1)You famously swore on live tv during the infamous Indy F1 event, do you feel that that race and the aborted USF1 project damaged the image of F1 past the point of no return in America?
Yes I did swear on Dutch TV. However, simply put – I said what everyone else was feeling at the time, that it was not a race! As for damage, I believe the Indy race did a lot of damage, far more than the aborted USF1 project. However, time is a good healer and the USA is ready for F1 again.
2)With Austin this year and Manhattan making it 2 races next year in America what do you feel f1 has to do to really crack the American market?
Austin will be a success this year provided the track and facilities are completed in time. However, I feel the 2nd and 3rd years will be much harder for them. As for Manhattan, this again subject to timely completion, will be far more successful. I say this for several reasons, none the least as a street race in on of the most important cities in the world; it can’t help but be successful. Furthermore being so close to Canada where F1 is hugely popular there will be a major influx of fans from Canada and finally corporate America I believe will be more likely to support Manhattan than Austin.
3)What was your favourite and least favourite moment of your time in F1?
Without doubt my favorite moment was Melbourne 2002 which I believe will go down in history as the most famous 2 points ever scored in F1. As for the least favorite, it was a period rather than a race from mid 2004 to certainly mid 2005 where politics had taken over the sport and F1 suffered badly.
4)How did you get into F1, first as a sponsor for Tyrrell and then buying Minardi, what motivated you to be part of F1?
It’s the old story really – when you are young enough and fast enough, as a driver, you don’t have the money…when you are older and have perhaps made some money, team ownership is the best option. I raced in Australia in the 1970’s and the passion was always there, so in 1996 I became involved with Tyrrell, made an offer to buy the team in ’97, however, it was sold to BAR. I did end up with all the Tyrrell assets and many of the staff, that was the beginning really as we were a team in waiting until the end of 2000 when we acquired Minardi.
5)Despite the politics do you miss F1 team ownership and would you ever get involved again?
I do so miss F1 greatly, they were the best 10 years of my life, its very true that sometimes you don’t realize how great something is until its gone! Yes I would love to get back involved one day, however, at the moment I simply would not have the time!
6)2 of the drivers you gave your first f1 break to are high up at the moment in the 2012 championship, how much pride does that give you seeing as you ‘discovered them’?
I am so proud of Mark and Fernando and what they have both achieved. I remember well how both their careers started; they are both truly amazing success stories.
7)Who do you think will win this years title?
I think Fernando, but it really is too close to call. Personally I think Mark deserves to win a Championship, but we will see!
8)What are your thoughts on the 2012 championship so far?
Has to be the most exciting Championship for decades as no one and I really mean no one can pick a winner at this stage! Even with this points system, I feel it will still go to the wire!
9)Should F1 have raced in Bahrain this year?
Yes – Look, F1 is a global sport had they not raced it would have been like saying to Bahrain “You cannot compete in the Olympics”. Whilst the problems there are regrettable, many countries, which F1 and other sports compete in, have far worse Human Rights records than Bahrain. F1 is a global sport and it is sport not politics; to race in Bahrain was the correct decision.
10)How challenging was it getting Minardi ready after taking them over? If I remember correctly you were still working on one of the cars in Melbourne
It would be hard for anyone who was not directly involved to understand what it actually took to get Minardi to Melbourne in only 6 weeks and 3 days, from first setting foot in the factory in Faenza – the car was not built, no engine supplier, no money, depleted work force and so it goes on. But with the hard work of all the staff both Italian and English we made an F1 miracle happen - and yes we were still building the second car in the pit lane in Melbourne!
11)Fernando Alonso had an incredible start to his Minardi career on his debut, what did you see in him that made you want to hire him?
Fernando had impressed me whilst racing against us in F3000 that year when we ran Mark, in particular Fernando’s win in the wet in Spa 2000, that really impressed me. However, his 12th place finish in Melbourne against all odds brought tears to many in the team and demonstrated what a future star he would be!
12)One of my favourite F1 moments was Mark Webber getting in the points for you in Australia, how special did that feel? Not just for you but the country too
As I said earlier, the most memorable 2 points in history of F1 – it was one of the happiest days of my life – still to this day many people in Australia feel Mark won the GP…. perhaps helped by the only time there were 2 podiums, firstly for Michael winning the race and afterwards for Mark and myself!
The atmosphere afterwards was electric, parties everywhere; it felt like the whole country was supporting us! Perhaps it is best summed up by Michael himself, who said to me after the race, “it was unbelievable, I went forward to spray the Champagne and looked left down the pit lane to see thousands and thousands of people with you guys!”
13)You are known for your straight talking, do you feel that drivers are too ‘PC’ and should speak their minds like you do?
Well truth is always your best ally! But many times drivers and team members are told what they can and cant say on a particular issue so I guess you are left reading the body language!
14) For the benefit of readers especially who have started following F1 since 2005 please give us some insight into the events of the Melbourne weekend
Melbourne 2005 was at the height of the political troubles in F1. In that 04/05 period, the particular issue “whether or not the FIA 2005 technical regulations were introduced legally” was hotly debated and in accordance with the famous Concord Agreement, I believe they were not legal.
At the time for whatever reasons, Minardi was possibly the only team in a position to challenge the FIA and in particular Max Mosley, with majority support from the other teams, we did so in Melbourne.
This resulted in a court hearing and a ruling that Minardi was able to compete in Saturdays practice and qualifying. However, this was an injunction and as such, all the teams and the FIA were ordered to the High Court in Melbourne on the Saturday to determine the legality of the Minardi cars and the 2005 Technical regulations once and for all. Late on the Friday evening I was summoned to a meeting during the Grand Prix Ball celebrations where around 20 FIA and other regulatory figures had gathered and they had Max Moseley on the telephone – the short version of a rather long night was that Max left me in no doubt that he would cancel the Australian GP if I did not back down, a statement that was repeated publicly the next day in the form of an FIA press release and sadly given the pressure put on me and most importantly the fact it was my home GP, I reluctantly backed down. What a different story it would have been if it had been any other GP!
15)Seven years on how do you feel about Max Mosley now? Has your opinion of him mellowed over time
Before May 2004 and the meeting at the Monaco Automobile Club with the FIA, Team Principles, Technical Directors and Engine suppliers, I felt Max fought tremendously hard to drive costs down in F1 and effect positive changes in the sport. But something changed that day and the Max that emerged from that meeting and his actions subsequently, almost right up to his retirement were not the Max I knew! I have heard the term “Mad Max” and in a crazy way it really was relevant. That said I wish him well and can honestly say that Jean Todt has proved to be a breath of fresh air in his role as FIA President. The politics under Todt have almost disappeared. F1 is once again focused as it should be on great racing – the idea of a driver steward has brought stability to the race weekends and I think he should be complimented on a job well done!
16)Going from F1 and the challenges of running Minardi you became a team owner in Champ Car which was a front running team, which did you enjoy more?
I must admit I really enjoyed Champ Car and winning and challenging for the title were both amazing and fulfilling. However, as the saying goes “There’s only one Formula 1” !
17)What are you up to these days?
These days I am still involved running the Minardi F1 x 2 seater program where we give passengers either the ride of their life or the fight of their life – usually both! This program runs at the Australian GP and other venues each year. Other than that Aviation interests both in the UK and USA keep me extremely busy!
Thanks Paul