Lucky! (2022–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Enemy. Friend, Comrade. - full transcript
The two organising bodies
of the sport,
FOCA, representing the British,
and the French dominated, FISA,
have been at loggerheads
for two years.
Never has motor racing been
in graver danger of collapse.
As soon as you don't compete
and don't care
whether you win or not,
you're gonna lose.
That's for sure.
Show me a good loser
and I'll show you a loser
'cause some people
are proud of losing.
(THEME MUSIC)
We made a point
which is what I wanted to do...
make a point to the FISA.
They can say what they wanted to say
and do what they wanted to do,
in the meantime, they couldn't run
a Formula One event without us.
I called a meeting
at the Hotel Crillon
to tell the world
we would be racing in South Africa
with skirts knowing full well
that no matter the result,
the points wouldn't count
for the world championship.
We looked very, very powerful
and very strong
but it was a bit of a brave thing
to do
'cause half the teams
had a big enough problem
actually arriving to Paris,
financially.
And there was one or two
that I was personally financing.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
Jean-Marie was quite sure
that this would never happen
and we'd never all stick together.
No-one could have stopped us
having a race anywhere.
So, we made the announcement
and we raced in South Africa.
The Grand Prix racing world
has gathered uneasily
here at Kyalami in the Transvaal,
and as a result of that
there are no Ferraris,
no Alfa Romeos and no Renaults.
Are the FISA cars coming?
They would dearly like to come
I know that,
but I think until such time
as FISA take an official stand
on the subject,
I think they can't go out on a limb.
It's a Grand Prix for sure
with 19 cars from the Formula One
Constructor's Association.
(INAUDIBLE) Piquet leading
and just look at that spray.
It must be absolute murder
for anybody who is behind the lead.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
Just look at that gap.
Look at the battle for third.
It's what is turning out
to be a very exciting
South African Grand Prix.
Piquet's into the pits.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
Terrific scrap for second position
nearly losing it.
And off goes Geoff Lees,
the English driver!
Alan Jones is into the pits.
The world champion of 1980
starts 1981 very poorly indeed.
And now, into the lead
goes Carlos Reutemann,
the Argentinian driver
in the (INAUDIBLE) Williams car.
And it's significant that Reutemann
has been on slick tyres
since the beginning of the race.
Until now, he looks set
to hold that lead
on the right tyres.
Over the line goes Carlos Reutemann.
It's been a very, very good
South African Grand Prix,
especially for Carlos Reutemann.
In the end,
the race didn't count for points.
Not only was Formula One
the business of the English teams,
it was also the business
of Ferrari.
They'd built their brand
in Formula One racing
and been successful obviously.
The last thing they wanted
was for that to disappear.
In fact, everyone acknowledges
the fact
without Ferrari
there wouldn't be Formula One,
and Mr Ferrari knew that.
I always used to say about him
he would have been a very good
used car dealer.
Renault and Ferrari and Alfa decided
whether the race was gonna happen
under the Federation or not,
they were gonna be there racing,
which was not at all good
for Jean-Marie
because he relied
on the manufacturers.
Alexandro Buzzi from Philip Morris
was fed up with all the bickering
and the arguing and whatever
and said we ought to get
something sorted out.
So, I think it was Max,
myself and him,
met in a hotel,
actually in the basement of a hotel,
I think it was in the winter
and it was miserable,
snowing outside
and I was concerned at also
how we were gonna get out of there
because of the weather.
But we just dragged on
until we got something put together
we thought would work.
And it was our job then
is to convince the people
that we need to sign it.
It was the right thing to do.
From the very early days,
in fact Mr Ferrari had insisted
was included in our agreements
that they had a veto
over any regulations
that would damage their company.
And they've never used it.
(LAUGHS)
Jean-Marie had to sign
the agreement.
That's how the Concorde Agreement
was born.
In the end that's the strength
that Philip Morris was.
We accepted the skirt ban
and went to Long Beach.
The rules were quite clear.
The cars had to be 6cm
off the ground
to avoid the ground effect.
Colin, the first
and leading question has to be,
is it legal?
Well, yes, I wouldn't go
to the trouble of designing
and developing a car
for 21 months and make it,
if I wasn't absolutely sure
that it is legal, yes.
And is there a fixed gap
between the bottom of the car
or is that going to be
a movable feast?
No.
The...the gap as required
by the regulations is 6cm
and we fully comply
with that requirement.
So, you feel that you are within
the 1981 FISA regulations?
100%, yes.
The innovative and controversial
new Lotus 88
has been excluded by the stewards
for allegedly infringing
the design rules.
It was basically, in effect,
two different chassis
as usual with Colin
very, very clever.
And I think from memory,
Ken Tyrrell was the one
that led the sort of protest.
In fact, I think
he was actually the only one
who actually made a protest.
There's an air of mystery
surrounding the whole thing.
When we first got here
the car was pronounced eligible
by the scrutineer
who was technically qualified
to do so.
We went out, then started
to actually prepare the car to run,
and immediately there were
some protests
from our fellow competitors.
The protests were considered
by the stewards at the meeting
who were non-technical people,
so, they've just said
the car can't run,
but they haven't said why,
they haven't been specific at all.
The bottom line is very simple.
If we allow this to happen,
we'll all have to do the same
which would have been a disaster
because it was an expensive
operation.
00:11:10.200 -- 00:11:11.840
With the winter long,
bitter feuding
between motor racing's
governing body
and the car constructors over,
it's a race that's wide open
because of the new no skirts ruling
plus new cars
from no less than eight teams
including the new turbo Ferraris.
Fastest in practice
is Brazilian,
Nelson Piquet.
Four seconds
inside the lap record
in spite of the new
no skirts rule
which is supposed to slow the cars.
Gordon come up with an idea
how we could run the car,
so, when it come into the pits
it would comply
with the regulation.
Just look at the way
Piquet is going.
