"My friends, I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Of course, third place behind champions like Lauda and Prost is a good result. However, the fact remains that last year I would have fought more for the title. In short, a season that was quite variable".
Translated by this website
THE FINAL RANKING of a world championship always has many interpretations. For Elio De Angelis, in particular, the line between anger and the greatest satisfaction can be said to be at least “blurred”. Elio, at the end of an unforgettable season, brought an Italian back to the world championship podium, with a third place finish that was no longer accustomed to. The last time it happened was 27 years ago and it was Luigi Musso who gave us this satisfaction, the great champion who passed away and who on his way, a bit like Elio this year, had found the Laudas and Prosts of the time, that is Fangio and Moss. Yet for De Angelis, not even knowing that he had been, after all, the first of the “humans” in a season marked by the “Martians” of Mc Laren left a bitter taste in his mouth. Yes, because with six Grands Prix to go he was still able to enter the overall fight after having been able, like a good little ant, to accumulate points in the first ten Grands Prix on 9 occasions. At that moment, for him, it was a matter of changing tactics: going on the attack. And there the knots came home to roost because his efficient Lotus, his Goodyears, his Renault engine, showed the rope of such competitiveness only against the rest of the contenders because with the white-red Mc Larens the music was well different.
In any case, Elio made us dream and this was well demonstrated by the avalanche of questions that readers wanted to ask him directly and of which we publish a selection below with the always spot-on answers from the Lotus champion.
At the beginning of the year you said that you were going to win the world championship. And what do you say now? (Claudio Gnoli, Milan)
Did I really say that? I don’t remember. No, I don’t think I said it at all, I must have made some assumptions: if there had been the car, the tires and the necessary conditions, I probably would have won the world championship. That’s what I said.
Are you satisfied with the 1984 season? (Federico Rossi, Genoa)
The final balance is quite positive, even if my ambitions went beyond third place. I missed a victory, but even if I had won a grand prix, it would have changed very little given the superiority of the Mc Larens. In the first part of the championship we suffered from the greater competitiveness of the Michelins compared to our Goodyears, then, towards the end, we had problems with the Renault engine. I hope better for ’85.
Is it true that Renault supplies you with less competitive engines than those fitted to French cars? (Alessio Sarni, Turin)
No, that’s not true. Renault has treated us very well this year, in fact, I must say that on some occasions they even sacrificed themselves by providing us with material that in theory they shouldn’t have given us. The assistance is excellent, although, as happens with all teams that race with their own engines, it is obvious that the development work is carried out on Renault cars and not on Lotus. It is therefore obvious that the first things that go a little better, as well as those that go a little worse, are theirs before us.
How would things have gone if you had had Michelins? (Gianluigi Renzi, Venice)
I came close to winning with the Goodyears; with the Michelins I would probably have won by a landslide. I am referring to Detroit, Hockenheim and Zeltweg.
What were you expecting from your Lotus-Renault? (Giordano Violi, Bologna)
The machine has done its part. We are not a team like Ferrari, like Renault, like Brabham, like Mc Laren… which have truly incredible resources at their disposal. We do not have this money but, thanks also to Peter Warr who was able to get the most out of the minimum, I must say that the results have been quite satisfactory. With a bit of luck, I could have won a couple of races this year.
What could you have done with a Mc Laren? (Ercole Strazzi, Naples)
I think anyone of the best eight drivers in the world could have won the world title this year behind the wheel of a Mc Laren.
Given the same competitiveness, would you change your Lotus for a Ferrari? (Bernardo Zani, Parma)
That’s a tough question. I started with Lotus; they were the ones who gave me the opportunity to get to Formula 1. I never took Ferrari into consideration, because five years ago the time wasn’t right. Today things have changed as Alboreto, an Italian, is racing for Ferrari. It’s hard to answer… I’d like to win with Lotus first, then go to Ferrari.
Looking back over the stages of your career, what are the mistakes you would not make? (Luca Provenghi, Verbania)
I’ve made many mistakes… Maybe I would avoid Formula 2, because I risked a lot in Formula 2, even burning my career there. I have seen then, with the young people who have emerged in recent years, that Formula 2 is not that essential.
It is said that Chapman is not dead. What do you think about these rumors? (Mirko Zanetti, Lucca)
I think it’s all lies. I don’t believe it because I was at Chapman’s funeral and… not that I can vouch for it, but I think these are just rumors spread by the English press to make news, to cause scandal.
