Richards: “Sport needs to change”

At 57, when Prodrive no longer has the same influence as in the past, the Welshman admits to having made a personal introspection but also that of his company and motor sports.

« L?an passé, j?ai pu prendre un peu de recul et penser à notre entreprise », avouait-il dans les colonnes de The People. « Durant ces douze mois, j?ai souvent remis en cause le rôle des sports mécaniques dans notre société. Avec les retraits de BMW et Toyota, le désengagement partiel de Renault, the perspective is not rewarding. »

“I really believe that the general organization of motor sports must change even if it is obvious that the discipline has a role to play in our world,” he adds. For him, the arrival of Jean Todt at the head of the International Automobile Federation is good news.

“He is the right person to advance the F1 because we must not return to the excesses of the past. We have worked on certain technical points which have nothing to do with our industry. The best example is aerodynamics which brought nothing to the ordinary car. »

F1, often presented as a technological laboratory, operates in self-sufficiency: “We have spent lavishly to obtain results without any added value for the manufacturers. Certain areas deserve to be explored, such as electric motors and energy recovery during braking. »

The SREC / KERS episode remains in everyone's memory. Certainly useful in the medium term for the transport industry, this system was abandoned for not providing sufficient performance in competition.