He's got a very special suspension
on that Brabham of his.
And now, Hector Rebaque from Mexico
in the second team Brabham
is challenging the man
who is tying in the lead
in the world championship
Carlos Reutemann
on Reutemann's home ground.
Well, as I said (INAUDIBLE)
with the greatest respect,
Rebaque is not a world class driver
and he's in an infinitely
superior car to Carlos Reutemann
which just makes a mockery
of Grand Prix racing.
Well, either way,
Hector Rebaque
makes Carlos Reutemann
look as though he's almost
standing still.
Nelson Piquet is coming through
to win
the fourth Grand Prix in his short
world championship career
to the delight of his pit crew.
So, there is no doubt at all
about the fact that the technicians
have already mastered the rules,
overcome the ground effects problem
and the cars are now going
even quicker than they did
last year.
Everybody who is around the track...
Yeah.
..can see that your car
is very low...
Yeah.
..down on the track, OK?
So, it's moving in fact.
Yes, but they...
All the cars move on the springs,
all of them.
There's no difference.
The regs are saying that the car
should be 6cm high
in any circumstance.
No, they don't.
No, they don't.
The regulations say
all measurements shall be taken
with the car stationary
on a flat metal surface
with a driver on board
and the engine running.
Clever designers conceived
a system that,
when a car leaves the pits
it's dropped down by means
of a hydraulic system,
performs as near a ground effect
situation as possible,
and seconds before it comes in
the lever is pulled,
up goes the car and she's legal
when she comes
into this ride height pan.
Frank protested the whole system.
Although he didn't know
how it worked,
because they tried to do exactly
the same thing
in rather a cruder way.
But, by then it had been approved
that the regulation
hadn't been broken.
Ground effect is now back
and completely legal.
The whole season
was a bit of a scrap
between Brabham and Williams
and Carlos and Nelson,
and the season finished
at the last race.
I was trying to get Formula One
in Vegas.
The conclusion was very simple,
the only place it could ever be
was in the car park
at Caesar's Palace.
So, I met with Billy Weinberger
who used to run the hotel.
Billy said to me, "We don't know
"about Formula One
"and probably the people
don't even know
"what Formula One is.
"Tell you what we're gonna do?
"We're gonna have a board meeting."
He took me down into the basement,
opened a door which normally
three or four people
would have to sort of open.
We went inside.
Billy had said to me, "Don't worry,
it's all...
"it's completely soundproof."
So, Billy said, "OK,
we'll vote on this.
"Good. Unanimous.
"We'll have the race."
It's a big risk
for Caesar's Palace to take.
The man who persuaded them
to take it,
the man who can persuade anyone
to do anything,
the Mr Fix of the Grand Prix circus
is Bernie Ecclestone.
It looks like
a colossal investment.
How much money is involved?
Umm, close on $10 million
at the moment.
And whose money is that?
All Caesar's Palace money?
Sure as hell isn't mine.
There was a lot of G force
with the way the corners
were put together.
And after the first day's practice,
it was obvious that the drivers
were in trouble
with all the pain in their neck.
And Carlos got a hold of the masseur
that used to look after the boxers.
I went to see this person.
After a financial discussion,
they decided to favour Nelson.
I don't know
whether I ever told Carlos.
Good evening.
A special addition of the programme
to give you the last Grand Prix
of the season live from Las Vegas.
Now, this is the race
that will decide the 1981
World Drivers' Championship
and it's the closest title race
for years.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(CHEERFUL MUSIC)
Nelson was quite confident.
Nelson Piquet who's struggled
a little bit in practice,
went to get a massage
at the Caesar's Palace hotel,
and the guy did him such a mischief
that Piquet's neck was alright,
but he had bruises
all the way down his back
and was in quite considerable
discomfort yesterday.
In fact, he had to go to his doctor
for treatment
to recover from his massage.
Carlos was on pole position
in his usual sort of mood,
thinking of all the good reasons
why he shouldn't win the race
or couldn't win it.
And away they go.
It's Alan Jones taking the lead,
Villeneuve in second position
taking all that he can
out of the turbocharged
Ferrari power.
Well, the question now is where are
the world championship contenders?
Carlos Reutemann adopting the maxim
of Marshal Petain,
the imaginary line
they shall not pass.
And they, in his case
is Nelson Piquet.
And Piquet, I think he's done it,
Piquet's got it.
Piquet's made it to Rosewood,
and that now puts Piquet
in a winning position
for the world championship.
So, is Reutemann in trouble
with his car?
Or is he just a bit shell shocked?
Carlos did a Carlos.
Reutemann has this tendency
when things aren't absolutely
right for him
to go into a decline and give up.
There is the world champion,
actually becoming world champion
of 1981.
The end of an exciting
and well worth it
Caesar's Palace Grand Prix
and everything
that Bernie Ecclestone
has put into motor racing.
And there is Bernie Ecclestone
with Max Mosley
who has worked so hard
with Ecclestone
on Formula One racing.
Let's go to the pits now
and Mark Thatcher.
Here we are, Nelson Piquet
is suffering
from total heat exhaustion.
He's still in the car,
he's been sick on his...
in his overalls and everything.
He hasn't got enough strength yet
to get out of the car.
He's now been given water.
Almost spoon-fed
but he's gonna be in the car
for some time.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
I declare officially Nelson Piquet
world champion of 1981.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
We'd won the world championship.
That was really the end for Carlos.
He stopped racing after that.
00:20:42.240 -- 00:20:46.680
Ron used to be very meticulous,
very methodical.
Knew where he wanted to go
and knew more or less
the way to get there.
(SOFT MUSIC)
In Teddy's case,
I think he was looking to find
a way to win.
And I think he looked at Ron
and thought,
"This is the guy
I'm sure that can help us."
So, that relationship started
I think in that way.
If I was to have a race team now,
the only person I'd want
on board with me
would be Ron.
