Good old days

Niki Lauda (1949-2019), a man of few words, but always interesting in his analyses, shared his thought a couple of years ago, on the evolution of Formula 1 and the increasing share of technology in the performance, compared to when he was driving.

Niki Lauda: “I don’t want to sound like a retrospective person stuck in the past, but the fact remains that, in my day, everything was in the hands of the driver – the gear changes, the delicate art of clutch control during race starts, managing engine revs during gear changes – everything.”

And right he was, the triple F1 World Champion, and we all regret this evolution… Nobody can stop technological progress, isn’t it? Or can we give the drivers back some of their lost prerogatives?

Picture below: This is the cockpit of the 1975 Ferrari 312T with which Niki Lauda became World Formula One champion for the first time. Simplicity, and everything solely in the hands of the driver.