“Nico [Rosberg] is not seeking the limelight as Lewis [Hamilton] does. Lewis wants to be famous.”

Don’t forget I started looking at China a long time before any of those races happened. I always thought go east, not west.

Waiters are like hookers, never around when you want them.

Under the engine cover, no one cares what’s in there. Nobody cares.

Women should be all dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances.

I can’t remember a single occasion when I have been kind to a journalist.

If you’re going to take the attitude, I don’t think it will work, you will never do anything.

But when it comes to F1 I am a huge Lewis [Hamilton] fan because he is a super promoter of the sport. From a pure business aspect – sorry Nico if I have to say this – you are not so good for my business.

I have a lot of faith in justice systems around the world even though there were cases in the past where that faith wasn’t justified in some countries.

I have 100 percent confidence in the German judicial system.

[When I’ll be old I see myself] as a world champion, on a big farm with an Italian-style, big family with a whole bunch of grandchildren. And the foundations for that I have already laid!

Lewis [Hamilton] is a hero in the UK. The British love Formula One. Sebastian (Vettel) is also not doing much for F1. People hardly recognize him on the street.

Our sport is ruled whether it’s for good and bad, or whatever, for technical things. There’s lots of teams out there that could and should have done better if they’d have had technical things. I suppose in the end that basically revolves around how much money they’re gonna get.

When people want to built new tracks, they want to look at Silverstone. We don’t want it built like that. It’s quite embarrassing.

I’ve never told anybody this, so I don’t know if maybe you shouldn’t print it, but I’ve made plans. I’m only going to continue doing this for another 25 years.

It’s the best thing to happen to a sport, that you have a superstar. In football there is always something to write about the Beckhams, same as people want to write about Rooney or Hooney or whatever his bloody name is.

It’s not as easy as that… it’s disappointing to think that all these countries spend a lot of money trying to get the Olympics.

And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is a famous basketball player. I want to really learn the business.

I’ve never not been famous.

Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work.

I was the most famous kid in the United States. That was 1936.

Wanting to be an actor and wanting to be famous are different.

What I’ve said before, only half in joke, is that everybody in Ireland is famous. Or, maybe better, say everybody is familiar.

The result, I think, is pretty interesting … we don’t expect to make a fortune at it or ever be popular or famous or worshipped or hit The Ed Sullivan Show or the circuses or the big top.

I begged the universe to make me a famous comedian, and it did. So I tend not to ask for any more.