If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to drive during the infamous ‘killer years’ of Formula 1, where safety wasn’t overly high on the list of importance in our sport, wonder no more with this remarkable onboard footage in a vintage F1 car.

A great find on youtube by a Reddit/Formula1 user and posted over the weekend. 

What we have here is visor camera footage of a 1981 McLaren MP4/1 racing at the Brands Hatch Historic Festival in 2019, surely the most realistic Formula 1 onboard short of actually being in the car.

Powered by the famous Ford DFV engine, the McLaren MP4/1 was the first McLaren to be produced after the Ron Dennis takeover of McLaren in 1980. 

The first over Formula 1 car to have a monocoque made from carbon fibre, a design feature that no doubt saved the life of F1 driver John Watson during the Italian Grand Prix in 1981 when the Northern Irishman crashed heavily at the Lesmo’s.

For anyone who doubts that these priceless Formula 1 cars are not being pushed by their drivers, perhaps need to attend a historic F1 event and see for themselves.

The crash footage below was taken at the same event at Brands Hatch last year.