Maybe Eddie Cheever not a well-known name to new fans of the Formula 1but he is a legendary figure in American motorsport. Arizona pilot brags the record for Grand Cirque races in which a pilot from the country participated (143) and started (132). And although he never managed to win a Grand Prix, he finished seventh in the overall drivers' standings in 1983 and took a total of nine podiums.. One of them occurred during the 1982 Las Vegas Grand Prix, in the Palace of the Caesarsin a hot, messy and short-lived race that capped one of the most chaotic seasons in World Cup history.
This date was not like the current Las Vegas GP takes place on the Stripfull of celebrities and being a high profile event. The track was built improvised in the parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel. And it took place on a hot September afternoon, with temperatures near 40ºC.
“Yeah, it was daytime and in the middle of the desert it was pretty damn hot,” Cheever said with a laugh in an interview with Motorsport.com. “I remember in the beginning all the fast turns were either very right or very left. Exhausting for the neck muscles“.
But despite all this and within the French team Talbot Ligier-Matra, anchored in the middle of the grid, Cheever has surpassed big names like Nigel Mansell, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost or his compatriot Mario Andretti to take third place. And more could have been done: “My car was running great that day,” he recalls.
“When entering the first corner, I locked the wheels [en un incidente] with Michele Alboreto and one of the bent steering rods “Could I have won the race without this?”I would have had a lot more fun if I hadn't collided with Alboreto“.
The Caesars Palace Grand Prix was the final round of the infamous 1982 Formula One season. Drivers went on strike during opening race in South Africa. Later, Gilles Villeneuve and Riccardo Paletti died in separate but tragic incidents. Keke Rosberg finally won the World Cup despite only one victory. So our website caught up with Cheever to talk about this crazy year and his desert racing memories.
The interview with Eddie Cheever
Obviously, Formula 1 is booming in the United States right now, but things were different in the '80s. What do you remember about the way Las Vegas was received back then? What do you remember about the way they received you in 1982?
I think Formula 1 at the time was not as well promoted as it is today. They put a lot of effort into Netflix and the teams gave much more open access. Before, I had the feeling that in Formula 1, we were the animals, the ones on one side of the fence, and the public on the other, and they separated us. But I don't have any bad memories of the race. It was interesting. There is no place like it in the world. It made perfect sense to hold a race there, but when you compare a circuit like Spa to Las Vegas… It was little more than a parking lot.
He also scored a podium in Detroit that year, on a street circuit. How did this race compare to Las Vegas?
The truth is that I liked this circuit more than the one in Las Vegas. Formula 1 cars were very powerful at that time and it was fun. I remember the fight against Didier Pironi in his Ferrari, he had all the advantage coming out of corners with a turbo engine, and I had more of an advantage when braking. Physically it was very hard, it was very easy to make a mistake. I felt proud of this race.
The season began with a drivers' strike before the first race: new rules would be implemented to control how much money drivers could earn and set a minimum number of years they had to spend with a team.
The South African strike? You could write an entire book about her.
It must have been intense.
It all started with Niki Lauda, who was the only one to read the document! He kept telling everyone, “If we're not careful, they'll control everything, the money we get and who we run for.” It meant a lot more to a driver like Niki than to me, who had just started in Formula 1.
And is it true that all the drivers locked themselves in a hotel room to boycott the race until a solution was found?
It was strange, all sleeping in the same room, blocking the door, making sure no one could get in. It was fun.
Equality was also a feature of this season. At one point, nine different drivers won nine races in a row and Keke Rosberg won the championship with just one victory. It must have been exciting not knowing who would win each week.
Yes, I agree, but one of the amazing things about Formula 1 is the technical prowess a team can have to simply dominate. They shouldn't call it a drivers championship. It should be an engineers/drivers championship. Just count how many races and championships Adrian Newey has won. It's much more than the best drivers, perhaps more than the combination of the best three.
Two drivers also died that season, a much more common fate at the time. How did you and the other drivers handle this situation at the time?
Of all the things I've done in Formula 1, the thing I'm most proud of is the one I had no control over: surviving it all unscathed. Now, I wouldn't get in one of those cars to buy a liter of milk. They evolved very quickly all the time. They didn't offer much protection and we had incredibly powerful engines. They were out of control. arrived [cada vez] more power. Later, when I drove for Renault, I couldn't believe the amount of downforce and power they had. Back then, we didn't put as much effort into making cars safer as we do today, and obviously that's a good thing.
Is F1 still around today? Are you surprised that its popularity is skyrocketing in the United States?
I watch a race from time to time. And yes, I'm pleasantly surprised that my friends are talking about Formula 1 and not just NASCAR. Yes, NASCAR still rules in the United States, but it's amazing how far Formula 1 has managed to shorten. The Netflix decision was a very smart decision. Everyone, of all ages, was talking about it.
What did you think of last year's race in Las Vegas?
What caught my attention the most was the length of the finish line. The amount of money they put into Las Vegas, probably being one of the best organized races. But it is so different that it is striking for a European. I'm American, I understand it and I know Las Vegas is very different, but for Europeans it must be a real culture shock. And it's a perfect place for Formula 1! It was an interesting choice when I first heard about it, but after watching the race it makes sense. Agrees.
Does any part of you wish you had the same career in 1982?
I never do that. I don't have any thoughts like that. In fact, you're one of the few people I've talked to about racing in years.
