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Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organized automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. Innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds exceeding 100 mph but because the races were held on open roads there were frequent accidents with the resulting fatalities of both drivers and spectators.
The drivers in Formula One race in Grands Prix (French for Big Prizes) which count towards the Formula One World Championship. The minimum distance of a Grand Prix is 305 km, but no race can last for more than two hours.
The first event to have been planned was to have been a short trial in Paris organized by "Le Velocipede" in 1887, but only one competitor turned up and so it was abandoned. The first organized event was actually a Reliability Trial run from Paris to Rouen in 1894 over a distance of 126 km. It was organized by a newspaper, Le Petite Journal, and the winning "horseless carriage" had to be "safe, easily controllable and reasonably economical to run."
Organized racing
A seminal event in racing came in 1900 when James Gordon Bennett, Jr. (1841-1918), the owner of the New York Herald newspaper and the International Herald Tribune in Paris, France, established the Gordon Bennett Cup in Europe, an annual race that attracted international competitors. Each country was allowed to enter up to three cars. Following Bennett's lead, in the United States, the wealthy William Kissam Vanderbilt II launched the Vanderbilt Cup at Long Island, New York in 1904. Influenced by these racing events, Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941), a Swiss-born employee of a French motor vehicle manufacturer would move to the United States and beginning in 1910 would become a major figure in American racing and the designer of a car for General Motors that bears his name.
Twenty one entries left Paris on July 22nd, and the first home was Count de Dion in a steam driven De Dion tractor. Unfortunately for De Dion, the jury decided that his car was not a practical road vehicle and instead awarded the prize jointly to the next two leading cars, a Peugeot and a Panhard-Levassor respectively. The winning average speed was an exhilarating 17km/h. Many town races were run in the following years including Paris to Bordeaux and back. This 1895 event, a true race, was won by Emille Levassor. Driving a 2-cylinder, 4-bhp Panhard-Levassor he drove 48 hours 48 minutes virtually non-stop.
Because his car only had two seats instead of the required four he was denied the prize of 31,000 francs, yet it is his statue that overlooks the finishing line at the Porte Maillot in Paris. Another interesting entrant in this race was the Peugeot of André Michelin which used pneumatic tires. Typically wheels used on other cars were either iron or solid rubber. At first the "air tyre" was ridiculed as impractical and indeed Michelin's car suffered from numerous flats due to the poor condition of the roads at the turn of the century. Panhard would dominate racing until the end of the century. The following years saw an ever increasing search for speed and the easiest path was to increase engine size. Soon 7 and 8 liter engines were common place and even a 16 liter engine was produced.
Developments in chassis design, brakes and tires did not maintain pace but in 1901 that changed with the introduction of the 35 h.p. Mercedes. It was the first sports-racing car which featured a four cylinder engine with mechanical valves, a "honeycomb" radiator, a steel chassis, pneumatic tires and a magneto ignition. After solving some early reliability problems and coupled with the increase of engine capacity to 9 liters producing 60 h.p., the car became a consistent race winner. Each of the leading manufactures contributed advancements to automobile design. Renault produced a car with shaft drive and a live rear axle. A superb example of this Mercedes is on display at Filching Manor Motor Museum in Sussex, England.
The first Grands Prix
In 1906 the first (and at that time only) race carrying the name Grand Prix was organized by the Automobile Club de France (ACF), and run over two days in June. The Le Mans based circuit used was roughly triangular in shape, each lap covering 105km (65 miles). Six laps were to be run each day, and each lap took about an hour using the relatively primitive cars of the day. From the 32 entries representing 12 different automobile manufacturers, the Hungarian-born Ferenc Szisz (1873-1944) won the 1260 km race in a Renault.
Races in this period were heavily nationalistic affairs, with a few countries setting up races of their own, but no formal championship tying them together. The rules varied from country to country and race to race, and typically centered around maximum (not minimum) weights in an effort to limit power by limiting engine size indirectly (10-15 liter engines were quite common, usually with no more than four cylinders, and producing less than 50hp). The cars all had mechanics on board as well as the driver, and no one was allowed to work on the cars during the race except these two. A key factor to Renault winning this first Grand Prix was held to be the detachable wheel rims, which allowed tire changes to occur without having to lever the tire and tube off and back on the rim. Given the state of the roads, such repairs were frequent.
Nation shall race against Nation
The Automobile Club de France, which was formed in 1895, decided after many disagreements over regulations to hold their own races. In 1906 The French held the very first Grand Prix for manufactures over a 64-mile course near Le Mans. Of the 32 cars that started the race 11 remained after 12 laps split over two days. The winner was Ferenc Szisz, a Hungarian, driving a 90hp Renault. His Renault utilized detachable rims created by Michelin which enabled him to change tires in 2 to 3 minutes instead of the normal 15 minutes. Another important event that year was the inaugural Targa Florio. Organized by the wealthy Sicilian Vicenzo Floria, the race covered three laps of 148.832 km over mountain roads unchanged since the Punic Wars.
In 1907 the Germans held their own race, the Kaiserpreis, for touring cars of under 8 liters and weighing less than 1165 kg. The race was won by Nazzaro in a Fiat. France, the birthplace of auto racing was finding itself among the also rans. After dominating racing up until 1906 they were supplanted by the Alfa of Italy and Mercedes of Germany. The defining race of the pre- WW1 era was the ACF Grand Prix of 1914. The race was held on a 36.63 km circuit near Lyons and would last 20 laps. The formula for that year restricted engine capacity to 4500cc and weight to 1100kg. Peugeot, determined to return France to the front ranks of motor sports entered three cars that featured four-wheel brakes.
The main challenge for France were the Germans led by five Mercedes. With the political tensions in Europe coming to a head the race could not escape from having political overtones. Max Sailor, a Mercedes director and race car driver led from the start with the Peugeot of Georges Boillot in second. The leading Mercedes developed engine trouble and on the sixth lap the Peugeot took the lead. The French crowd erupted into patriotic demonstrations. The order was now Peugeot, the Mercedes of Lautenschlager, another Peugeot and the Mercedes of Wagner.
