Alan Jones wanted $500,000 to drive for Ferrari

Press, 16 September 1982, Page 25

Alan Jones wanted $500,000 to drive for Ferrari

Alan Jones, the 1980 world champion Grand Prix racing driver, was invited to drive a turbocharged Ferrari 126 C2 in last Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, but he apparently opened his mouth too wide and lost the opportunity. Jones received a phone call from Enzo Ferraris Maranello headquarters late in August and. in reply to the invitation to drive in the one race that every Italian expects a Ferrari to win. the Australian said “yes," but he would expect a half-million-dollar fee as well as half the prize money.

“Yes. subject to later confirmation.” the Ferrari caller responded. A couple of days later Jones, who was in England, realised that confirmation was not coming, so he packed his bags and headed for home. It seems obvious that Enzo Ferrari considered the Australian's asking price too high. In any case. Ferrari then approached Mario Andretti. an American-born Italian, the 1978 world champion racing driver and also a one-time regular Ferrari team member. Andretti dropped out of Formula One racing last year and since then has been driving Indian-apolis-style racers for the Patrick Racing Team in the United Slates. As he was uncommitted at home last week-end. the Patrick team reluctantly released him so that he could drive in the Italian race. The Jones-Andretti affair spotlights the perplexing situation Enzo Ferrari, without doubt the contemporary “great" of Grand Prix motor racing, finds himself in todav.

As has happened so many times before, this year the Italian racing team has been plagued by death and grievous injury. Early in the season, the No. 1 driver in the two-car team, the French-Canadian. Gilles Villeneuve, was killed in a Belgian Grand Prix qualifying-session crash. That left the team with only the Frenchman, Didier Pironi, and Enzo Ferrari wanted to leave him' the sole representative for the remainder of this Grand Prix year. Although Pironi was the only Ferrari man in the Monaco Grand Prix, an inci-dent-packed race in which he finished second, the Ferrari team had entered into a preseason commitment to field two cars in each world championship race and was forced to honour the commitment.

Speculation about a driver to fill the vacancy was rampant until Ferrari confirmed that it had signed up-Patrick Tambay. a young Frenchman. to fill the berth.

Tambay had raced for a number of Grand Prix teams, but early this year at an acrimonious South African Grand Prix he pro-

fessed himself disenchanted with the scene and went to the United States to join the VDS CanAm team of Count van der Slraten. a wealthy Belgian who entered cars in New Zealand and Australia in the Tasman Championship in years gone by. the count sportingly' released Tambay from his contract so that’ he could join Ferrari. For a time all went well for Ferrari. Tambay settled down in the team and Pironi showed his mettle to the extent that by the time the German Grand Prix came around he was leading the world drivers' series and looked a first-class prospect for the 1982 title. Then once more Ferrari fate intervened. During a training session in blinding rain prior to the race. Pironi's car hit. the rear of another and he was rushed from the Hockenheim circuit, to hospital in Heidelberg where surgeons fought, successfully to save his right leg. He has been transferred to a clinic near Paris and latest reports indicate that he is making good progress, but it will be the middle of next year, at the earliest, before he will be fit enough to drive a Grand Prix car. something he is determined to do if it is physically possible. With Pironi fighting for his life in Heidelberg. Tambay. who must have'been under a tremendous strain, went out and won the German Grand Prix. It was Tambay's first world championship race win and it came when the Ferrari team needed it most. A week later. Tambay finished third in the Austrian Grand Prix and once again Ferrari fortunes seemed to be climbing. A fortnight later it was obvious that the promise had faded again. Tambay. still the sole Ferrari driver.. turned up to start in the ■ revived Swiss Grand Prix, which was held in France at Dijon-Prenois not far from the Swiss border.

In the first practice session. Tambay was ninth fastest in his Ferrari 126. C2 and so was a certain race qualifier, but that session was the only one in which Tambay appeared. After it was over he climbed from his car complaining of excruciating pain in his neck and back. A medical examination revealed that he was suffering from a pinched nerve, evidently the result of the severe pounding Grand Prix drivers are subjected to by the almost rigid suspension of current racers.

Tambay went immediately to a hospital in Lausanne to rest and, it was hoped, recover in time for the Italian Grand Prix. It was al this time that the Ferrari team started to make approaches to re-cently-retired Grand Prix drivers and some of the men still active to race at Monza. It was simply unthinkable

for Ferrari not to field at least one ear and with Tambay on the sick list, another driver had to be found to cover that contingency. On the other hand, if another driver was engaged and Tambay proved himself fit to race. Ferrari would field a two-car team and that was the ideal situation.

In fact, when practising for the race began Tambay was there and appropriately enough, he was the fastest man in the first session. Andretti was also among the front runners to clearly demonstrate that even after his lay-off he was still extremely competent in a Formula One car. In the race the Renault driver. Rene Arnoux. was the winner with Tambay and Andretti second and third. So Ferrari remains at the top of

the list in the Formula one Constructors' Championship series. Monza was quite a conquest for the Ferrari team after all the trials and tribulations it had experienced over recent months. With the Italian Grand Prix behind it. the Ferrari team can start thinking seriouslv about the 1983 season.

Already Arnoux has contracted to race as No. 2 in support of Tambay and Enzo Ferrari has promised to have a car available for Pironi if he is fit enough and still wishes to return to racing.

That means that by about mid-year Ferrari may be in a position where it will tie able to field a three-car team. If such a situation did arise, it would be a real turn-up for the books within the Grand Prix circus.