Gerhard Berger: Ferrari pleaded with me to stay
In Motor Sport's new series of podcasts, Gerhard Berger speaks about leaving the Ferrari Formula 1 team voluntarily — one of the few drivers to do do
Gerhard Berger has talked candidly about his reasons for leaving Ferrari at the end of the torrid 1989 season. The Austrian says he is one of the few drivers to have left the Italian team voluntarily and that they tried to persuade him to stay, dispatching company bosses to talk him around.
“Gianni Agnelli sent Luca di Montezemolo from Turin to try and convince me but I felt I wanted to do something different. I had a nice offer from Ron [Dennis] and McLaren were the best team at the time.”
Berger was talking to Motor Sport as part a new series of podcasts, which are available from November, examining what it is like to drive for the Scuderia. In a wide-ranging interview Berger discusses his fiery Imola crash in ’89 and his motivation for returning to the cockpit, as well as his reputation as a playboy and his rivalry with Nigel Mansell.
The podcast series also includes interviews with Stefan Johansson, Ivan Capelli, and Derek Bell. For more information on all the podcasts visit the Motor Sport website.