My recent look at forgotten circuits in Europe rekindled my interest in the subject, and as I promised a trip across the Atlantic, it’s time to look back over the tracks that have been, and gone, in North America. With the new race at Austin, Texas, just a few weeks away now and the promise […]
View Post F1, features, indy 500, retro
Watching practice for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim this weekend reminded me how much I miss the old layout. That run into the forest was a strangely eerie experience and one that, in the rain especially, was reportedly terrifying. These days we are used to clinical, carefully planned and often characterless tracks that will […]
View Post F1, features, retro
Building up to the Indianapolis 500 next week, here’s an absolute gem from Youtube. Unique footage of the 1967 Indy 500, when the drivers’ courage was matched by their personalities and the legendary race attracted interest from the biggest F1 stars. Featuring Mario Andretti, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and […]
View Post adrenalin, indy 500, retro
Gilles Villeneuve was a rare thing, a man whose legend began before his death. The same could be argued, one supposes, for Ayrton Senna, another iconic racing driver who lost his life before his time had come. Yet there are notable differences: It can be argued that the Senna legend was exaggerated – some would […]
View Post features, formula 1, retro
In the buildup to the Spanish Grand Prix, we went for a track walk on the most famous Spanish circuit of all time. Montjuïc Park in Barcelona. Since 1991 the Spanish Grand Prix has found its home at the Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona. The track’s construction coincided with that of the […]
View Post formula 1, globetrotting, retro
With the current focus on the political situation in Bahrain it is all too easy to forget that Fun Still Exists. This is not the place to discuss whether the Bahrain Grand Prix should have gone ahead or not. What’s interesting though is that thirty years ago – in 1982 – F1 was embroiled in […]
View Post features, formula 1, kyalami, retro
A Nürburg local took his dog for a walk from Breidscheid to Bergwerk. And saw a Ferrari Formula 1 car. On fire. F1 fans will instantly make the connection with Niki Lauda’s terrifying crash in 1976. And rightly so, because the man walked right onto the filmset of Rush, Ron Howard’s film on the gripping […]
View Post formula 1, retro
Here’s a quick Formula 1 trivia question: when was the last time Lotus won a Formula One race? Formula 1 history buffs will usually reply with Senna’s victory at the 1987 United States Grand Prix. And, they’re right. That was the last time a Lotus won a FIA-sanctioned Grand Prix. However, Lotus did win an […]
View Post features, formula 1, retro
Fans of motor racing are about to get spoiled on the big screen. The smashing success of the Senna documentary seems to have paved the way for more stories to be told from a long gone era of Formula 1. First up there’s Rush by director and producer Ron Howard, which tells the story of […]
View Post formula 1, retro
Rubens Barrichello is officially an IndyCar driver, contesting the 2012 season with his great friend Tony Kanaan at KV Racing. Barrichello is not the first Brazilian to switch from F1 to American open wheel racing. After two world titles in 1972 and 1974, Emerson Fittipaldi’s F1 career was on a downward slope as he made […]
View Post features, indycar, retro