What is your f1 Golden Era?
Discussion
now that the season, and maybe era is over, I have been hearing a lot of people talking about f1 back in the day, and how good it was(or not..) I have only been a fan since 2006ish, so i'm a new fan really, and have seen old footage, Senna and Rush films, and it did look ace years ago, the different looking cars on the grid, the sounds of the engines were epic, the risk the drivers took i can't imagine watching todays f1.
So, what's your golden era of the sport and why? What have i missed out on!
So, what's your golden era of the sport and why? What have i missed out on!
1987 and the years around it. Nigel Mansell, he made it so memorable for me for so many reasons. No silver spoon birth, sold everything to make it, broke all sorts of bones trying. My absolute glory days. There were many other great drivers around at the time too, including Senna, but I was never a fan of his.
Well I suppose I have two really,
The first (and probably my fondest) was 1994 to 1998 with Damon battling the shoe maker - I honestly think that when ze German drove into Damon to claim the title in '94 was the first time I'd ever shouted at the telly! and to this day I think my favourite race was the '98 Belgian GP in the wet, which incidentally was Damon's last win for Jordan.
Then I drifted off a little bit through the noughties when we had the steamroller dominance of the Ferrari years, and even Alonso coming good didn't seem to change the monotony all that much until he moved to McLaren in 2007...
That year was epic on so many levels, there was all the spygate nonsense together with the inter team battle between Lewis and Fernando some very good races with genuinely good overtaking and the narrowest of title battles. TBH I don't think I've ever paid quite so much attention to a season. IT was just a shame that the sport turned into something of a soap opera really.
All the best
Richard
The first (and probably my fondest) was 1994 to 1998 with Damon battling the shoe maker - I honestly think that when ze German drove into Damon to claim the title in '94 was the first time I'd ever shouted at the telly! and to this day I think my favourite race was the '98 Belgian GP in the wet, which incidentally was Damon's last win for Jordan.
Then I drifted off a little bit through the noughties when we had the steamroller dominance of the Ferrari years, and even Alonso coming good didn't seem to change the monotony all that much until he moved to McLaren in 2007...
That year was epic on so many levels, there was all the spygate nonsense together with the inter team battle between Lewis and Fernando some very good races with genuinely good overtaking and the narrowest of title battles. TBH I don't think I've ever paid quite so much attention to a season. IT was just a shame that the sport turned into something of a soap opera really.
All the best
Richard
The best seasons feature a golden generation of drivers and/or titanic battle for WDC with the best drivers in more or less the best cars.
The seasons that stick to mind are 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
92 - there was a couple of classic races but Mansell walked it. WDC was thoroughly deserved BTW.
The seasons that stick to mind are 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Vaud said:
For races that I have seen and remember at the time, 91/92 was good, as was 94-99,
91 had a lot of drama, FW14 quick but unreliable hydraulics.92 - there was a couple of classic races but Mansell walked it. WDC was thoroughly deserved BTW.
Before 1978 most of us didn't get top see much F1 on TV, just the odd race or race highlights. So some "classic" eras like all of the 50s and most of the 60s were read about, rather than watched.
From 1978 on, I was an avid fan watching all the races BBC showed live or in highlight form. I liked 1982 for the drama, tension and even the tragedy. 1985 was good for the bonkers turbos. The Mansell, Senna, Prost years were intense with some classic wheel to wheel races, rivalries and rows.
The last period where I really supported anyone was the Damon Hill years.
And the Schumacher era to me was the end of my "love affair" with F1.
I still follow it, and there have been some good seasons since the end of the Schumacher era - but it will never matter to me the way it did when I was younger.
From 1978 on, I was an avid fan watching all the races BBC showed live or in highlight form. I liked 1982 for the drama, tension and even the tragedy. 1985 was good for the bonkers turbos. The Mansell, Senna, Prost years were intense with some classic wheel to wheel races, rivalries and rows.
The last period where I really supported anyone was the Damon Hill years.
And the Schumacher era to me was the end of my "love affair" with F1.
I still follow it, and there have been some good seasons since the end of the Schumacher era - but it will never matter to me the way it did when I was younger.
wanacoop said:
To make it a bit more interesting, feel free to add a pic or two to back up your era, mine would be this i think, the lack of sponsership logo's is so telling of the start they had..
