F1
1 F1981 season: the fight of Carlos Reutemann's daughter
Was Carlos Reutemann wronged in 1981? © DPPI / E. Vargiolu
Released on the sly in Europe at Christmas 2022, the documentary series on the life of Bernie Ecclestone remains unavailable for the French. Yet, the “Lucky” production of eight episodes produced by Manish Pandey contains some new information, and notably offers unexpected insight into the 1981 season of Formula 1. “Mister E.” admits that Nelson Piquet was favored to win the title to the detriment of Carlos Reutemann
ALSO READ > Carlos Reutemann has died
The scene takes place at Las Vegas Grand Prix practice, scene of the finale of the 1981 campaign. Carlos Reuteman (Williams) arrives in Nevada as leader of the general classification with 1 small point ahead of his rival Nelson Piquet (Brabham). The circuit designed in the parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel is particularly taxing for the organisms, because it runs counter-clockwise with turns at medium speed.
Then director of the Brabham team, Bernie Ecclestone attended the free practice sessions. “The centrifugal forces were high in the turns, he explains in an episode of the series “Lucky”. After the first day of testing, it became clear that the drivers would have problems in the race with neck pain. Carlos (Reutemann) went to chat with the masseur who was in charge of the stands »
In his documentary #Lucky!, the ex mandamás of the #F1 afirmó que pagó para judicar al "Lole" en la ultima carrera del campeonato de 1981. pic.twitter.com/iPYrf7sO5P
— Notas de Actualidad (@notasdeactual) February 5, 2023
Bernie Ecclestone notices the exchange and then goes to meet said masseur. “Following this discussion and a financial exchange, they decided to favor Nelson (Picket). I don't know if I talked to Carlos about it. »
Carlos Reutemann, author of pole position, is going to experience a Sunday in hell. The Argentinian complained of too hard suspensions and a faulty gearbox and slipped to 8th place, out of the points, while his teammate Alan Jones flew over the competition to score the victory. Disappointed by a lack of support from his team, he retired from sport two GPs after the start of the 1982 season.
Conversely, everything smiles on Nelson Piquet in this race. The Brazilian steals the crown by a point thanks to a fifth position acquired at the end of the effort.
Cora Reutemann has always had difficulty digesting this turnaround. Carlos Reutemann's daughter took advantage of the publication of the “Lucky” series to express her fight for the memory of her father.
“The day before Dad died, I sent an audio message to Bernie (Ecclestone) asking him to be honest with him and tell him that he is the real 1981 world champion. Unfortunately, the next day , dad is dead », she wrote on her account Twitter.
Cora Reutemann also believes that her father “already knew about the bribe” fomented by Bernie Ecclestone. “ And not just about the masseur, but also more serious things, like the fact that the Brabham (Nelson Piquet's) was not suitable for racing because ground effect was prohibited.she added.
https://twitter.com/CoraReutemann/status/1614985956943368204
“Obviously my father is the 1 Formula 1981 champion, She continues. The next step is to put this in writing. When dad died, I told my son that I was going to do everything to make it known that his grandfather was a Formula 1 champion."
Medhi Casaurang
Passionate about the history of motorsport across all disciplines, I learned to read thanks to AUTOhebdo. At least that's what my parents tell everyone when they see my name inside!
Read also
Comments
*The space reserved for logged in users. Please connect to be able to respond or post a comment!
1 Comment (s)
To write a comment
10/02/2023 at 03:29 a.m.
Ah, the shenanigans of Uncle Bernie, after using adulterated fuel on the Brabham BMW to offer the title with Nelson Piquet in 1983, we discovered that he had bribed the masseur to favor the same Piquet in 1981! When will Mister E’s troubles continue?