Why did Williams sack Thierry Boutsen rather than Patrese after 1990?

[ArrowsFA1]

I think, as has been said, that it's simply a case of Boutsen being out of contract at the end of the year and, knowing that Mansell was signed, he 'jumped before he was pushed'.

I always had the feeling that Boutsen wasn't a great fit at Williams whereas Patrese certainly was. Riccardo was always very much a team player, and worked hard with Renault to develop the car/engine combination that was to prove so successful.

[wedge]

When did Mansell announce his 'retirement'?

[rjbetty]

When did Mansell announce his 'retirement'?

British GP 1990 when he retired having been on pole. He announced his retirement but no-one was surprised when he signed for Williams soon after. If only it had been Jean Alesi! He might have won 6 championships in a row maybe... ('92-'97)

[wedge]

I think, as has been said, that it's simply a case of Boutsen being out of contract at the end of the year and, knowing that Mansell was signed, he 'jumped before he was pushed'.

I always had the feeling that Boutsen wasn't a great fit at Williams whereas Patrese certainly was. Riccardo was always very much a team player, and worked hard with Renault to develop the car/engine combination that was to prove so successful.

I seem to remember from Mansell's autobiography that when he first tested for Williams it originally had Boutsen's settings with the suspension too soft. When stiffened to Mansell's liking he was at least a second quicker, IIRC.

When this test took place I cannot remember.

[Bruce D]

I always had the feeling that Boutsen wasn't a great fit at Williams whereas Patrese certainly was.

You're right. Something about that interview with Boutsen I mentioned before always struck me as strange, almost like he was frustrated at Williams, which is very odd given that they had a decent top 6 car at that stage and Ligier didn't have a top 10 car. Maybe he felt, wrongly as it turned out, that he had a greater contribution to the success of Williams than it looked.

[The Black Knight]

British GP 1990 when he retired having been on pole. He announced his retirement but no-one was surprised when he signed for Williams soon after. If only it had been Jean Alesi! He might have won 6 championships in a row maybe... ('92-'97)

Indeed. Jean Alesi, to me, is a guy that showed such huge promise and never delivered. I really felt that he was WDC material. What an underachiever. It's such a shame. He was incredibly quick with incredible reflexes but as the years passed by his speed just seemed to diminish and he became complacent.

[wedge]

Looked up on Wiki and Boutsen was on a two year contract.

Williams and Mansell were talking throughout 1990 but were stalled because Senna was using Williams to renegotiate with McLaren - hence Mansell's 'retirement'.

I know that Patrese had a strong working relationship with Williams (did Boutsen sense this?) but out of interest (Arrows?) how long did Patrese initially sign for Williams?

Indeed. Jean Alesi, to me, is a guy that showed such huge promise and never delivered. I really felt that he was WDC material. What an underachiever. It's such a shame. He was incredibly quick with incredible reflexes but as the years passed by his speed just seemed to diminish and he became complacent.

Except that Alesi was a muppet. There's Motorsport podcast which validates this - Nigel Roebuck doing an impression of Flavio telling Alesi to pit during the 1996 Australian GP and Alesi completely ignoring the message and ran out of fuel! Roebuck says he has the whole recording of the debacle.

[ArrowsFA1]

I know that Patrese had a strong working relationship with Williams (did Boutsen sense this?) but out of interest (Arrows?) how long did Patrese initially sign for Williams?

No idea I'm afraid wedge

[wewillbebest]

just Remember Mansell had already said he was retiring at Silverstone in July and I think he started negotiating with Williams and Renault pretty soon after that, so Boutsen just jumped before he was thrown out.

[The Black Knight]

Except that Alesi was a muppet. There's Motorsport podcast which validates this - Nigel Roebuck doing an impression of Flavio telling Alesi to pit during the 1996 Australian GP and Alesi completely ignoring the message and ran out of fuel! Roebuck says he has the whole recording of the debacle.

You said it. He was a muppet. It was such a shame. I always felt that were he coached in the right manner he could have been a WDC once at least.