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INTERNATIONAL

“Honestly, if you understand how Autonomous cars today are for privileged
countries. Even there, it will take time. But
important it is, you will not ride in a clearly, when it happens, it will be a very good
thing.
car without buckling the safety belt.”
What about car racing? What do you think
will happen in Formula 1 if the cars become
autonomous?
course without brakes, without proper lights, This will never happen! Formula 1 is a sport!
without a safety belt. Over the years, there has It’s the human skills of the driver that are key.
been major progress on safety, including the Youngsters are often in front of the screen
safety belt, but also electronic devices such as playing video games, but they also play
ABS, anti-braking systems, electronic stability football. So, there will always be the love of
control systems (ESC). But the first significant the sport.
improvement on safety was probably the safety
belt. In the developing world, people often People will always like having their hero
don’t use the safety belt. They simply don’t driving a car on the ground, letting them
realize how useful it is. In a modern car, if you dream. So, whatever the evolution of the
don’t buckle the safety belt, a signal sounds. automobile industry may turn out to be,
So, what do some people do in order to stop Formula 1 will still be the pinnacle of motor-
it? They buckle the safety belt and they sit on vehicle sport because the driver is a hero.
it! It is a tragedy! Honestly, if you understand Think of a stadium with 100,000 people, with
how important it is, you will not ride in a car a flag of Verstappen or with Magnussen as a
without buckling the safety belt. Norwegian driver. Think of the yellow tee-
shirt and the color of the Netherlands, or the
Why was France the first country to adopt it? red color for Ferrari. The passion will remain.
I think they had better vision. I think they were
the first to understand that it was essential When you talk about Formula 1, your face
to saving lives, and that it was the key to a and eyes are shining. What is so special about
revolution in improving safety on the road. Formula 1?
I love Formula 1! I love sports! It is a kind
Others may be better on the road than the of optimization of what you can do best.
French. Switzerland, Norway – they have more Formula 1 is so competitive that you cannot
discipline, and better education. The same make a mistake. If you make a mistake, you
is true for the other Scandinavian countries, immediately get punished. I like to be as
Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. close as possible to perfection. Formula 1 is a
symbol of that.
Today we are hearing more and more about
autonomous cars. What do you think about Whatever you do, you try to do it better. I
them? Isn’t it dangerous that technology is think if you are engaged in doing something,
taking over? you must be ambitious. You must try to do
No, I do not think so because over 90 percent your best. Today, everything I do, I do as a
of all crashes are due to human behavior and volunteer. So, I’m not obliged to be there. I
a human mistake. So, if you take away human could be running around the lake or playing
beings from driving, with electronic control, on the boat on the lake, but I prefer to be with
it ought to be safer. But as I mentioned, 90 my people and try to make things progress or
percent of the accidents occur in low- and do something for which I think I can be good
middle-income countries where the average for people.
age of the vehicles is somewhere between 20
and 50 years old. So, if you want to address You’re also the leader or the mastermind of the
the problem you cannot wait until they have United Nations campaign to halve the number
autonomous cars. of traffic deaths by 2030. How far have you

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