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F1 FIRST CHAMPION

Formula One’s first World Champion: Giuseppe Farina

As the clock turned into 1950, the world of what would be known as F1 was about to change. For the first time a champion would be crowned. To understand how we arrived at the first world championship, we have to go back to post-WW2.

After World War 2 ended and the world started to return to normalcy, one of the sports that restarted was motor racing. In 1946 the FIA would restart Grand Prix racing.

The structure was different from today. From 1946 until 1949 there was no champion in Grand Prix racing. Drivers simply won individual races. Also, until 1949 there were two race series, Grandes Apreuves and what were called “other races” which included the San Remo GP and the Jersey Road Race. The Grandes Apreuves would in 1950 form the basis on the F1 championship, while the “other races “would be removed from the championship.

The new race structure for 1950 was six Formula One races plus the Indy 500. No F1 teams would compete at Indy and no Indy teams would race in F1.

 

The 1950 F1 Season

Round Grand Prix Circuit Date
1 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 13 May
2 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 21 May
3 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway 30 May
4 Swiss Grand Prix Circuit Bremgarten, Bern 4 June
5 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 18 June
6 French Grand Prix Reims-Gueux, Gueux 2 July
7 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 3 September

 

Prior to the season starting the favorite was the Alfa 158.  The Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta is considered one of the most successful racing cars ever produced. It was designed by Gioacchino Colombo in 1937 for the pre-World War II voiturette formula. The car was eligible for Formula One after World War II and dominated the first two seasons of the World Championship of Driver

Race 1

The 1950 F1 season was the first season in which a driver would be crowned champion. The first race was at Silverstone.

Qualifying

1 2 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 1:50.8
2 3 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 1:51.0 + 0.2
3 1 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 1:51.2 + 0.4
4 4 Reg Parnell Alfa Romeo 1:52.2 + 1.4
5 21 Prince Bira Maserati 1:52.6 + 1.8
6 14 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-LagoTalbot 1:53.4 + 2.6
7 17 Eugène Martin Talbot-LagoTalbot 1:55.4 + 4.6
8 20 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 1:55.8 + 5.0
9 15 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 1:56.0 + 5.2
10 9 Peter Walker ERA 1:56.6 + 5.8
11 19 Louis Chiron Maserati 1:56.6 + 5.8
12 8 Leslie Johnson ERA 1:57.4 + 6.6
13 12 Bob Gerard ERA 1:57.4 + 6.6
14 16 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-LagoTalbot 1:57.8 + 7.0
15 11 Cuth Harrison ERA 1:58.4 + 7.6
16 6 David Hampshire Maserati 2:01.0 + 10.2
17 24 Geoffrey Crossley Alta 2:02.6 + 11.8
18 5 David Murray Maserati 2:05.6 + 14.8
19 23 Joe Kelly Alta 2:06.2 + 15.4
20 10 Joe Fry Maserati 2:07.0 + 16.2
21 18 Johnny Claes Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:08.8 + 18.0

 

The Race

On 13 May, 21 drivers from 9 countries were represented at the old Silverstone airport, 4 from France, 2 from Italy, 1 each from Belgium, Ireland, Monaco, Argentina, Thailand and Switzerland. The UK was represented by 9 drivers. The race drew 200,000 spectators. At the start of the race, Farina took the lead with Fagioli and Fangio in pursuit, while Cabantous got a poor start and lost 4 positions. In the early laps, they switched around between themselves several times to keep everyone amused. Fangio retired with engine troubles caused by a broken oil pipe and so Farina led Fagioli home by 2.5 seconds with Parnell a distant third, despite hitting a hare during the race. The nearest challenger was Giraud-Cabantous two laps down, with Bira having retired with a fuel problem. Crossley and Murray duelled at the back before retiring, de Graffenried had done so on lap 34, while Chiron was demoted to the role of the viewer 10 laps earlier.

Nino Farina led for 63 laps (1–9, 16–37 and 39–70). Luigi Fagioli led for 6 laps (10–15). Juan Manuel Fangio led for 1 lap (38).

Nino Farina achieved the fastest lap of the race, with a 1:50.6 on Lap 2

 

 

Race Results

1 2 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 70 2:13:23.6 1 91
2 3 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 70 + 2.6 2 6
3 4 Reg Parnell Alfa Romeo 70 + 52.0 4 4
4 14 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-LagoTalbot 68 + 2 Laps 6 3
5 15 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 68 + 2 Laps 9 2

 

Standing After Race 1

1 Nino Farina 9
2 Luigi Fagioli 6
3 Reg Parnell 4
4 Yves Giraud-Cabantous 3
5 Louis Rosier 2

Farina win the first ever F1 race, the 1950 British GP

Race 2 – Monaco

The 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, formally titled the Prix de Monte-Carlo et XIe Grand Prix Automobile, was a Formula One motor race held on 21 May 1950 at Monaco. It was race two of seven in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers. The 100-lap race was held at an overall distance of 318.1 km (197.1 mi) and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio for the Alfa Romeo team after starting from pole position. Alberto Ascari finished second for Ferrari and Louis Chiron finished third for Maserati. It was also the first race for Ferrari in Formula One.

