother.

14) What impact did the death of your brother Paul have on you as a driver? did you feel differently as a driver in the first race after his tragic death compared with the race before it?

Paul’s accident & death had a massive impact on my whole family, my mother & father never got over it & both took it to their graves. My three sister still cry when we talk about Paul & even today 21 years after his death I miss him so much it hurts. I think he was someone a little special who would have been a great Grand Prix driver. Getting back into a race car was really difficult, my first test was at the A1 Ring in Austria, the first day was a very emotional & looking back I was just driving on auto pilot. Then I had a big spin at the end of the straight after a damper failure, I jumped into the hire car went back to the hotel & just cried all night. Then about 4 or 5 in the morning I was looking into the mirror & had a very harsh word with myself & decided I had to either go home or get back into that race car & brake the lap record & that’s exactly what I did. I have a small safe in the back of my mind & I used to put Paul & other drivers who had lost their lives in there on the Thursday of a race weekend & wouldn’t take them out until Sunday night. By the way I won Nurburgring my first race back after Paul.