SEPTEMBER 22, 1997

Goodbye Gerhard

GERHARD BERGER seems to be the man left standing after the annual round of F1 musical chairs and he is now having to face up to the fact that he will almost certainly not be racing in F1 next year. In theory Gerhard could land a drive at Prost, Tyrrell, Stewart or Minardi but he said earlier this year that he was not interested in racing in F1 unless he has a competitive car.

"In F1 you never know what might happen," Gerhard said in Austria. "Sometimes a top drive comes along that you didn't see before. There was some conversation about McLaren but the drive didn't happen. There are still possibilities."

Berger added, however, that he does not know if he wants to continue in F1. "The problem is in my mind," he admitted. "I don't know if I want to continue to drive next year. And until I have made up my mind there is no reason in talking to anybody. But what should I do? If my mind doesn't tell me clearly whether I want to race or not there is no reason to do a deal. My feeling at the moment is to just wait and see what's coming, or what I finally decide." Berger has been racing in F1 since the Austrian GP of 1984 and has won 10 of his 206 Grands Prix.

"I have a few possibilities outside of motor racing," Berger said, "but I find it difficult to imagine a life without F1." Rumors in the F1 paddock have suggested that Berger is likely to have some role in the BMW F1 program announced recently.