Formula 1’s “Avengers” assemble to reveal keys to F1 title success

During a rare group interview, these icons discussed everything from safety and design innovations to the drivers’ strike of 1982. Arguably their most insightful chat came on the subject of becoming the very best, something they all achieved at least once—with racing respect, calmness under pressure, and hard work all seen as being vital to success.

But it was Fittipaldi who delivered the most cutting insight, arguing that consistency, along with a steel-like toughness in wheel-to-wheel racing, were the marks of a true champion.

Fittipaldi said: “In any high-level international sport like Formula 1, you need to have the mental power to work under stress. When the weekend doesn't work, you have to come back strong again and be consistent the whole year.

“In my time, the most quality was demanded when dicing with each other," he added.

“It’s true,” added Andretti. “You can be touching, but not ridiculous. After a while, you always recognize the person you cannot trust. With the top talent, in my opinion, it’d be very seldom that you’d see that. To me, that’s where you respect your competition.”

Ever the gentleman, Hakkinen heaped praise on the likes of Stewart, Andretti, and Fittipaldi for competing at a time when Formula 1 was at its most dangerous. Fittipaldi agreed it was a tricky time, pointing out that one season, there was statistically a 1:3 chance of a driver passing away.

But he also highlighted the work Stewart did with the GPDA to improve safety over the years. Prost said that many of the changes also came after major incidents, including the introduction of stricter stewarding, ambulances, and on-track medical facilities.

The Frenchman also credited the arrival of big OEMs for forcing change—something that Andretti chimed in on, claiming that F1 "wouldn't have survived" the modern world with the previous levels of danger. As you’d expect, Prost & Mansell went on to pay their respects to Ayrton Senna & Roland Ratzenberger, whose deaths “changed the philosophy” of the sport.

In a brutal story of a major crash at Spa, Stewart told his fellow legends about being trapped under his car at a time when there were no stewards whatsoever. Fortunately, two others had crashed at the same turn, who essentially rushed over to save his life. He also said something about being treated naked around nuns—drawing a cackle or two. We'll let you laugh at this yourself!

As legends in their own right, it’s hard to imagine these champions having racing heroes of their own. But Andretti was quite happy to share how he idolized Italian motorsport growing up—especially its superstar drivers like Alberto Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio.

Interestingly, Fittipaldi was keen to highlight the influence of British drivers on his early passion for F1, with Bruce McLaren, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, and Jackie Stewart all getting name-checked. As a (relative) youngster in the group, Villeneuve had similarly kind things to say about many of the champions he was sitting with but explained how his father was always No. 1.

Villeneuve said: “It’s a bit different for me, you know, because my dad was my hero when I was a kid. The first time I got into an F1 paddock, there were Mario and Emerson. I had my own tiny little race suit. I used to walk around and get it signed. That was special.

“But when I was old enough to really understand racing, there were two edges—Alain and Nigel," he added. "You were both different ends of the sword to emulate. There was the work to get everything out of the setup, and then there was the beast, overtaking on the outside!”

The Canadian actually raced against three of his fellow interviewees during his first season at IndyCar—Mansell, Andretti & Fittipaldi. Not bad company for a 22-year-old rookie.

Returning to the subject of what makes a great champion, all seven seemed to agree on one thing: building a team around you is essential. Villeneuve described it as “chemistry” with the team; Stewart emphasised that in his time, engineers ensured consistency and survival.

Clearly still F1-obsessed, Andretti said that drivers need to have a “passion, love, and ability to think about things that are almost impossible.” He explained this was necessary to fight off equally talented guys with hard work—or, as he put it, “You admire everyone around you because of what they’ve accomplished. How do I do the same thing, maybe even better?”

“We all had a connection with the engineers and team, to motivate them. It’s something that can be very difficult to explain,” agreed Prost. At one point or another, all great F1 champions find this connection—the likes of Schumacher at Ferrari were a match made in heaven. Along with hard work, talent, and mental fortitude, our legends seemed to agree that teamwork makes the dream work.

You can check out the full video on this “Avengers”-style assembly of champions here. Stay tuned for more from the current crop of F1 stars at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix from August 29-31, 2025.