Chapter Text
MERCEDES TAKES A RISK ON ROOKIE ROBBY
By Stephan Fredrickson
Published January 26th, 1992
After a second place finish for Mercedes in both the constructor and driver championships, they lost long-time driver William Adamson, as he retired after 13 years in Formula 1. With Jack Abbot in their first seat, the team was expected to sign a veteran, a seasoned driver to back him up in what will most assuredly be his champion run for the 1992 season.
Instead, Mercedes announced this week that they are bringing in a rookie driver from the feeder series, one Michael Robinavitch.
The rookie, best known for going by Robby instead of Robinavitch, has been a racing phenom for years. He comes in at only 18 to Abbot’s 23, both drivers young and inexperienced compared to the other teams.
Reports of the rookie’s cocky attitude have already spelled some issues between him and Abbot. Will Mercedes regret this decision? Or will we all be proven wrong by the young men in silver?
[Documentary clip from the ‘Man-On-Fire’ film released in 2019. The documentary spans over Jack Abbot’s infamous F1 career, interviewing fellow drivers, team principals, and the man himself. This scene is of Abbot being interviewed by someone a part of the Netflix production team off camera. He’s in what appears to be his living room. Toys are scattered on the floor, crayons and dolls strewn about. An engineering text book rests on the coffee table, Abbot’s feet on top of it.]
Interviewer: So, we have to ask about Robby.
Jack Abbot: Obviously you have to ask. Punk haunts me. You know, I once hired a woman to cleanse my spirit because I thought he cursed me? Even had her come sage my house.
I: During the 1992 season?
JA: No, like two years ago. When he became the Red Bull team principal.
I: Why did you think he cursed you?
JA: He’s evil.
I: Willing to elaborate on that?
JA: From the first time we met, on some karting track in Germany, I knew Michael Robinavitch was evil.
I: Wow, uh, that seems intense.
JA: He bit another kid after the race. You just know when a kid’s going to grow up to be an asshole. And he did.
I: And was that concerning for you when you learned he would be your teammate?
JA: No.
I: Why were you not concerned?
JA: Because I’m a bigger asshole.
Mercedes History: Watch Jack Abbot’s Maiden Win (Imola GP 1990 Highlights)
198k views 6y ago
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1.52M
[Video Description: Compilation of clips from the 1990 Imola GP. All of them focus on Jack Abbot’s first win in his rookie year with Mercedes. Clips of him overtaking, weaving through traffic, and his podium celebration make up the video. The footage is lower quality, digitized and uploaded without much improvement.]
Comments 156
@nico.rosseberg 6y ago
God, what a drive. I mourn what he could’ve been with more seasons everyday.
@jackienwilson 4y ago
robby’s better lol
@greg45891 5y ago
Rewatch this before every Imola GP! Love it!
felicity🏁
@browserhistorydeleted
rewatching the 1992 season to feel something again
> Danny81 @damagedcontroldaniel
Caught my mom doing that after the Spa crash. She was watching Adelaide and crying because she “needed the reminder”
>> felicity🏁 @browserhistorydeleted
i just needed to remember a time when teammates were gay and toxic so i didn’t send hate mail to the FIA
Rachel | Going to Monza!
@RevtheEngineRach
Kinda hate having to explain to new fans why so many regulations matter. You’re telling me the TikTok edits don’t show you Abbot’s crash??? Crazy. Google something and learn before you start tweeting bullshit.
> Isabella💚 @astonbellababy
They drive me up a wall, like stop saying Abbot is aurafarming
>> gorge @soggygoggygorge
tbf he does lowkey aurafarm sometimes
>>> Isabella💚 @astonbellababy
HE WASN’T AURAFARMING HE WAS TRYING TO NOT DIE
levi2
@yellowflagger222
my controversial f1 take is that robby and abbot tongued each other after imola 92.
> helly @whatdahellyisthat
so sorry to inform you but that is actually the least controversial take to have in the f1 community
>> levi2 @yellowflagger222
do robby and abbot know that?
MICHAEL ROBINAVITCH: REDEFINING HIMSELF IN RETIREMENT
By Samantha Kirkwood
Published July 23rd, 2015
After a lustrous career in Formula 1, Michael Robinavitch retired in 2008. His career spanned over 16 years, 2 teams, and 4 world championships. To begin to count his wins, podium finishes, and pole positions would leave someone busy for hours. After being the pioneer at the young Red Bull Racing team as a driver, Robby retires with his legacy secured.
