Category: F1

Onboard race footage with Fangio

A few years ago, I posted the link to a short video showing footage of Fangio testing a Maserati 250F in 1957 at Modena. The video is really cool, showing El Chueco deftly handling that beautiful car. I’m bringing up this again because yesterday I found out how they made that footage. When I first saw that video I assumed that the camera had been fixed to the rear of the car, and remotely triggered by Fangio himself. However, I was mistaken, and as you can see above, it was not shot using a GoPro either 😂. Well, I therefor conclude that if pilots at that time had balls of steel, cameramen had balls of adamantium. Even though it was Fangio at the wheel, holy cow! 😲😲😲

Golden Age of Grand Prix Racing

Though this has been on YouTube for many years, I first saw it last night. The original documentary is pretty old (80s, perhaps?), so the video quality is far from what we expect today. Even so, it’s a delightful 49 minutes about the Golden Era of Grand Prix racing. The last third part of the film is almost solely about the Silberpfeile, which of course was the best part in my opinion. In fact, this was the first time I saw color footage on the Silver Arrows. All in all, a very nice documentary about the Silberpfeile and something on their predecessors.

Books – Niki Lauda

“Niki Lauda: The Biography” – Maurice Hamilton

Since I’m a gearhead, of course I have some interest in F1. Yet, I’m not exactly a big fan. While that may be so, I do have more than a passing interest in the sport’s history. And a BIG part of that history in my eyes is occupied by Niki Lauda. To me, he was one of F1’s finest personalities, both in the cockpit of a F1 car and in the back scenes. And quite frankly, it is hard to find another driver with such colorful history.

I got this book on my Kindle, and it’s a bit poor on the photo content. Even so, it makes up with loads and loads of stories from Lauda’s carreer. And just as enticing, it gives a good idea of the inner workings of the F1 circus in the 70s and 80s. So I would say this is a must read to the Niki Lauda fan and a great book for the F1 fan.

Did I complete my Silberpfeil quiver?

Silberpfeil

Recently, I got the Auto Union Typ C #4 and a couple of weeks later, the Typ D #4. I was overjoyed to get them, because it was a looooong while since I last got a Silver Arrow. However, that got me thinking and prompted some research.

Do I now have all the Golden Age Grand Prix Silberpfeile 🤔?

If so, the Silver Arrow wing of the Garage is complete. I think probably many would consider that as a good thing. On the other hand, that also means I don’t have any new Silberpfeil to look forward to 😕. And since I’m more a find-happiness-along-the-way type of person than a completist that is a bit sad…

Click HERE to read a little more.

Spa, 1961

This is a short film of the Belgian Grand Prix, at Spa-Francorchamps on June 18th 1961. Frankly, the editing is a bit of a mess, not being sequential or chronologically set up. The GREAT part about it though is that it’s in 60 FPS. That being so, you can really appreciate the details, specially on the onboard parts. As a comparison, you can see here “regular footage” of that race.

According to legend, it was footage like this that inspired John Frankenheimer to make one of the most famous racing films of all times, “Grand Prix” of 1966 (you can watch the whole film from that link).

Lauda × Hunt: 1976 F1 Season

I’m probably correct to assume that everyone who has an interest in motorsports in general has seen the film “Rush”. I also believe that very possibly, the film was inspired by the convoluted 1976 F1 season. It’s a very colorful story and Aidan Millward very competently resumed it in his YouTube channel. Though actual events diverge some (a lot?) from what the film shows, in essence it’s a VERY good film. In fact, I l-o-v-e it, and kick myself for not getting a Blu-ray copy when it was easily available 😫.

If you enjoyed the film, check out Aidan Millward’s very nice resume of what happened during the 1976 season.

1962 Monaco Grand Prix

Stumbled upon this short film last night. The big deal is that it’s high quality footage, so the image is really good for something shot in the 60s. It’s almost seven minutes of very enjoyable old-school racing. In fact, if not for the helicopter shots instead of drone footage you could almost think this is current footage of a vintage racing event.

Books – Enzo Ferrari

I’m half way through this book, and I can’t recommend it more. Very nicely written, with tons of info specially about the back-stages of what happened in Maranello. I always knew Enzo Ferrari was kind of an a-hole, but in reality, the man was a grade A+ summa com laude a-hole. Still, the best thing about the book in my opinion is to see how absolutely brutal GP and F1 racing was back then.

Even if you are not a ferrarista, this is a very interesting read for the gearhead and race fan in general.