Continental notes, March 2004

Jenks on F1 1982

One thing about the world of Formula One is that you do know where you stand: nobody tells the truth, decisions that are made can be revoked and a statement of clarification is invariably made to fog the real issue. If in any doubt at all, then form a new committee and give it a title with initials that can be pronounced as a word.

But it is all good fun and none of it should be taken seriously; it is all part of the scene to keep people interested. As Max Mosley said at Hockenheim one year when everyone was getting uptight, ‘Don’t worry, at the end of the day nobody is going to get shot.’ What he did not mention was that at the end of the day somebody was going to lose some money and someone else was going to make some and to some people that is more important than whether they get shot.

After the drivers’ strike at the South African Grand Prix, the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association) was disbanded. In its place was formed PRDA (Purdah!), which stands for Professional Racing Drivers’ Association. In the USA there also exists a PRDA, but this stands for Polish Racing Drivers’ Association. To qualify was simple: you did not have to be Polish and you did not have to be a racing driver. I believe our features editor, Alan Henry, was made a member!

Yours, DSJ