Journeyer concludes his look back on the history of the French Grand Prix – read part one here. A Leyton House leading a race? A driver winning after making four pit stops? The French Grand Prix has seen some highly unusual developments.
F1 history articles archive
F1 History
What happens when tracks crack
F1 history
Posted onThe disintegrating track surface at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is threatening the running of tomorrow’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Video: Canadian GP history 1977-98
Posted onThis weekend is the 30th anniversary of F1’s first world championship race at Montreal. F1 Fanatic guest writer Journeyer takes us through the history of the race at the track we now call the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – starting with the last Canadian Grand Prix not held at the track. The Canadian Grand Prix has … Continue reading Video: Canadian GP history 1977-98
Video: Monaco GP history 1929-73
Posted onF1 Fanatic guest writer Journeyer returns with the first in a two-part look at the history of the Monaco Grand Prix. And so we reach Monaco, Formula 1’s most famous and glamorous race – and with good reason. Barring World War II, Grands Prix has been held here for the last 80 years or so. … Continue reading Video: Monaco GP history 1929-73
Spanish Grand Prix: memorable races
Posted onThe response to my invitation for guest writers was fantastic and I’m very happy to share the first of these new articles today. Journeyer, a long-time contributor to the comments and Live Blogs on F1Fanatic, covers the history of the Spanish Grand Prix. Formula 1 has been around for 58 years now. With it goes … Continue reading Spanish Grand Prix: memorable races
Video: How drivers react to big crashes
Posted onSebastien Bourdais had a big crash in testing at Barcelona on Wednesday. Happily he was unhurt but he may have dealt a blow to his standing in the team if the damage to the new STR3 forces the team to delay its introduction. Major crashes can affect F1 drivers in different ways. Even though drivers … Continue reading Video: How drivers react to big crashes
Video: 2001 Malaysian GP flashback
Posted onRain at the 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix produced a cracking race. Here are a few videos of one of Michael Schumacher’s best wins.
Schumacher a winner and Webber a hero after huge crash
2002 Australian Grand Prix flashback
Posted onThe 2002 Australian Grand Prix began with an enormous crash that wiped out eight cars. See video below of how one spectator saw Ralf Schumacher’s dramatic flight after he hit Rubens Barrichello’s Ferrari.
Mansell takes second win amid Apartheid controversy
1985 South African Grand Prix flashback
Posted onFormula 1 was one of the last sports to abandon apartheid South Africa, though several teams boycotted the final 1985 race on the original Kyalami circuit.
F1 circuits history part 14: 1999-2002
Posted onAt the end of 1990s Formula 1 began to look east. With the teams hit by ever-tighter restrictions on tobacco advertising, and eastern countries offering less tight restrictions, moving the sport beyond its traditional heartland made good commercial sense. The fact that it bolstered the sport’s claim to being a ‘world’ championship was merely a … Continue reading F1 circuits history part 14: 1999-2002
F1 circuits history part 12: 1994
Posted onThe 1994 season was a traumatic one for Formula 1. It is often remembered solely because of the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger. But their deaths at Imola during the San Marino Grand Prix came in a season that saw a higher than average number of driver injuries: JJ Lehto in pre-season testing, … Continue reading F1 circuits history part 12: 1994
F1 circuits history part 10: 1985-9
Posted onIn the late 1980s it often seemed like good tracks were dropped for safety reasons, and less good tracks found their way onto the calendar because money talked. How else could you explain a circuit like the awful Phoenix street track holding three Grands Prix? Or why the slow and dull Hungaroring remains on the … Continue reading F1 circuits history part 10: 1985-9
F1 circuits history part 8: 1975-8
Posted onTracks being altered to include slower corners became commonplace in the second half of the 1970s. Silverstone’s flat-out blast was rudely interrupted by a crude chicane at Woodcote. The other super-quick circuit – the Osterreichring – was also slowed, although both tracks retained much of their essential character. And two tracks we are familiar with … Continue reading F1 circuits history part 8: 1975-8
Lapped Legends: Andrea Moda
Posted onI sometimes wonder what the FIA are setting out to achieve with their spoilsport rules. In particular, what is gained by raising the entry fee from $100,000 to $50,000,000? Sure a few bad apples slipped in through the net, but it’s now nigh on impossible for a privateer team to enter F1. Of the bad … Continue reading Lapped Legends: Andrea Moda
Top ten… Most notorious backmarkers
Top Ten
Posted onKazuki Nakajima makes his grand prix debut this weekend. Long time grand prix fans will remember the one occasion his father made a decisive move at the front of the field – by taking Ayrton Senna’s front wing off during the Brazilian Grand Prix while Senna was lapping him. But that’s by no means the … Continue reading Top ten… Most notorious backmarkers
History repeating: F1’s three-way title deciders
F1 history
Posted onThree drivers will go into the last race of the season still able to win the championship. It’s the first time this has happened since 1986.
Ferrari fight back for one-two at home
2004 Italian Grand Prix flashback
Posted onOver the final races of 2004 we often saw a very different Michael Schumacher. Was his crash at Monza the moment began to serious consider retiring from the sport?
How Giancarlo Baghetti won his first ever F1 start
F1 history
Posted onGiancarlo Baghetti made Formula One history by becoming the first driver to win on his world championship debut.
Down to the wire
F1 history
Posted onThe battle for the Formula One drivers’ championship has gone down to the final race. As much as F1 gets slated for being ‘predictable’, this is not as unusual an event as you might think.
Alonso wins again after pole winner Button blows up
2006 Australian Grand Prix review
Posted onFernando Alonso stamped his authority all over the Australian Grand Prix – while the field behind him fell by the wayside. Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jenson Button were among the casualties. Button rocketed to pole position on Saturday on a very competitive fuel load, and successfully converted the advantage into the race lead. … Continue reading Alonso wins again after pole winner Button blows up