82 7August2019 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk
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If youwantthe best
value, funniest, most
healthilycynical bloke
on the F1 scene over
the last three decades,
look no further
Do youagree with Mike?
Have your sayatfacebook.com/autoexpress @The_Rutherford
DRIVEN
TESTED
Rutherford
Mike
Au
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ia
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Drivesl Features &Sport
BMW330eplug-in
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go head-to-head
NewVWT-Roc
Cabriounmasked
Volkswagen targets RangeRover
Evoque with all-newsoft-top star
We try production-ready version of
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Super Skoda Scala TDI facesupto
frugal rivals from Ford and Honda
HONESTLY,it’sbeenapleasureandaprivilege
toride(andoccasionallydrive)withafew
famousFormulaOnefacesoverthedecades.
Somewereheretoday,gonetodaytypesthat
merelyhelpedmakeupthenumbers.Remember
TakiInoueandhiscomedicfiveminutesoffame?
Othersseemedstuckinmidfieldterritorybecause,
despiteseemingtohavetalent,theyfoundthemselves
intherightteamsatthewrongtimes,withtheadded
problemoflackinghungerandconfidence.Aperfect
examplewasserial‘nearly-man’MartinBrundle,
formerlyofthisparish(whereIghostwrotehispost-
racecolumnsthatcouldn’tmentionhisGPwins–
becausethereweren’tany).Mindyou,it’sgoodhe’s
takenoverfromMurrayWalkerasthevoiceofF1.
OfthedriversI’vemet,sixstandout:JuanManuel
Fangio,SirStirlingMoss,EmersonFittipaldi,Michael
Schumacher,NigelMansell,and,er,PerryMcCarthy.
It’sblindinglyobviouswhyI’veincludedthefirst
fiveinmy‘truegreats’list.Numbersixisharderto
explain.McCarthy’sGPrecordwasn’tgreat.Itwasn’t
evengood.Butifyou’relookingforthefunniest,best
value,mosthealthilycynicalblokeontheF1scene
overthelastthreedecades,looknofurther.
Afteritdidn’tquitegotoplaninGPracing,Perry
droveforAudiattheLeMans24Hours;he’llgodown
inhistoryasthefirstStig;he’scarvedoutasuccessful
careerasanafter-dinner/motivationalspeaker;and
heevenbecameabest-sellingauthorwithhishilariousFlatOutFlatBrokebook.
At58,15yearsafterhe‘retired’,he’snowthecomebackkid/dad–thankstohisdecision
toraceintheTitansRXEuropeanRallycrossChampionship,wherehedescribesthestart-
lineprocessassimilartopullingthepinoutofahandgrenadethenwaitingforthe
explosion(behindthewheelinhiscase)tooccur.Buthestillkeepstabsonhisoldpals
plusthenewkidsinF1.Andwhileit’snosurprisethathenominates“genius”Lewis
Hamilton,MaxVerstappenandSebastianVettelashistopdrivers(inthatorder),he
talkswithalmostasmuchenthusiasmaboutAlexanderAlbonandLandoNorris.
AsforFormulaE,McCarthyseesitasaninevitableandwelcomeadditiontoglobal
motorsport.Andheagreesthatthedriversandteamsarehugelytalented,committedand
professional.Buthehintsthatit’sspoiledbytemporarycircuitsthataretoonarrow.
McCarthy’sfromamodestbackground,andhisfinancialtroubleswerefargreaterthan
mostF1drivers’(hehalfjokesthathelookedforafastfoodsponsorsohecouldputmeals
onthetableforthefamily).I’msurprisedhedoesn’tobjecttoTVviewershavingtopayto
seeliveF1racesonsatellitetelevision.Hearguesthat,comparedtothecostofdad,mum
andtwokidstravellingtoandpayingtoattendaGrandPrix,TVviewingisabargain.
F1’sgreatestoff-trackshowman,McCarthycouldandshouldbemoreinvolved.Agood
startwouldbetomotivatedriverswhoseemtired,miserable,jumpedupandlessthan
hungrytowin.Let’sfaceit,mostofthemneedakickfromsomeonelikePerry.Andwhile
he’satit,hecanteachthemtogetapersonality...andtalkproper.Ain’tthatright,Kimi?
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