Niki and Bernie
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Niki and Bernie
by Guest 5/22/2013, 6:38 pm
Some high level discussion between Niki Lauda (one of the main characters in Ron Howard's new movie "Rush") and Bernie Ecclestone:
Q: Niki, Bernie, you both have young wives. How does that work when you’re still so deeply involved in your work?
NL: My wife Birgit’s star sign is Scorpio, so I have to be careful what I say.
Q: But if Scorpios are your nemesis, what about Bernie? He too is a Scorpio?
NL: Ha, I’ve been trained so well at home about how these people think and act - I can handle them all, but it’s tough! The good news is my star sign is Pisces - and I am slippery like a fish!
BE: Ha, the scorpions will always catch the fish.
NL: That’s what they think…
But,
on a serious note:
Q: Bernie, the heated discussions about tyres seem to have occupied a huge part of the season so far - culminating in four pit stops for most drivers in Barcelona. Now, from Canada onwards, it seems the goal is to make tyres last longer. How could it come so far?
BE: I asked Pirelli to make tyres that would not complete 50 percent of a race - meaning we need pit stops. And that’s what they did. It is very, very difficult to predict and say these tyres will last 15 or 20 percent of the race because each circuit is different, we are facing very different temperatures, the cars are different, and last but not least each driver has a different driving style. In the times when Niki was racing his biggest concern was looking after the gearbox and the brakes - not the tyres. Then we got away from that and the drivers didn’t have to think about anything. Now they have to use their brains and start thinking about how to win races.
NL: As an ex-driver I can say that Pirelli’s goal was to have the first pit stop after 12 to 15 laps, but with the different factors that Bernie has just explained they sometimes last only four laps. Three pit stops maximum works. That’s it. If you have four stops - and some tyres only lasting four laps - that’s the wrong direction. Now we will have a change from Canada onwards.
BE: The easiest thing for Pirelli would be to produce tyres that you put on at the first race of the season and take off at the last. That would be easy, easy.
Good to know Bernie thinks so highly of drivers....
Q: Niki, Bernie, you both have young wives. How does that work when you’re still so deeply involved in your work?
NL: My wife Birgit’s star sign is Scorpio, so I have to be careful what I say.
Q: But if Scorpios are your nemesis, what about Bernie? He too is a Scorpio?
NL: Ha, I’ve been trained so well at home about how these people think and act - I can handle them all, but it’s tough! The good news is my star sign is Pisces - and I am slippery like a fish!
BE: Ha, the scorpions will always catch the fish.
NL: That’s what they think…
But,
on a serious note:
Q: Bernie, the heated discussions about tyres seem to have occupied a huge part of the season so far - culminating in four pit stops for most drivers in Barcelona. Now, from Canada onwards, it seems the goal is to make tyres last longer. How could it come so far?
BE: I asked Pirelli to make tyres that would not complete 50 percent of a race - meaning we need pit stops. And that’s what they did. It is very, very difficult to predict and say these tyres will last 15 or 20 percent of the race because each circuit is different, we are facing very different temperatures, the cars are different, and last but not least each driver has a different driving style. In the times when Niki was racing his biggest concern was looking after the gearbox and the brakes - not the tyres. Then we got away from that and the drivers didn’t have to think about anything. Now they have to use their brains and start thinking about how to win races.
NL: As an ex-driver I can say that Pirelli’s goal was to have the first pit stop after 12 to 15 laps, but with the different factors that Bernie has just explained they sometimes last only four laps. Three pit stops maximum works. That’s it. If you have four stops - and some tyres only lasting four laps - that’s the wrong direction. Now we will have a change from Canada onwards.
BE: The easiest thing for Pirelli would be to produce tyres that you put on at the first race of the season and take off at the last. That would be easy, easy.
Good to know Bernie thinks so highly of drivers....
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