(ENGINE REVS)
I retired two years ago
to start my own airline,
the airline works,
everything is alright,
so, I felt that my heart
is still beating very hard
for motor racing.
When Niki decided
to come back into Formula One
it was John Hogan
that actually sorted it out.
John was a bit concerned,
"Would it ever work?"
So, he spoke to James Hunt.
He said, "James,
Niki wants to come back.
Do you think he can make it?"
And James told him, "Well,
it's just like riding a bike."
(ENGINE REVS)
(SOFT MUSIC)
Just the top one, yes?
Each page, no?
Every page.
Marlboro more or less
offered a million dollars.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
James we've been reading
the stories in the newspapers
that you've been offered
2.5 million pounds by Brabham
to come back to the sport?
Now, is that a genuine offer?
Has that offer actually been made?
Yes, that was a genuine offer
to come back and drive for them
for next year.
So, what are you gonna do about it?
Well, reluctantly
I've decided to turn it down
for the same reasons really that...
that I retired in the first place.
It was one of self-preservation.
Teddy's departure from McLaren
was under a bit of a cloud.
People like Philip Morris
were very involved
there at the time,
so, it became easier for Ron
to take the team over.
Here at Kyalami
it is a hotbed of rumour
and controversy,
because as of now we do not know
whether there is going to be a race.
31 Grand Prix drivers
assembled in South Africa
for the start
of the 1982 racing season
have refused to take their cars
onto the Kyalami circuit.
All the top drivers
due to take part have said
they won't compete
if they are forced
to sign a new super licence.
They say it's unfair.
They were contracted
to be with teams
and paid to do a job.
And they thought
if they didn't like the team
too much
they'd leave.
During the two last month
we announced to the driver
the new rule
of the whole championship
and they receive in December
all the information
for the new licence you see.
And they don't protest,
absolutely not.
And they sign
all the licence formula
for the championship
and they say nothing.
The vast majority
of the drivers signed
but then that was in December
when they were all sitting at home
by themselves,
miles from any other driver,
whereas FISA and FOCA
get together all the time.
Drivers really believed and thought
they should be
completely in control,
and now they had to comply
with certain conditions,
which they were terribly
unhappy about.
Nelson was our driver.
He was one of the leaders
of the strike.
And he sort of got up
and had a speech.
And he stood on the piano,
pulled down his trousers
and said, "Bernie can come
and kiss my arse
if he wants me to drive."
And it got back to me
what he'd said.
Which is alright,
I mean, it was what he...
he was trying to give a message.
(LAUGHS)
What did you tell your two drivers,
world champion Nelson Piquet
and Ricardo Patrese?
Well, they've got a contract
to say that
they'll drive in this event,
and if they don't
they'll be in breach of contract
and that'll be
the end of their contract
as far as I'm concerned.
This means
that you would in fact fire them?
If they're not here
within a reasonable time
to practice these two cars
for this Grand Prix
they won't be driving
for Brabham anymore.
The idea sort of made
people understand
that perhaps
they wasn't quite as strong
as they thought they were.
When people start threatening,
you got to do something about it.
They have done things
that the drivers haven't had
a chance to fight about.
The drivers are feeling
browbeaten again,
and I have to say that I think
they are being browbeaten.
Alain Prost
approaches the finishing line
on his last lap at some 200mph
and completes it to win
the South African Grand Prix.
Rene Arnoux will be third,
so, it will be first and third
for the two Renaults
and a famous victory
for the French team.
We've seen some superb racing.
Let us fervently hope
that this is the end
of the politics.
Alain Prost was,
and I still to this day believe,
probably the best driver.
He drove the car on his own
without any help,
people called him the 'Professor'.
He made sure he looked after
his tyres and gearbox
and all the things
that people have engineers
doing for them today,
Alain did on his own.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(ENGINE REVS)
People think that Alain Prost
was gonna win quite easy
after what had happened
in South Africa.
And there is Piquet
coming up to challenge Prost,
and is he going through?
He is!
The Brabhams are up
into third and fourth place.
Yeah, Prost slowed there.
Both Brabhams seem
to be going extremely well.
Piquet is having a real go
to get past Arnoux,
his car is obviously handling
a lot better.
And there he goes
through into second position
there he goes Nelson Piquet.
Piquet challenging Villeneuve.
And Piquet now, he's going to try
and go around the outside,
and Villeneuve's off.
Villeneuve's off, he's lost it.
He put his wheels on the grass.
He's off.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Patrese slumped over the wheel.
I've never seen a driver
slump over the wheel
quite like that before.
There's Nelson Piquet,
you see how tired he is.
He has his head on the side
of the cockpit there
and just fallen over,
can no longer hold it up.
Piquet is on the last lap now.
He's got a ten second lead
if he can just stay conscious.
And Nelson Piquet
wins the Brazilian Grand Prix!
Nelson had suffered
with the G Forces,
and he was in pretty
bad shape.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Because they didn't win,
Brazil put a big question mark
on the turbo cars.
So, they decided
what they would protest about
was our water-cooled brakes.
The British teams
designed a brake cooling system
which involved filling this tank
here with water.
It was sort of that much.
And when the cars started a race,
the tank was obviously full.
But the turbo teams say
once the race got underway,
the water was quickly used up
as we can see
by pushing this switch.
And suddenly the cars
were some 45 to 100 pounds lighter
and under the minimum weight limit.
Max Mosley,
let me put the point to you first
that this quite simply
is a fair cop.
You've been breaking the rules
and you've been caught out for it.
No, absolutely not.
You see, the rules
are very, very clear
that the car must be weighed
with its normal quantity
of lubricants and coolants.
And the water in the tank
is a coolant.
We complied completely
with the regulations.
And the name of the game is winning.
Second place isn't of much interest.
People will exploit
every advantage they can,
unfair or otherwise,
as long as it does not directly
contravene the rules,
break the rules.
