F1 as it once was

[a8hex]

Over on the Beeb's website there's a bunch of great Mike Hayward photos of yesteryear.
Dinkel, how do you fancy the second shot? close enough to the action?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-21740060

[RichB]

For those of us old enough to remember this era well it's justr astonishing how much F1 has changed in 40 years...

[LotusOmega375D]

Is that really re-fuelling taking place in picture 3 (Mike Hailwood)?

[nicanary]

Today's "fanboyz" could learn a lot from those days. Proper GP racing, with none of this blackmailing organisers and homogenising cars, all money and no substance. God, I could go on all day........

[a8hex]

LotusOmega375D said:

Is that really re-fuelling taking place in picture 3 (Mike Hailwood)?

Not unless someone is pouring fuel from a watering can into the radiator (*). That top looks rather like the filler of every radiator I remember seeing before everything went sealed.

(*) which reminds me of a story my Aunt once told me of her friend who was told they needed to top up the water level and filled the engine with water through the oil filler, right up to the top.

[LordBretSinclair]

Thanks for the heads up on this - great memories

For an old codger like me the John Player Lotus 72 is still the archetypal F1 car, IMHO never bettered

[benjj]

Oh to see some weird and wacky stuff back on the grid...

[LotusOmega375D]

Mario Andretti in a Lotus 79 for me.

[jith]

a8hex said:

LotusOmega375D said:

Is that really re-fuelling taking place in picture 3 (Mike Hailwood)?

Not unless someone is pouring fuel from a watering can into the radiator (*). That top looks rather like the filler of every radiator I remember seeing before everything went sealed.

(*) which reminds me of a story my Aunt once told me of her friend who was told they needed to top up the water level and filled the engine with water through the oil filler, right up to the top.

You beat me to it a8; whilst health and safety was not exactly prominent in that era, they weren't that daft!

J

[bebee]

a8hex said:

Over on the Beeb's website there's a bunch of great Mike Hayward photos of yesteryear.
Dinkel, how do you fancy the second shot? close enough to the action?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-21740060

Nick Loudon was a dare devil photographer in the 60's, I bought one of his prints while in Duns 2010 at an exibition for his work. Jim Clark would use Nick's camera shot position on say a hairpin to gaugh how close he could get, and Nick would get closer to him each time Jim came round, very close work.

[Chunkychucky]

LotusOmega375D said:

Mario Andretti in a Lotus 79 for me.

Put Ronnie in the driving seat and discard all team orders of having to play second fiddle and that's perfection

[Old Merc]

The best photo is the one of the Lotus mechanics doing an engine change in the open air with just a tin roof for cover,with all sorts of odd bods watching,bits all over the place.A long way off from today's clinical,corporate and secretive F1 garages.
Those mechanics used to work like that at every grand prix.There was only about four per car,doing "all nighters" was the norm and they also drove the truck across Europe and back as well.
I have a book "Tales from the tool box" by Michael Oliver.A collection of behind the scenes tales from Grand Prix mechanics during the 60`s & 70`s ,hilarious and fun but what a tough life.


This is Zandvoort 1975 Dutch Grand Prix.

[john2443]

a8hex said:

LotusOmega375D said:

Is that really re-fuelling taking place in picture 3 (Mike Hailwood)?

Not unless someone is pouring fuel from a watering can into the radiator (*). That top looks rather like the filler of every radiator I remember seeing before everything went sealed.

(*) which reminds me of a story my Aunt once told me of her friend who was told they needed to top up the water level and filled the engine with water through the oil filler, right up to the top.

....but the do appear to be filling the brake reservoir with petrol here....

[Old Merc]

The one thing that has never changed at Grand Prix`s?? There is always lots of pretty women.

Edited by Old Merc on Friday 15th March 18:21

[Old Merc]

This is one for the old F1 farts. Name the mechanic on the right talking to Jack Brabham??
The clue is,he has done rather well since this photo was taken.

[WJM]

Ron Dennis ? Was he ever that slim ?

Bill

[RichB]

Indeed, look at the way he's squinting through one eye, he still does that.

[jith]

john2443 said:

a8hex said:

LotusOmega375D said:

Is that really re-fuelling taking place in picture 3 (Mike Hailwood)?

Not unless someone is pouring fuel from a watering can into the radiator (*). That top looks rather like the filler of every radiator I remember seeing before everything went sealed.

(*) which reminds me of a story my Aunt once told me of her friend who was told they needed to top up the water level and filled the engine with water through the oil filler, right up to the top.

....but the do appear to be filling the brake reservoir with petrol here....

And Bill Wyman's working with the pit team!!


J

[WJM]

ormally with these things you tend to remember a "golden era" when you started to get interested. My first time for F1 was in 1960/61, I still regard Stirling Moss as the best ever but I thought {even then} that the 1.5 litre were not very exciting compared to the old 2.5 litre last of the front engined cars like the 250F Maserati. I still think that looking at the cars now, the last front engined cars are beautiful, sound good, and slide around corners at historic meetings and although the cossie brigade are much faster they remain my favourite.

Bill

[Shaw Tarse]

Racing on BBC4 http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...