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The 2023 Formula One Season

tones said:
It seems to me that anyone on an F1 grid is a good driver, as driving those things is impossible for a normal mortal. Richard Hammond's Top Gear outing in a Renault F1 car was undoubtedly highly staged, but it did give some insight into the skills required to drive one of these things, and how, if they weren't taken to the limit, they simply didn't work. And consistently driving on the absolute limit seems to be a skill that only a few possess.
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I recall an article in one of the high-end car magazines years ago; Fast Lane, Performance Car, something like that, where the journalist went out in a two-seater with Ricardo Patrese.

Now, my recollection of Patrese is not of a rampant race-winner (Wiki sez, paraphrased "runner-up to Mansell in 1992, third in 1989 and 91, winning six races in total"), but I'll always recall the journo's characterisation of the experience; again, paraphrased

"I might have driven that fast had my life depended on it, but Patrese is sailing along with one hand on the wheel, the other casually smoothing back his hair"
 
tones said:
Reminds me of the delightful video of Patrese and Mrs. Patrese:

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There was a story about Mika Häkkinen driving his wife (who is a journalist on TV) around in a two seater McLaren Formula 1 car. In Finland. In the winter. On ice. She was supposed to comment while being driven. The reaction was the opposite to Patrese's wife. Mrs. Häkkinen didn't say a word.

From Sid Watkins book about his years in F1. He was offered a drive from the track to the airport by Giles Villeneuve. The British gentleman he is, he offered Mrs. Villenenuve to sit in the front. She declined and went in the back, lying down on the floor! Sid soon found out why. At least the wife didn't have to watch the maniac driving.

One I've experienced myself. Once at the Nordschlieife, the track was closed and there was some kind of publicity doing from Audi. I was watching at Brunchen. Now, everybody knows that at the limit road tires squeals. I had previously read that if you push past that limit the squeal becomes a much lower pitched growl. Now I experienced it for real while watching an Audi of some sort going by. In every corner.
Somewhat later I was at the 'Grune Hölle' parking lot and someone I thought I knew went by on foot. I said 'Hello.', he said 'Hello.' Some seconds later, 'Ahh, that was Derek Bell!' And a couple of seconds more.'It must have been him doing the driving!'.
 
RJohan said:
There was a story about Mika Häkkinen driving his wife (who is a journalist on TV) around in a two seater McLaren Formula 1 car. In Finland. In the winter. On ice. She was supposed to comment while being driven. The reaction was the opposite to Patrese's wife. Mrs. Häkkinen didn't say a word.

From Sid Watkins book about his years in F1. He was offered a drive from the track to the airport by Giles Villeneuve. The British gentleman he is, he offered Mrs. Villenenuve to sit in the front. She declined and went in the back, lying down on the floor! Sid soon found out why. At least the wife didn't have to watch the maniac driving.

One I've experienced myself. Once at the Nordschlieife, the track was closed and there was some kind of publicity doing from Audi. I was watching at Brunchen. Now, everybody knows that at the limit road tires squeals. I had previously read that if you push past that limit the squeal becomes a much lower pitched growl. Now I experienced it for real while watching an Audi of some sort going by. In every corner.
Somewhat later I was at the 'Grune Hölle' parking lot and someone I thought I knew went by on foot. I said 'Hello.', he said 'Hello.' Some seconds later, 'Ahh, that was Derek Bell!' And a couple of seconds more.'It must have been him doing the driving!'.
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When I was a teenager I followed part of an afternoon's rally in Sintra in the back of a practice Group N Super 5 GT Turbo with no seats, a friend and a labrador.
At least we had to roll cage to hold on to. 😅
 
tuga said:
When I was a teenager I followed part of an afternoon's rally in Sintra in the back of a practice Group N Super 5 GT Turbo with no seats, a friend and a labrador.
At least we had to roll cage to hold on to. 😅
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There is a story of riding along in the back of rally car with a very famous person involved. When Ford went seriously into competing in the 1960's one driver was Swede Bosse Ljungfeldt who drove everything, as long as it had a big V8. He was successful, not least second place in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally (while being fastest in all sectors but one, I think) in a big Falcon with a Nascar tuned engine.
Well, Lee Iacocca met up at a test session and wanted to have ride. He was placed in the back of the car. Ljungfeldt asked how he should drive. Iacocca wanted max speed. Ljungfeldt did just that. Afterwards Iacocca stumbled out of the car, went behind a bush and puked, came back and shouted at Ljungfeldt: 'You are fired!!!'.
 
tuga said:
When I was a teenager I followed part of an afternoon's rally in Sintra in the back of a practice Group N Super 5 GT Turbo with no seats, a friend and a labrador.
At least we had to roll cage to hold on to. 😅
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BTW. Was it Sintra in Portugal? Went through once and strangely enough remember it.
 
