A Childhood Absorbed in Gokart Racing
• First, we’d like to hear your impressions of the Goodwood Festival this year. A great number of motorsport fans gather here every year to see the cars and drivers. How did you feel about your demonstration drives yesterday and today?
“I think this festival is just an amazing event for die-hard motorsport fans. This is my third time participating—I have driven an F1 car every time. The course here isn’t particularly long, but the main thing is to help all of the fans have a great time.”

• How do you view this event from the perspective of a father?
“I think it’s great. When I was young I always wished there was an event like this where I could come and see F1 cars up close. I wanted to see the team cars and the historic racing cars—meet the drivers. So I think this is a wonderful opportunity for kids. If I had time, I would have brought my own kids, but it’s not possible with the testing schedule and getting things ready for the next race. If I have time next year, I will definitely bring my family. There is just an enormous number of really interesting cars here.”

Panis, signing autographs for every child who wants one.

• Looking back on your own childhood, what is your first memory of motorsports?
“When I was a kid, I had gokarts on the brain. I can still remember the battles between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. I guess that would be my strongest memory. Another memory is a scene from the Mexico GP where Nigel Mansell of Ferrari passed Gerhardt Berger. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I guess these are the two strongest motorsports memories from my childhood. When I was younger—I was born in 1966—I was about ten, but I remember being very excited about fast cars, like the Renault.

• Did you always dream of becoming a racer?
“No. At first I was very much into soccer. But once I got into gokarts, people around me began to say that I had a special something. After that, I was doing nothing but gokarting, and then I entered the Elf School. I was the top at the school. I had dreamed of becoming an F1 driver, but it seemed very distant at the time. I feel so fortunate to have been able to come this far in my career.”

• When was the first time you were convinced that you could become an F1 driver?
“I suppose it was when I took the F3000 title in 1993. Up until that point, I felt that there were so many drivers, and that competition was so tough that it wasn’t going to happen for me.”

• What do you think it was that allowed you to actually become an F1 driver?
“I think that being lucky enough to come out on top at the Elf School was a major factor. After that, I had some big sponsors come along. I was also blessed with a terrific team. I was able to drive some great cars in F3 and F3000. I think those factors were a big help on my way to the F1 series. Then I got a sponsor from France…and Ligier was a French team, too. After that I drove F1 non-stop.”