It was now Wagner's turn to make a charge and on the 11th lap he forced his way into second. The second Peugeot, driven by Goux began to overheat and was destined to retire. This left the Peugeot of Boillot still in from ahead of the on coming Germans. The 15th lap had now been completed with the Peugeot 2 minutes and 28 seconds ahead of the Mercedes driven by Wagner. After running a conservative race in the early laps Lautenschlager was now poised to begin his march. Passing his teammate he began to close the gap on the leading Peugeot. Boillot drove for all he was worth but nothing could stop the Mercedes from taking the lead. The Peugeot, not able to withstand the strain broke a valve and retired. Mercedes now owned the first three places and so they finished with Lautenschlager claiming his second ACF Grand Prix title. The sullen crowd responded with only a smattering of applause while the Mercedes pits erupted in joy. On this bitter note, for France, racing stopped on the European continent. Several leading drivers without a European outlet crossed the Atlantic and entered the Vanderbilt Cup, Indianapolis and the American Grand Prize.
The rise of purpose built racing circuits
1925 saw a number of developments. New road racing circuits were being built throughout Europe including Miramas, near Marseilles and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Riding mechanics were banned as they had been in America. The first World Championship was organized and included the French, Italian and Belgian Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. This championship was between manufactures rather than drivers. Alfa Romeo won that inaugural year and celebrated the victory by incorporating a laurel wreath into its badge. Unfortunately this also marked the high point for Grand Prix racing until the next decade. Because of escalating costs and few perceived benefits most of the major manufactures decided to abandon their factory racing efforts.
One event that stood out during this period was the Mille Miglia. The Mille Miglia was designed as a way to promote and improve Italian motor car design and reliability. Improving Italian roads was unfortunately not a priority as a recent visit to that country can attest.
The
Mille Miglia provided a test of almost 1000 grueling miles of good, bad,
and indifferent roads. The route traveled east to Vicenza, south along the
Adriatic to Pescara, west to Rome and then northwest to Brescia. It was
the province of Italian drivers for most of its history. Traditionally the
first cars, the amateurs, would leave Brescia at 9 p.m. at 1-minute
intervals and return 16-24 hours later.
Hundreds of thousand of spectators would line the roads to cheer their heroes on. In fact it was a lack of crowd control that would actually cause this race to be abandoned after the 1957 race which saw the death of the Marquis de Portago, his co-driver and ten spectators. This race has played host to many epic drives such as that undertaken by Caracciola in 1931 and Moss/Jenkinson in 1955. But none could top the Mille Miglia of 1930 when Nuvolari racing through the night, passed Varzi with his headlights turned off! In three weeks Varzi returned the favor by coming back from a car fire to win the Targa Florio.
Racecourse development
For the most part, races were run over a lengthy circuit of closed public roads, not purpose-built private tracks. This was true of the Le Mans circuit of the 1906 Grand Prix, as well as the Targa Florio (run on 93 miles of Sicilian roads), the German Kaiserpreis circuit (75 miles long), and the French circuit at Dieppe (a mere 48 miles), used for the 1907 Grand Prix. The exceptions were the steeply banked egg-shaped near oval of Brooklands in England, completed in 1907, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, first used in 1911, and the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, in Italy, opened in 1922.
In 1922, Italy became the first country outside France to host a race using the name Grand Prix, run at Monza. This was quickly followed by Belgium and Spain (in 1924), and later spread to other countries. Strictly speaking, this still wasn't a formal championship, but a loose collection of races run to various rules. (A "formula" of rules had appeared just before World War I, finally based on engine size as well as weight, but it wasn't universally adopted.) In 1924, however, many national motor clubs banded together to form the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR), whose Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) was empowered to regulate Grand Prix and other forms of international racing. Since the inception of Grand Prix racing, competitions had been run in accordance with a strict formula based on engine size and vehicle weight. These regulations were virtually abandoned in 1928 with an era know as "Formula Libre" when race organisers decided to run their events with almost no limitations. From 1927 to 1934, the number of races considered to have Grand Prix status exploded, jumping from five events in 1927 to nine events in 1929 to eighteen in 1934 (the peak pre-World War II year).
The Pre-WW II years
Important individual and corporate names emerged during this time who would change the face of automobile design and engineering: The 1933 Monaco Grand Prix was the first time in the history of the sport that the grid was deciding by timed qualifying rather than the luck of a draw. All the competing vehicles were painted in national colors: blue for the French drivers, green for the British, red for the Italian, yellow for the Belgians, and white for the Germans. Beginning in 1934, the Germans stopped painting their cars, after the paint had been left off a Mercedes-Benz in an effort to reduce weight. The unpainted metal soon had the German vehicles dubbed by the media as the "Silver Arrows".
French cars continued to dominate (led by Bugatti, but also including Delage and Delahaye) until the late 1920s, when the Italians (Alfa Romeo and Maserati) began to beat the French cars regularly. At the time, the Germans engineered unique race vehicles as seen in the photo here with the Benz aerodynamic "teardrop" body introduced at the 1923 European Grand Prix at Monza. In the 1930s, however, nationalism entered a new phase when the Nazis encouraged Mercedes and Auto Union to further the glory of the Reich. (The government did provide some money to the two manufacturers, but the extent of the aid into their hands was exaggerated in the media; government subsidies amounted to only about 10% of the costs of running the two racing teams.) The two German marques utterly dominated the period from 1934 to 1939, winning all but three of the races run in those years. The cars by this time were single-seaters (the riding mechanic vanished in the early 1920s), with 8 to 16 cylinder supercharged engines producing upwards of 600hp on alcohol fuels.
As early as October of 1923 the idea of an automobile championship was discussed at the annual fall conference of the AIACR (Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus) in Paris. However, discussion centered around the increased interest in racing by manufacturers and holding the first European Grand Prix at Monza in 1923. The first World Championship took place in 1925 but was for manufacturers only, consisting of four races of at least 800 km in length. The races that formed the first Constructors Championship were the Indianapolis 500, the European Grand Prix, and the French and Italian Grands Prix. A European Championship, consisting of the major Grand Prix in a number of countries (named Grandes Epreuves) was instituted for drivers in 1935, and was competed every year until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
Auto Union a amalgamation of four firms - Horch, Audi, Wanderer and DKW - chose a more radical concept for their Type A Grand Prix car. Designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, the mid-engined car placed the driver lower and further towards the front. It had a V16 4.4-litre supercharged engine that ran on special fuels mixed to a very secret formulae. The exhaust fumes that poured out by the engines was so strong that bystanders would complain of nausea and headaches! The Auto Union like the Mercedes used 4-wheel independent suspension. The suspension was later changed to a De Dion system in the Mercedes to improve handling over bumps and high-speed corners. Both cars were expected to make their debut at Avus near Berlin. During practice the Mercedes all suffered from carburetor problems and were forced to pull out. A parade of the three Auto Union race cars before 200,000 German spectators proved to be the highlight for the German team as only one car was left to finish third behind the Alfas of Guy Moll and Chiron! Two weeks later the German cars tasted their first blood.
