The Observer

My phone beeped as I walked down the street last week. The message was from autosport.com: "Former Grand Prix driver Gerhard Berger has bought a 50 per cent stake in Red Bull's Scuderia Toro Rosso team." I raised my eyebrows in response. I might even have involuntarily "oooohed" out loud. Nothing like an out-of-the-blue news story to get your brain buzzing. But Berger, back in F1 - a surprise? No way.

When the Austrian quit as the head of BMW motorsport in September 2003, having announced his intention to leave six months earlier, few in Formula One believed they had seen the last of him. Berger himself made it clear he was leaving the door open. "First I want to see whether or how much I'm going to miss working in motorsport," he said. "If I can't cope without F1, I'll look around for a suitable task. I don't need to rush into anything just yet - I'm nowhere near feeling anything remotely like sweet boredom."

Actually, he never really went away. Just over a year after Berger left BMW, Red Bull bought Jaguar Racing - and it took no time at all for Gerhard to be linked to a role with the team. Red Bull's enigmatic owner Dietrich Mateschitz is an old mate of Berger's, and the energy drinks boss pushed his foot firmly into that open door. "Gerhard is an expert, and his advice would certainly be useful to us," he said. "If from that he can grow into another role within the team, that has to remain open right now."

"I'm not quite sure I want to do that," Berger responded. "But I keep close contact with Didi... If you take up that job, you have to be there 24 hours a day. Do I want to do this? I doubt it."

Another year passed. In October 2005, Red Bull bought Minardi to create a second-string team, but Berger continued to spurn Mateschitz's advances. "He is an old friend of mine - actually I was the first 'Red Bull' driver, back in the 1980s," Gerhard explained. "I've watched the company grow and grow.

"But my idea for the team was to be successful, and make some money, whereas Red Bull's big motivation is marketing. I've no problem with that, but I didn't want to be involved on that basis."

But Mateschitz clearly never gives up. And from his involvement in motorsport so far, the proof is he always gets what he wants.

So the solution? To tempt Berger in a language he understands - the language of money.

Mateschitz has taken over half of the Berger family's impressive transport company (annual turnover: approximately $120m) and in return has handed the 46-year-old half of Scuderia Toro Rosso. A good deal between friends.

But almost right up to the announcement last week, Berger had played down his interest in the team. He has claimed that this life-changing decision was truly impulsive, made over dinner in Salzburg.

Taking on an F1 team (even just half of one) is a pretty big commitment to be decided upon in an instant. Is that in character? Yes, perhaps. But Berger has always been disarming, a joker with a healthy perspective on life.

He's also a 'player', blessed with a sharp business brain and an understanding how best to use his personality strengths. For years he was one of the best paid Grand Prix drivers, even if he never matched up the likes of Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost or Nigel Mansell. Not quite in the premier league but comfortable with his own worth - and, most significantly, he did the deals himself; no manager required.

So, did a little more thought go into this decision than Berger suggested? Surely the answer has to be yes.

The savvy, streetwise approach that coloured his driving career crossed over into his time as motorsport boss at BMW. When he joined the Munich marque, it was building up to its F1 return, but the immediate demands were the various touring car programmes and a promising sportscar campaign that needed managing - and Berger quickly proved that he wasn't afraid of making the tough decisions.

Steve Soper had been a loyal and successful servant for BMW, playing a significant role in the development of the Williams-built V12 LM Le Mans prototype of 1998. But when Berger joined the company, he lost little time in making it clear to Soper that he thought the Briton was too old. Soper raced on in 1999, but from Berger's attitude he knew his time was nearly up.

As BMW's attention turned to F1 during the testing campaign of 1999 (the year in which BMW achieved its aim of winning Le Mans) and the race return with Williams the year after, Berger came into his own. That 'one of the boys' personality allowed him to connect with Frank Williams and the team, but at the same time he carried enough respect when it was time to turn the screw.

He was never afraid to say what he thought when he felt the team was falling short. The tension that grew under Mario Theissen's management was kept in check; with hindsight it seems largely because of Berger - plus, it must be said, the fact that BMW happened to have the most powerful engine in F1 during his time in charge. That would have helped smooth over problems between team and manufacturer!

Williams went from sleeping giants to full-on title challengers in four years. Berger played his part and had clearly proved his ability to make the transition from successful driver (210 GP starts, 10 wins, 12 poles) to accomplished motorsport manager when he bowed out.

So is he cut out for team ownership? Yes, says one man who is looking forward to Berger's renewed influence on F1. FIA president Max Mosley holds him in high regard:

"Gerhard's obviously got a lot of ability, because he's run that family business and did a very good job running BMW's motorsport division. I see quite a lot of him because he's in Monaco. I respect his opinion - he's clever. And he seems to be a good wheeler-dealer. He always did his own contracts, didn't he? He seemed to make a lot of money, particularly in relation to his level of success. Actually, he was good enough that had he been in the right team at the right time, he would have won the championship, although you could say that of a few people."

But what difference can he make to STR, a team born from the ashes of F1's perennial tail-enders? It's his investment on the line, after all. Will he be willing to get his hands dirty?

Berger has been at pains to stress that Franz Tost is still very much the team boss; that he won't necessarily go to every race. But will he really be able to avoid getting drawn in? He raced in F1 for 13 years, committed quickly to a return as BMW's manager and is now facing a third helping of Grand Prix racing. Berger is clearly addicted.

But this time, he has walked into a hornet's nest, thanks to STR's new car looking very much like Red Bull Racing's 2005 RB1 and its unique use of V10 power this year. He is going to need all his charm and nous in his dealings with the other team owners, especially if STR get off to a flying start in Bahrain.

In Vitantonio Liuzzi STR have at least one driver who could be capable of springing the odd surprise in the right circumstances. If Liuzzi or unknown quantity Scott Speed do feature in the points, any perceived performance advantage from the V10 will undoubtedly be pegged back by the FIA.

But the provision for the larger engines is only in place for this year, so Berger will be kept busy negotiating a power supply for 2007 and beyond. Whatever the team's level of performance, he won't be able to avoid this becoming a full-time job. Again, a big commitment to sign up to on an impulse...

Gerhard Berger's past history in this sport suggests that he should fit straight in to the role of team owner. He will enjoy the cut and thrust, the deals, the meetings, the power he will hold. But will he stick it out for the long-term? "I think so," says Mosley. "For him it's completely if he can make money."

That point will be the key. This is no Frank Williams or Ron Dennis. If the right deal comes along to allow him to sell his shares, Berger wouldn't think twice. Not true of Williams and Dennis.

But it doesn't matter how long he ends up owning this team. Berger will always find a role to play in motorsport. He can't help himself. It's in his blood.

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- The Autosport.com Team

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