F1 History

F1 History In The (Re)Making: The 2013 Monaco Grand Prix

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Brought to you by TJ13 chronicler: Bart De Pauw – Nico Rosberg becomes the first ever son to follow into his father’s footsteps by winning the Monaco Grand Prix The 2013 Monaco Grand Prix was the 71st edition of this most prestigious race around the Circuit de Monaco and the 59th time it was organized as … Read more

F1 History: Spain’s first purpose built circuit ~ Autódromo Internacional de Terramar

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The very first purpose-built racing circuit in Spain was the Autódromo Internacional de Terramar” in Sant Pere de Ribs near Sitges. Frick Amangue founded Autodromo Nacional, S.A. to oversee the construction of a new all-concrete oval for auto and motorcycle racing. The architects were Jaume Mestres (track) and Josep Maria Martino (facilities), and construction, which began in … Read more

Enrique Hector Scalabroni: His history and an explanation of ‘roll centres’

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Enrique Hector Scalabroni (born Alta Gracia, Córdoba, Argentina, October 1949) is an Argentinian race car designer, technical director, and team racing boss. He was employed by Dallara, Williams, Ferrari, Lotus and Peugeot Sport between 1985 and 2002, before setting up his own F 3000 and GP2 team in 2003, BCN Competicion, which lasted till the end of 2008.

enrique

Early Career

Scalabroni studied mechanical engineering at the Beunos Aires Technological university before being recruited by the Formula Renault Fama team in 1975. He later worked for the Osvaldo Antelo Renault F2 and Miguel Herceg’s Ford Turismo de Carretera official teams. In Argentina he designed and built his own small single seaters, Formula Renault, and national F2 single seater cars.

Scalabroni arrived in Europe in 1982 from Argentina at the age of 32. He evolved to became one of the principal designer at Williams, chief designer at Ferrari and Lotus, and the Technical Director with the Asiatech F1 engine manufacturing company.

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Alberto Ascari (1918-55)

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It was May 22, 1955, and the European and Monaco Grand Prix was reaching its climax. You can almost see Alberto Ascari straining every sinew of his body and of his Lancia D50, to catch race-leader Stirling Moss’s Mercedes Benz W196. It as the 77th lap and he was catching Moss at an astonishing rate of nearly 3 seconds per circuit. A quick calculation showed it would be a one lap duel with the cars adjacent on the track.

1954 had been an immensely frustrating year for Ascari – WDC of ’52 and ’53. He had walked out on Ferrari at the end of 1953 and on 1 January 1954 had signed for the ambitious Lancia company, who had designed and built an innovative new Grand Prix car, the first in their history. Progress however was slow, and the car’s debut was delayed again and again. Meanwhile consternation reigned in Northern Italy when Mercedes Benz announced that revolutionary new streamlined “Silver Arrows” were to be ready to race in the French GP in July.

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The First ever US Grand Prize

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Its F1 in the US of A week and here’s another good article I’ve found on my travels from Sportscardigest.com (abridged)

A Grand Prize?

If asked (outside the USA) what is the world’s foremost racing car series, most people would answer Formula 1. In its present format the series series consists of a yearly Grand Prix (French for Grand Prize) in each participating country though occasionally a countru has had 2 with the second being called ‘the Grand Prix of Europe’ or ‘Asia’. The Formula 1 series as one organised under the governance of the Federation Internationala de l’Automobile (FIA) only began in 1950.

However, the first Grand Prix – being country’s premier motorsport event – began long before that. The first one was held in 1906 near the city of Le Mans in France while the first U.S. GP was in 1908. A number of cities proposed hosting the first event, among them Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Even though Indianapolis offered considerable up-front money, the beautiful and picturesque Savannah, Georgia was selected by the Automobile Club of America (ACA).

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US Grand Prix 2002, Indianapolis: A Ferrari Fix

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In the run up to the return to the US for F1 racing, I’m looking for good stories that maybe veteran F1 fans want to relive and new ones can read for the first time. Most people with any vague knowledge of F1 racing in the US will know of the tyre debacle at Indianapolis in 2005 where only 6 teams ran.

