1985 Grand Prix International Interview page 2   

At the Austrian Grand Prix, following Nelson Piquet's acceptance of an un-refusable offer from Frank Williams and Honda, Elio had signed an option to drive a Brabham.  For many weeks there was no official confirmation of the deal, although Elio was confident enough.  "I broke my links with Lotus when I gave a big dinner at Brands for the Chapman family, Peter Warr and Gerard, when I told them of my intention of leaving."  Clashes of personality were not the only irritants for Elio at Lotus in 1985.  He had felt let down by Renault in 1984, only to suffer even more faults and failures in 1985.  What caused so many problems?  "It's very difficult to say, because I am not a technician.  The only thing I could clearly see was that they had too  many teams to supply.  Unfortunately, that cost them some  Championships.  They could not concentrate very well on one team.  A serious problem at Renault is that they have been so close to success to many times that maybe they are beginning to get a complex about being second.  Last year (1984) they let me down when there was something to be done, and maybe they could have done something more.  Always 'if'....but the fact is that if they had given us the works engine last year, perhaps the situation with McLaren would have been different.  Maybe it's a mistake which they will not be making again in 1986, because I heard that they will stay mainly with Lotus, plus one other team."  Those words, spoke before Guy Ligier arm-wrestled Renault engines out his buddy Mitterrand, imply one of the reasons why he is happy to be with Brabham.

I think that Brabham is the only place that I wanted to go.  If it was not going to be Brabham, it was going to be nobody.  I am always looking forward: I would never go back.  I always had a possibility for many years to go with Brabham, and this year I took it."   He started testing the 1985 car at Estoril in December, when he commented favourably on the power of the BMW engine and the improvements made by Pirelli with their tyres.  The latter remark was important psychologically, for Elio did not spare Pirelli designer Mario Mezzanotte's feelings after some less than wonderful experiences on Pirellis in the one year that Lotus spent with the Italian company.

While waiting for the exciting new Brabham-BMW BT55 with its 'lie flat' engine and reclining driving position, Elio lives a quiet, albeit opulent life in Monaco.  He spends a lot of time in the company of Ute, his German girlfriend, sometimes at her place near Heidelberg.  She is a model but seems to spend more time with Elio than she used to.  Grinning, she explains that a model, at 27, is beginning to get too old for many publications.

His family, one of Italy's weathiest, is in the construction business, yet the Monaco apartment is very small.  "Very average" as he says "in fact it is my only property, because all the rest is in the hands of my family."  He is friendly with Nelson Piquet "a very nice and very honest person" and even chummier with Keke Rosberg.  "The main thing is that we respect each other: he respects me and I respect him, because for sure he is one of the quickest racing drivers in the world.  We more or less grew up together in Formula 1, and we never had any problems together, we never had one hard word to say about each other.  I like that, and we would like each other even more if we were not both involved in racing."

He loves cars, although he's not so keen on the bullet-proof limousines which greet him on the tarmac as he steps off planes in Italy, where all wealthy people are liable to kidnap attempts by political extremists.  His personal collection includes the inevitable Mercedes (a 500 coupe) and no fewer than three Porsches, the marque for which he has a weakness that extends to a 928S and two 911SCs (a Coupe and a Cabrio).  Apart from Lotus racing cars, incredibly the only Lotus which he ever drove was Colin Chapman's own modified Esprit Turbo.  Nevertheless, when a new Lotus agency was opened up in Monaco just before last year's GP, he went along to it's opening, where a green Esprit was exhibited with his name displayed on it's door in gold leaf. 

Although he has tried flying planes, he has no intention of getting himself qualified as a pilot.  "There are not really many routes available for private flying, it's not as free as you might think.  In a way, it's a bit like being a taxi driver, because you can't go where you want to go, someone else decides the route for you.  I've done quite a lot of hours flying, enough to get a licence, but I don't want to take the examinations.  I think it must be against my mentality!"

His love for music and a talent for piano playing are already well documented.  They've even been exploited, because he was invited to play on German TV before last year's Grand Prix at Hockenheim.  "But I think that I'm going to stop saying that I'm a good musician, because I want to concentrate more on my motor racing.  It's not that I'm not concentrating enough, but it's something that gets in the way.  I won't say that I'm going to give up music, but I shall stick more to my racing programme.  Still, I love music: I had a classical training and I only gave up because I didn't want to end playing in the Swedish Embassy or wherever.  Now, I don't want it to detract from my racing.  Music is my second love, and I don't think I would be satisfied with two loves in my life."

The Brabham drive is clearly a "make or break" opportunity for his career, which will be less musical in 1986.  His reputation now lies in the hands of Brabham designer Gordon Murray.  A good car will ensure that Elio puts all of his time and energy into winning races.  A dud chassis will cause him to lose interest very suddenly.

It is the opinion of many that we have not yet seen the best of Elio de Angelis, and a rivalty with Senna could make that particular combination of personalities a fiery one as they race against each other in a possible reckoning-up of old scores.  It's just one of the many scenarios to relish as the new season starts.  Certainly, Elio de Angelis is not sorry to face an entirely fresh prospect at Brabham in 1986.

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