The
Eifelrennen held at the Nurburgring, saw the German cars finished 1-2 with
the Mercedes of von Brauchitsch leading the Auto Union of Stuck. Prior to
the beginning of the race the Mercedes team created a little excitement
when it was found that their cars were 1 kg over the weight limit.
Following a suggestion by von Brauchitsch, Alfred
Neubauer had the paint from each car removed in order to meet the
weight limit, leaving the polished aluminum of the cars exposed and so
began the legend of the "Silver Arrows".
In 1935 both Mercedes and Auto Union continued to develop their cars with Auto Union replacing the rear leaf springs with a torsion-bar suspension. Both had their engines enlarged, the Auto Union now at 4950cc/375bhp while the Mercedes was at 3990cc/430bhp. Alfa Romeo made one valiant attempt to stop the German assault that resulted in a two-engined gas sucking 540bhp car known as the Bimotore. Built by Scuderia Ferrari in Modena this car was intended for fast tracks such as Avus. Interestingly both engines drove the rear wheels. But its high tire wear and prodigious gas consumption proved its Achilles heal. A European Championship for drivers was introduced and was promptly claimed by Rudolf Caracciola after victories in Belgium, Switzerland and Spain. Rudolf Caracciola would go on to win the title again in 1937 and 1938 while Bernd Rosemeyer would triumph in 1936. The German cars dominated Grand Prix Racing and except for remarkable victories by great drivers such as Chiron and Nuvolari the Italian and French cars had to console themselves with the 1.5-liter voiturette class. One such victory was the German Grand Prix of 1935.
The Greatest Victory of all time
1936
was the year of the Auto Union Type C driven by Bernd Rosemeyer. The
engine had been enlarged again to 6006cc and produced an astounding 520
bhp.
Tragically, before the beginning of the 1938 season, the heart of the Auto Union team was torn out by the death of its star. Bernd Rosemeyer died while attempting a speed record on the Frankfurt-Darmstadt autobahn. The Auto Union team even with the talents of Nuvolari was never the same again. The AIACR instituted a new formulae which limited engine size to 3 liters supercharged or 4.5 liters unsupercharged. Mercedes and Auto Union answered this new challenge without pause and continued their dominance. Alfa Romeo abandoned the formula and concentrated on the 1.5-litre voiturette class for their entry in the Tripoli Grand Prix of 1939. Unbeknownst to Alfa, Mercedes secretly prepared two 1.5-litre W165 cars for Herman Lang and Caracciola and promptly finished 1-2. Only the outbreak of the Second World War would stop the German juggernaut. The cars of this era have rightly been considered some of the greatest racing cars ever produced by man.
There were only four races of Grand Prix caliber held during 1946. The top drivers included Giuseppe 'Nino' Farina, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Louis Chiron, Achille Varzi and Tazio Nuvolari. The Fédération Internationale d'Automobiles (FIA) was formed to organize the sport at an international level. A formula was set for 1947 that allowed 1.5-litre supercharged or 4.5-litre unsupercharged cars. Alfa Romeo would win every race that it entered that year. In 1948 Ferrari fielded their own car, after parting with Alfa before the war Enzo Ferrari promised that Scuderia Ferrari would not compete against their former patrons for four years. 1948 also saw the death of the venerable Achille Varzi while practicing for the Swiss Grand Prix. In 1949 Alfa Romeo was forced to withdraw from racing due to financial woes. Without the Alfa the field was left open to Maserati, Ferrari and Talbot to enjoy some success.
When he reached Maranello his appearance shocked Enzo Ferrari, who begged him to quit even at the cost of denying Ferrari his first victory. Some thought that he was on a suicide mission to die at the wheel of a race car rather than in a hospital. Finally the brakes on his car failed while still leading the race. He had driven the Ferrari as fast as he could, as long as he could and had it not failed nothing on this earth could have taken this last great victory from his grasp. His race over he stopped his car by the side of the road, exhausted he was lifted from his car by a local priest and put to bed. This turned out to be his last major race and five years later he was to die in bed. This man of small physical stature had the heart of a giant. Those who competed with him on the tracks of Europe knew that they would not see his likes again. The Italian nation and the world of motorsports mourned the death of the greatest driver the world would ever see.
The Post-War years and Formula One
In 1946, following World War II, there were only four races of Grand Prix caliber held. Rules for a Grand Prix World Championship had been laid out before World War II, but it took several years afterward until 1947 when the old AIACR reorganized itself as the F餩ration Internationale de l'Automobile or "FIA" for short. Headquartered in Paris, France, at the end of the 1949 season it announced that for 1950 they would be linking several national Grands Prix to create Formula One with a World Championship for drivers, although due to economic difficulties the years 1952 and 1953 were actually competed in Formula Two cars. A points system was established and a total of seven races were granted championship status including the Indianapolis 500. The first World Championship race was held on 13 May at Silverstone in the United Kingdom. The Italians once again did well in these early World Championship races, both manufacturers and drivers. The first World Champion was Giuseppe Farina, driving an Alfa Romeo. Ferrari appeared at the second World Championship race, in Monaco, and has the distinction of being the only manufacturer to compete during the entire history of the sport, still competing in 2004. (Follow the History of the World Championship for Drivers link for more history after 1950.)
