75 years of F1

[R129 UK]

Some iconic images, I was an 80s & 90s fan, mostly recovering on the sofa on a Sunday lunchtime from a hangover...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/v7yykmbyey/f1-at-75-by-bbc-sport-and-getty-images

This is one of the best, not seen it before:

 

[TerryA]

@R129 UK,
Thanks for posting. That article pretty
much covers it all. A few years back I got to meet John Sertees and Phill Hill at an Art Gallery in La Jolla, Calif where they were promoting a painter Danny Day F1 paintings.

You may be able to see their autographs in my painting that I purchased.

 

[R129 UK]

@R129 UK,
Thanks for posting. That article pretty
much covers it all. A few years back I got to meet John Sertees and Phill Hill at an Art Gallery in La Jolla, Calif where they were promoting a painter Danny Day F1 paintings.

You may be able to see their autographs in my painting that I purchased.

A nice memento, Hill is the only US born driver (Mario Andretti was born in Italy) to win the F1 Driver's title which surprised me.

 

[albdentist]

Great stuff, thank you for posting ! As a long time enthusiast its amazing how popular F1 has now become...I remember when it was not.

 

[R129 UK]

Great stuff, thank you for posting ! As a long time enthusiast its amazing how popular F1 has now become...I remember when it was not.

I think popularity with the "general public" has waned a bit in the past 20+ years and the halcyon days were the 70s, 80s and 90s i.e. Lauder, Hunt, Senna, Prost, Schumacher and Damon. Hill etc. compared to the Hamilton and the Red Bull / Verstappen era now and in recent years.

As they say, "Nostalgia ain't what is used to be"

 

[sheward]

A very enjoyable overview of F1 thru the years. I will always have a fascination with the cars and men that raced in the early years willing to push the limits in spite of the danger. For me, the pinnacle was the 80s and 90s ground effects cars when nearly anything was allowed.

In the late 70s, some fellow gearheads and I flew from Detroit to Montreal to see a race.

Slim Borguud, one of the session drummers for the Swedish rock band ABBA was piloting a car for the ATS team. During the pre-race disclosure of drivers, the announcer actually said "driving for ATS we have Slim Borguud. A great rock drummer. Not a formula one driver". Slim went on to become a multiple champion in the European Truck championship.

Later in the early 80s F1 came to the streets of Detroit, and I was able to see one of my then idols, Nikki Lauda, return from retirement. I believe he finished 2nd! Lucky as I was to see an F1 race on city streets, Detroit turned out to be a bad venue for F1 with deteriorating roads and nowhere to pass.

I lost interest with the advent of electronic aids and computer design.

 

[TerryA]

Myself,
IMOP, F1 has taken a lot of the trills out of the sport with the implosion of big money teams that invest in tech dominate ie; Red Bull, Mercedes, McClaren ect; “The one with the most $$$$ wins. Tech has made the cars the star and I think that almost all of the drivers could win if given the best car on the track.
It’s kinda like slot car racing.

Only a few tenths of a second between P1 to P6 in qualifying. Drivers like Verstapen, Norris, Leclerc, Russel & Hamilton are a click above the others but how much is the car?

The tech proves out with the longevity of the driver career's. Look at Alonzo at 40 and even Hamilton at 37 for that matter. A few years back and they would be in retirement albeit I think Hamilton is trying to break out that group with Ferrari but so far it’s not happening.

To me past drivers were more drivers and less tech. Senna, Schumacher, Lauda, Manzel were some of the best and I believe made the races more of thriller's for me anyway.

 

[R129 UK]

Imagine driving like this for 78 laps!!

or 72 lots of this:

Both with manual gear changes...I know the camera wobble makes it look more dramatic but still.

This is simply majestic:

Enjoy all!!!

EDIT - click on the links that say unavailable and they will play in YouTube.

 

[gsxr]

Imagine driving like this for 78 laps!!

I had a hard time telling which way the track went!

or 72 lots of this:

Both with manual gear changes...I know the camera wobble makes it look more dramatic but still.

That looks like SO much fun...

 

[sheward]

Good times!

I've always thought the opening quote by Steve McQueen summed it up perfectly. It IS majestic.

I think Hemingway was the one who said "There are only 3 sports in the world. Bullfighting, mountain climbing, and motor racing. The rest are just games". Excuse me if I butchered his words.

 

[R129 UK]

I had a hard time telling which way the track went!

