Jos still hopeful for this season
Published on 05 June 2002 by Thorsten Hendriks
As mentioned before we regularly have an extensive interview with Jos and every two weeks a little chat about the past and upcoming Grand Prix. This is a combination of the two. We are speaking to Jos on the telephone while he was watching USA-Portugal.
"We have some really good contacts with Formula 1 teams, I do not rule out a return this season. Main focus though is next season."
Last week one of his pupils Giedo van der Garde from Belgium drove a World Championship kart race in Superclass A. Jos was there and watched this talented driver, who is drving for Jos's team.
How did Giedo do last weekend?
"Reasonably well, the World Championship in the Superclass A (highest class in kart) is 5 races, this was the first one. Every race has 2 finals, in the first Giedo was third and in the second he came fourth. We had some problems with the carburator in the last final. The next race is in Finland in 3 weeks."
Have you seen future F1 talents in the karts?
"You never know if they will make it to the highest platform, but there are some talented drivers around. Giedo is one of them, but Carlo van Dam and Ben Henley are very good too. Besides Giedo and Carlo there are two other Dutchmen in this class, Pascal Westerhof and Randy Bakker. This class is particularly tough. Thirty-two of the best karters participate. Not only young people are racing in this class, there are some drivers who I drove against in this World Championship. They are my age, real kart professionals."
Does your wife Sophie still drive karts?
"Sometimes but not very often. She once was in this Superclass A. Last year she drove about 10 laps but it was to heavy for her."
You hoped for a rapid return in F1. What are your feeling about that now we are half way the season?
"You never know. We keep contact with various teams, with some teams even very good and I do not rule out a return on a short term. We are aiming for next season but if we can get a drive for this season that would be nice."
Are you going to the Nurburgring in 3 weeks?
"Yes, I will be there. Just to show my face. Not really necessary but it can't harm to speak to your ex-colleagues."
Who was the one you last spoke out of F1?
"I speak to F1 people weekly. The last one was Greg Wheeler, my last engineer with Arrows who is currently with Minardi. What talked about? Mainly his experiences with the new team, but in overall we spoke about anything: teams, races, what is happening, rumours, just general chit chat."
Some drivers have hobbies next to their F1 career, some are suprising even. Eddie Irvine can often be found behind his drumkit, ex-F1 driver Damon Hill plays guitar and Michael Schumacher loves to play football. Do you have a hobby which is unknown to us?
"Not really, karting and tuning engines. Those are the ones I likes the most. Cycling is another one, a couple of years ago you could find me on the water front fishing. I don't have the patience for that anymore. Sometimes I play some football but I won't fly to Monaco for a special match, like the one a couple of weeks ago with Michael Schumacher."
How many hours a day do you spend on physical fitness?
" It vazries, on average it will be 2-3 hours. Mainly cycling and exercising in the gym"
The race in Monaco, Sato's crash. Was that due to lack of experience or just dumb luck?
"I didn't find it a very smart move. If you have to make way for your team mate, you have to do that. But not in the tunnel! It is the fastest part of the Monaco circuit and there is only one racing line. Monaco is very though on the tyres and it creates a lot of mess on the track. If you move off your racing line in the tunnel you loose your grip completely. He should of moved over on a slower part of the circuit, plenty of them around in Monaco."
Overtaking is difficult, but not impossible. Some drivers are capable of doing that anyway. David Coulthard was not able to pass Enrique Bernoldi last year. You overtook 5 drivers in the same Grand Prix, how much guts is involved?
"Guts is one of the essentials for an F1 driver, so that won't be it. None of them are afraid to explore beyond the borderline. It is a combination of good preparation, patience, tactics and maybe a bit more guts than normal. Good preparation: where are the possibilities, know your circuit, where am I able to go off my racing line, patience, pressurise the driver in front of you, basically you try to drive him crazy and force him to make an error. Your reputation can be important too."
You have been part of the development of the Arrows A23. It appears to be a competitive car. Where do you think Arrows have made the most progress?
"On two fronts; the engine, the Cosworth has 70BHP more that the Asiatech. Secondly the aerodynamics, it is not one single improvement, it is the total package. Each modification has effect on the whole car. With Petrucci joining Arrows from Ferrari has made their aerodynamics improve by 15%."
What is the main difference between you and Heinz Harald Frentzen?
"You can't compare apples with pears. Look at Button, last year he was slower than Fissichella in the Benetton, now he is faster than Trulli. You can't compare the cars from 2 different years. In general; Frentzen is good in qualifying but I am the better starter and racer."
