Berger turned down offers for F1 return

Jan.16 (GMM) Gerhard Berger says he turned down offers to return to Formula 1.

Recently, the former F1 driver, BMW boss and Toro Rosso co-owner stepped down in charge of the German touring car series DTM.

It triggered rumours he might be shaping up to replace Mattia Binotto at Ferrari or join in on the near-unprecedented management shakeup at other teams.

63-year-old Berger, however, says stepping down was simply a case of re-evaluating his life.

“I’ve lost a few friends – Mansour (Ojjeh), Niki (Lauda), Didi (Mateschitz),” he told Speed Week. “A lot happened in just a few years.

“Then I didn’t just want to work and earn money anymore. I then got infected with covid and thought about it even more.”

However, Berger says the offers from within Formula 1 rolled in anyway.

“There were several, and they were all super interesting,” said the famous Austrian. “But as I said, they didn’t fit into my life plans anymore.

“I would like to take my six-year-old son to his first kart races, and my nine-year-old to horseback riding. I want to have more time for them.”

Ferrari subsequently replaced the departing team boss Binotto with Frederic Vasseur.

“Let’s wait for the new season,” said Berger when asked if he sees Vasseur as a good solution. “We can’t judge anything yet.”