Yesterday, thejudge13 published a review and some video footage from Dallas 1984, another farcical event where the track disintegrated before the drivers eys. So much so the Pole Position fastest time was set on Friday some 2.5 seconds quicker than anything possible on the Saturday – and there was no rain. (LINK)

Controversy has not been far from the US Grand Prix it seems in recent years. This race at 2002, I remember watching live and listening to the incredulous voice of the commentator who wailed in disbelief at the finish as it unfolded before his eyes. The article is from Grandprix.com but is abridged due a great level of detail some may find dull. The link to the full article is at the end for those wanting the 10th’s of seconds etc…  suffice to say the race was a fairly dull Ferrari domination (as was much of 1999-2004).

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The 1984 US Grand Prix: Dallas, Texas

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This year, Formula One returns to the USA after a 5 year absence. Austin, Texas is the first purpose built circuit for the sport since F1 racing began in the country back in 1950. It’s a modern F1 design and is quite unlike the slippery, tight and twisty corners found on the street circuits in Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Phoenix and Dallas that hosted US Grands Prix in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s.

The last race in the state of Texas was in 1984 and is an event remembered by many not for the immaculate layout like in Austin, but it was a street circuit and these venues in the US particular presented an extraordinary challenge for the drivers, since one mistake could result in a race-ending crash. The 1984 Dallas Grand Prix provided an additional challenge on top of the already difficult winding track. The enormous heat of well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit left the track crumbling down as it was tormented by the cars.

Here’s an article I found from Marcel Schot (Netherlands) and a now defunct publication. Makes a good read.

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Formula 1’s first world champion:

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Rose tinted spectacles

“In the golden days of F1 every Grand Prix was a classic, with 20 changes of lead and a photo finish. Dashing drivers would climb from beautiful, sponsor-free cars, light a cigarette and regale the world’s press with quick-witted quips” (Keith Collantine). I love the picture this conjures up, and the further back in Grand Prix history we go, the more rose-tinted the spectacles become.

The names of Fangio, Ascari, Hawthorn and Moss all trip of the lips of every true F1 fan when discussing the very beginnings of Formula 1, but there is a name I never heard in my early F1 education and it is particularly strange because he is credited with winning the first FIA Formula 1 world drivers championship. Maybe this was because he was a ‘here today gone tomorrow type character’, or possibly he ‘lucked in’ to win a title when those much better around him failed to deliver.

Nope. None of that is true. Guiseppe ‘Nino’ Farina born in 1906 had nearly 25 years in motor racing and was still employed by a works F1 team when he retired at the age of 55. The nickname ‘Nino’ is Italian and means “God is gracious” and the reason for this label will become apparent.

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The Birth of the ‘Silver Arrows’ and the greatest race of all time.

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Bernie Ecclestone controversial said early this year, “What have Mercedes ever done in F1?” He was of course referring to the Brackley based F1 team which have had a number of names, as opposed to Mercedes per se. But modern F1 history often only begins in 1950 because this is when the inaugural FIA Formula One World Championship season. Yet Grand Prix racing Formula One style was in existence way before 1950, and was exactly the highly competitive prototype car development race we have today. The 1935 German Grand Prix Victory for the massively under powered Alfa, is considered by many to be the greatest Grand Prix vicotry of all time.

A New Premier Formula

The previous governing body, the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) announced a new formula in 1935. The formula that limited the car minus driver, fuel and oil to 750kg without restricting engine size and the length of a Grand Prix was set to a minimum 500 kilometer – nearly twice as far as today’s races. The rules were designed to make the cars slower, but as been for all time the car designers had other ideas. Mercedes developed 4 litre engines with new lightweight materials – the previous thinking was that anything over 2 litres couldn’t be fitted into a proper race car. Mercedes’ chief designer, Dr. Hans Nibel, designed a car around a conventional layout but incorporating some of the latest development in racing technology

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