He greets me wearing an old Red Bull hoodie. No longer the bright-eyed rookie with a clean face, Robby has a manicured beard and reading glasses. There’s some tiredness in his tour of his home, a small cottage near Milton Keynes in England.
We sit in his living room, tea in hand, as he shows off his engineering degrees on the wall. The second one is recent, not publicly known. “Got it after someone told me I was too stubborn to stop at just one. It was too much work. Need to stop listening to him.”
I sip my tea as he complains about his friend, it seems to be a close friendship if I can guess by his fond tone. “When I retired, I got a million offers to do this, join that company, all this bullshit. He called me and just said I’d be an idiot to not go back to school. Of course, he’s an idiot. Don’t know why but it’s the first thing I did.”
Who is this mysterious friend? Robby shrugs off the question. “Met back in karting. Been a thorn in my side since.”
I ask about his future plans. Rumors of him joining Red Bull in a different capacity have been swirling for months now. Robby smiles, sly and invoking memories of him on the podium at 18. “Perhaps. I think the team is in a good place. I might make it better, might make it worse. They’ve got that Langdon kid from F3 in the Toro Rosso seat but I would like to make another champion out of him.”
Another champion? Red Bull’s had two champions, Robby himself, and the current legend Sebastian Vettel. “Well, Mercedes keeps making more. Ferrari’s convinced they’ve got the answer to modern regulations. And, it’s not like Williams is going to make a champion out of duct tape and pipe dreams. I'd like Red Bull to dominate them for years to come.”
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[Jack Abbot’s Instagram post has one photo. It is a picture of a framed photo hanging on a white wall of Jon Whitaker, his former Mercedes race engineer, and his wife Laura Whitaker, famous children’s book illustrator. Standing between them is a younger Jack, hair still dark, fewer gray hairs. He’s holding their infant son, the baby clad in white. All of them are dressed formally, standing in an opulent church. Jon and Laura are smiling brightly, Jack has visible tear tracks on his face as he looks down at the baby in his arms.]
Liked by montyadamson , dana_evans , and 108,328 others
jackabbot 12 years ago I lost Jon and Laura. Haven’t stopped mourning them. They made me more than the angry boy in a fast car that first met them. I wouldn't be alive without them. Laura told me I was her firstborn once. Used to draw bunnies on my fake leg when I wasn’t looking. Jon would make me fold his laundry between races. He helped me take my first steps as a new man. Don’t worry, Jonnyboy and Lala, I’ll teach Denny all that you taught me. From race tracks to kitchen tables. Miss you.
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montyadamson The Whitakers still have a seat at my table. Love you Jack.
heather.collins ❤️❤️❤️
Posted February 2017
[A clip from a pre-race interview between a local reporter and Mercedes driver Michael Robinavitch. It is from the 1992 British Grand Prix. The video quality is grainy but still clear. It takes place in the Mercedes garage, with Robby in his gray race suit. The eighteen-year-old driver is grinning and cheerful in the interview.]
The reporter asks his questions in a heavy London accent, “Well, Robby, after Imola we all thought you and Abbot’s partnership was over. Then you shocked us by celebrating his Monaco win like it was your own. Canada was much the same. It seems like the last race in France was tense. How would you describe your relationship with Abbot today?”
After his question, the reporter extends his microphone to Robby. The young driver leans in, dark curls flopping over his forehead.
“Fine,” Robby laughs, all bright brown eyes and grins, “Jack’s a moody man, I just follow his mood swings.”
“How confident do you feel in your teamwork for this race?” the reporter asks, his mustache moving as he speaks.
Robby giggles, leaning into the microphone again, “I mean, we probably won’t crash into each other. Adamson really gave us a stern talking to after that one. If I’m winning, our teamwork will be shit. If Jack’s winning, our teamwork will be almost shit. Luckily, our shitty teamwork is better than everyone else’s good teamwork.”
The reporter looks flustered at the comments and foul language. Robby is still smiling widely, unrepentant in his words.
Some fumbling, a panicked glance off camera, and the reporter asks his next question, “Hope it ends well then. How is the car feeling for today?”
“Oh, she’s great. Crystal’s a feisty lady, but I got her tamed for the rain. We like it when it’s wet,” Robby says, winking into the camera.
“G-Good to hear,” the reports says, hastily tugging the microphone back to him, “Rookie season, first wet race of the year, where’s your mind at going into it?”
Robby hums like he’s thinking before he answers, “My engineer probably has it handled. We keep trying to steal Whitaker’s stuff from the other side of the garage, so fingers crossed we got the information we need to succeed. I will have fun today, Crystal’s excited.”
The reporter is red in the face. The driver across from him is unaffected, grinning.