It probably was a bit naughty to do,
which it was.
Jean-Marie understood
exactly what was going on,
but the federation
was very, very, very powerful.
And somebody at the top of Renault
didn't want Jean-Marie
supporting us.
So, Brabham and Williams
got disqualified
and we lost the points
for that race.
A much depleted field
will contest this weekend's
San Marino Grand Prix
after the latest row
has split this troubled sport.
Most of the British
teams have pulled out
after the decision to disqualify
the Brabham and Williams teams
from the recent
Brazilian Grand Prix
which they finished first
and second.
Now, we've got
Bernie Ecclestone with us,
who of course is the Brabham chief
and also President of the FOCA
and the man who's leading
this walkout of the FOCA teams.
If you continue this boycott,
you could in fact wreck
the entire Formula One season.
It looks like it unfortunately.
I mean, it's not my intention.
I mean, we haven't started anything.
Instead of a full grid of 26 cars,
there are only 14
because the bitter
political wrangling
which has dominated
Grand Prix racing this year,
has continued here.
The mainly British
Formula One constructor's teams
have almost all withdrawn
from the race.
Very often
with these simple disputes
reality steps in,
and the stark reality
was the teams needed
to be at the race
because they needed the money.
Our business was racing...
so, we thought the best thing
we can do
is to make sure our cars
complied with the regulation
for the weight of the cars,
so, we added the weight and raced.
Mr Ferrari wouldn't fall
passionately in love with drivers
knowing full well
that they could lose them,
but with Gilles he treated him
a little bit more like a son.
Gilles was quick for sure.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
After we lost Gilles,
it hurt Mr Ferrari a lot.
There was even talk about,
at that time,
that maybe they would stop racing,
which was quite an unusual thing
to even think about
that Ferrari could stop racing.
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
(LOUD THUD)
Didier Pironi
went off in his Ferrari
at over 160mph
leaving him with badly broken legs.
Something needed to be done.
The cars were getting too fast.
(KNOCK ON TABLE)
Jean-Marie decided
to get rid of the whole thing
with ground effects.
So, he decided the cars should have
a completely flat bottom
so it would have no effect.
The future was turbocharged.
00:36:50.440 -- 00:36:53.400
Colin Chapman,
the man who made Lotus cars famous
around the world, has died.
He was 54.
The police were called
to his home in Norfolk
early this morning,
but they say
there were no suspicious
circumstances surrounding his death.
A spokesman for Lotus
says he died of a heart attack.
We'd been at a meeting in Paris,
and he was fighting fit.
People who saw Chapman
as recently as last week
say he didn't seem worried,
but he must have been
under pressure.
Lotus had been searching
for new bankers,
Profits have been hit hard
by recession
and questions were being asked
about a connection
with DeLorean cars
in Northern Ireland
and payments made by them to Lotus.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
Everything a bit of a mystery.
That was the...the strange thing.
He was a big loss for Formula One...
and also the loss
of a very good friend as well.
We didn't see the famous Chapman cap
go up in the air today, I think.
Well, you weren't looking,
I...I... It went up.
He was one of the founder
FOCA people,
right at the very beginning.
And now he was gone.
(CHEERFUL MUSIC)
Prost and Piquet
absolutely side by side,
but Prost has the line
for the (INAUDIBLE)
if he can get onto the brakes last.
And he does.
Alain Prost, quiet, determined,
very ambitious, is almost home.
Today, Alain Prost looked to me
a little bit like a world champion.
Alain Prost coming through
to win his fourth Grand Prix
and very likely
becoming the first ever
French world champion
in Formula One Grand Prix racing.
(SOFT MUSIC)
We were accused of cheating
and using illegal fuel.
And this was a lot of trouble
caused by Renault.
Jean-Marie Balestre supported us
against Renault
which was strange.
He never sided with them
and said we'd done the wrong thing.
And we didn't cheat
and our fuel wasn't illegal.
In the lead is Nelson Piquet.
Nelson Piquet has just lapped Prost,
which is going to blow the
world championship
absolutely wide open.
And there is Nelson Piquet
crossing the line
to win his second Grand Prix
of the year.
(CHEERFUL MUSIC)
Now, this is the most
important pit stop of 1983,
it's a slow pit stop.
And out gets Prost!
Sensation!
Alain Prost,
the world champion designate
when this race began
gets out of his Renault
and retires
from the South African Grand Prix.
And here comes Piquet over the line
goes the world champion of 1983,
Nelson Piquet
pounding the steering wheel
of his Brabham BMW.
I was behind the wall.
I said if...if he has problem
with his car
I am world champion,
but in my mind
I would not like to...
he has problem,
because I think he was...
he was the best this year
with his car.
I really want to win
this championship for me.
And last year or in 1981,
maybe I said, I wanna win for the...
for the team, for the mechanics,
for everything,
but now I really wanna win
for myself.
The other man
is the team manager at Brabham.
Is you gotta work directly
under someone
like Bernie Ecclestone,
is that very difficult?
Reply what you want
into the TV camera.
Good morning Mr (INAUDIBLE)
You got to work
for one of the hardest
bosses in the whole business,
haven't you?
Yeah,
he's very public-minded.
He tries
to do a lot for TV,
sponsorship maybe forgets
a bit about the cars
and mechanical side of it,
but he...he seems to worry more
about the showmanship of it all.
He's a dealer, wheeler-dealer.
He's like a...
like a Howard Hughes
of motor racing.
You know, where everything's
gotta be immaculate
and he's like, just...just goes
over the top sometimes.
Brabham were the first team
to win the world championship
with a turbo car.
I think sometimes in life
things happen
that everything goes well.
We'd won
a couple of world championships
within three years.
Without any doubt
I think Nelson was considered
to be the best driver.
We never had any big, big problems
with anything else,
so, it was a happy time.
After all this success,
no-one would have ever believed
that we're never gonna do it again,
in fact after four years.
