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Ruffling feathers on the F1 ladder

FIA Single Seater Commission president Gerhard Berger has one of racing's toughest jobs - and it's impossible to do it without upsetting a few people, as MARCUS SIMMONS finds out

Gerhard Berger is on animated form. As president of the FIA's Single Seater Commission, he's invited AUTOSPORT to his Monaco office to explain the methodology behind his recent moves - particularly in Formula 3 - that frequently so irritate or infuriate those in the UK. You can't really call it a bridge-building exercise - his passion and zeal are too intense to placate those who have already decided on a 'them-and-us' stance - but it provides a great insight into the man and his ambitions.

Let's clear one thing up first. For years people have been ranting about the FIA not doing enough to clean up the cluttered junior ranks. Then, when Berger took over the Commission's presidency two and a half years ago from Barry Bland (a much more consensus-driven, subtle character than Berger), they complained about the radical measures the Austrian was taking to do just that.

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Author Marcus Simmons

Marcus Simmons is the Deputy Editor of Autosport magazine. As a child he was a regular on the chalk banks of Thruxton – hence his unhealthy obsession with 1970s Formula 2 and F3 – before he became an MSA timekeeper at the age of 17. At 19, his reporting debut for Motoring News arguably overshadowed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal as the sporting moment of June 1986, and he joined the staff in 1990 after graduating from his degree course in Plymouth. A parallel Formula First career – which was as incident-packed as his childhood exploits in show-jumping and hunter trials – finished when he wrote off his car and put himself in hospital in 1991.

Marcus moved to Autosport in the summer of 1996. Since then he has had two stints as a freelancer and a brief spell as editor of Motor Sport magazine, during which the revered green cover was revived, before he rejoined Autosport in 2008. He lives in Teddington with his wife (who, gratifyingly, grew up within earshot of Castle Combe), daughter, stepson, dog, cat and guitars, and additionally has an adult daughter and stepson.