lane
While Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve battle for top spot in the last race of the season, Gerhard Berger will be driving his last race. Alan Henry reports
Gerhard Berger’s decision to retire after this next weekend’s European Grand Prix at Jerez in Spain will be met with a mixture of sadness and relief.
Sadness because his departure will rob Formula One of a character more closely identified with the colourful image of a playboy driver than any of his monochrome contemporaries; relief that at 38, having scored one of the best wins of the 1997 season, he has survived this potentially hazardous activity.
It is worth dwelling on Berger’s commanding German Grand Prix victory in August. It came at a moment when he seemed to be assailed on all sides by personal misfortune. It was his first outing after a three-race lay-off grappling with sinus troubles and he had just been told by Benetton’s then managing director Flavio Briatore that his services would not be needed in 1998. On top of that his father was killed in an aircraft accident 10 days before the Hockenheim race.
Yet Berger’s first win in three years was probably the best dry weather victory of the season. He qualified on pole and, apart from a fleeting challenge from Giancarlo Fisichella’s Jordan, never looked under pressure.
“You need to be brave to be quick at Hockenheim,” said Martin Brundle, the one- time Benetton driver, “and there is none braver than Gerhard.”
Berger’s competitive focus is softened by the human touch. He has a sense of irreverence which many find appealing. After his Benetton blitzed the opposition at Hockenheim the Williams technical director Patrick Head asked: “Gerhard, why can’t you drive like that in every race?”
Deadpan, Berger replied: “Come off it, Patrick. You can’t expect me to drive like that all the time.” And then he burst out laughing. Most drivers would have made excuses about the varying performance of their car.
With only Formula Three and touring car experience, he entered Formula One at the wheel of an ATS-BMW in 1984. The following year he raced for Arrows before switching to Benetton in 1986, when he scored his first win, in the Mexican Grand Prix.
His carefree manner and determined driving style struck a chord with Ferrari and he joined them in 1987. He stayed three years, winning four grands prix, during which he escaped with superficial burns after an accident at Imola in the 1989 San Marino race.
In 1990 he joined the McLaren team, where he partnered the dynamic Ayrton Senna. Berger was hired as a replacement for Alain Prost, who had left because he could not handle Senna’s dominance.
Yet Berger proved to be different. Somehow he struck a chord with the ascetic Senna and the two men became deep personal friends. It was a real case of opposites attracting, with the happy-go-lucky Berger helping Senna develop a sense of humour, while Senna’s obsessive attention to detail and total commitment taught Berger about developing his abilities as a driver.
Berger greatly admired the Brazilian. “You know, in his mind, the only thing which existed was himself,” said Berger. “He had to be first and, by this thinking, I believe he created a power.”
In 1993 Berger left McLaren and returned to Ferrari. Yet the two men remained close friends.
Before climbing into his Williams FW16 for the San Marino Grand Prix Senna’s last words to Frank Williams were: “I’ve got to go and have a word with Gerhard.” Four hours later Berger would be the last person to visit Senna before he died.
Senna’s death had a profound effect on Berger but after a week he shrugged aside thoughts of retirement. He won the 1994 German Grand Prix for Ferrari but would not win again until this year. By then he had switched back to Benetton.
Alongside Jean Alesi Berger found himself cast in the role of Schumacher’s successor at Benetton, a comparison which became increasingly uncomfortable as he failed to gain any real success in 1996. If anything, 1997 was worse, the win at Hockenheim standing out as a lone beacon of hope.
Berger is shrewd enough to know that racing has not only brought him great satisfaction but also great riches. Of the people he has met it is clear whom he most admires.
“Bernie Ecclestone is obviously one of them,” he said, referring to the FIA vice- president, whose commercial inventiveness has secured Formula One as one of the biggest globally televised sports. “How the hell can I complain about Bernie?” he asks. “In effect I owe everything I have got to his success.”
Another he admired was Frank Williams. He also makes it plain he has a lot of time for Giancarlo Minardi, the Italian team owner who struggles to keep going at the tail of the field.
“Minardi is doing it for all the right reasons,” he said, referring to the undimmed enthusiasm he displays despite all the commercial problems involved in his role as Formula One’s underdog. Gerhard Berger also did it for all the right reasons. That is why his presence will be so missed.