After forty years of working in Formula One, former McLaren team co-ordinator Jo Ramirez joins the millions of racing fans who watch the action on TV. Now writing for Atlas F1, Jo follows the 2002 season in a personal column, which comes straight from the heart of a guy who is, after all, just a racing man...

The Brazilian Grand Prix is now, of course, the only South American Grand Prix on the F1 calendar, and as such it is very close to my heart - not only because I have been involved with a few Brazilian drivers, but also because the country is very colourful, the music is great and the people are very warm. "So many women, so little time..." Yes, I will definitely be missing going to this Grand Prix.

The Brazilian Grand Prix ran in Sao Paulo at Interlagos in the 1970s and then moved to Rio de Janeiro at Jacarepagua in 1981, which is where everyone just fell in love with this venue.

Rio is synonymous with fun, samba and beautiful women. In those days, we used to have two (and in one year even three) Rio tests before the race. I remember working from as early as 07:30 in the morning until as late as midnight, then going back to the hotel for a quick freshening-up and into the clubs and discotheques until three or four in the morning. Doing this day after day, I do not know where we got the stamina for it, now that I think about it, but we survived.

Furthermore, on those days the race was either a few days before the Carnival or a few days after, so even if you were not lucky enough to extend your trip to participate in that, the atmosphere was there already.

Typically to any South American city, the road traffic is heavy, the restrictions and rules almost nonexistent, and the priority is granted to whoever is quicker on the gas. Of course, I myself was used to this, but the European and British were always taken by surprise. Maybe that is why so many good drivers come from that side of the Globe, as they were practically testing every day.

Which remind me of a lift I took once from the Intercontinental Hotel in the outskirts of Rio to the circuit in Jacarepagua with Gilles Villeneuve... and I thought that I was a good driver in traffic, having once beaten Lorenzo Bandini from Monza to Milan in my 500 Fiat back in 1962! But Gilles was absolutely crazy. He used to judge the reaction of the people in front and dive in the opposite side, getting away with it every time. I don't know whether I enjoyed the experience or not, but I've certainly learned never to get a lift from Gilles again.

Back in those days, the economic situation was very unstable in Brazil, so you always had to find a friendly taxi driver or hotel porter who would agree to exchange your dollars at a better rate. Knowing the language, I had some contacts right in the center of Rio who would sell me cruzeiros at a handsome profit, and I used to arrive in a hired car with some $30,000 in cash, wrapped in a brown bag, in order to pay for the hotels and other incidentals for the team. This saved uncle Ron four or five thousand USD, but in retrospect the thought of this frightens me, as sadly some people down there would kill for a lot less than that, and I don't think that Ron appreciated either that I risked my life more that his drivers!

Due to the economic situation and the rivalry between the two big cities in Brazil, we were warned that the Grand Prix would go back to Sao Paulo. This was one of the few times that Bernie Ecclestone let me down, as I remember saying to him, "Bernie, we don't want to go back to Sao Paulo, do we?" and his reply was, "Don't worry Jo, if they want a Grand Prix in Brazil, it has to be in Rio!" Bernie was also a great admirer of Rio, however as the saying goes, money talks! Mind you, the other alternative was Brasilia - and that is worse than Slough in England, if you know what I mean...

The Grand Prix returned to Interlagos, Sao Paulo, in 1990 - this time with a revised and shorter circuit, similar to what it is now, taking some of the fast corners away, one of which (turn one) was sadly missed by the real racers, as it was one of those that separated the men from the boys.

Interlagos is always hard to adjust to, especially when arriving from two of the best circuits of the year - Melbourne and Sepang. In terms of space, facilities and organisation, Brazil is really the pits! Nothing works, there is not enough space, everything is badly done and temporary, the sanitary conditions are a disaster. Last year, I really lost my cool and as I was complaining to the staff, a reporter of one of the leading Brazilian papers heard me and approached me for an interview, so it gave me great pleasure to get it off my chest.

Next morning, on the front page of the Estado de Sao Paulo, the headline read: "Jo Ramirez lashes out at Interlagos installations" and I nearly lost one of my best friends in Brazil - Thamas Rohony, the promoter of the race. Mind you, after a few Caipirinhas in the bar, he agreed that my criticism was constructive and designed to keep the Grand Prix in Brazil. In fact, I really feared last year that they had hit rock bottom and were not going to get away with it, therefore something had to be done to keep it on the calendar, and no one wanted to keep it more that I.

Therefore, I was very happy to hear that visual and constructive improvements have been made this year. For us Latin Americans it would be a total disaster to lose this race.

As for the race itself - there is no much to say about... A German family affair, and sadly we will have to get used to it. Another fine race for Michael Schumacher, and an excellent strategy by Ross Brawn - but we have already grown to expect this.

The big disappointment was losing the chance to see another epic between Michael and Juan Pablo Montoya. In spite of whatever Juan Pablo might say, I believe that in an overtaking manoeuver the responsibility lies with the man behind, and being a racer, patience is a virtue that Juan Pablo does not possess, specially when the man in front is a tough cookie like Michael. A great shame, since Juan Pablo was definitely the fastest man-and-car combination on Sunday, therefore losing an almost sure victory and valuable points on Michael.

Montoya will now have to wait another year for his "home" Grand Prix, one he has twice been so close to winning. Third time lucky?... But don't worry Juan Pablo, Ayrton was also caught a few times by his own impetuosity and lack of patience; you will get there eventually. The important thing is to have the speed and the heart in the right place, which you most certainly have.

Great to see the Scotsman back on the podium, driving a reliable McLaren chassis but with a definitely struggling Mercedes engine. Will Mercedes be able to gain more power in the near future, or will Renault take the last place among the Top Three teams? I always thought that sooner or later the absence of Paul Morgan at Ilmor Racing Engines would be felt, as he was a brilliant, all round engineer as well as a genius in the art of manufacture.

Another big disappointment for Rubinho - once again so near and yet so far to a good finish in his home Grand Prix. He was going so quick that I thought he must be running on empty tanks, and when he finally stopped I thought, 'Oh my god - he's run out of fuel...'

What a big treat for Brazil and the world to have the great football king Pele waving the chequered flag, even if he missed the winners! Seeing him reminded me of one of Ayrton Senna's great wins at Interlagos, in 1991, the second race of the year and his second victory.

We ended up celebrating at San Paulo's top discotheque. Pele was there with Ayrton, some of Ayrton's family and close friends, Galvao Bueno (Brazil's Murray Walker) and myself. The place was frighteningly full with most of the F1 circus and Brazil petrol heads, and police had to be called in for crowd control. We covered Ayrton in champagne and pinga (a Brazilian brandy) and threw him up in the air until he told us that he was afraid of heights!

Nowadays, it seems like Formula One had forgotten how to celebrate, but back then, for myself, it was almost a dream to be there with two of the greatest sportsmen in the world... that's one to tell the grandchildren!

And now we're back to Europe, for San Marino... Arrivederci a presto!

See you in two weeks,

Jo X

About the author:
Jo Ramirez began working in Formula One in 1961, when he arrived to Europe from Mexico with his childhood friend Ricardo Rodriguez. He worked as a mechanic and a team manager with Dan Gurney, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ken Tyrrell and many others, before making McLaren his home for 18 years - where he worked as team co-ordinator between the years 1983 and 2001 and where he made life-long friendships with the sport's top drivers. Jo retired from F1 at the end of the 2001 season. He joined Atlas F1 as a regular columnist in February 2002.