EXCLUSIVE: Q+A Thierry Boutsen
Thierry Boutsen, the former F1 driver and GP winner, made time for F1Technical for this exclusive interview. Boutsen is a very businessman these days as he owns his own company, Boutsen Aviation. Still he can look back to a successful career in motorsports.
"I was born on July 13, 1957 in Brussels, Belgium. I have an Engineering degree and started racing cars in 1978. I drove in F1 from 1983 till 1993 and had 3 GP wins. I finished 4th in world championship in 1988.
I did also lots of endurance races: world champion in 1985, US champion in 1998, winner of Daytona 24H, Zolder 24H, etc."
In 1983 you entered F1 with Arrows. How did you get this race seat?"I got chosen by Arrows on my previous results in F2 and endurance, after a test at Silverstone. I replaced Chicco Serra."
Do you feel that you had an advantage with your education as engineer?"Being an engineer helped me all the way along my career and now. It was certainly an advantage that helped me set up cars."
After driving for the Benetton team, you got signed by Frank Williams and you won in Canada and Australia. On which victory you have the fondest memories?"The first one in Canada was the most important one. The second in Australia proved that I could drive in any condition. The 3rd in Hungary was a race of itself, maybe the most stressing race of my life."
In 1990 you won the Hungarian Grand Prix and beat your friend Ayrton Senna to it. How did you feel about that?
"It was a special race. Although I did not have the best car, I got pole, started the race first and have been under pressure the whole time. I adopted a special tactic – no tyre change- that helped me keep the lead until the end."
The Williams team at that time was certainly at the beginning of a great era. Could you feel the team was set to win championships soon? How come you left the team at the end of that season?"It was mainly a budget problem. Belgium is a small country, no industry, the sponsoring available is extremely small. A sponsor joined Williams at the time; one of its requirements was to have Nigel driving, so I had to go."
After the 1993 season, you retired from F1. Why?"I felt I had done very well, and had no real possibility to get a good drive at the time so, I preferred to quit F1 and enjoy racing in other formulas."
Back to Ayrton, how big an impact do you think he had on F1 during his racing career, and even after that on the safety in Formula One?"Ayrton is a myth. He was the best and most intelligent driver of all times. His death shocked everybody and provoked a reaction regarding safety unseen before."
How would you remember him best? As a great racer or a great person?"As a friend!"
In 1988, Senna was negociating with Ferrari to form a driver line-up Senna-Boutsen. Do you see this as a missed opportunity in your career?"This opportunity did not realise, but gave me the chance to drive for Williams instead. Was it good or bad? I will never know, and I don’t really care. I always tried to do the best I could with the material I had."
Apart from Ayrton, you were competing against some of the best and most successful drivers in history, including Piquet, Mansell and Prost. Whom do you have most respect for?"For all the drivers I raced against. All had potential, most of the time the car-team combination decides who will win, the drivers can make some difference but have little influence on the general competitiveness of the car. I mean, if the car is 3 seconds a lap slower than his competitor, no driver will be able to compensate. Therefore, who knows who is or was the best? I respect everybody."
Today you run your own company, Boutsen Aviation in Monaco, but you are still involved in racing with your Thierry Boutsen Racing team. What is your role in this team and in which series is your team active?"I gave my name to the team that is run by my brother in law, Olivier Lainé. I wanted to help the RACB and Renault to promote Motorsport in Belgium by giving the chance to young drivers to start racing career. We enter 5 Formula Renault 1600 cars in the Belgium Championship. I am not involved in the daily business, act more as a consultant."
Meanwhile in F1 a tight battle is going on for the championship. Who would you expect to come out on top?"We’ll see. At least we have a battle this year."
What is your impression of young upcoming drivers like Rosberg, Kubica, Vettel and Kovalainen?"They have a lot to learn and everything to prove. I hope that they will have the time for it."
Just recently the FIA banned the mass dampers, an innovation used and approved last year already. What is your opinion on the FIA banning this device now in a decisive stage of the championship?"There must be a good reason for it that I don’t know. Otherwise they would have kept them."
And finally, have you made a lot of friends in Formula One? Are you still in contact with them?"Unfortunately, most of the people involved in racing during the same period are living far away and have started other businesses. We are still in contact, but not enough… that’s life."
Biography
Thierry Boutsen was born on July 13, 1957 in Brussels and is a former Formula One driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams.
In 1977 entered the Formula Ford 1600 championship and won it in 1978 with 15 victories in 18 races. For 1979 he moved to Formula 3, winning three races in 1980 and second place in the title race, behind Michele Alboreto. In 1981 he moved to Formula 2 and was again second in the championship, this time behind Geoff Lees. In 1983 he drove in the European Touring Car Championship and in World Sportscar races, where he won at Monza with Bob Wollek.
In 1983 he paid $500,000 for a drive in Formula One, and made his debut with Arrows at the 1983 Belgian Grand Prix, but a greater opportunity came when he moved to Benetton in 1987. In 1989 Frank Williams signed him on a two-year contract, and he won the rain-soaked Canadian Grand Prix and Australian Grand Prix. In 1990 he scored a victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix over his friend Ayrton Senna's McLaren-Honda. In 1991 he moved to Ligier and from there to replace Ivan Capelli at Jordan in 1993, after which he retired from Formula One. After a crash at Le Mans in 1999 he retired from racing altogether.
Today Thierry Boutsen runs his own company, Boutsen Aviation, in Monaco.
Special thanks to Thierry Boutsenhttp://www.loracing.com/thierryboutsenr ... /intro.php