This brought the championship to the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. It was generally acknowledge by the Grand Prix Circus that this would be Fangio's last season. He was determined to finish on top.Fangio and Hawthorn qualified one-two and the race looked set for an epic battle. The Maserati of Fangio started the race on half tanks and it was incumbent on him to build a large enough margin that would allow him to pit yet retain his lead. This he started top do, blistering the track at a record pace but Hawthorn and Collins in the Ferraris had other ideas. On the twelfth lap Fangio dove into the pits. Even though everyone in the Maserati pits was prepared the pitstop cost Fangio the lead when both Collins and Hawthorn thundered past. Finally the work was done and Fangio re-entered the fray. All seamed loss as Fangio was now 45 seconds behind the leading duo and few thought that even the great Fangio could make up this difference. Fangio was one of the few as he began chopping off large chunks of the gap to the leaders. In the Ferrari pit panic took hold as they pleaded for their drivers to go ever faster. Fangio would later say that he drove faster than he ever wanted to drive again. The lap record came tumbling down and he would soon be lapping at a faster average speed than that with which he had qualified! Both Collins and Hawthorn continued to race at a furious pace. Peter Lewis, the famous British journalist said that "he (Fangio) might almost have been pulling them backwards on the end of a rope for on the twentieth lap Fangio sliced eleven seconds off their lead. Fangio caught Collins first and passed him on the inside but the Englishman returned the favor and pushed Fangio back into third." The second time Fangio drew alongside and then slowly drew away. Just the Collins was hit in the eye by a stone thrown up by the Maserati's rear wheel but was saved by his goggles. Now it was Hawthorn's turn and still Fangio came on; actually driving straight on in one corner to pass force his way past Hawthorn. They would finish three seconds apart with Collins coming in third. The victory gave Fangio an unassailable lead in what would become his fifth and final World Championship. So ended the maestro's greatest race.
The Rise of British Racing Green
The
British Grand Prix of 1957 saw a full complement of British Racing Green
including three Vanwalls driven by Moss,
The
1958 season started without one of its most famous names when Maserati
decided top call it quits. Ferrari had a new model, the 246 Dino, for
their drivers Hawthorn, Collins and the rising Italian star Luigi Musso.
Vanwall had Moss, Brooks and Stuart Lewis-Evans once again while Cooper
retained Brabham and Roy Salvadori. Beginning this season the cars were
required to use gasoline instead of alcohol or methane.
In between the first two races there was a time span of four months. During this period Moss and Fangio entered a 500km car race in Cuba. Fangio never made it to the starting grid, having been kidnapped by Cuban rebels in support of Fidel Castro who were protesting the governments decision to sponsor the race in despite the terrible economic conditions. Thankfully he was freed shortly after the conclusion of the race which was won by Moss. It is unknown if Moss ever again had this kind of unwanted help!
The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort had an all British race car podium with Moss the victor in a Vanwall followed by Schell and Behra in BRMs. The next race, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa was won by Tony Brooks who's fluid driving style seemed to compliment this circuit of broad high speed corners. The French Grand Prix saw both triumph and tragedy with Hawthorn scoring the first victory by Ferrari since 1956 and the death of Luigi Musso ending the great Italian line of succession. The race also marked the final race in Fangio's great career.
At Silverstone, Collins was good to his word when he sacrificed his own car to try to draw Moss into a duel. The strategy succeeded and moss' car soon broke. Collins went on to win and his pal Hawthorn scored some much needed points for finishing second. This friendship tragically ended when Collins lost his life chasing Tony Brooks for the lead at the Nurburgring. Brooks went on to win the race.
The championship race now had a third player Tony Brooks. The fight moved on to Portugal. Here Moss was in command but a mistake by Moss and his sense of honor conspired to give his rival, Hawthorn the 6 points he needed to stay in the lead for the championship. Moss misread a pit sign that read HAW-REC to mean HAW-REG or regular missing the fact that his rival had just scored one point for setting the lap record. The other incident concerned allegations that Hawthorn pushed his car when it stopped on the course, which would have resulted in disqualification. Moss came to his defense and the points were restored. Two years later the same fate would befall Moss but no one spoke in his defense, the world of racing has changed.
With the cancellation of the Grand Prix of Argentina the first race of the season would be Monte Carlo. Brabham inherited the lead and then the victory after the retirements of first Behra in a Ferrari and Moss in the Rob Walker Cooper. Zandvoort, the next race on the calendar, saw a surprise win by Jo Bonnier in a BRM. The was the marquee's first victory after nine seasons. Ferrari showed that they were still a force to reckon with on fast circuits by scoring a 1-2 at Reims with Brooks leading his teammate Phil Hill. The Cooper's were back in force for the British Grand Prix at Aintree where Brabham scored his second victory. His young teammate Bruce McLaren would finish third behind Stirling Moss. Ferrari, citing an Italian labor strike did not enter the race. The effect on the World Championship hopes of its driver Tony Brooks would prove fatal. The next race was the German Grand Prix which this year would be run on the banked Avus circuit. This being a horsepower track, provided Ferrari and Tony Brooks with a dominating win. Moss winless until now won the Portuguese Grand Prix and further tightened the World Championship race between Moss, Brabham and Brooks. Monza saw another victory for Moss with Brabham finishing third and once again picking up some valuable points.
There
was a three month gap to the next race, the United States Grand Prix, to
be held at Sebring
the home of the 12 hour sports car race.
By 1960 only Ferrari of the major contestants used a front-engine car. The young Cooper driver, McLaren won the opening race in Argentina. Moss in a private Lotus scored a brilliant victory, in the rain, at Monaco. The next five races were all claimed by Brabham and he was well on his way to scoring a second consecutive World Championship. Monza was won by Ferrari and the season ender, the US Grand Prix, was captured by Moss. Cooper once again won the Constructors Cup and their drivers were 1-2 in the title race with Brabham taking the crown for the second time running. This was the last year of the 2.5 liter formula that had seen so much history.
The
new formula for the 1961 season placed a minimum car weight of 450kg,
limited engine size to 1500cc and banned the use of supercharging
outright. The new rules were met with wide spread protest that these cars
would be to under powered and lose fan interests. The British teams were
most effected as they did not have a suitable engine and would be at a
disadvantage to Ferrari for the foreseeable future.The development of a
new V-8 Coventry-Climax engine was running into problems and most of the
British teams had to rely on an old four-cylinder unit.Ferrari, since
converted to the rear-engine format would have the advantage this year.
Driving for Ferrari were two Americans, Phil Hill and Richie Ginther who
were joined by the charismatic German Wolfgang von Trips.