“And, how are you feeling about your teammate’s chances at extending his championship lead today?” the reporter sighs as he asks, physically bracing for impact.
“Terrible. Hate that guy. Hope he loses. You know, I looked up to him when we karted together? Anyways, Jack is cocky, he’ll probably win but I think it’d be funny if he got second behind me,” Robby rambles, gesturing wildly with his hands, “Personally, I think it would be really cool if I won the championship instead. Then Jack and me can be friends. Better power dynamic if I’m a champion and he’s not.”
There’s a pause as the reporter stares at the driver in horror. Robby stares back, happy as a calm.
“Good luck today, Robby,” the reporter finally says, voice strained, “I think we’ll all need some luck for this race.”
Robby laughs, loud and unashamed, “Jack will need it more!”
carryonwaywarddrivers
every once in a while i’ll remember my mum telling me that she caught jack abbot in michael robby’s hotel room in 2004 when she worked at a luxury hotel near silverstone
eroseroticaera
WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE MORE DETAILS???
carryonwaywarddrivers
abbot gave her like 50 pounds to not snitch. she says she found out the next day that the room got noise complaints after that night but no one knocked because her coworkers could tell it was two people fucking. she doesn’t think it was abbot and robby, but like, be serious debbie those men were celebrating robby’s win lmao
#all alleged or whatever #personally i think its real #2004 was the year that rabbot seemed kinda chill #or at least not actively murderous #rabbot #rabbot lore
693 notes
sidcrosbysbabygirl
Homoerotic sports rivalry save me, homoerotic sports rivalry please save me
greenappletree
This is tagged F1 and I can’t tell if its about Rabbot, Shendon, Gartos, or any of the other million homoerotic rivalries in this godforsaken sport
#history is a cycle etc #just so silly #formula 1 #f1
222 notes
jackrabbot
Up thinking about 2002-2008 Rabbot Era when they were all nice and photographed together being friends. Miss that.
geriatrickyrider
I am up thinking about 2020-present Rabbot Era when they randomly blocked each other on social media and are arguing in press conferences like children and now have to share custody of a race engineer and pretend to not want to kill each other while exchanging custody. Need more of that.
shootingsaubers
personally i’m up thinking about 1993-1998 rabbot era when they refused to make any comments about each other but would rip into anyone that dared to insult the other. make robby publicly scream at a ferrari driver for disrespecting his bf again. mourning that tonight.
#abbot crying when robby won his first championship on the broadcast but telling the press he didn’t know the guy #robby crying when talking about the safety measures implemented after abbot’s crash #freaks (fondly) #rabbot
5.4k notes
[Documentary clip from the ‘Red Bull’s First Rodeo’ documentary released in 2021. The film covers the first fifteen years of Red Bull’s Formula 1 team. It has multiple staff members from over the years, including the current drivers, and former commentators. This clip is of the interview between an off-camera interviewer and Dana Evans. It takes place in Dana’s office at the factory for Racing Bulls, known as AlphaTauri at this point in time, in Italy.]
Interviewer: You joined as a race engineer for the 2006 season as Michael’s engineer. What was that experience like?
Dana Evans: We won a championship. It felt real good.
I: That's it? Nothing else?
DE: Michael was insufferable. He was calmer that year. I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle him, just based on the rumors. But he wasn’t a punk ass teenager anymore, and I wasn’t going to let myself fail. So it went well. Obviously we still like each other.
I: What were the rumors? Things you’d heard about Robby and the team before you joined?
DE: You have to keep in mind I was at Mercedes before this. So, most of the rumors were from that stupid “Dark Year” when he and Abbot almost killed each other on the track every race. I think they were just that he was a playboy, an asshole, cocky, etc. All true of course.
I: [laughs] Really, all true?
DE: He named his favorite cars after his favorite strippers. That year’s was named Bubbles. There’s more to him than just all that shit, but that’s still a part of him.
I: Surely you can say something nice about him, you’ve been team principals on sister teams for over a year now!
DE: Robby cares. A lot. More than he probably shows. I was genuinely surprised at how kindly he talked about Abbot over at Williams. He also loves the junior program kids like they are his own. Came to the garage last season before every race to tell Mohan and Donahue that they were doing great as rookies. Even gave Mohan one of his old helmets. I wasn’t expecting that from him.
I: Did you see that in him during the 2006 season?
DE: Not all of it. Parts of it. He’d sit and explain things to the rookies on other teams during the drivers parade and between press duties. Abbot had his godson for one race and well, I was half expecting Robby to make fun of him for carrying around a little kid but he went up and gave the kid a tour of the Red Bull garage. They talked and it was strange.
