Patrick Tambay's retirement chronicle in 1986: “Adelaïde will have been my last departure”

“The bravest among you who got up early on that famous Sunday of the Australian GP will certainly not have regretted their few hours of less sleep. One of the most beautiful Grands Prix in a long time was well worth the sacrifice of a lie-in, right? Once again we have seen that, when consumption is not relevant, the spectacle of F1 knows how to be superb with suspense and twists, all sprinkled with a sort of dramatic intensity to the extent that a French pilot was directly concerned by the stakes of this event. The Australians were really lucky to be able to motivate their huge audience with the announced program!

“It is true that the tactical error on the Williams stand was significant. »

Three men were therefore on the grill. Cheers, Piquet and Mansell. Three men forbidden from the slightest mistake for an entire weekend, three men on whose shoulders, whatever they might say, pressure and tension must have been extreme. Everyone had prepared psychologically in their own way. Alain had returned home from Mexico and relaxed by playing golf. He even competed in the Lancôme Trophy as an almost “pro”! Golf also throughout its Australian week. Mansell also indulged in this sport during the few days preceding the race, following step by step Greg Norman, the current Australian No. 1 in the discipline. Nigel ultimately doesn't have much to envy of him... As for Piquet, he cultivated his form in front of the television in his hotel room! It is true that he had no reason to complain about the fatigue and the hours of flying: Mexico and Adelaide at the controls of his personal plane! And heading for Japan on the way back... The hardest part had probably not been for him, passionate about the air, but probably for his friends taking part in the flight. Johansson and his girlfriend, Piquet's girlfriend and an Italian journalist. The plane was full! And for those who have a pressing desire, you have to wait for the next stopover! Unless you bring your chamber pot in your briefcase…

“Alain always believed in his success, even in difficult times. »

Race with twists and turns, therefore, and victory for Alain. Oddly, although few people in France were counting on his success, the Italian press had played him the winner. It is true that the tactical error of the stand Williams was big. Since Mansell had the title in his pocket, his engineer had to force him to change tires, for safety's sake. Of course, it is difficult to respond to such an order when your machine is working perfectly... but prudence called for a stop. Alain was therefore lucky to puncture, following a collision with Berger. Let no one blame him for this lucky wink, Alain is only making up for lost things. Let no one come and tell us that this 86 championship was “sold out”.

Competitive and homogeneous, the McLaren TAG/Porsche ne valait pas la Williams/Honda et le budget respectif des deux motoristes ne supportait aucune comparaison. Comme quoi Prost, l’homme, possède sa part de responsabilité dans cette victoire finalement très morale. Alain a toujours cru à sa réussite, même dans les moments difficiles. Je pense à la disparition de son frère Daniel. Bien sûr, on pourrait parfois lui reprocher un certain manque d’humilité, mais nous devons nous dire que nous avons affaire avec un authentique champion, certainement pas au bout de son énorme potentiel. Nous ne voulons pas encore l’admettre, mais Alain est déjà un très grand Monsieur du sport automobile. Je ne le dirai jamais assez. Quant à vous donner les raisons de cette réussite et de sa motivation outrancière… Je crois que c’est maladif chez lui, viscéral, partie intégrante de son système nerveux. Que ce soit dans un baquet, au golf ou à la belote, il veut gagner.

It was in Germany, in August 1982, that Patrick Tambay © DPPI

Through effort and calculation he achieves this. This need to win is stronger than him. Her nails are also the mark of this agonizing thirst for victory. Hyper-tense, tortured while giving the appearance of being perfectly controlled... Amazing character. Alain's merit is great, that of his team is no less. Let's think for a moment about this fabulous war machine that is the McLaren MP4! Five years old and not a wrinkle! Reliable, constant, evolving with barely perceptible touches. here is car that everyone dreams of. John Barnard took no shortcuts in designing it, I think he spent a year studying it, but the result is wonderful. Since there is only one year left favorable to the turbo engine we will see the MP4 again in 87, as it was.

The joy that Alain was able to feel in Adelaide was matched only by my sadness: as I write these lines, this Australian GP has a strong “chance” of being the last of my career. I was expecting a last minute miracle, it didn't happen... and I learned the day before the race that the FORCE factory would close its stores as soon as we returned to Europe. I buried the chassis Renault end of 85, I just buried Lola's/Haas This year. Gravedigger. Funny destiny... The initial project of Carl and Teddy Mayer, based on three years, will therefore not reach its goal. At a time when it is very difficult to start in F1, and even more difficult to make your mark, I do not think that we have done anything wrong. Especially since we only benefited from the Ford turbo a third of the way through the season. Rather than pure results, we aimed to progress in the work technique, the functioning and the performance of the team, we prepared for the future.

“I buried the Renault chassis at the end of 85, I just buried the Lola/Haas one this year.”

No doubt some people at Ford US didn't understand this and got impatient. Wrongly. Nothing is official from the Americans at the moment but I hope that this “matter” will become clearer as quickly as possible. “ I buried the Renault chassis at the end of 85, I just buried the Lola/Haas one this year.” How did we get there ? The real reasons are undoubtedly very far from the sporting field. Bernie Ecclestone was interested in buying the team, a Haas/Ecclestone/Ford contract was signed at Brands Hatch, then Ford USA no longer wanted to know anything about Ecclestone... who, himself, changed his outlook from the day BMW announced the continuation of its F1 activities. Gordon Murray leaves while our engineer is envious... A contract binds Haas to Ford until the end of 88 but Ford really wants to go to Benetton, this contract can possibly be bought back but a clause prohibits Ford from being in F1 without equipping Lola…

Complete confusion! However, we had the sponsors. Barclay with three million dollars, USF/G with four million dollars. The Ford guarantee that these partners requested never arrived. Suspicious. Parallel to this vicious circle, the origin of which is a person with a very strong tongue – but who? – the next change in technical regulations imposed by FISA played a significant role. Ford is finally no longer very keen to invest a bunch of dollars in the current turbo engine when it is now necessary to design an atmospheric one. What will become of this V6? Without Lola he theoretically cannot race, but are we not likely to see him under another name – Cosworth? – next season? Its change of name would free it from all constraints and open up the Benetton horizon to which some seem very attached.

The staff have therefore received their dismissal letter, the factory doors have closed and here I am, with my mouth in the water at a time when all the good people are taken, or almost all. We conclude the discussions in November, we do not start them. Back from Australia, a second bad surprise awaited me: my hopes of competing in the Paris-Dakar, a real breath of fresh air for these difficult times, were gone. The sponsor of the operation announcing a last minute problem. Nothing is completely lost as the construction of the car continues, but the hunt for the budget is becoming more and more tense! In any case, this is what I currently devote my days to! »

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