1 34 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 1:50.2
2 32 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 1:52.8 + 2.6
3 2 José Froilán González Maserati 1:53.7 + 3.5
4 14 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-LagoTalbot 1:54.1 + 3.9
5 36 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 1:54.2 + 4.0
6 38 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 1:52.3 + 2.1
7 40 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 1:53.8 + 3.6
8 48 Louis Chiron Maserati 1:56.3 + 6.1
9 42 Raymond Sommer Ferrari 1:56.6 + 6.4
10 16 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 1:57.7 + 7.5
11 10 Robert Manzon Simca-Gordini 2:00.4 + 10.2
12 52 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 2:00.7 + 10.5
13 12 Maurice Trintignant Simca-Gordini 2:01.4 + 11.2
14 24 Cuth Harrison ERA 2:01.6 + 11.4
15 50 Prince Bira Maserati 2:02.2 + 12.0
16 26 Bob Gerard ERA 2:03.4 + 13.2
17 44 Franco Rol Maserati 2:04.5 + 14.3
18 4 Alfredo Piàn Maserati No time
19 6 Johnny Claes Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:12.0 + 21.8
20 8 Harry Schell CooperJAP No time
21 28 Peter Whitehead Ferrari No time
DNA 18 Charles Pozzi Talbot-LagoTalbot
DNA 20 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-LagoTalbot
DNA 22 Pierre Levegh Talbot-LagoTalbot
DNA 46 Clemente Biondetti Maserati

 

The Race

After two qualifying sessions, on Thursday and Saturday, which Charles Pozzi, Yves Giraud-Cabantous, Pierre Levegh and Clemente Biondetti did not start, the race was dominated from start to finish by Juan Manuel Fangio, who scored his first ever victory in a World Championship event, driving an Alfa Romeo. The starting grid consisted of alternating rows of three and two, starting with three on the front row and continuing up to two on the 8th row. The first two rows of the grid (positions 1 to 5) were made up of the fastest five drivers from the Thursday qualifying session, with the remaining positions based on the other 16 drivers’ times in the second session on the Saturday. This format meant that Luigi Villoresi started 6th, despite his time being fast enough for 2nd place on the grid.

Due to an accident in practice, Alfredo Piàn did not start the race, with Peter Whitehead another non-starter. The race was marred by a large pile-up during the first lap, when a wave from the harbour flooded the track at Tabac Corner. Nino Farina in 2nd, spun and crashed while Fangio managed to escape the chaos. Those who were behind them tried to stop or avoid the carnage, but eight more drivers (from a field of 19 drivers) crashed and retired. None of them was injured, but José Froilán González, who damaged his Maserati in the pile-up but was subsequently running second, crashed during the second lap. His car caught fire and he suffered burns. The race went on with many cars going off at Tabac Corner, nearly causing other accidents. Ferrari driver Luigi Villoresi charged his way from the back of the field after being delayed by the pile-up, but did not finish.

Harry Schell’s Cooper was the first rear-engined car to start in a championship race. Chiron’s 3rd-place finish made him the only Monegasque driver to score points in Formula One until Charles Leclerc finished 6th in the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix some 68 years later.

Race Result

1 34 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 100 3:13:18.7 1 9
2 40 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 99 + 1 lap 7 6
3 48 Louis Chiron Maserati 98 + 2 laps 8 4
4 42 Raymond Sommer Ferrari 97 + 3 laps 9 3
5 50 Prince Bira Maserati 95 + 5 laps 15 2

 

Standing After Race 2

1 Nino Farina 9
11 2 Juan Manuel Fangio 9
1 3 Luigi Fagioli 6
18 4 Alberto Ascari 6
8 5 Louis Chiron 4

Picture of Tabac at the 1950 Monaco GP

Monaco GP, 1950

Race 3 – Indianapolis

While Indianapolis was part of the F1 championship it had no consequence on the championship.

