- 11 Sep 09, 19:51#151595
So... I got bored and decided to reflect on a classic Monza race. 
Again I've not written it in any serious manner.
They say lightning doesn’t strike twice. But as Formula One heads into this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix the resemblance of today's events in contrast with those 1982, is startling.
Just like this year, the on-track headlines surrounded a native-Italian driving for Ferrari and a Renault driver, seemingly Maranello-bound.
By the Italian Grand Prix of 1982, Ferrari was in turmoil. Not only had their star driver, Gilles Villeneuve, been tragically killed during practice for the Belgium Grand Prix in Zolder, Didier Pironi had been seriously injured at Hockenheim whilst in the championship lead.
The Scuderia had lost their way. For the subsequent two rounds at Osterreichring and Dijon, Patrick Tambay drove the sole Prancing-Horse. Not only had the young Frenchman raced the symbolic number twenty seven under such close scrutiny, he had carried the hopes and dreams of thousands of Ferrari supporters around the globe. An emotional victory at Hockenheim did little to ease the pressure.
The 1982 season is often overlooked by many Formula One fans, when reflecting on classic championships. However every single race of that year was wide open. More often than not it was perilous to try and predict a winner. Over the course of the season no driver won more than two Grand Prix. Monza was to be no exception.
As the Grand Prix circus headed to Italy, it was first thought that the Royal Park would lack the passion of former years. Although Ferrari was in control of the constructors championship, the team no longer held its cutting edge in the drivers standings. With Pironi out the battle was now between Watson and Rosberg.
In the days leading up to the Italian Grand Prix, Enzo Ferrari announced a bombshell which would stir up the enthusiasm of the famous Tifosi once more.
Seeking a patriotic driver to fill the void left by Villeneuve and Pironi, the Old Man reached across to the Atlantic and managed to persuade Mario Andretti to come out of Formula One retirement and race for his team until the end of the year.
Although the 1978 champion was a “Real American Hero” he was still as Italian as the day his family decided to emigrate. As fluent as anyone in his native tongue, there was no way Andretti could have said no.
“I did Formula One for Ferrari in 1971 and 1972 but I drove some sports cars after that,” Andretti is quoted as saying in Christopher Hilton’s fantastic book 1982. “I got to know the Old Man very well. I had direct relationship with him - which was not always the case, by the way, with drivers. He always had a buffer.”
“I received a call and I said “Yeah, I will do it providing I get a day’s test” because I had not driven a turbo Formula One car. I said I needed to familiarise myself. The weekend before Monza I was free and we used that weekend to do the test at Fiorano.”
“You don’t turn down a Ferrari drive at Monza.”
And neither he did. When Andretti jetted in to Milan for his test at Fiorano, he was swamped by the swarm of Italian media and general public waiting for him on the runway. As he emerged, Andretti sported a Ferrari baseball cap, immediately sending the crowd into rapture. He had Italy at his feet, Monza would be packed to the rafters.
The Tifosi would not disappoint and neither would Andretti as Ferrari’s new hope set about qualifying on a humid Saturday afternoon.
The session would soon turn into a private battle between Andretti and reigning World Champion Nelson Piquet, in his Brabham.
“In qualifying I was hell for bent because I just really felt up for it.” Andretti explained, “It turned out to be a battle between Nelson and myself and whoever came in last from the run was quickest… On my quick lap I did the second Lesmo flat and I figured that I could not duplicate this. That was it and the time held.”
“When I set the time I didn’t know if Nelson was out there also, and then all the people were jumping out on the track when they announced it so I figured well, that was good…”
Italy was elated, Mario was untouchable and the day was his.
However Sunday would be a far different affair, with Andretti not being able to turn his overnight pole into a famous victory. Instead, the occasion belonged to a Renault driver, destined for the Italian stable - Frenchman, Rene Arnoux.
It was no secret that Rene Arnoux would be a Ferrari driver in 1983. News of this had broken before Saturday morning practice. As would be expected, Arnoux was elated with his new contract, but was yet to experience the full passion of the Tifosi. That would come over the course of Sunday afternoon.
At the start, Andretti bogged down and was soon passed by Piquet, Tambay, Arnoux and Patrese. However for Piquet the race was short lived, his clutch giving up before the end of the first lap, eventually retiring the Brazilian on lap seven.
