Alan Jones. The outspoken Aussie who said what he thought

Alan Jones was called “a man’s man” by his boss Frank Williams. In the current trend to make drivers loveable AJ would drive PR/Media people nuts.

The Press Are Like Fans
“I don’t have much respect for them. Every writer has a favourite driver - mostly a driver who will talk to them. The press people are like the fans. They’re for someone and against someone else.There are Ferrari freaks and Lotus freaks and then a huge number of ordinary hangers-on. We get to know them and there are a few of them we take seriously."

Idiot Writers
“Sometimes they accuse us of being thick. I know a lot of people thought that Ronnie Peterson was as thick as two planks. Nothing could be further from the truth. He was highly intelligent, but just did not care to have media people think of him that way. A lot of drivers are thought of just as spoiled brats who can’t think for themselves. A big part of this is played by the press: the I’m-too-stupid-to-think syndrome is an escape from the endless low-level questions they have to face from the idiots who write about them.>

Arrogant,Rude,Boorish Drivers
“The popular notion of the driver as arrogant, rude and boorish, derives from Jochen Rindt and Niki Lauda, both Teutonic and both naturally aggressively offensive. They set a style: if you weren’t rude and arrogant like some Hollywood stereotype of the SS officer, then you hadn’t the balls to be a top racing driver."

Americans Deeply Into Bullshit
“A lot of American drivers can talk their way around a track better than they can drive around one. Americans are simply more deeply into bullshit and technology. Give them a new car perfectly set up and they’ll shove it through wind tunnels and a graduate department of a university and have the car two seconds slower in no time."

French Long Lunches
"The French teams tend to be their own worst enemies. They will do a handful of laps in super-quick times and then retire for a three-hour lunch to celebrate."

A Jockey Won't Win Riding A Donkey
“I get pissed off when people say I’m only winning because I’ve got the best car. Nobody complained when Fangio and Moss dominated in 1955 with Mercedes. Sure they were the best drivers, but they had the best cars. A jockey won’t win the Derby on a donkey.”

Mechanics
"If a mechanic fails to put a bolt on properly, it's his responsibility when the inevitable shunt happens. He knew what his job was and he blew it."

The Racing Life
"It's not all parties. It's about denying a beer when you want one. It's going to bed at 10pm. I don't want to sound like a martyr, but nothing is for nothing."

Clean Driving
"If you need a shave, your hair is all over the place and your fingernails are dirty, I believe you'll have a messy race." etc