Stirling Moss was relegated to a year old Lotus having been refused the latest factory model. Yet Moss would score the greatest victory of his career at Monaco. Moss recalls: "I'd say, without a doubt, that was my best race. I had to drive flat-out for all but about eleven of the 100 laps. And I mean flat-out. For the first few laps I was happy to pace myself, but when the others started to speed up I felt that I had to keep with the pack. I wouldn't normally have gone for the lead so soon but it seemed the right thing to do.' First Hill and then Ginther tried to force their way past. Always looking for the slightest mistake but there would be none this day. After being pressured by the three Ferraris for the entire race it was finally the last lap and Moss miraculously was still in the lead: "I thought, here we go, this is where they put their foot down and take me. From what I heard they were given signals by the Ferrari pits to "give all" but I managed to stay in front."
Moss took the checkered flag 3.6 seconds in front of Ginther who was followed by Hill and von Trips in the other Ferraris. The Ferraris would not be stopped again. Even Reims where all of the factory Ferraris would fall victim to mechanical problems, was won by a private entrant, Giancarlo Baghetti, in a Ferrari. It was only Moss's victory at Nurburgring and the death of von Trips at Monza that ruined a great season for Ferrari. The championship belonged to Phil Hill. Tony Brooks the former dental student who had battled for the championship against the likes of Hawthorn and and Moss announced his retirement. This gentle man was, next to Moss, the greatest British driver during the 1950's and only the vagaries of fate deprived him as it did his, friend and rival, from his crown.
Moss
never drove the Ferrari for he crashed and suffered career ending injuries
at the Easter Monday meeting at Goodwood. Graham
Hill in his book Graham, wrote: "I was leading the race
comfortably, with Stirling still two laps behind me, when he flew past on
the outside of a bend.
The season's opening race was at Zandvoort, Holland. The raced opened with Clark, Gurney and Graham Hill battling for the lead. Mechanical failures would remove his two protagonists leaving Hill to win his first Grand Prix and BRM only their second. At the next race in Monaco both Hill and Clark looked set to resume their fight but soon both of their cars would let them down. Bruce McLaren went on to claim the victory followed by Phil Hill in the Ferrari. The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa would be remembered as the site of Jimmy Clark's maiden victory. Ever since he began in Formula 1 it was not a question of if, but only when he would reach the top step of the podium.
The
French Grand Prix was held at Rouen in Normandy. The first three positions
on the grid were taken by Clark on the pole followed by Hill and McLaren.
The German Grand Prix at the famous Nurburgring saw Porsche determined to win the race in front of their home crowd. They did not disappoint their fans when Dan Gurney claimed pole position 3 seconds clear of Graham Hill's BRM and ten seconds faster than the previous record held by Phil Hill in a Ferrari. The front of the grid was occupied by five different carmakers - Porsche, BRM, Lotus, Lola and Cooper, the race had all of the ingredients of becoming a classic. The drivers whose names would become legends, were Gurney, Hill, Clark, Surtees and McLaren. The weather was such that would chill even the most ardent driver's heart. With several minor landslides along the 14-mile track visibility dropped to less than 100 yards or the distance a race car would travel in just over one second. The start of the race was postponed for an hour to allow flood water on the track to subside. After circulating the track on their warm-up reconnaissance lap the cars warily formed on the grid.
The crowds exceeding 350,000 even in the face of the atrocious conditions stood in silence in memory of their fallen hero, Wolfgang von Tripps. Then the flag dropped and the cars thundered away, that is all except for Clark's Lotus which stalled on the grid but miraculously was not collected by a back-marker. At the end of the first lap Gurney's silver Porsche led, much to the satisfaction of the assembled dignitaries. But by the second lap Graham Hill was able to force his way into the lead. And so it remained for this battle between three great drivers at the top of their game with never more than 5 seconds separating the first and third cars. On a day when even the slightest mistake would mean disaster not a wheel was put wrong by this trio. Surtees who had passed Gurney was 3.5 seconds behind Hill with the taste of victory in his mouth he looked for the slightest opportunity to pounce. Setting himself up to slingshot past the leader on the last lap he was more determined than ever that the day would be his. Just at the decisive moment when he would make his move they came upon a lapped car and Hill was just able to reach the line 2.5 seconds in front of the raging Surtees.
With three races left in the Championship the turning point would come in the next race at Monza. The two leaders in the title fight were first and second on the grid. Clark surged into the lead at the drop of the flag but by the time the cars came around for the completion of the first lap the BRM of Graham Hill was in the lead. The third time around the green Lotus was nowhere to be seen, that is if you were looking for it on the track rather than back at its pit. Out with a seized transmission Clark could only watch his friend and rival Hill raced to a solid win and claimed a commanding lead in the Championship. Ginther in the other BRM was able to make it 1-2 for the team from Bourne.
Porsche, despite scoring their first victory chose to withdraw from Formula 1. John Surtees was signed to drive for Ferrari while Gurney moved over to Brabham. The first race of the season was again held in Monaco. Despite quick starts by Hill and and his BRM teammate Ginther, Clark was soon in the lead. After temporarily relinquishing second place to Surtees, Hill found himself in the lead when first Surtees had to pit to change his goggles and then Clark spinning at Gasworks due to a jammed gearbox and having to retire. The next race at Spa was a Clark demonstration of superiority when he lapped the field under torrential rains. Zandvoort saw another Clark victory by a lap over his nearest rival. Clark made it a hat-trick at the French Grand Prix at Reims and four in a row at Brands Hatch. Surtees was finally able to create a momentary pause to the Clark steam-roller with a well deserved win at the Nurburgring. This was Surtees' first win of his four-wheel career.
For Monza both Ferrari and BRM had a new monocoque chassis. The Ferrari of Surtees stormed into the lead but fell victim to a broken valve spring. Clark assumed the lead but was strongly challenged by both Hill and Gurney. After both of his challengers suffered mechanical problems and were forced to retire Clark was able to coast to another victory which allowed him to capture the World Championship with three races remaining. Out of the three remaining races Clark was able to win two giving him seven victories out of ten races.
1964
looked to be another year of battle between Clark and Hill but there were
stirrings at Ferrari that they would once again be a force to reckon with.
But for the drivers of the red cars there would always be another obstacle
to overcome. Surtees explains: "At Ferrari in those days you started
with a handicap.
At
Zeltweg, Austria all three championship leaders were on the front row of
the grid and all three failed to finish with the win going to Surtees'
teammate Lorenzo Bandini. This unfortunately would be the popular
Italian's sole victory of his brief career. Monza belonged to Surtees and
Ferrari as they celebrated a very popular victory with their tifosi.