Therefore the Ferrari of Tambay led out of the Parabolica, sending the Italian spectators into hysterics, for at least a couple of hundred metres. Taking the lead over the start-finish straight was Arnoux in his plucky turbo-charged Renault.
For Andretti, any chance of catching Arnoux and his team-mate was short lived. Prost would soon be past in the sister Renault and pulling away.
“(I had) the right side turbo expiring on me so I was losing power.” reflected Andretti, “When Prost passed me that’s when I started losing straight-line speed. I was definitely a lame duck at that point.”
Prost was flying, setting a searing pace in his pursuit of Tambay. Soon he was with his fellow Frenchman and trying everything to get past. However, as had been the story for most of Prost’s season, unreliability once again plagued his Renault - fuel injection problems.
From then on the order did not change. Arnoux led home Tambay for a famous victory. To the delight of his fans, Andretti had managed to nurse his stricken Ferrari home to the final step of the podium - a remarkable drive.
For Arnoux, the weekend had been surreal. If Having been swarmed by the partisan-Italians when entering the circuit on the Sunday morning, in his Renault sports car had not been enough to draw his attention to his future fan base, the reaction to the Frenchman’s victory would. Never before had he experienced the passion of the Ferrari fans at first hand.
“Monza was a little bit of a miracle for me.” Arnoux said on relection.
“The Grand Prix started and I was on the third row. The car was working very, very well but after 20 laps my buttocks were burning me. I felt petrol on them and my legs, everything.”
“I was in the lead and I said to myself: I’ll never make the chequered flag: I’ll run out petrol. I did get to the end, won the race and there was so little fuel left that I couldn’t have done another lap… That was my miracle.”
“So I won, Tambay in the Ferrari was second and Andretti in the Ferrari third. The next day I was going back to France with Gerard Larrousse in the plane and the headline in one of the Italian papers was THREE FERRARI DRIVERS ON THE PODIUM. That was funny. Well, it didn’t make Gerard Larrousse, the Sporting Director of Renault, laugh.”
Could both Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso repeat such a feat this weekend? The wise man would say “no, of course not.” However this season continues to surprise even the most ardent of Grand Prix fan, any result would seem possible.
Without a doubt, the spirit of 1982 will hang over Monza this weekend, and throughout the hearts of the beloved Tifosi - young and old.
Again I've not written it in any serious manner.They say lightning doesn’t strike twice. But as Formula One heads into this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix the resemblance of today's events in contrast with those 1982, is startling.
Just like this year, the on-track headlines surrounded a native-Italian driving for Ferrari and a Renault driver, seemingly Maranello-bound.
By the Italian Grand Prix of 1982, Ferrari was in turmoil. Not only had their star driver, Gilles Villeneuve, been tragically killed during practice for the Belgium Grand Prix in Zolder, Didier Pironi had been seriously injured at Hockenheim whilst in the championship lead.
The Scuderia had lost their way. For the subsequent two rounds at Osterreichring and Dijon, Patrick Tambay drove the sole Prancing-Horse. Not only had the young Frenchman raced the symbolic number twenty seven under such close scrutiny, he had carried the hopes and dreams of thousands of Ferrari supporters around the globe. An emotional victory at Hockenheim did little to ease the pressure.
The 1982 season is often overlooked by many Formula One fans, when reflecting on classic championships. However every single race of that year was wide open. More often than not it was perilous to try and predict a winner. Over the course of the season no driver won more than two Grand Prix. Monza was to be no exception.
As the Grand Prix circus headed to Italy, it was first thought that the Royal Park would lack the passion of former years. Although Ferrari was in control of the constructors championship, the team no longer held its cutting edge in the drivers standings. With Pironi out the battle was now between Watson and Rosberg.
In the days leading up to the Italian Grand Prix, Enzo Ferrari announced a bombshell which would stir up the enthusiasm of the famous Tifosi once more.
Seeking a patriotic driver to fill the void left by Villeneuve and Pironi, the Old Man reached across to the Atlantic and managed to persuade Mario Andretti to come out of Formula One retirement and race for his team until the end of the year.
Although the 1978 champion was a “Real American Hero” he was still as Italian as the day his family decided to emigrate. As fluent as anyone in his native tongue, there was no way Andretti could have said no.
“I did Formula One for Ferrari in 1971 and 1972 but I drove some sports cars after that,” Andretti is quoted as saying in Christopher Hilton’s fantastic book 1982. “I got to know the Old Man very well. I had direct relationship with him - which was not always the case, by the way, with drivers. He always had a buffer.”
