There are 68 days days of grinding, fingernail-chewing tedium until the new Grand Prix season starts. Happily, F1Fanatic can recommend two ways to enliven the tedium.
One is to head off to Autosport International at the Birmingham NEC this weekend (see below for ticket information).
But also make sure you don’t let the off-season pass you by without making a visit to Tom Wheatcroft’s stunning collection of Grand Prix cars at Donington Park racing circuit. Here’s a selection of just some of the fantastic cars you can see in the flesh (click each heading for more images).
Pre-1980 Grand Prix cars
Wheatcroft’s collection stretches back to the 1930s and includes such legendary cars as the Rob Walker-run Lotus-Climax that Stirling Moss drove to victory in the classic Monaco Grand Prix of 1961, and the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 of 1976.
Post-1980 Grand Prix cars
Some of Wheatcroft’s more recent machines include a Jordan 191, which was the car Michael Schumacher made his debut in at Spa-Francorchamps in 1991, and the first of the Jaguars that made a brief appearance in F1 from 2000-2004.
Williams
A range of Williams are also present from the Honda monsters famously piloted by red five himself, Nigel Mansell, to Damon Hill’s title-winning FW18 and the BMW-powered car of 2000 that Jenson Button made his debut in.
McLaren
But McLaren have the greatest representation of all – an entire hall devoted to the cars built by Ron Dennis’ team. At the centre of which is the 1993 McLaren-Honda that Ayrton Senna drove to victory in the only World Championship Grand Prix to be held at Donington.
No F1 fan can fail to be impressed by such an extraordinarily diverse collection of cars in one place. Head on over and see some pieces of Grand Prix history for yourself.
Related links
- Donington Grand Prix collection (external)
- Autosport International 2007 (external)
- Autosport International 2005 gallery
- Autosport International 2006 gallery one and two
Tags: f1 / formula one / grand prix / motor sport