For the last year of the 1 1/2-litre Formula both Lotus and Brabham had at their disposal a Coventry Climax 32-Valve V8. Lotus also had a new monocoque Type 33 car while Brabham stuck with the proven tubular chassis. Disappointed at losing last years Championship despite winning the most races, Clark and Chapman were more determined than ever that 1965 would be different. Ferrari had their new flat-12 cylinder engine available should they need it to defend their Championship. Unfortunately for the Italian team this engine proved to be a step backward. Added to this mix was was the Honda Grand Prix car now in their second season and being driven by the Americans Richie Ginther and Ronnie Bucknum. Their V12 transverse mounted engine would soon become the class of the field. BRM added a Scot of their own, the brilliant rookie Jackie Stewart to partner Graham Hill. Cooper was no longer a front line team though their drivers Bruce McLaren and newcomer Jochen Rindt were both capable of causing some discomfort to the leading teams.
Thus the year began with South Africa holding the first race. The race was dominated by Clark in his Lotus who was followed by Surtees and Hill. Monaco was next and the race was held without Clark, who was at Indianapolis winning that year's classic in a Lotus Type 38 powered by an American Ford engine under a partnership with the American giant that would have tremendous consequences for Formula 1 in the near future. The race was won by Clark's rival Graham Hill in a BRM. Hill's victory at Monaco was his third in succession.
Clark
returned for Spa and won in the wet in front of the year's sensation,
Jackie Stewart. Clark and Stewart repeated their results at the French
Grand Prix. The British Grand Prix as well as the Dutch and German fell to
Clark's all-out assault on the record books. With only the top six races
counting Clark claimed a perfect score and his second World Championship.
Only when his Lotus suffered mechanical failure or was absent was there
any hope for the others, such was his dominance. A broken fuel pump
allowed Stewart a win in his maiden season and a engine failure allowed
Hill to come through. Clark stood head and shoulders above all others, a
natural talent that has not and may never be duplicated. The last race of
the season was held at the Autodrome Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City.
Always a problem for the teams due to the high altitude of the circuit it
proved to be an Advantage to Honda as they and Rinchie Ginther claimed
their first victory. Significantly this was also Goodyear's maiden
victory.
Monaco was the scene for the first race of the new formula and saw Clark on the pole. The race was won by Stewart who was followed across the line by Surtees. The next race at Spa was marred by wet conditions that caused eight cars to leave the track including a serious crash by Stewart that found him trapped in his car. Fortunately his injuries were minor and the race was won by Surtees after fighting off a charge by Rindt in his Cooper-Maserati. On the surface Surtees looked like a strong challenger for the title that year only to succumb to internal strife at Ferrari that resulted in his departure from the team. Surtees would later regret his departure from the Italian team. Brabham, after early season problems came in to his own in the middle races, scoring victories at Reims, Brands Hatch, Zandvoort and the Nurburgring. Monza saw a fluke victory by the Ferrari team and Ludovico Scarfiotti. Because of the failure by any of his challengers to garner significant points, Brabham clinched his third title. Clark would return to victory at Watkins Glen with the season closer going to Surtees, now driving a Cooper. The inaugural season of the new formula was won by Brabham more as the result of solid engineering rather than technical brilliance.
Lotus struggled in 1966 but for the coming year they were able to persuade Ford to invest in a brand new engine, built by the British firm Cosworth, that would come to dominate Formula 1. In initial trials with the new engine Clark required additional bracing placed behind his seat to support his head under acceleration. If that were not enough Chapman signed former World Champion Graham Hill to partner Clark in a new "super" team. Hill had been with BRM for seven years and in his own words felt that he better move on "in case they painted me over." Stewart became number one at BRM joined at different points of the season by Mike Spence, Richard Attwood, Chris Irwin and Piers Courage. Ferrari would have New Zealander Chris Amon joining Bandini full-time while Rindt was joined by Pedro Rodriguez at Cooper. Brabham continued with himself and Denny Hulme doing the driving. Honda was surprisingly to convince Surtees into joining their now British based team. It must be remembered that at this point in in his career Surtees was at the top tier of drivers along with Clark, Hill and Stewart.
The
season opened at Kyalami, South Africa. The sensation of the race was
privateer John Love who had to relinquish the lead after a late stop for
fuel to race winner Rodriguez in a Cooper. The next race at Monaco would
tragically be remembered as the race that took the life of popular Italian
star Lorenzo Bandini just as he was beginning to make his mark. The race
was won by Hulme, ahead of Hill and Amon. Zandvoort the next race would
mark the debut of the Lotus 49 Ford-Cosworth. Graham Hill gained the pole
position but the race was one by Clark. Spa saw Hill retire and Clark
having to stop for a fouled plug. Dan Gurney drove the beautiful but often
unreliable Eagle-Weslake to its one and only victory. The French Grand
prix was held at on the Bugatti circuit at LeMans. Both Lotuses were
forced to retire after leading the race with broken transmissions leaving
the victory to Brabham who was followed in turn by his teammate Hulme.
Canada held its first Grand Prix and again the Lotus suffered mechanical problems and the Brabham team scored another one-two but this time their roles were reversed and Brabham took the checkered flag. Surtees convinced that drastic changes must be made elected not to enter the race but instead to point to Monza. In five weeks he had a new car built with the help of Eric Broadley of Lola.In a race long battle Surtees beat Brabham over the line at Monza with his new lighter Honda which should go down in Grand Prix history as a most remarkable achievement. The Italian fans realizing this great feat showered Surtees with thunderous cheers of "Il Grande Gianni." Lotus while disappointed in their lack of results could look to the future which came at Watkins Glen. Hill and Clark easily dominated practice and were so confident that if either finished, victory would be in the cards. Before the race they flipped a coin and Hill won. If they both finished he would be the winner. During the race Hill led Clark but began to develop mechanical problems. Fearing that one of their rivals might sneak by and claim what was rightfully theirs Clark passed Hill into the lead and on to victory. Hill was able to limp on into second place and after the race Clark rush over to offer his apologies for passing his friend. All was right with Lotus as they scored an important one-two in front of all of the Ford brass. Clark again won in Mexico but Hulme with his third place claimed the World Championship. A vastly underrated driver, he disdained self promotion and allowed his driving to do his talking.