Brabham was no longer mine.
of the sport,
FOCA, representing the British,
and the French dominated, FISA,
have been at loggerheads
for two years.
Never has motor racing been
in graver danger of collapse.
As soon as you don't compete
and don't care
whether you win or not,
you're gonna lose.
That's for sure.
Show me a good loser
and I'll show you a loser
'cause some people
are proud of losing.
(THEME MUSIC)
We made a point
which is what I wanted to do...
make a point to the FISA.
They can say what they wanted to say
and do what they wanted to do,
in the meantime, they couldn't run
a Formula One event without us.
I called a meeting
at the Hotel Crillon
to tell the world
we would be racing in South Africa
with skirts knowing full well
that no matter the result,
the points wouldn't count
for the world championship.
We looked very, very powerful
and very strong
but it was a bit of a brave thing
to do
'cause half the teams
had a big enough problem
actually arriving to Paris,
financially.
And there was one or two
that I was personally financing.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
Jean-Marie was quite sure
that this would never happen
and we'd never all stick together.
No-one could have stopped us
having a race anywhere.
So, we made the announcement
and we raced in South Africa.
The Grand Prix racing world
has gathered uneasily
here at Kyalami in the Transvaal,
and as a result of that
there are no Ferraris,
no Alfa Romeos and no Renaults.
Are the FISA cars coming?
They would dearly like to come
I know that,
but I think until such time
as FISA take an official stand
on the subject,
I think they can't go out on a limb.
It's a Grand Prix for sure
with 19 cars from the Formula One
Constructor's Association.
(INAUDIBLE) Piquet leading
and just look at that spray.
It must be absolute murder
for anybody who is behind the lead.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
Just look at that gap.
Look at the battle for third.
It's what is turning out
to be a very exciting
South African Grand Prix.
Piquet's into the pits.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
Terrific scrap for second position
nearly losing it.
And off goes Geoff Lees,
the English driver!
Alan Jones is into the pits.
The world champion of 1980
starts 1981 very poorly indeed.
And now, into the lead
goes Carlos Reutemann,
the Argentinian driver
in the (INAUDIBLE) Williams car.
And it's significant that Reutemann
has been on slick tyres
since the beginning of the race.
Until now, he looks set
to hold that lead
on the right tyres.
Over the line goes Carlos Reutemann.
It's been a very, very good
South African Grand Prix,
especially for Carlos Reutemann.
In the end,
the race didn't count for points.
Not only was Formula One
the business of the English teams,
it was also the business
of Ferrari.
They'd built their brand
in Formula One racing
and been successful obviously.
The last thing they wanted
was for that to disappear.
In fact, everyone acknowledges
the fact
without Ferrari
there wouldn't be Formula One,
and Mr Ferrari knew that.
I always used to say about him
he would have been a very good
used car dealer.
Renault and Ferrari and Alfa decided
whether the race was gonna happen
under the Federation or not,
they were gonna be there racing,
which was not at all good
for Jean-Marie
because he relied
on the manufacturers.
Alexandro Buzzi from Philip Morris
was fed up with all the bickering
and the arguing and whatever
and said we ought to get
something sorted out.
So, I think it was Max,
myself and him,
met in a hotel,
actually in the basement of a hotel,
I think it was in the winter
and it was miserable,
snowing outside
and I was concerned at also
how we were gonna get out of there
because of the weather.
But we just dragged on
until we got something put together
we thought would work.
And it was our job then
is to convince the people
that we need to sign it.
It was the right thing to do.
From the very early days,
in fact Mr Ferrari had insisted
was included in our agreements
that they had a veto
over any regulations
that would damage their company.
And they've never used it.
(LAUGHS)
Jean-Marie had to sign
the agreement.
That's how the Concorde Agreement
was born.
In the end that's the strength
that Philip Morris was.
We accepted the skirt ban
and went to Long Beach.
The rules were quite clear.
The cars had to be 6cm
off the ground
to avoid the ground effect.
Colin, the first
and leading question has to be,
is it legal?
Well, yes, I wouldn't go
to the trouble of designing
and developing a car
for 21 months and make it,
if I wasn't absolutely sure
that it is legal, yes.
And is there a fixed gap
between the bottom of the car
or is that going to be
a movable feast?
No.
The...the gap as required
by the regulations is 6cm
and we fully comply
with that requirement.
So, you feel that you are within
the 1981 FISA regulations?
100%, yes.
The innovative and controversial
new Lotus 88
has been excluded by the stewards
for allegedly infringing
the design rules.
It was basically, in effect,
two different chassis
as usual with Colin
very, very clever.
And I think from memory,
Ken Tyrrell was the one
that led the sort of protest.
In fact, I think
he was actually the only one
who actually made a protest.
There's an air of mystery
surrounding the whole thing.
When we first got here
the car was pronounced eligible
by the scrutineer
who was technically qualified
to do so.
We went out, then started
to actually prepare the car to run,
and immediately there were
some protests
from our fellow competitors.
The protests were considered
by the stewards at the meeting
who were non-technical people,
so, they've just said
the car can't run,
but they haven't said why,
they haven't been specific at all.
The bottom line is very simple.
If we allow this to happen,
we'll all have to do the same
which would have been a disaster
because it was an expensive
operation.
00:11:10.200 -- 00:11:11.840
With the winter long,
bitter feuding
between motor racing's
governing body
and the car constructors over,
it's a race that's wide open
because of the new no skirts ruling
plus new cars
from no less than eight teams
including the new turbo Ferraris.
Fastest in practice
is Brazilian,
Nelson Piquet.
Four seconds
inside the lap record
in spite of the new
no skirts rule
which is supposed to slow the cars.
Gordon come up with an idea
how we could run the car,
so, when it come into the pits
it would comply
with the regulation.
Just look at the way
Piquet is going.
He's got a very special suspension
on that Brabham of his.
