'Drivers announced their availability within hour of death'

Derek Warwick was a Formula 1 driver in the mid 80's to be reckoned with. He had competed well in midfield with Toleman and Renault, but after a disappointing season in 1985, he was left without a seat for the following year. However, the death of a colleague offered opportunities.

Elio de Angelis was killed in a test accident on Paul Ricard in the summer of 1986. Brabham, the team he drove for, had to look for a replacement. How opportunistic Formula 1 drivers can be, is the story of the man who finally got the seat.

“When when Elio was killed at Ricard I was obviously following it like everybody else was,” Warwick told RaceFans. “I was tempted to call Bernie." In the end, Warwick didn't do this because he thought it was inappropriate. Bernie Ecclestone, then team boss at Brabham, must have appreciated that, because after ten days he got a call from Bernie to visit the factory.

Within an hour Ecclestone had all sorts of drivers on the phone

“When I got there, what transpired really was [that] within an hour of Elio passing, [Ecclestone] had all sorts of phone calls from drivers telling him that they were available to fill the seat. I think that disgusted Bernie. He’s got a lot of principles. And the fact that I didn’t call him when went for me, for sure. So he offered me the drive there and then.”

It wouldn't be a happy marriage, by the way. Brabham's BT55 was extremely unreliable and Warwick rarely finished the other races that season. Before 1987 he would make the switch to Arrows.