I: How was it strange?
DE: Abbot’s like, Mercedes' martyr. Even then. A lot of people expected some bad blood, and he was about to be Williams’ team principal. A rival as a teammate, a rival now. But Robby just joked around and held Abbot’s godson like they were good friends. Robby’s weird like that. Never had a true rival that wasn’t Abbot, but they don’t always act like rivals.
I: Never had a true rival that wasn’t Abbot. Robby has said he likes to push himself by comparing his performance to others even as a team principal. Do you think he did that with Abbot, all those years after he’d been off the grid?
DE: Always. He was chasing Abbot’s ghost on the track, and Abbot’s career off the track. Those two are probably the greatest love story in Formula 1 history.
I: Love story?
DE: You can’t be rivals like that without it being a love story. There’s forgiveness there, forgiveness that was earned and given with love. Good men, both of them.
Australian Grand Prix, 1992, Mercedes Team Radio, First Garage
Abbot: Robby’s driving like a dumbass.
Whitaker: He’s 5 seconds behind. Focus on the Ferrari in front of you and not him.
Abbot: The Ferrari is also driving like a dumbass.
Whitaker: Jack, please focus for once. Championship on the line here.
Abbot: FUCK
Whitaker: Jack! Are you okay?!
Abbot: [...]
Whitaker: Oh, fuck, Jack?! Can you hear me?!
Abbot: [...]
Whitaker: Jack, please, say something kid.
Abbot: [garbled scream] Jonny it hurts!
Whitaker: Jack you need to get out of the car, buddy.
Abbot: My leg! I can’t! Jonny I can’t!
Whitaker: Yes you fucking can! Get the fuck out of the car!
Whitaker: JACK YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THE CAR NOW!
Abbot: Jon, my leg…there’s something in it…
Whitaker: The car is on fire, Jack, you need to get out now!
Abbot: [scream]
Whitaker: JACK! LISTEN! GET OUT OF THE CAR!
Abbot: My leg! My leg! Jonny it hurts! It’s stuck!
Whitaker: Jack, your car is on fire, do you understand?!
Abbot: It’s over, it’s over.
Whitaker: It’s not over until the Lord himself is here. Get out of the car.
Abbot: So hot, Jon, it’s over.
Whitaker: Jack, it’s not your time, please get out of the car.
Whitaker: Jack, please, don’t make me listen to you die.
Whitaker: [sobs] Kid, please, I hate funerals…
Abbot: Hot! Jonny I’m scared!
Whitaker: Jack get out of that car, any means necessary. Don’t fuck this up.
Abbot: [screams]
Whitaker: Jack! Don’t stop! Almost out!
Abbot: [screams]
Whitaker: Oh fuck, Jack! You’re on fire! Jack!
Abbot: [screams]
Whitaker: Fuck, fuck, fuck, not him. Why him?! WHY NOW?!
MERCEDES TEAM PRINCIPAL ON A WARPATH, ABBOT CHAMPIONSHIP WON IN A HOSPITAL BED
By Karl Ericksson
Published November 23rd, 1992
The disastrous end of the Australian Grand Prix, and the Formula 1 season as a whole will haunt this sport for decades to come. In a terrible series of crashes, starting with Ferrari and ending with both Mercedes drivers in the wall, the season ends with the champion in a hospital bed.
Montgomery Adamson, team principal for Mercedes, is determined to get justice for his driver. He’s alleging the FIA knew the track was unsafe on that corner, and had ignored reports of the uneven terrain throughout the race. Additionally, his opinions on the absolutely horrific podium ceremony, which the broadcast aired between shots of a battered Robinavitch weeping, are scathing.
Adamson is demanding justice, reform, and apologies. Jon Whitaker, the race engineer for Abbot has publicly pleaded for the radio transcripts to be withheld for the dignity of the injured driver. Even now, the champion has only been awake for a few minutes at a time. He’s got the WDC trophy in his hospital room, but the FIA is still not confirming his championship weeks later.
[Michael Robinavitch’s Instagram post contains one photo. It is him shaking hands with Dana Evans, him in a navy Red Bull polo, her in a white AlphaTauri polo. On his side stands a smiling Frank Langdon, clad in his navy race suit and smiling broadly. On Dana’s side stands a young and visibly excited Samira Mohan in her white race suit. Michael and Dana are both grinning at the camera. ]
Liked by samiramohan , dana_evans , and 798,321 others
michaelrobinavitch Evans and I have come to an agreement to allow Red Bull Racing full custody of Mohan for the 2022 season. Cheers!