It looked so much better for it though, I think it's a close tie between this and the Jordan 191 as the best looking F1 cars ever. DanielSan said:
I think it's a close tie between [2009 Brawn] and the Jordan 191 as the best looking F1 cars ever of the modern era.
Fixed it.
I agree that the Brawn and the Jordan 191 were fabulous looking - especially the Jordan - but for me, none can beat the 1967 look, especially the Lotus and the Eagle.
I reckon 1967 would have been the best year to watch F1. Sadly, little of it was shown live on TV and even less of it exists on TV recordings. The few remaining films and TV recordings of this last era before the advent of wings just shows what a spectacle a no downforce, softly suspended, poor grip F1 car was.
I was entranced when I saw my first GP, the British at Brands in 1966. I'd seen a lot of club racing and the then equally ultimate sports car racing but for some reason, F1 just did it for me.
Although there wasn't much on TV it was covered will in some papers, Autosport and Motor Sport. Further there were a number of nutty (equally nutty I suppose) followers of the sport at work. Mind you, most of us also followed sports car racing and rally.
Each year seemed to be exciting, with new drivers. I was a big fan of Lotus and their drivers over the years reads like a list of the best for each era.
Whenever there was a death, and they were incredibly frequent, the enthusiasm used to wane a bit, but I always went back.
There were two main spoilers for me.
Politics are always an important aspect of F1, although in the Balestre era it seemed to be just favouritism. Mosley, of course, was the really depressing era of politics but real racing seemed to come through.
Each season was terrific.
For me is was the great battle of Senna and Prost in the McLaren which I'd pick as the season and the Willliams/McLaren era as the most engrossing.
The Ferrari years, with just the one car was a massive downer, really dreadful The Indianapolis race just seemed to sum up what had gone wrong with the sport: politics, favouritism and underhand dealings seemed rampant.
After that, things picked up no end and the sport came back.
High point: difficult to say. Some of the cars were stunning. My favourites included the unwinged Lotus, the black and gold ones, the Brabhams, always well turned out and often (although not always) beautiful. The BT 54 my favourite.
I suppose passions are not the same as you get older but it does seem to me that the excitement of each individual GP has dropped since we've had so many.
So 1966 to the Ferrari years, then the post Ferrari years were my favourite.
Although there wasn't much on TV it was covered will in some papers, Autosport and Motor Sport. Further there were a number of nutty (equally nutty I suppose) followers of the sport at work. Mind you, most of us also followed sports car racing and rally.
Each year seemed to be exciting, with new drivers. I was a big fan of Lotus and their drivers over the years reads like a list of the best for each era.
Whenever there was a death, and they were incredibly frequent, the enthusiasm used to wane a bit, but I always went back.
There were two main spoilers for me.
Politics are always an important aspect of F1, although in the Balestre era it seemed to be just favouritism. Mosley, of course, was the really depressing era of politics but real racing seemed to come through.
Each season was terrific.
For me is was the great battle of Senna and Prost in the McLaren which I'd pick as the season and the Willliams/McLaren era as the most engrossing.
The Ferrari years, with just the one car was a massive downer, really dreadful The Indianapolis race just seemed to sum up what had gone wrong with the sport: politics, favouritism and underhand dealings seemed rampant.
After that, things picked up no end and the sport came back.
High point: difficult to say. Some of the cars were stunning. My favourites included the unwinged Lotus, the black and gold ones, the Brabhams, always well turned out and often (although not always) beautiful. The BT 54 my favourite.
I suppose passions are not the same as you get older but it does seem to me that the excitement of each individual GP has dropped since we've had so many.
So 1966 to the Ferrari years, then the post Ferrari years were my favourite.
Eric Mc said:
I reckon 1967 would have been the best year to watch F1. Sadly, little of it was shown live on TV and even less of it exists on TV recordings. The few remaining films and TV recordings of this last era before the advent of wings just shows what a spectacle a no downforce, softly suspended, poor grip F1 car was.
This era was a bit before my time, although I am a huge fan of the Lotus 49...but I did youtube 1967 grand prix and this footage of the inaugural Canadian GP is pretty epic
1967 Canadian GP
All the best
Richard
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