You were one of Chapman’s most loved drivers. You also defined him as a father. What does it mean for you to have given this great man his last victory? (Osvaldo Cardinali, Bari)
A lot. Up until then, Chapman had always considered me almost an accessory to the machine and our relationships on a human level had always been quite cold. After the victory in Austria, I also saw him in tears, so things had changed… He compared me to Clark; he said some very nice things about me. Probably, if he hadn’t died, it would have been the beginning of a fantastic relationship, a relationship that is very difficult to find now, in racing as it is done today. Then the mere fact of being considered by Chapman, for someone like me who from a young age thought of Clark as the best and Chapman as the genius, was the realization of a dream.
To what extent did Gerard Ducarouge contribute to the rebirth of Lotus and your racing career? (Roberto De Simone, Rome)
To a decisive extent. Without him there would probably still be dark days. With him the team finally changed its mentality, with him came new ideas; therefore, Gerard certainly contributed decisively to this rebirth.
Having known them both, do you feel better now with Ducarouge or before with Chapman? (Giampiero Alberti, Pesaro)
They are two entirely different people. Chapman was, let’s say, “the English Ferrari” and there was a notable age difference between him and me: he was a father, and I was a son, practically. It’s a completely different relationship. Chapman was an empiricist, one who tried, who experimented for the pure pleasure of experimentation; sometimes he even forgot there were races. He really enjoyed taking the car to the maximum competitiveness by choosing paths that were perhaps very difficult, opening new roads. Gerard on the other hand is a “competitive” man, someone who likes racing. He is an extremely human person with whom I get along very well. With Ducarouge I have always gotten along well from the beginning, while with Chapman in the early days the relationship was difficult.
What do you think of Mansell as a driver? Are you better or him? (Elio Club, Monza)
He is a very good driver; I would even say quite fast. Unfortunately, he is still missing something, the necessary experience, perhaps the necessary “brain”, to complete the results already achieved, like in Monte Carlo this year. He is missing something that could make him make the leap in quality. It’s difficult to pass judgment on your colleagues, but I think that after five years at Lotus the answer is clear.
How was your relationship with Nigel? (Gianluca Zaniboni, Minerbio)
There were some problems with him. Sometimes he is a bit of a strange guy, I think he had some complexes towards me. We have two different characters, a completely different “background”… He is certainly not a person with whom I willingly go out to dinner.
Next year you will have a new teammate, Ayrton Senna. What do you think of him? (Edoardo Pieri, Calenzano)
I don’t know much about him, although judging by this year’s results he’s doing very well. I hope to establish a good relationship with him. It should be easier with Senna than with Mansell, since he is Brazilian and therefore, we are both Latin.
Who would you like to have as a teammate, and why? (Luigi Zuffa, Trieste)
Niki Lauda, because he is an intelligent driver, he is a driver who believed in me at the beginning of my career, he is someone who has only one word in racing and is very good at developing the car.
After five years at Lotus, do you feel emotionally attached to this team or do you consider it one of many? (Francesco Bollati, Rimini)
No, not. Lotus was the first manufacturer that gave me the opportunity to get into a truly winning car. I also owe something to Ferrari, which was the first to give me the opportunity to get into Formula 1, letting me do some testing at Fiorano, but I owe a lot to Lotus. I feel good with them, it’s not like racing for any other team: the team feels me, I feel the team. For me, winning for Lotus would be very important.
Don’t you feel a bit like a Lotus flag? (Giorgio Vismare, Como)
Of course, I feel like a flag, and I am a flag for them, because after four years of abstinence I brought them back to win a grand prix, in Austria in ’82. They really treat me like a driver, a driver in the true sense of the word. They make everything available to me and try to treat me in the best possible way, and I, at the same time, professionally reciprocate this attention they have for me.
People have given you the label of “playboy-driver”… (Felice Masi, Ancona)
A lot has been said… People like to identify with the drivers and see something in each of these characters. Maybe just because I sometimes dress quite well or there is a pretty girl next to me, they immediately label me a playboy. My life is quite hard, especially this year when there are so many tests and so many races. The life of a racing driver is not easy; people, as I have already said, try to identify with us and imagine a world of fairies and wizards. It’s not true, we are professionals, and we try to do the best in our work.
What are your personal goals and what is your biggest dream? (Roberta and Daniela, Ferrara)
My goal is to win the world title. My “dream” would be to win the world championship with Lotus and then go racing with Ferrari.
We’ve seen you play the piano on television. How did this passion arise in you? (Sandro Marzi, Savona)
I was six years old when I started playing classical, then I stopped and started again on my own. I’ve been playing the piano for almost sixteen years now. I like it, it’s a career that perhaps I would like to undertake as soon as the speed fever has passed.
© 1985 Autosprint • By Autosprint readers • Published for entertainment and educational purposes, no copyright infringement is intended • Thanks to Mario Pizzi
