A collection of Elio de Angelis quotes spanning his F1 racing career 1978-1986.
“I dedicate this pole position to the memory of Colin Chapman, the man who gave me my first opportunity in a competitive F1 car, and the the Pirelli engineers who have made such improvements in their tyres this year.” – British GP, Brands Hatch, 1983
“The set which I tried lasted, I think, for four corners.” – USA GP, Dallas, 1984
“Tambay was lucky, I came up behind the Ferrari just past the Grandstands. Otherwise, I would have had the pole.” – French GP, Dijon-Prenois, 1984
“I’m sure I could have retained the pole. The car was very good, but on my first run I almost had to stop when Ghinzani was running slowly on the line. And then, on my second run, I came up on Johansson, who moved off the line right in front of me just as I was about to go around him. I just had no luck.” – Brazilian GP, Jacarepagua, 1985
Maybe it’s not the best way to win, but in a way it’s justice. I was catching Prost and then with two laps to go I lost the brakes, so…” – San Marino GP, Imola,1985
“This pole position proves that it’s no fluke that I’m provisionally leading the World Championship. When everything’s going right, I too, can be quick.” – Canadian GP, Montreal, 1985
“Even with my boost higher than I wanted, I couldn’t hold the Ferrari. It was only a matter of time, really…” – Canadian GP, Montreal, 1985
“I hit Patrick really hard. We were locked together against the guard rails for at least 200 metres.” – USA GP, Detroit, 1985
“My car was really good at that stage of the race, and then I came upon a group of three cars with Berger at the back. Three or four times, he blocked me. I think he didn’t care. Finally, he moved over on me, and went over my front wing. I did one lap like that, then stopped for a new nose. They gave me the one from the T car, which is setup for Ayrton, who runs less wing than I do. Therefore on my car this nose gave me bad understeer. All I thought about then was finishing, maybe getting a point or two.” – USA GP, Detroit, 1985
“A difficult race? Of course it was! All my hopes of finishing well were completely ruined.” – USA GP, Detroit, 1985
“(In response to Gerhard Berger) You must realise, that you have ****ed my race for me.” – USA GP, Detroit, 1985
“I feel this will be a tough race. For sure, a lot of retirements – all that flat out straight in the heat. I’m not to worried about starting seventh.” – French GP, Paul Ricard, 1985
“I was driving as smoothly as possible to save the tyres, but when the time came to push harder there was nothing left – it was like driving on ice.” – French GP, Paul Ricard, 1985
“The balance of my car was perfect today, and it was completely wasted because there was no power.” – German GP, Nurburgring, 1985
“It was more than a shame, this was my last race to stay in touch with the Championship this year.” – German GP, Nurburgring, 1985
“The spare car was totally different to my race car, It was much more difficult to drive as it both understeered and oversteered.” – Austrian GP, Osterreichring, 1985
“I wasn’t happy with the balance of my car yesterday, and the engine felt poor. But today, in the wet, it felt good. If it had been dry, I would have improved a lot. But I hope it’s wet bet because I got the setup right today and the Renault engine is good in the rain, more progressive than the others.” – Dutch GP, Zandvoort, 1985
“Once more, Ayrton Senna was very lucky, he was very close to having an accident. When you are lucky, you are lucky. When you’re not…” – Italian GP, Monza, 1985
“I had to slow down because I was sure I was running out of fuel. You know the difference between my car and Ayrton’s at the end? 26 litres…26 litres!!.” – Italian GP, Monza, 1985
“In the afternoon, I had my own car back, but the setup wasn’t good. This has been my problem all the time; unless the setup is right, you destroy qualifiers here.” – Belgian GP, Spa Francorchamps, 1985
“The chassis resisted very well considering the impact. Only the nose cone section got bent up. My neck hurts a lot, and I’ve got pains in my arms and back now.” – European GP, Brands Hatch, 1985
“Ayrton came past me on the left-hand side and went sideways in front of me. If I had not anticipated the problem, we would both have had an accident. It was not necessary.” – South African GP, Kyalami, 1985
“I don’t know what I was thinking about. I just did it and forgot about the rules. Anyway, I wasn’t that disappointed. Soon after the start of the race the green light had come on in the cockpit, and the engine was making funny noises, so for sure it wouldn’t have lasted until the end of the race.” – Australian GP, Adelaide, 1985
“Although the bloody thing’s always going wrong, I sincerely believe in the BT55. The day that it works well, watch out!. For that reason alone, I don’t mind working twice as hard on it’s development. I am eager to see what it’s going to be like when everything is sorted out” – Brazilian GP, Jacarepagua, 1986
“There was just no power for acceleration…no power at all.” – Brazilian GP, Jacarepagua, 1986
“No point in having seven gears…if you can’t find any of them.” – Spanish GP, Jerez, 1986
“Everything seems quick when you’re lying on your back…even when you’re slow.” – Spanish GP, Jerez, 1986