“I was looking at the history of the sport and I couldn’t understand why there have been so many good South American drivers, especially Brazilians.”

When I test I never go right to the limit. Only because when you are below the limit you can go at the same speed all day, and that’s the only way you can be absolutely sure about what you are testing.

Do you know, why I really love my helmet that much? Because it makes me 15 centimetres taller!

So I know at the beginning of the race, from all that I have analysed during the practice, whether I will win the race or not.

Sometimes it also helps you to understand the mentality of the people in the team a bit better.

I like the mentality of the Americans. It’s like when you talk about money.

I have always had this mentality because I hated to break anything on the car.

I think maybe the English don’t want to try something and look stupid, because they are a bit reserved.

That is an important part of my success. Another big part of my success is that I hated not to finish a race.

I always work the same way, starting from the beginning of the weekend.

Maybe I am not French, maybe I am from nowhere.

In 1980 I finished three or four times in seventh place.

When I drove for British teams… they called me The Tadpole because I was too small to be a frog.

In 1980 I finished three or four times in seventh place. I pushed like mad, yet everyone was gathered around the winner and they were thinking that I was just trundling around. But that’s motor racing.

One of my biggest problems this season was with the clutch at the start of the race. I hate to risk the car.

When you win a race like this the feeling is very, very good. There have been times when I have been flat-out to finish sixth, but you can’t see that from the outside.

The people who criticise you will not be the ones taking care of your legs when you are in your wheelchair.

I watch that. How does he treat the waiter? How does he treat the coat-check girl? How does he treat the driver?

I was one of the many horses pulling the wagon and couldn’t escape left or right because of the will of the driver.

The different parts of the automobile like the ignition switch, the various buttons, the steering wheel – the interfaces between the driver and the machine – is our spirit or heart.

I always said that you can use the same vehicle although the driver will change, or the same vehicle to go for the race. It’s a different driver, this is exactly what’s happening to the cabinet.

Democrats should be getting high-fives from sanitation truck drivers – that is what should be happening in America.

They said that women can’t be good drivers. So, she became a fearless pilot.

My mother taught me that no matter how you earn a living, whether you’re a caregiver or truck driver, grocery store clerk or small business owner, every job has inherent value and worth.

Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.