“The results speak for themselves. It [Lance Stroll’s debut season] is one of the worst rookie performances in the history of Formula 1.”
On Williams’s new boy, 2017

“He [Jenson Button] brings to the sport what boy bands bring to music. He is young and cute, which is not bad – I guess – for the girls. The team prefers to use him for that kind of stuff [marketing] but prefers me for the in-car activity, which is racing hard.”
Welcoming his new team-mate at BAR-Honda, 2003

“I think that the problem is you don’t ever see Michael Schumacher’s true personality. He’s a racer – but a pure racer, nothing but a racer. Because of that, I think that the day he hangs up his helmet people will just forget about him. Michael simply isn’t a great champion because he’s played too many dirty tricks and because he isn’t a great human being.”
Contemplating the seven-time champion’s first retirement, 2006

“These corporations don’t want drivers to ruin their image, so you can’t say what you think. You’re basically not allowed to have a personality. How can you have any heroes if you don’t allow personalities?”
Talking to The Guardian, 2005

“He needs to figure something out. Maybe a new team-mate will be helpful. Have a slower team-mate. He needs to find a way to go faster.”
Back on Lance Stroll’s case, Brazil 2017

“F1 is giving penalties for people making mistakes instead of for people driving dirty. And that is wrong. Mistakes happen. You run into each other: that’s life, that’s racing, too bad.”
Analysing race stewarding, 2011

“What do you expect? Most of them are still babies. If we want to excite the fans of tomorrow, we need heroes – idols they want to copy. But what they see today are drivers who earn millions but are cowards, hiding behind a safety car. What makes a grand prix driver so special is no longer coming through.”
Thoughts on a soggy British GP starting behind the safety car, 2016

“I don’t really listen to Jacques Villeneuve any more.”
Lance Stroll, 2018