And now, Hector Rebaque from Mexico
in the second team Brabham
is challenging the man
who is tying in the lead
in the world championship
Carlos Reutemann
on Reutemann's home ground.
Well, as I said (INAUDIBLE)
with the greatest respect,
Rebaque is not a world class driver
and he's in an infinitely
superior car to Carlos Reutemann
which just makes a mockery
of Grand Prix racing.
Well, either way,
Hector Rebaque
makes Carlos Reutemann
look as though he's almost
standing still.
Nelson Piquet is coming through
to win
the fourth Grand Prix in his short
world championship career
to the delight of his pit crew.
So, there is no doubt at all
about the fact that the technicians
have already mastered the rules,
overcome the ground effects problem
and the cars are now going
even quicker than they did
last year.
Everybody who is around the track...
Yeah.
..can see that your car
is very low...
Yeah.
..down on the track, OK?
So, it's moving in fact.
Yes, but they...
All the cars move on the springs,
all of them.
There's no difference.
The regs are saying that the car
should be 6cm high
in any circumstance.
No, they don't.
No, they don't.
The regulations say
all measurements shall be taken
with the car stationary
on a flat metal surface
with a driver on board
and the engine running.
Clever designers conceived
a system that,
when a car leaves the pits
it's dropped down by means
of a hydraulic system,
performs as near a ground effect
situation as possible,
and seconds before it comes in
the lever is pulled,
up goes the car and she's legal
when she comes
into this ride height pan.
Frank protested the whole system.
Although he didn't know
how it worked,
because they tried to do exactly
the same thing
in rather a cruder way.
But, by then it had been approved
that the regulation
hadn't been broken.
Ground effect is now back
and completely legal.
The whole season
was a bit of a scrap
between Brabham and Williams
and Carlos and Nelson,
and the season finished
at the last race.
I was trying to get Formula One
in Vegas.
The conclusion was very simple,
the only place it could ever be
was in the car park
at Caesar's Palace.
So, I met with Billy Weinberger
who used to run the hotel.
Billy said to me, "We don't know
"about Formula One
"and probably the people
don't even know
"what Formula One is.
"Tell you what we're gonna do?
"We're gonna have a board meeting."
He took me down into the basement,
opened a door which normally
three or four people
would have to sort of open.
We went inside.
Billy had said to me, "Don't worry,
it's all...
"it's completely soundproof."
So, Billy said, "OK,
we'll vote on this.
"Good. Unanimous.
"We'll have the race."
It's a big risk
for Caesar's Palace to take.
The man who persuaded them
to take it,
the man who can persuade anyone
to do anything,
the Mr Fix of the Grand Prix circus
is Bernie Ecclestone.
It looks like
a colossal investment.
How much money is involved?
Umm, close on $10 million
at the moment.
And whose money is that?
All Caesar's Palace money?
Sure as hell isn't mine.
There was a lot of G force
with the way the corners
were put together.
And after the first day's practice,
it was obvious that the drivers
were in trouble
with all the pain in their neck.
And Carlos got a hold of the masseur
that used to look after the boxers.
I went to see this person.
After a financial discussion,
they decided to favour Nelson.
I don't know
whether I ever told Carlos.
Good evening.
A special addition of the programme
to give you the last Grand Prix
of the season live from Las Vegas.
Now, this is the race
that will decide the 1981
World Drivers' Championship
and it's the closest title race
for years.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(CHEERFUL MUSIC)
Nelson was quite confident.
Nelson Piquet who's struggled
a little bit in practice,
went to get a massage
at the Caesar's Palace hotel,
and the guy did him such a mischief
that Piquet's neck was alright,
but he had bruises
all the way down his back
and was in quite considerable
discomfort yesterday.
In fact, he had to go to his doctor
for treatment
to recover from his massage.
Carlos was on pole position
in his usual sort of mood,
thinking of all the good reasons
why he shouldn't win the race
or couldn't win it.
And away they go.
It's Alan Jones taking the lead,
Villeneuve in second position
taking all that he can
out of the turbocharged
Ferrari power.
Well, the question now is where are
the world championship contenders?
Carlos Reutemann adopting the maxim
of Marshal Petain,
the imaginary line
they shall not pass.
And they, in his case
is Nelson Piquet.
And Piquet, I think he's done it,
Piquet's got it.
Piquet's made it to Rosewood,
and that now puts Piquet
in a winning position
for the world championship.
So, is Reutemann in trouble
with his car?
Or is he just a bit shell shocked?
Carlos did a Carlos.
Reutemann has this tendency
when things aren't absolutely
right for him
to go into a decline and give up.
There is the world champion,
actually becoming world champion
of 1981.
The end of an exciting
and well worth it
Caesar's Palace Grand Prix
and everything
that Bernie Ecclestone
has put into motor racing.
And there is Bernie Ecclestone
with Max Mosley
who has worked so hard
with Ecclestone
on Formula One racing.
Let's go to the pits now
and Mark Thatcher.
Here we are, Nelson Piquet
is suffering
from total heat exhaustion.
He's still in the car,
he's been sick on his...
in his overalls and everything.
He hasn't got enough strength yet
to get out of the car.
He's now been given water.
Almost spoon-fed
but he's gonna be in the car
for some time.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
I declare officially Nelson Piquet
world champion of 1981.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
We'd won the world championship.
That was really the end for Carlos.
He stopped racing after that.
00:20:42.240 -- 00:20:46.680
Ron used to be very meticulous,
very methodical.
Knew where he wanted to go
and knew more or less
the way to get there.
(SOFT MUSIC)
In Teddy's case,
I think he was looking to find
a way to win.
And I think he looked at Ron
and thought,
"This is the guy
I'm sure that can help us."
So, that relationship started
I think in that way.
If I was to have a race team now,
the only person I'd want
on board with me
would be Ron.
