The Gentleman Magazine Issue 12 | December 2018 | Page 34

to hold a celebration for the fifth consecutive Championship
double? I think one of our core strengths is the great energy
of this team – you can feel it when you walk in here, it’s the
collective energy in Brixworth and Brackley, that makes this
team truly special. We all embrace the challenge, we take our
competitors seriously and we all try to continuously progress
as human beings and as professionals in our jobs in order to
raise the bar. This constant striving for improvement, trying
to be better every single day, is exactly what makes you win
Championships. Today, we’re also paying special tribute to
Niki. Niki, you probably would have told us that we shouldn’t
be so “damn emotional” today, but I think I speak for all of us
when I say that we miss you and very much look forward to
seeing you again soon.
Andy Cowell
The atmosphere is just unbelievable, what a cracking reception!
We would not be standing here today, celebrating a remarkable
achievement, if it wasn’t for all your hard work. All of you,
collectively, have made this fantastic moment possible, so thank
you very much! This year has been exceptionally tough; we’ve
been on the back foot with the Power Unit at certain times this
season, we’ve not always had the same power as the red cars
and we haven’t always been as reliable as we’d like to be – but
we know it, we’re going to fix it and we will give it everything to
try and come back even stronger next year.
hearing the noise as you all erupted especially when our two
drivers walked in, that was something I will never ever forget
because it felt much better. To be with all of us, not just the
splinter of us that is lucky enough to represent this team at the
track, to share this memory with all of you is truly a magical
thing. All of us know this has only been done once – once!
– before, we’ve joined a very rare club, we’re only the second
people to achieve five consecutive World Championships. We
spent a year of really hard slog, where I stood among you a
few times talking after races where we got properly beaten
and where this happy, happy day would have felt quite distant
– and yet this group of people, all of us, managed to keep on
punching, keep on working with good humour, with good
spirit and with the pressure just binding us closer and closer
together. And that’s what makes a day like this just feel like
your heart wants to burst and I couldn’t be happier with it.
Thank you to everybody for everything you’ve done – brilliant!
James Allison
As good as it felt on Sunday to seal these two Championships
– and it did feel brilliant – coming back here, walking in and
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