View all 381 comments
samiramohan BLESSED
flangdon New teammate or new sister?? Who knows
Posted November 2021
[Interview clip of Mercedes team principal Montgomery Adamson and journalist Lizzy Holcomb. It comes from an almost hour long video of the two discussing the last three decades of Adamson’s career. This part is lifted from the last third of the interview.]
Lizzy Holcomb: Then, obviously, we have to address the elephant in the room, Monty.
Montgomery Adamson: Liz, please, spare me.
LH: [laughs] Monty, I cannot do that. Walk me through 1992, what was the thought process behind signing Robby?
MA: Michael was a part of our junior program. I actually urged us to sponsor him before I was the team principal, for karting. He had been fast, eager, ready to get into single seaters. No question that he was talented. My cousin, William, had just retired, and I took over operations fully. It made sense to me to put another young driver in with Jack that year.
LH: Knowing what you know now, would you say that was a good idea?
MA: A good idea? No. Would I change it? Also no. Michael was good. I don’t regret it.
LH: That year is known as “The Dark Year”. You had the garages operating like separate entities after Imola, the engineers not interacting or sharing strategy. Still, you don’t regret it?
MA: No. I can’t regret it. If Jack or Michael regret it, that’s when I’d start to reconsider. But now, after all these years? There’s so many things that would have to change to make me feel like I handled it wrong. I did the best I could with what I knew, with the staff and team I had. Two young boys, too hyped up on adrenaline and motor oil are not going to be my biggest regret.
LH: You talk about those two so fondly. Perhaps more fondly than you talk about any of your former drivers.
MA: Caught my favoritism. I think it’s because they both kept coming back to learn from me, they wanted guidance, and I wanted to give it. Obviously, Jack had Jon (Whitaker) on and off the track, but both of those boys had me 24/7. I remember I had to go find them in the club after Silverstone. Michael was so drunk I had to stay up all night because I was worried he’d choke on his own vomit. Jack slept next to him on the bathroom floor. It’s hard to not be fond of them.
LH: Wow, don’t think I’ve ever heard that story about Silverstone. That was Michael’s first win right?
MA: Yes, rookie year, maiden win. My wife calls them my firstborns. We were newly married, and she was so mad I had brought back a drunk 18-year-old that was borderline unconscious, and a drunk 23-year-old that kept insisting on petting the dog while swaying on his feet.
LH: And the rest of the season? The crashes at Imola, at Hockenheim? How did you handle that with so many emotions involved?
MA: [sighs] Those crashes. God, it was like trying to stop two alley cats from fighting over scraps. I think I literally made them go to timeout in separate corners of the meeting room after Hockenheim. There were a lot of tears and yelling. This might sound terrible, but I think they hated each other so badly because they liked each other more than they liked racing.
LH: Really?
MA: They were distant friends before Michael came to F1. Jack would talk about him and his career before he was bumped up. Michael had Jack’s lap times memorized. You have two kids that spent years being stuck in a kart in the rain, only their love for racing keeping them going, then you make them realize they have someone that gets it. It’s no longer just racing, it’s Jack, it’s Michael, they have someone that can understand it. That level of intensity is hard to handle as a regular adult. They were in a stressful environment, and I think it spiraled from there.
LH: And we see that play out in Australia.
MA: God, Australia. I think I vomited watching Jack walk out of that car. Crazy bastard. Michael was inconsolable. You know, he was the one that told Jack he won the championship?
LH: Michael told Jack he won the championship? Not you? Not his engineer?
MA: He had snuck in past visiting hours, and Jack woke up and I guess Michael just told him. Pointed at the trophy by the bed. They have conflicting stories but both agree Michael was the one that told Jack, was the one to hand him the trophy to hold.
LH: Did he know the full details of the crash? That it was Michael crashing into him that set the car on fire?
MA: Oh, that didn’t matter. There’s a love and respect there that meant Jack would always forgive Michael. Michael will always forgive Jack. No one else could’ve been there, no one else that would’ve been as important to Jack.
LH: What’s that famous quote about them? Friends, teammates, and something?
MA: They were friends, teammates, and rivals. Everything but lovers.
LH: Everything but lovers. But you say there’s love there?
MA: A lot of love there. Maybe not as lovers, obviously, but they love each other. Always have, always will. Even now, fighting in press conferences as team principals, they love each other. I admire that about them. They never stop loving the other man as he is, they pull each other off the edge regardless of their history, and neither of them questions that love. Not many people have something so intense, so passionate.