(ENGINE REVS)
I retired two years ago
to start my own airline,
the airline works,
everything is alright,
so, I felt that my heart
is still beating very hard
for motor racing.
When Niki decided
to come back into Formula One
it was John Hogan
that actually sorted it out.
John was a bit concerned,
"Would it ever work?"
So, he spoke to James Hunt.
He said, "James,
Niki wants to come back.
Do you think he can make it?"
And James told him, "Well,
it's just like riding a bike."
(ENGINE REVS)
(SOFT MUSIC)
Just the top one, yes?
Each page, no?
Every page.
Marlboro more or less
offered a million dollars.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
James we've been reading
the stories in the newspapers
that you've been offered
2.5 million pounds by Brabham
to come back to the sport?
Now, is that a genuine offer?
Has that offer actually been made?
Yes, that was a genuine offer
to come back and drive for them
for next year.
So, what are you gonna do about it?
Well, reluctantly
I've decided to turn it down
for the same reasons really that...
that I retired in the first place.
It was one of self-preservation.
Teddy's departure from McLaren
was under a bit of a cloud.
People like Philip Morris
were very involved
there at the time,
so, it became easier for Ron
to take the team over.
Here at Kyalami
it is a hotbed of rumour
and controversy,
because as of now we do not know
whether there is going to be a race.
31 Grand Prix drivers
assembled in South Africa
for the start
of the 1982 racing season
have refused to take their cars
onto the Kyalami circuit.
All the top drivers
due to take part have said
they won't compete
if they are forced
to sign a new super licence.
They say it's unfair.
They were contracted
to be with teams
and paid to do a job.
And they thought
if they didn't like the team
too much
they'd leave.
During the two last month
we announced to the driver
the new rule
of the whole championship
and they receive in December
all the information
for the new licence you see.
And they don't protest,
absolutely not.
And they sign
all the licence formula
for the championship
and they say nothing.
The vast majority
of the drivers signed
but then that was in December
when they were all sitting at home
by themselves,
miles from any other driver,
whereas FISA and FOCA
get together all the time.
Drivers really believed and thought
they should be
completely in control,
and now they had to comply
with certain conditions,
which they were terribly
unhappy about.
Nelson was our driver.
He was one of the leaders
of the strike.
And he sort of got up
and had a speech.
And he stood on the piano,
pulled down his trousers
and said, "Bernie can come
and kiss my arse
if he wants me to drive."
And it got back to me
what he'd said.
Which is alright,
I mean, it was what he...
he was trying to give a message.
(LAUGHS)
What did you tell your two drivers,
world champion Nelson Piquet
and Ricardo Patrese?
Well, they've got a contract
to say that
they'll drive in this event,
and if they don't
they'll be in breach of contract
and that'll be
the end of their contract
as far as I'm concerned.
This means
that you would in fact fire them?
If they're not here
within a reasonable time
to practice these two cars
for this Grand Prix
they won't be driving
for Brabham anymore.
The idea sort of made
people understand
that perhaps
they wasn't quite as strong
as they thought they were.
When people start threatening,
you got to do something about it.
They have done things
that the drivers haven't had
a chance to fight about.
The drivers are feeling
browbeaten again,
and I have to say that I think
they are being browbeaten.
Alain Prost
approaches the finishing line
on his last lap at some 200mph
and completes it to win
the South African Grand Prix.
Rene Arnoux will be third,
so, it will be first and third
for the two Renaults
and a famous victory
for the French team.
We've seen some superb racing.
Let us fervently hope
that this is the end
of the politics.
Alain Prost was,
and I still to this day believe,
probably the best driver.
He drove the car on his own
without any help,
people called him the 'Professor'.
He made sure he looked after
his tyres and gearbox
and all the things
that people have engineers
doing for them today,
Alain did on his own.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(ENGINE REVS)
People think that Alain Prost
was gonna win quite easy
after what had happened
in South Africa.
And there is Piquet
coming up to challenge Prost,
and is he going through?
He is!
The Brabhams are up
into third and fourth place.
Yeah, Prost slowed there.
Both Brabhams seem
to be going extremely well.
Piquet is having a real go
to get past Arnoux,
his car is obviously handling
a lot better.
And there he goes
through into second position
there he goes Nelson Piquet.
Piquet challenging Villeneuve.
And Piquet now, he's going to try
and go around the outside,
and Villeneuve's off.
Villeneuve's off, he's lost it.
He put his wheels on the grass.
He's off.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Patrese slumped over the wheel.
I've never seen a driver
slump over the wheel
quite like that before.
There's Nelson Piquet,
you see how tired he is.
He has his head on the side
of the cockpit there
and just fallen over,
can no longer hold it up.
Piquet is on the last lap now.
He's got a ten second lead
if he can just stay conscious.
And Nelson Piquet
wins the Brazilian Grand Prix!
Nelson had suffered
with the G Forces,
and he was in pretty
bad shape.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Because they didn't win,
Brazil put a big question mark
on the turbo cars.
So, they decided
what they would protest about
was our water-cooled brakes.
The British teams
designed a brake cooling system
which involved filling this tank
here with water.
It was sort of that much.
And when the cars started a race,
the tank was obviously full.
But the turbo teams say
once the race got underway,
the water was quickly used up
as we can see
by pushing this switch.
And suddenly the cars
were some 45 to 100 pounds lighter
and under the minimum weight limit.
Max Mosley,
let me put the point to you first
that this quite simply
is a fair cop.
You've been breaking the rules
and you've been caught out for it.
No, absolutely not.
You see, the rules
are very, very clear
that the car must be weighed
with its normal quantity
of lubricants and coolants.
And the water in the tank
is a coolant.
We complied completely
with the regulations.
And the name of the game is winning.
Second place isn't of much interest.
People will exploit
every advantage they can,
unfair or otherwise,
as long as it does not directly
contravene the rules,
break the rules.
It probably was a bit naughty to do,
which it was.