Monaco is nuts, especially the 2 or 3 corners before the tunnel

 

[500AMM]

I've been at two F1 races and the first one was in Monaco in 2005. My only visit to Monaco and it was a great place to be! But using the city as a F1 racetrack is so by so, it's too tight and leaves almost no chance for overtakes. The drivers don't like it and rumors says Alonso proved this once by purposely driving 1 second slower per lap which created a long queue behind him. One can wonder how they manage to get the F1 race there every season, money maybe..? However, for me a great time with looots of sportscars and supercars all over the city. And I think Gumball 3000 had it's finish there that weekend as well.

 

[500AMM]

Monaco is nuts, especially the 2 or 3 corners before the tunnel

Turn 5 to 8

 

[R129 UK]

I've been at two F1 races and the first one was in Monaco in 2005. My only time in Monaco and it was a great place! But using the city as a F1 racetrack is so by so, it's too tight and leaves almost no chances to pass. The drivers don't like it and rumors says Alonso proved this once by purposely driving 1 second slower per lap which created a long queue behind him. One can wonder how they manage to get the F1 race there every season, money maybe..? However, for me a great time with looots of sportscars and supercars all over the city. And I think Gumball 3000 had it's finish there that weekend as well.

I totally agree, it is (and to be honest always has been) really just a spectacle for the sport and its all about qualifying and following closely the car in front:

I don't know how the funding works but presumably the circuits pay F1 to stage races and Monaco has deep pockets...

Caveat - I haven't watched an F1 race for ~20 years.

 

[500AMM]

I totally agree, it is (and to be honest always has been) really just a spectacle for the sport and its all about qualifying and following closely the car in front:

I don't know how the funding works but presumably the circuits pay F1 to stage races and Monaco has deep pockets...

Caveat - I haven't watched an F1 race for ~20 years.

Each circuit pays 30 million Euro/USD in membership fee per season to get one race, plus they have to cover all costs for keeping the track certified. F1-races generates enormous revenues and I think at least the ticket revenue goes to the circuit. But the biggest part apparently goes to the private owners of F1 and the ol' man Bernie Ecclestone.

@R129 UK, then it's time to visit a F1 race again!
My last was at Red Bull Ring, Austria 2022. Me and my sons, what a great journey we had.

 

[weide1]

I recently saw and enjoyed this documentary about the F1 1973 season.

For those of you that like the music, here's the complete album. Stomu Yamash'ta's East Wind - One By One Soundtrack (1975)

 

[R129 UK]

Each circuit pays 30 million Euro/USD in membership fee per season to get one race, plus they have to cover all costs for keeping the track certified. F1-races generates enormous revenues and I think at least the ticket revenue goes to the circuit. But the biggest part apparently goes to the private owners of F1 and the ol' man Bernie Ecclestone.

@R129 UK, then it's time to visit a F1 race again!
My last was at Red Bull Ring, Austria 2022. Me and my sons, what a great journey we had.

I didn't realise it was that expensive to get on the bandwagon!!

To clarify, I meant watched at all including on the TV although I have been to this and might go again this year as it is close to me and nice to hear the Cosworth V8s. There is a good vantage point which allows you to see the cars go round Druids and then shoot across to see them down the straight.

https://docs.msv.com/Masters%20Historic%20Festival_BH%20Timetable.pdf

 

[R129 UK]

I recently saw and enjoyed this documentary about the F1 1973 season.

This is great, thanks for posting.

I'm going to watch it is blocks to give it my full attention as many of the names are before my time so I like to look them up to get more info on their exploits and achievements.

 

[R129 UK]

I'm going to watch it is blocks to give it my full attention as many of the names are before my time so I like to look them up to get more info on their exploits and achievements.

I've just finished this, so glad I gave it my full attention.

The crash towards the end was horrific and is detailed here:

1973 Dutch Grand Prix - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Also, Peter Revson (not a driver I was familiar with) looks like Mark Webber's twin to me:






@weide1 The soundtrack was great too!!

 

[R129 UK]

Monaco is nuts, especially the 2 or 3 corners before the tunnel

Monaco Grand Prix: Has F1's iconic race become boring?

BBC Sport's AMA team take a look at whether Monaco has lost its charm and place in the jam-packed season.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[TerryA]

I’ll be taping both Monaco and the Indy 500.
I’ll watch all of the Monaco race and be fast forwarding the Indy race because it’s to long and boring albeit a rookie won pole position this year.