Greatest Racecar? Rene Arnoux’s 1983 Ferrari 126 C2

My greatest racecar has to come from my Formula One experience. Every part of an F1 car is designed to go very, very fast and each car is specifically made for maximum speed. From the start of my motor racing career, I had many good experiences in other cars of different formulas. For me, Formula Renault was particularly very good. When I arrived in F1 though, it provided me with the maximum sensations of speed. An F1 car is really interesting because you brake when you turn into a corner, you use the aerodynamic forces of the car, the suspension too, and you control the car on the exit with the power of the engine.

Driving for the Ferrari team, especially in F1—but with sports cars, too—the fans soon know your name, and your name is soon known all around the world because of the many fans, or the “tifosi.” Winning for Ferrari in F1, Le Mans, or sports prototype is a worldwide story. You could say that Ferrari is a major part of the world. I remember when I first went to Ferrari, and had a nice lunch with Enzo. He was a nice and interesting man; all his life was given to preparing special cars for the road and for the racing circuits. When I won for Renault, it was good, and I had many good experiences with the team; but when I won for Ferrari, the whole world knew what I had done—and that was very special for me.