Rather airily, Patrick replied, ‘Ah, yes, Adrian, been meaning to tell you. At the start of the year, Frank and I decided to sign Frentzen for 1997 because Damon drove so badly in 1995.’ So there it was, out in the open. The rumours had been correct. Having signed Jacques Villeneuve for two seasons without informing me, it turned out they’d gone and hired Frentzen without telling me too, putting Damon out of a drive and in clear contravention of our agreement, and my contract. It turned out that they’d had seven months, at the very least, to tell me their thinking and intention. Seven months.
