Gerhard Berger: Nigel Roebuck's Legends

“The thing about Ayrton, that put him on a separate level, was that he didn’t respect any conditions. In qualifying, I would go out, set third-fastest time and say, ‘That’s it. The two Williams are ahead, they’re quicker than we are, so that’s the best I can do’. For Ayrton, though, the Williams did not exist. In his mind, the only thing that existed was himself – and he had to be first. And, you know, by this thinking he was able to create a power. That’s the only word I can use. There would be a car that, on paper, was a second a lap quicker, and you knew you couldn’t beat it. Ninety-nine per cent of drivers will accept that and say, ‘Well, next week well have a new engine and we’ll be right up there.’ For Ayrton, no. He’d say, ‘I have to be the quickest’ — and he’d do it! It wasn’t that he was dreaming. He did it! And it would be the same in the race.”

In the course of his three years at McLaren, Berger learned a great deal from Senna, but he believes that Ayrton, too, benefited from their partnership. “As people, we were entirely different, which is probably why we became friends. For sure, he had strengths where I didn’t, but I think it was true the other way round, too. I could always easily separate working time from free time, but Ayrton could not do that, and I think, when I arrived at McLaren, I made him even stronger, because he became freer. I believe, through me, he learned to laugh, and then he began to do the same things I did. He seemed to discover a sense of humour, as if it was something he had had all along but never used.”

Berger thinks Senna and Michael Schumacher are very similar, in terms of working practices with engineers, team-mates and so on. “The only difference is the personalities: one was a Latin, the other is a cold German.”

If his victory at Hockenheim in 1997 was emotionally the most satisfying of his life, Berger’s best from a driving point of view came in the ’87 Australian Grand Prix — perhaps because it involved a fight with Senna.

“For a start, that year’s Ferrari turbo was my favourite of all the cars I ever drove — it just suited me so well. I won at Suzuka with it, and then we went to Adelaide; I got pole position and led from the start. But I had a fever that weekend, and it was also very hot. Ayrton started catching me and, physically, I was completely finished, but I really wanted to beat him – and also I was in the middle of doing a new contract! Ayrton was still coming, so I put the boost up to make him think that I could easily respond – and he backed off. Then I reduced the boost again, and I couldn’t go quick any more because I was f*****! Anyway, it worked.”

In the course of 13 seasons of F1, Berger drove in 210 grands prix, and qualified either first or second in 32 of them. That being so, one might have expected him to have won more than 10. He doesn’t disagree.

“When I think of my driving career, more than anything else I think about what I screwed up. With the talent I had, I really should have done more, I think. Okay, there were some races I should have won and didn’t, like at Estoril in 1987, when I spun under pressure from Prost in the last few laps, but I don’t really mean things like that – they happen in racing. What I’m really talking about is being just too busy in my young years. For example, when I arrived in Imola this year, I thought to myself; ‘Why didn’t you rent a house here, stay close to Ferrari, learn Italian?’ But it was always much more important for me to get back to a girl somewhere! It was a great life, but I could have done better.”

Given that he was always something of a hedonist, when Berger accepted BMW’s offer to become its competitions director, many viewed his appointment with scepticism. Gerhard would not, they suggested, take it seriously, would play at it until it bored him. In point of fact, they were entirely wrong, and Ron Dennis was one of many to acknowledge his surprise at his diligence in the new role.

“I never thought of myself as lazy when I was a driver, but 80 per cent of the people in the paddock would have said that. They’d say, ‘Oh, he likes to go the beach, he likes girls, he’s naturally talented, so he can do it without a lot of effort; he does his race, but otherwise isn’t very interested — he only wakes up when it’s the time of the year to do the next contract!’

“I knew I had this image – and I didn’t care. Somehow it fitted me. I think in F1 everyone gets a role: Prost had his, Senna had his, Lauda had his – even Mansell had his role! And I had mine, and I was quite happy about it. But people never seemed to realise that, once a race weekend was over, I was involved with my father in the family transport company a lot of the time, and I did all my deals myself. I was playing around in a lot of other small businesses. I was always behind a desk somewhere.”

If he loved his time as a driver, Berger also immensely enjoyed his years with BMW, working with Frank Williams and Patrick Head. “There’s always been a lot of friction in the relationship, but that’s just because both parties are quite tough: if one side screws up, the other tells them to their face, but it’s the only way to be successful in this business. So long as it isn’t personal, I think it’s the right way to operate.

“I really like Patrick. He is a guy who is really straight, who tells you everything to your face and has a very good sense of humour. As for Frank… well, he’s a bastard – but a good one! Whatever he’s doing, he’s trying to push to the limit. I admire him so much: his discipline, his fighting spirit – he is really tough.”

As of now, though, Berger is preparing to take it easy, at least for a while, having declined to renew his BMW contract. Simply, he says, he has got tired and feels the need for a break.

“It’s difficult for some people to understand that you just get tired. First, there’s consistent pressure in this business, and that’s not nothing, you know? The worst thing, though, is the travel – and I have my own plane, so people are going to think I’m crazy!

“But if I miss it, I’ll be back in it one day – and I’ll be surprised if I do not miss it…”