In 1967 two major oil suppliers, BP and Esso, withdrew from Formula 1 and Firestone, the American tire manufacturer would no longer offer free tires. The small British teams were put under tremendous financial pressure and petitioned the CSI to change their long standing policy restricting advertising on race cars. By the Grand Prix of Monaco, Lotus would no longer be painted green but would now display the colors of Gold Leaf tobacco and would hence forth be known as Gold Leaf Team Lotus. The influence of this new "foreign" money would in due time alter the balance of power and spell the end of privateers. A new type of driver, with their own private financing, would be able to make the jump to the pinnacle of motorsport. On some teams the second seat would become just another "revenue stream". Louis Stanley would later remark that one of his biggest regrets was introducing Marlboro to Formula 1.
The race was one of attrition and the fourth victory at the principality for Hill. Matra supplied two teams in Formula 1. The works team led by Jean-Pierre Beltoise and the Tyrrell team led by Jackie Stewart. At Belgium Stewart took the early lead only to run out of fuel giving the race to a surprised McLaren driving one of his own cars. Stewart would not be denied at the next race, the Dutch Grand Prix where he was followed by the works Matra of Beltoise. For the French Grand Prix, Lotus used the 49B which had a tall rear wing mounted directly to the suspension which offered much greater efficiency. Honda brought a brand new car, the Type RA302 that used an air-cooled V8 motor. Former World Champion John Surtees was slated to drive the car but backed out because he considered the new car unsafe. The car was given to newcom |
The
1920s saw the advent of shorter specially built circuits throughout
Europe. In 1922 the Italian Grand Prix was held at one of these new
tracks, the 
Due
to the amount of entrants the works teams would depart sometime the next
morning. Each car would have its starting time painted on the car, which
would allow spectators some indication of their relative placement.
The
race length of a Grand Prix was a minimum 500 kilometer. Hitler's Germany
sponsored two teams to compete under this new formula, 
The
German cars were beginning to gain their stride. Later that year the Auto
Union of Hans Stuck would win the German and Swiss Grand Prix, while the
Mercedes of Caracciola won the Italian and Fagioli the Spanish. 
Astounding
not so much for its size to horsepower ration but the fact that they were
able to fit an engine of this size and power into a 750kg formula car.
Rosemeyer won German, Italian and Swiss Grands Prix along with the
Eifelrennen and the Coppa Acerbo. Mercedes in fact withdrew from racing in
order to develop their counter-attack. Their independent racing department
established in 1935 and under the direction of 30-year-old engineer Rudolf
Uhlenhaut was given a fresh infusion of the best Mercedes engineers and
ordered to develop a brand new car. In 1937 Mercedes created a W125
along with a reworked W25, both of them producing nearly 600 bhp, top
speeds reaching 200mph and wheel spin in every gear. The performance of
the W125 was unmatched by any other manufacturer, in fact it would not be
until the Can-Am cars of the late 1960s that another race car would equal
the horsepower of the 1937 Mercedes Grand Prix car. 
The
Avusrennen that year was run on a modified circuit. Reputedly at the
suggestion of Adolf Hitler, the North Curve was rebuilt and steeply banked
allowing for much higher speeds. The German cars ran with special
streamlined bodies. Hermann Lang's victory driving a Mercedes at an
average speed of 162.61 mph was not bested until A.J. Foyt averaged
164.173, while winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1967. As a final
exclamation point to these great machines, on January 28, Rudolf
Caracciola set a new class record in a 12-cylinder car with special
enclosed streamlined body. It set a top speed of 436.9 km/h during a
one-kilometer run in one direction with a flying start. This is the
highest speed ever driven on an ordinary road. 
Leading
the race at the half way point his open Cisitalia sports car developed
electrical problems when it started to rain heavily. After lengthy repairs
he rejoined the race and worked his way back to the front but had to
settle for second place Already suffering from ill health he entered the
grueling race again the following year. Driving a new sports car from
Ferrari he soon found himself where he belonged, in the lead. Though
Nuvolari was very sick, coughing and spitting blood he was still able to
open an incredible 29-minute lead over his own teammate! Driving in
the only manner that he knew, flat out on the edge, he left parts of his
car all along the Italian countryside. Whether it was the manner in which
his car was built or his driving style, the Ferrari slowly came apart.
Soon the driver's seat came loose and was shortly replaced with a sack of
oranges and still he drove on. Knowing that he was dying and that this
might be his last chance for a victory he would not quit. 
scored several victories including the opener in Argentina and the German
Grand Prix at the 
Brooks
and Stuart Lewis-Evans; two BRMs and three Coopers; one of them driven by
Jack Brabham. Moss streaked into the lead and drew steadily away from the
others only to suffer from engine problems. Seemingly done for the day on
lap 26, He took over the car of Brooks who was in ninth place. A
remarkable series of failures struck the leaders including a broken
clutch, engine failure, a tire puncture, and finally a broken throttle
linkage clearing the way for Moss to regain the lead! When Moss crossed
the line the crowd erupted in patriotic celebrations - a British car had
won the British Grand Prix with one of its sons.
This
would require some modification to the engines and Vanwall would not be
able to complete these changes in time for the opening race in Argentina.
The Grand Prix of Argentina was noteworthy as Moss, driving a Cooper, used
one less pitstop and had to conserve his tires in the later stages of the
race, just crossing the line with the canvas showing. The next race, 
Peter
Collins had pledged at the beginning of the season that he would support
his friend, Hawthorn, in his pursuit of the title. 
The
year was 1959 and the Grand Prix paddock was a very a different place.
Gone were 
The
only chance that Moss would have for the title would be to win the race
and after qualifying on the pole he was doing just that. Unfortunately his
engine would not uphold its part of the bargain. This left the door open
for Brabham who promptly ran out of fuel. Stubbornly pushing his car over
the finish line he was awarded fourth place and the title. The victory
went to the youngest driver in history to win a Grand Prix, the 22 year
old New Zealander Bruce McLaren. Cooper won the Constructor's Cup beating
Ferrari by eight points. David had beaten Goliath and Grand Prix racing
would never be the same again.
