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Two tenths only from Senna

Eddie Cheever qualified a superb fourth in his Alfa Romeo 185T at the 1985 Monaco Grand Prix. The American was only 0.279 sec slower than pole man Ayrton Senna in his Lotus-Renault, a fantastic achievement. Eddie Cheever remembers: “Monaco was my highlight of the Formula One season. To get to race on the same track that Fangio, […]

Monaco, full red

Michael Schumacher led a Ferrari one-two at the 1999 Monaco Grand Prix, after pole-man Mika Hakkinen’s challenge faded away in the McLaren. Eddie Irvine, in the second Ferrari took second place and Mika Hakkinen was third (picture below). By taking his 16th win with Ferrari, Schumacher became the most successful driver the illustrious Scuderia has ever had. Michael […]

In kangaroo country…

… cars jump, everybody knows that. Witness this image taken at the 1959 Australian Grand Prix ran at Longford in Tasmania and won by a certain Stan Jones (Maserati 250F), who was none other than the father of future World Champion Alan Jones. Jones Sr. duly won the race (ran according to Formula Libre regulations) […]

Tico Martini’s big jump

The little French Martini team, so successful in the lower formulae, tried to make the big jump into Formula 1 in 1978 with driver René Arnoux. Unfortunately, the Martini MK23 was too conventional, unreliable, and ultimately not quick enough. One should know that Tico Martini started the design of the car mid-1976, but by the […]

Is he the greatest?

With 7 World Drivers’ Championships on his name, 98 Grand Prix victories and 100 (!) pole positions and still counting, Lewis Hamilton has surpassed all expectations. But how great is he? Damon Hill and Fernando Alonso, two World Champions in their own right, express themselves: Damon Hill: “You do realise you are watching one of […]

‘Without a drop of sweat’

Formula 1 rising star Thierry Boutsen was paired with veteran endurance ace David Hobbs in the John Fitzpatrick entered Skoal Bandit Porsche 956 for the 1984 Nurburgring 1000km. The race was won by the works Rothmans Porsche 956 of Stefan Bellof and Derek Bell, but Boutsen and Hobbs did a tremendous job finishing in the same lap as the […]

Annus horribilis

First American Formula One World Champion with Ferrari in 1961, Phil Hill was going to experience a ‘season in hell’ in the Grand Prix the following year, after the departure of some of the most important brains of the Scuderia, which jeopardised the development of the pretty 156 “sharknose”. Only 12th on the grid of the 1962 […]