Jean-Marie understood
exactly what was going on,
but the federation
was very, very, very powerful.
And somebody at the top of Renault
didn't want Jean-Marie
supporting us.
So, Brabham and Williams
got disqualified
and we lost the points
for that race.
A much depleted field
will contest this weekend's
San Marino Grand Prix
after the latest row
has split this troubled sport.
Most of the British
teams have pulled out
after the decision to disqualify
the Brabham and Williams teams
from the recent
Brazilian Grand Prix
which they finished first
and second.
Now, we've got
Bernie Ecclestone with us,
who of course is the Brabham chief
and also President of the FOCA
and the man who's leading
this walkout of the FOCA teams.
If you continue this boycott,
you could in fact wreck
the entire Formula One season.
It looks like it unfortunately.
I mean, it's not my intention.
I mean, we haven't started anything.
Instead of a full grid of 26 cars,
there are only 14
because the bitter
political wrangling
which has dominated
Grand Prix racing this year,
has continued here.
The mainly British
Formula One constructor's teams
have almost all withdrawn
from the race.
Very often
with these simple disputes
reality steps in,
and the stark reality
was the teams needed
to be at the race
because they needed the money.
Our business was racing...
so, we thought the best thing
we can do
is to make sure our cars
complied with the regulation
for the weight of the cars,
so, we added the weight and raced.
Mr Ferrari wouldn't fall
passionately in love with drivers
knowing full well
that they could lose them,
but with Gilles he treated him
a little bit more like a son.
Gilles was quick for sure.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
After we lost Gilles,
it hurt Mr Ferrari a lot.
There was even talk about,
at that time,
that maybe they would stop racing,
which was quite an unusual thing
to even think about
that Ferrari could stop racing.
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
(LOUD THUD)
Didier Pironi
went off in his Ferrari
at over 160mph
leaving him with badly broken legs.
Something needed to be done.
The cars were getting too fast.
(KNOCK ON TABLE)
Jean-Marie decided
to get rid of the whole thing
with ground effects.
So, he decided the cars should have
a completely flat bottom
so it would have no effect.
The future was turbocharged.
00:36:50.440 -- 00:36:53.400
Colin Chapman,
the man who made Lotus cars famous
around the world, has died.
He was 54.
The police were called
to his home in Norfolk
early this morning,
but they say
there were no suspicious
circumstances surrounding his death.
A spokesman for Lotus
says he died of a heart attack.
We'd been at a meeting in Paris,
and he was fighting fit.
People who saw Chapman
as recently as last week
say he didn't seem worried,
but he must have been
under pressure.
Lotus had been searching
for new bankers,
Profits have been hit hard
by recession
and questions were being asked
about a connection
with DeLorean cars
in Northern Ireland
and payments made by them to Lotus.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
Everything a bit of a mystery.
That was the...the strange thing.
He was a big loss for Formula One...
and also the loss
of a very good friend as well.
We didn't see the famous Chapman cap
go up in the air today, I think.
Well, you weren't looking,
I...I... It went up.
He was one of the founder
FOCA people,
right at the very beginning.
And now he was gone.
(CHEERFUL MUSIC)
Prost and Piquet
absolutely side by side,
but Prost has the line
for the (INAUDIBLE)
if he can get onto the brakes last.
And he does.
Alain Prost, quiet, determined,
very ambitious, is almost home.
Today, Alain Prost looked to me
a little bit like a world champion.
Alain Prost coming through
to win his fourth Grand Prix
and very likely
becoming the first ever
French world champion
in Formula One Grand Prix racing.
(SOFT MUSIC)
We were accused of cheating
and using illegal fuel.
And this was a lot of trouble
caused by Renault.
Jean-Marie Balestre supported us
against Renault
which was strange.
He never sided with them
and said we'd done the wrong thing.
And we didn't cheat
and our fuel wasn't illegal.
In the lead is Nelson Piquet.
Nelson Piquet has just lapped Prost,
which is going to blow the
world championship
absolutely wide open.
And there is Nelson Piquet
crossing the line
to win his second Grand Prix
of the year.
(CHEERFUL MUSIC)
Now, this is the most
important pit stop of 1983,
it's a slow pit stop.
And out gets Prost!
Sensation!
Alain Prost,
the world champion designate
when this race began
gets out of his Renault
and retires
from the South African Grand Prix.
And here comes Piquet over the line
goes the world champion of 1983,
Nelson Piquet
pounding the steering wheel
of his Brabham BMW.
I was behind the wall.
I said if...if he has problem
with his car
I am world champion,
but in my mind
I would not like to...
he has problem,
because I think he was...
he was the best this year
with his car.
I really want to win
this championship for me.
And last year or in 1981,
maybe I said, I wanna win for the...
for the team, for the mechanics,
for everything,
but now I really wanna win
for myself.
The other man
is the team manager at Brabham.
Is you gotta work directly
under someone
like Bernie Ecclestone,
is that very difficult?
Reply what you want
into the TV camera.
Good morning Mr (INAUDIBLE)
You got to work
for one of the hardest
bosses in the whole business,
haven't you?
Yeah,
he's very public-minded.
He tries
to do a lot for TV,
sponsorship maybe forgets
a bit about the cars
and mechanical side of it,
but he...he seems to worry more
about the showmanship of it all.
He's a dealer, wheeler-dealer.
He's like a...
like a Howard Hughes
of motor racing.
You know, where everything's
gotta be immaculate
and he's like, just...just goes
over the top sometimes.
Brabham were the first team
to win the world championship
with a turbo car.
I think sometimes in life
things happen
that everything goes well.
We'd won
a couple of world championships
within three years.
Without any doubt
I think Nelson was considered
to be the best driver.
We never had any big, big problems
with anything else,
so, it was a happy time.
After all this success,
no-one would have ever believed
that we're never gonna do it again,
in fact after four years.
Brabham was no longer mine.