Normally
Stirling would never have attempted to pass anyone there, and as he
overtook me he was already off the grass. Then, for no apparent reason, he
just ploughed straight on into the bank. When he passed me he seemed to be
completely out of control. Just what happened no-one will ever know - but
I'm absolutely sure it wasn't due to driver error." Moss hovered near
death and when he finally awoke he was temporally paralyzed. On 1 May
1963, just over a year after his accident he returned to a deserted
Goodwood and tested a race car. Even though he was able to lap the circuit
at near racing speeds he found the effort extremely difficult. What had
been natural was no longer and he shortly afterwards announced his
retirement. The link to the past had been broken and a new generation
would rise to the top. Their names were 
As
is their wont at Ferrari their 1962 season suffered due to internal
politics that exploded into a major rebellion at the factory that saw a
mass walkout of engineers and technical staff including their chief
engineer and team manager. The 1962 season would be fought with reworked
1961 cars driven chiefly by Phil Hill and supported by Willy Mairesse,
Ricardo Rodriguez, Giancarlo Baghetti and Lorenzo Bandini in the face of a
strengthened British and German challenge. The German challenge was not in
the form of either Mercedes or Auto Union but Porsche. Using a flat eight
air-cooled engine which was mounted to a much improved tubular chassis
they were ably driven by American Dan Gurney and popular Swedish driver Jo
Bonnier. At Lotus Innes Ireland was unceremoniously replaced with Trevor
Taylor to partner Colin's "new boy" Jimmy Clark. To match his
new star Chapman created the Type 25 using a monocoque chassis which
resulted in the driver siting in an almost bathtub like structure. This
type of construction allowed for increased rigidity and reduced weight,
two of the most important aspects in chassis design. BRM had Graham Hill
and Richie Ginther as numbers 1 and 2 respectively while Cooper had Bruce
McLaren and Tony Maggs. Brabham, who had left Cooper, was busily preparing
his own cars that would debut later in the season.
Ferrari
was forced to withdraw from the race and when all the leaders suffered
from mechanical trouble it was an opportunistic Dan Gurney who claimed a
maiden victory for himself and for Porsche. Next up was the British Grand
Prix held at Aintree. Ferrari was only able to enter one car which was
driven by Phil Hill but he was unable to climb higher than 9th place when
he was forced to retire with mechanical trouble. The crowd saw a race long
duel between Clark and ex-motorcycle champion John Surtees in a Lola. But
after losing second gear Surtees had to settle for second place. With his
second win of the season, Clark was now in a tie with Graham Hill for the
Championship.
After
fifteen years and numerous setbacks that at times led to public ridicule,
the championship was in their grasp. Unfortunately for them nobody had
informed the Scotsman Clark that all was lost and after a convincing win
at the United States Grand Prix the title would be settled in South
Africa. Hill, who enjoyed a nine point lead on his rival had earned the
maximum points allowed based on his complete races but Clark could still
take the Championship on victories. And so it was that the failure of a 50
cent piece of hardware ended Clark's Championship hopes in East London and
gave the crown to Hill. Racing is all about skill mixed in with
preparation and a little bit of luck and no one begrudged the new Champion
on that day. At thirty-three, after six years of racing and only nine
years from receiving his first driver's license Graham Hill became
England's most popular champion. Starting as a mechanic earning 1£ a day
he reached racing's highest goal, Formula 1 World Champion.
Jimmy
Clark coming so close to the championship in only his second full season
now knew what it would take to win the Championship and came to realize
that his time would come sooner rather than later. The Lotus 25 was
virtually unchanged from the previous year with attention paid to making
it more reliable. Its engine the Climax V8 was further refined to give it
increased driveability. They more than anyone else were eager for the new
season to start.
Until
Le Mans was over you couldn't really do the work you wanted to do-and
needed to do-in Formula One." The first race was again at Monaco
where Clark found himself on pole and shortly out of the race. Graham Hill
led his teammate Ginther for a BRM 1-2 finish while Clark won the next two
races at Zandvoort and Spa. The French Grand Prix saw Clark joined by
Surtees on the front row but the race was won by Dan Gurney now driving
for Brabham with Hill picking up second. The British Grand Prix had Clark
again on the pole but this time joined by Hill. They would finish the race
in the same order. Surtees felt that while his Ferrari was becoming more
and more competitive he could not let the duo of Clark and Hill get too
far out in front. Nurburgring would be his turning point. Returning to his
favorite circuit and the scene of his maiden victory scored only last
year, Surtees responded by capturing pole position. In the race Clark
jumped into the lead only to suffer mechanical problems that forced him to
retire. Surtees assumed a lead that he would not relinquish. Wining the
most difficult race on the calendar two years running proved that Surtees
belonged to the first rank of drivers during the early part of his career.
Things
tightened up when Hill won the next race at Watkins Glen and unlike last
year the title would be won or lost at the last race. The final race in
Mexico saw Hill leading with 39 points, Surtees with 34 points and Clark
with 30 points. At the start of the race Clark led off from his pole
position but both Hill and Surtees were slow off the mark and found
themselves 10th and 13th respectively. As the race progressed Hill was
able to move up to third with Surtees now in fifth. All Hill had to do was
stay out of trouble but unfortunately trouble was right behind him.
Bandini driving for all he was worth looked for any opportunity to pass
Hill and thought he had found it when Hill momentarily left the door open.
Bandini dove for the inside but too late, leaving Hill nowhere to go but
into the guardrail. Hill was able to return to the race but only after
losing two laps. After Clark retired with a seized engine it was Bandini
who allowed his teammate Surtees, to pass him into second place and the
World Championship. Surtees could now add a four-wheel title to his seven
two-wheel titles.
Ferrari
would have a new V12 while Lotus and BRM, left without an engine supplier
following Coventry's withdrawal, were forced to settle for modified Climax
and BRM V8 engines bored out to 2-liters respectively. Dan Gurney left
Brabham to his own team, All-American Racers. Brabham as usual going his
own way commissioned Repco, an Australian parts manufacturer, to produce a
new V8. Following the guidelines laid down by Brabham the engine was
sturdy, light and compact. To replace Gurney, Brabham promoted Denny Hulme
to number two.
The
1968 season had barely begun before it was rocked to its very foundations
by the death of its biggest star, 
The
other major introduction into the sport was the use of aerodynamic devices
in the form of inverted wings. The first of these were incredibly spindly
contraptions that were more of a danger to their drivers than to the
competition. Matra's wing was adjustable and was powered by a small
electric motor that was actuated by impulses from the break pedal. The
next race on the schedule was the Spanish Grand Prix and the Lotus team
still devastated by the death of its leading driver saw his teammate
Graham Hill garner the checkered flag. Monaco, the next race again
belonged to Hill.