The Races
The highlight of the Grand Prix weekend is of course the race.
One by one the red lights are turned on and the drivers steel themselves for the start. Seconds tick by and then the lights go green. The grid erupts with the roar of engines as the combatants launch themselves down the track.
The driver in front has his work cut out as the eyes of thousands of spectators, and millions of television viewers are on him. For those locked in the pack the job is often harder as they jostle for position, hoping to gain a place or two before the first corner.
For the next 90 minutes or so their sole objective is carve a path through the field, break from the pack and build a lead that can be wiped out by a momentary lapse or concentration. Then come the pitstops. Ten seconds of frantic activity as tyres are changed, fuel is pumped aboard and the pack eat away at any advantage.
It has been going on for over 100 years now and although the cars have changed the drama has always been there. Tales of incredible derring-do, and utter madness, abound as the story of motor racing unfolds.
Lets go racing!
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| Gentleman Racers |
It was a decade of astonishing change. European racing spread its wings and a meaningful world championship was born. |
Sportsmanship was the name of game and wheel to wheel duels were how that game was played. Dirty tricks were still far off in the future and the rules were written on a single sheet of paper. The cars were horrendous to drive and the drivers sat on, rather than in them. This led to an 'all elbows and arms' style of driving, effectively fighting the car with brute force. Tyre technology was in its infancy and drivers were often putting in excess of 400 bhp through some very narrow wheels.
Circuits were little more than sections of public roads fenced off with straw bales, and races were twice as long as the modern variety. The racing season was interspersed with non-Championship races that were well attended by the stars and cars of the championship series. Alongside those events many drivers would take part in sports car races, hill climbs, endurance events and even rallies. The 1950s was a period in which the sport rose in appeal and the racing was fast, furious and often fatal. It was a stunning period in the history of motorsport. |
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| Winds of Change |
Few aspects of society survived the Sixties unchanged, although few saw see changes of the kind witnessed in Grand Prix racing |
The 1960s witnessed the rise of the small team and of the driver turned constructor as exemplified by the likes of Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren. The big names that had dominated the sport throughout the 1950s such as Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Vanwall and Maserati were all gone. It was the age of the garagistes and Britain was their king.
The decade saw the move away from the traditional heavy, front-engined beasts driven by brute force towards the nimble mid-engined cars epitomised by the Ferrari 156 or Lotus 49. The period saw the regulations change twice from the 1.5 litre formula of the early 1960 to the 3-litre age that the Ford DFV came to dominate. This was also the period in which aerodynamics became an integral part of car design. Wings sprouted and although it cost straight line speed, lap times continued to fall throughout the decade. Concern for driver safety was taken seriously for the first time and drivers became highly-paid professionals, capable of commanding considerable fees for their services.
Above it was an age when both man and machine were equally important and the racing was some of the best ever seen. |
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Commerce Arrives |
Racing Green and Corso Rosso are replaced by corporate logos as the sponsors, and their open cheque books, arrive on the scene |
For the first twenty years of the World Championship cars were fielded in their national colours; French blue fought with German silver and Belgian yellow. Then came sponsorship. Drivers earned lucrative fees and retainers and owners used the sponsors' dollars to fund massive leaps in technology.
To keep the teams on a level playing field the rule book grew, while people like Colin Chapman pushed the boundaries of technology to ensure he had the best driver in the most advanced car. Sponsors turned the cars into mobile billboards and everyone and everything wore the logo. Drivers gave press conferences and drove cars known as the Yardley-BRM or the JPS Lotus.
As the decade progressed the money injected into the sport exploded. More cash meant better facilities, wealthier drivers and quicker cars. On the positive side the sport became safer. Races were run on purpose built tracks with medical facilities on hand. Armco barriers were erected and 'run-off' areas were introduced.
It got safer, faster and a lot more glamorous. The drivers had bad hair cuts and even worse clothes - but then again - it was the 1970s.
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Turbos and Technology |
Technology grew in leaps and bounds as the age of the turbo drove speeds higher and higher. Cars were changed beyond recognition as teams became manufacturers and drivers became household names |
Such was the pace and cost of technological development the sport's governing body was forced to act and outlaw various developments in the interest of the sport's smaller teams and to prevent the drivers from becoming little more than passengers.
Innovations such as ground effect and turbo power began in the late 1970s but it was during the 1980s that they grew to dominate the sport although the prohibitive cost of developing turbo engines crippled many teams and drove them from the sport. Even the fuel the cars owed some of its heritage to rocket technology.
In short the sport almost ran away with itself. |
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Glamour, feuds and hype |
Parity is now the aim of the game. Legislators police the rule books and battle with the designers, trying to keep the playing field level for all. Teams do their best to plough it up with engine-mapping software and 'fiddle' brakes.
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The idea of parity is simply not working. Teams such as Williams, Ferrari and McLaren are in a different league to the rest of the pitlane. The legislators may have thinner tyres, smaller engines and more stringent safety measures to fight with, but competing with minds like Adrian Newey, they have a battle on their hands. Every time the designers come up with another innovation the rule-makers have to re-write the book. Fly-by-wire throttles and anti-lock brakes have been and gone over recent years, leaving some road cars better equipped than their Grand Prix counterpart.
Commerce is now part of the game and F1 marketing supremo Bernie Ecclestone has made owners and driver alike into multi-millionaires. F1 is now truly a global affair that is bigger than the rulebook and as exciting as it has ever been. Purist may mourn the loss of 'gentleman' drivers but the media love the hype and like the good little consumers we are, so do the millions of armchair experts.
And why not ? After all its Grand Prix racing and you just have to love it! |
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