Texas heat

Dallas 1984. F1’s never ending quest to gain a foothold in the United States led them to Dallas. The track would be a street circuit, and the race was scheduled to take place mid-July, under the extreme Texas heat.

The big casualty of the weekend was the track itself as, due to the scorching heat, the asphalt began to break down… with the marshals trying to repair it on Sunday morning, a few hours before the race.

The race saw temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celcius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) as men and machines were pushed to their limits. A race of attrition saw just a handful cars taking the checkered flag with Williams’ Keke Rosberg (picture-below) winning from P8.

Pole-sitter Nigel Mansell (Lotus-Renault) led for half the race, but later lost ground. To make matters worse, the Lotus gave up coming out of the final corner. Determined to finish and to score points, he jumped out and pushed his car to the finish line, only to pass out due to extreme fatigue and heat. He will be classified sixth and score one point.