“I received a call and I said “Yeah, I will do it providing I get a day’s test” because I had not driven a turbo Formula One car. I said I needed to familiarise myself. The weekend before Monza I was free and we used that weekend to do the test at Fiorano.”
“You don’t turn down a Ferrari drive at Monza.”
And neither he did. When Andretti jetted in to Milan for his test at Fiorano, he was swamped by the swarm of Italian media and general public waiting for him on the runway. As he emerged, Andretti sported a Ferrari baseball cap, immediately sending the crowd into rapture. He had Italy at his feet, Monza would be packed to the rafters.
The Tifosi would not disappoint and neither would Andretti as Ferrari’s new hope set about qualifying on a humid Saturday afternoon.
The session would soon turn into a private battle between Andretti and reigning World Champion Nelson Piquet, in his Brabham.
“In qualifying I was hell for bent because I just really felt up for it.” Andretti explained, “It turned out to be a battle between Nelson and myself and whoever came in last from the run was quickest… On my quick lap I did the second Lesmo flat and I figured that I could not duplicate this. That was it and the time held.”
“When I set the time I didn’t know if Nelson was out there also, and then all the people were jumping out on the track when they announced it so I figured well, that was good…”
Italy was elated, Mario was untouchable and the day was his.
However Sunday would be a far different affair, with Andretti not being able to turn his overnight pole into a famous victory. Instead, the occasion belonged to a Renault driver, destined for the Italian stable - Frenchman, Rene Arnoux.
It was no secret that Rene Arnoux would be a Ferrari driver in 1983. News of this had broken before Saturday morning practice. As would be expected, Arnoux was elated with his new contract, but was yet to experience the full passion of the Tifosi. That would come over the course of Sunday afternoon.
At the start, Andretti bogged down and was soon passed by Piquet, Tambay, Arnoux and Patrese. However for Piquet the race was short lived, his clutch giving up before the end of the first lap, eventually retiring the Brazilian on lap seven.
Therefore the Ferrari of Tambay led out of the Parabolica, sending the Italian spectators into hysterics, for at least a couple of hundred metres. Taking the lead over the start-finish straight was Arnoux in his plucky turbo-charged Renault.
For Andretti, any chance of catching Arnoux and his team-mate was short lived. Prost would soon be past in the sister Renault and pulling away.
“(I had) the right side turbo expiring on me so I was losing power.” reflected Andretti, “When Prost passed me that’s when I started losing straight-line speed. I was definitely a lame duck at that point.”
Prost was flying, setting a searing pace in his pursuit of Tambay. Soon he was with his fellow Frenchman and trying everything to get past. However, as had been the story for most of Prost’s season, unreliability once again plagued his Renault - fuel injection problems.
From then on the order did not change. Arnoux led home Tambay for a famous victory. To the delight of his fans, Andretti had managed to nurse his stricken Ferrari home to the final step of the podium - a remarkable drive.
For Arnoux, the weekend had been surreal. If Having been swarmed by the partisan-Italians when entering the circuit on the Sunday morning, in his Renault sports car had not been enough to draw his attention to his future fan base, the reaction to the Frenchman’s victory would. Never before had he experienced the passion of the Ferrari fans at first hand.
“Monza was a little bit of a miracle for me.” Arnoux said on relection.
“The Grand Prix started and I was on the third row. The car was working very, very well but after 20 laps my buttocks were burning me. I felt petrol on them and my legs, everything.”
“I was in the lead and I said to myself: I’ll never make the chequered flag: I’ll run out petrol. I did get to the end, won the race and there was so little fuel left that I couldn’t have done another lap… That was my miracle.”
“So I won, Tambay in the Ferrari was second and Andretti in the Ferrari third. The next day I was going back to France with Gerard Larrousse in the plane and the headline in one of the Italian papers was THREE FERRARI DRIVERS ON THE PODIUM. That was funny. Well, it didn’t make Gerard Larrousse, the Sporting Director of Renault, laugh.”
Could both Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso repeat such a feat this weekend? The wise man would say “no, of course not.” However this season continues to surprise even the most ardent of Grand Prix fan, any result would seem possible.
Without a doubt, the spirit of 1982 will hang over Monza this weekend, and throughout the hearts of the beloved Tifosi - young and old.
Forumula One: The World's Greatest Sport
