I'm not sure why, but this morning I woke up wanting to write about the inaugural year of Formula 1. While Americans were kicking *** on the salt and just starting to t...<P><P>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Side Bar: As mentioned, Johnnie Parsons won the 1950 Indy 500. Amazingly, the fellas at Indy spelled his name wrong on the trophy. "Johnnie" Parsons became "Johnny" Parsons. It didn't phase Johnnie though... He just named his first born "Johnny". Since, Johnny Parsons has ran at Indy many times... and when the trophy was restored in the 1990s, Indy had Johnnie's name fixed much to the chagrin of Johnny. Confusing.
Ahhh yes, the early years of formula one. When the drivers were fat and the tires were skinny. Nice change of pace Ryan. That was a great era.
"most gorgeous track nose ever" was a Ferrari. All shark nosed Ferraris were destroyed by the factory (this was back when they were just old race cars, which had no value to anyone because they were not compe***ive anymore). Someone made a recreation a few years back.
Right you are, thats the 1961 Belgian GP at Spa. Phil Hill leading Wolfgang von Trips both in Ferrari 156s. Lucien Bianchi follows in a Lotus 18. Hill won with the race with von Trips second. Hill clinched the World Championship at Monza when von Trips was tragically killed in the race. I've been very lucky to have a few conversations with Phil. A wonderful man and a hell of a driver. He is the all time winningest Ferrari driver. Please spare a kind thought for Phil, he is in poor health. Kurt O.
The caption in the blog says this is a Ferrari, but it looks just like a Maserati 250F to me... (Compare to bottom pic)
Yes, the 250F. To me, the quintessential '50s GP car. And the car pictured was Fangio's car in what many people rate as his finest race and one of the greatest GP races of all time, the 1957 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2005/03/13/the-greatest-wins-fangio/ Kurt O.
Thanks for bringing back some memories from all the magazines I read in the early days of F1. I think the last photo of the 'brit' is Mike Hawthorn who always wore a tie and jacket when racing, not Sterling Moss. Great cars and the detail craftsmanship was beautiful.
My dad was 17 in 1950 and he and his younger !!! brother went to Monaco to look at the F1 race. Remember this was an uncertain, unlawful time in Europe, and two young guys from the northern Europe (Sweden) was in for the adventure of their young lifes. Unfourtunately they were poor and didn't afford a camera but my dad often tell stories of this trip They worked their ways through ex warzones during two months . My grandfather worked for Swedish Match and lived in Belgium when war began. His brother disappered in the jungles of East India during the war, probably captured by the japanese.
Agree that the Brit with the tie in the last photo is Hawthorn. He's also in the preceding photo, driving a Ferrari (in which he won a World's Championship). In the last picture he's driving a BRM, which is odd because I didn't think he ever drove for BRM. Maybe moonlighting?
That one had me going for a bit also, but I found it. Mike Hawthorne at the 1956 British Grand Prix at Silverstone in the BRM P25. Retired after 24 laps with gearbox problems. Kurt O.
This could be at the old Reims, France circuit, public roads with permanent pits and grandstands like Le Mans. Located in open farm country and configured with a mile or two of straightaway- a hard right- a mile or two of straightaway-a hard right etc. etc. There's some good youtube videos like this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ZQD67pLho
Damn that is a Maserati... These photos were all in my "clip file" with no reference... The Moss reference came from a quote I found on formula1.com: "I never understood or appreciated the coat and tie bit..."
I don't post a lot these days. But I do still enjoy the HAMB. I do especially like these early race car threads. I am a big fan of early Indy and other early US racing. I have a very extensive collection of books on these subjects. I just thought I would make mention of a book I got recently called Carlo Demand In Motion and Color Auutomobile Racing 1895 - 1956 by Gary D Doyle published by Racemaker Press Boston MA. I have not as yet read this book and the subject matter is mostly European, but because of the Europeans attraction to Indianapolis there is a bit of American content. There are no photos in this book just reproductions of cl***ic racing shots by Carlo Demand with written historic do***entation by the auther Gary Doyle. Even though I have not read this book, the images alone are well worth the price of the book! I bought my copy through **** Wallan racing Cl***ics, who has writtena number of must have books. www.racingcl***ics.com It can also be purchased from Racemaker Press www.racemaker.com Geoff aka whodaky
Well, we've been looking at the cars of GP racing of the '50s, how about we listen to one. Put on the earphones, turn up the volume.... http://www.f1blog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/1953_BRM_supercharged_V16.mp3 That was the legendary BRM V16. 1.5 liters (93 c.i.), 16 cylinders, OK lets go over that again, a 93 c.i. V16! 9000 rpm, two stage centrifugal supercharger. The guy who owns that car knows something about sound. Nick Mason, drummer for Pink Floyd and big time gear head. Kurt O.
I saw Mason racing that car at Silverstone about ten years ago. Quite an incredible sound. A real shreak. Mason has been a car nut all his life. He bought his compe***ion Ferrari 250GTO in the early '70s, when these types of cars were just old unwanted race cars. Paid something like 38,000 UK pounds for it. Everyone told him he was crazy. Now of course, they all tell him he is a genius! I used to know a guy in the UK who purchased a Ferrari 250GT SWB, lightweight compe***ion. It was raced briefly in the early '60s by the Linder/Knockner (spelling?) team who later raced lightweight E Type Jags quite successfully in Europe. Anyway, he bought the Ferrari in the early '70s, and drove it on the road each day. The gearbox started giving out, and being a Ferrari, was going to be expensive to fix, so he sold it. He was really proud with himself at the time, as he got 5,000 pounds for it. The same car sold in the '80s, before the big stockmarket crash, for 1 million pounds!
ryan, at one piont in the 50's a couple of guys took Offy roadsters to Monza and cleaned house. I think it was called monza-napollis or something... great article. a good early sound track full of vintage engines grab a copy of Grandprix
It was called "Monzanapolis", "The Race of Two Worlds", or "The 500 Miglia de Monza". It was run only two years, '57 and '58 on the high banked section of the Monza track. The race was run using then current Indianapolis rules. The Monza track was very bumpy and the lightweight GP cars couldn't take the beating of the bumps at constant high speed. In the '58 race Stiriling Moss was running a special Maserati in the lead group at over 160 when the steering shaft sheared. That will get your attention. Jimmy Bryan won in '57 and Jim Rathman in '58. It was a great era for racing on both sides of the ocean. Kurt O.
In 1958 before F1 came to the US the Glen held a Formula Libre race. As I recall it was pretty much a "run what ya brung" race but the thing that I remember best about that weekend was how wide open everything was. Friday night just about dark a driver who was staying in one of the little cabins at the South end of town wanted to take a test run. So he unloads his car, fires it up and heads down Route 14 (the main road) toward Montour Falls. Back then 14 was a three lane highway. The third (middle) lane was for p***ing in BOTH directions. It was nothing more than a big game of chicken! So off he goes in this low ( jet black) open wheen race car with no headlights down the center lane like a bat out of hell! I sware you could hear him all the way to the falls. Pretty soon he comes screaming back, whips in the parking lot and up on the trailer about a minute before a state cop goes screaming by looking for him! It was absolutely crazy and something I'll never forget. I was at every F1 held at the Glen but I never saw anything as insane as that.
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