Home F1 Podcast: Jakobi opens up on Senna/Prost, work with Perez & more

Podcast: Jakobi opens up on Senna/Prost, work with Perez & more

02/05/2020

This week’s episode of F1 Beyond The Grid saw talent manager Julian Jakobi as the guest, as he spoke to Tom Clarkson about Ayrton Senna/Alain Prost, the 1993 contract talks, and his current operation.

The new F1 Beyond The Grid podcast took us back in time with topics relating to Senna and Prost along with Michael Schumacher plus inside contract talks from Jakobi. Here’s the things which were covered in chat with Clarkson:

As is usual, the chat began with Clarkson asking Jakobi about how his life is going, and once this was out of the way, the bulk of the episode began.
Discussing his driver management job, he mentioned the changes he has experienced since the beginning of his career. The major principles, said Jakobi, are the same; however, he did note that communication methods and contract lengths have changed.
The manager also revealed that Prost told him to look into Senna and consider him as a client – it later turned out that the two would become fierce rivals.
Jakobi then spoke about what Senna was like as a client, revealing the complicated nature of his contracts. He also hailed him as the smartest person he’s ever worked with, across music, entertainment, sport, and other sectors.
Next he spoke about the winter of 1992-1993, when he managed both Senna and Prost, and had to deal with both of his clients vying to go to the team of Williams – which had only one available seat. However, he also noted that the Brazilian was more loyal to Honda than he was interested in Williams.
Adding detail, Jakobi recalled how talks went for 1993 between Senna and McLaren, when the Brazilian demanded $1 million per race, and refused to show up to events until he was paid, resulting in him being late to a race at Imola, and a few other rounds.
Continuing with the Senna/Prost theme, Jakobi shared that he personally felt that the animosity between the two was inflated, and not as real as portrayed.
This led to a discussion about the ‘Senna’ film and its accuracy. Sharing more anecdotes, Jakobi told of his work with Schumacher, and how Senna respected him.
With regards to Senna’s relationship with James Hunt, Jakobi spoke about how the two interacted with each other, as he also told some funny stories about late-night outings in the Brit’s Austin van.
Switching gears slightly, he opined on how he personally interacted. On a less professional and more emotional note, he spoke about the Imola 1994 race, how he handled it, and the emotions that came with his business friend’s passing.
Discussion about Senna’s funeral led to chats about his presence in Brazil, which Jakobi stated was more significant than that of Pele. Clarkson inquired about whether or not a Senna F1 team was ever considered, and after this Jakobi discussed his involvement in Prost GP, as he hypothesized about what led to its demise.
Moving away from the Senna/Prost era of his career, he talked about his former client David Coulthard – he also discussed why Dario Franchitti was unsuccessful, as he cited politics primarily.
After this, he spoke about Jacques Villeneuve, and his career. Fast-forwarding in time, Juilan told of his latest work with Sergio Perez, as he discussed some of the Mexican’s deals and career moves, as well as the thought process behind them.
As the podcast began to wrap up, Jakobi answered a hypothetical question about any drivers he’d have liked to work with, or would like to work with in the future.