RJohan said:
BTW. Was it Sintra in Portugal? Went through once and strangely enough remember it.
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Yes, that Sintra.
The organisers had removed the special stages from the Rally of Portugal due to problems with the uncontrolled crowds which led to a fatal accident in '86, but they were still used in National competitions for years after that.

 
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RJohan said:
There is a story of riding along in the back of rally car with a very famous person involved. When Ford went seriously into competing in the 1960's one driver was Swede Bosse Ljungfeldt who drove everything, as long as it had a big V8. He was successful, not least second place in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally (while being fastest in all sectors but one, I think) in a big Falcon with a Nascar tuned engine.
Well, Lee Iacocca met up at a test session and wanted to have ride. He was placed in the back of the car. Ljungfeldt asked how he should drive. Iacocca wanted max speed. Ljungfeldt did just that. Afterwards Iacocca stumbled out of the car, went behind a bush and puked, came back and shouted at Ljungfeldt: 'You are fired!!!'.
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I spent a few interesting hours in the navigator’s seats in a few works rally cars, looking out of the side windows for 90% of the time, the day before the RAC Rally started from Bath.
 
I’ve had a fair few passenger rides with very good drivers, but the stand-out memory is the few laps of Snetterton i had in a Ford RS200, driven by John Taylor of the Ford factory. That car danced under his masterful inputs. It was a beautiful experience.

Only cost me a tenner. 1985 I think.
 
canonman said:
I spent a few interesting hours in the navigator’s seats in a few works rally cars, looking out of the side windows for 90% of the time, the day before the RAC Rally started from Bath.
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I had totally forgotten that the RAC Rally started in Bath one year when I was at uni there. I now remember going to see the start (I think it may have been on Great Pultney Street), then later saw the special stage at Longleat and after that a Forest of Dean stage.
 
MartinC said:
I had totally forgotten that the RAC Rally started in Bath one year when I was at uni there. I now remember going to see the start (I think it may have been on Great Pultney Street), then later saw the special stage at Longleat and after that a Forest of Dean stage.
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I followed the rally start to finish.I had a press pass (for photography) which got me the invite to the special stage event that I
mentioned. An experience that I will never forget.
 
tiggers said:
I have been luckily enough to have been driven round a GP circuit by none other than Damon Hill, it was about the third corner that I realised I couldn’t drive :D
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A trip in the McLaren built Mercedes SLR, driven by The Stig had the same effect on me but the talent of the RAC works team drivers blew me away. Especially the DOT rwd.Asconas and the Quattro!
 
tones said:
@Tony Lockhart, something for you, just in case you haven't already seen it:

motorsport.tv

Why F1's Future Engines are a Win for Fans AND Teams

Will F1's 2026 engines bring back the screaming V10 engine noise? With the MGU-H being scrapped and newer fuels being brought in, the future of F1's engines could mean a much louder noise at the track yet again, whilst keeping the benefits of the hybrid era. Matt Kew takes a look at what the...
motorsport.tv
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That sounds stupid.
 
tuga said:
That sounds stupid.
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No sillier than any of the other attempts to balance the original ethos of F1 with the demands of the major entertainlemt circus it has become.

It was interesting to read in the same website that none of the other manufacturers want Red Bull nobbled - they wisely point out that these periods of dominance are a feature of F1 and that it's really up to the other teams to get their acts together. It has happened before, and it will happen again.
 
tones said:
No sillier than any of the other attempts to balance the original ethos of F1 with the demands of the major entertainlemt circus it has become.

It was interesting to read in the same website that none of the other manufacturers want Red Bull nobbled - they wisely point out that these periods of dominance are a feature of F1 and that it's really up to the other teams to get their acts together. It has happened before, and it will happen again.
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It is never the teams that want the nobbling, it might be them who are dominant in the future; it is always the governance and rights holders scared of falling interest. One teams uber fans do not compensate for getting the wider public to tune in. Mass market appeal is the name of the game now.
 
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