Race 4 – Switzerland

 

1 14 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 2:42.1
2 16 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 2:42.8 + 0.7
3 12 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 2:45.2 + 3.1
4 22 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 2:46.1 + 4.0
5 18 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 2:46.8 + 4.7
6 42 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:51.1 + 9.0
7 6 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:52.7 + 10.6
8 30 Prince Bira Maserati 2:53.2 + 11.1
9 8 Eugène Martin Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:53.7 + 11.6
10 10 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:54.0 + 11.9
11 32 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 2:54.2 + 12.1
12 34 Felice Bonetto Maserati 2:54.6 + 12.5
13 20 Raymond Sommer Ferrari 2:54.6 + 12.5
14 4 Johnny Claes Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:59.0 + 16.9
15 2 Nello Pagani Maserati 3:06.8 + 24.7
16 26 Louis Chiron Maserati 3:06.8 + 24.7
17 40 Toni Branca Maserati 3:10.0 + 27.9
18 44 Harry Schell Talbot-LagoTalbot 3:11.5 + 29.4
DNA 24 Peter Whitehead Ferrari
DNA 28 Franco Rol Maserati
DNA 36 Reg Parnell Maserati
DNA 38 Rudi Fischer SVAFiat

The 1950 Swiss Grand Prix, formally titled the Großer Preis der Schweiz für Automobile, was a Formula One motor race held on 4 June 1950 at Bremgarten. It was race four of seven in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers. The 42-lap race was won by Alfa Romeo driver Nino Farina after he started from second position. His teammate Luigi Fagioli finished second and Talbot-Lago driver Louis Rosier came in third.

Qualifying

1 14 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 2:42.1
2 16 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 2:42.8 + 0.7
3 12 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 2:45.2 + 3.1
4 22 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 2:46.1 + 4.0
5 18 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 2:46.8 + 4.7
6 42 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:51.1 + 9.0
7 6 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:52.7 + 10.6
8 30 Prince Bira Maserati 2:53.2 + 11.1
9 8 Eugène Martin Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:53.7 + 11.6
10 10 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:54.0 + 11.9
11 32 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 2:54.2 + 12.1
12 34 Felice Bonetto Maserati 2:54.6 + 12.5
13 20 Raymond Sommer Ferrari 2:54.6 + 12.5
14 4 Johnny Claes Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:59.0 + 16.9
15 2 Nello Pagani Maserati 3:06.8 + 24.7
16 26 Louis Chiron Maserati 3:06.8 + 24.7
17 40 Toni Branca Maserati 3:10.0 + 27.9
18 44 Harry Schell Talbot-LagoTalbot 3:11.5 + 29.4
DNA 24 Peter Whitehead Ferrari
DNA 28 Franco Rol Maserati
DNA 36 Reg Parnell Maserati
DNA 38 Rudi Fischer SVAFiat

 

The Race

The fourth round of the Championship took place just three weeks after the series began at Silverstone (with Monaco and Indianapolis having taken place on consecutive weekends). Once again the event proved to be a battle between the Alfa Romeo factory 158s of Giuseppe Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli and the Scuderia Ferraris of Alberto Ascari, Luigi Villoresi (who had the latest model with de Dion rear suspension, twin overhead camshaft engine and 4-speed gearbox), Raymond Sommer and Peter Whitehead. There were a number of uncompetitive Talbot-Lagos and Maseratis as usual. José Froilán González was out of action as a result of burns he had received after the first lap accident at Monaco Grand Prix. Also, out of action as a result of the crash was Maserati factory driver Franco Rol. This was the last race to be entered by pre-war racer Eugène Martin. It was also the first and only World Championship Grand Prix for Nello Pagani, better known for his exploits in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

In qualifying Fangio and Farina were well clear of Fagioli with Villoresi and Ascari sharing the second row of the 3-2-3 grid. Peter Whitehead, Franco Rol, Reg Parnell and Rudi Fischer failed to qualify. In the race, on the first lap Ascari managed to get among the Alfa Romeos but he quickly slipped back and it was left to the Alfas to battle. Fangio led early on but then Farina went ahead through a faster refuelling stop. Fagioli was unable to keep up and after both Villoresi and Ascari retired. It was left to Prince Bira to run fourth. He had to refuel and so Philippe Étancelin in a Talbot-Lago was able to move into fourth place. Shortly afterwards, factory Talbot-Lago driver Eugène Martin crashed heavily and was seriously hurt when he was thrown from the car. Étancelin later went out with gearbox trouble and so Talbot-Lago factory driver Louis Rosier moved into fourth. He was promoted to third when Fangio retired on lap 33 with an electrical problem. Farina became the first driver to win multiples Grands Prix, after winning the inaugural World Championship Grand Prix.

Race Results

1 16 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 42 2:02:53.7 2 9
2 12 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 42 + 0.4 3 6
3 10 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 41 + 1 Lap 10 4
4 30 Prince Bira Maserati 40 + 2 Laps 8 3
5 34 Felice Bonetto Maserati 40 + 2 Laps 12 2

 

Standing After Race 4

1 Nino Farina                                                                                                         18
2 2 Luigi Fagioli 12
1 3 Juan Manuel Fangio 9
   
5 Alberto Ascari 6

The 1950 Swiss GP

Race 5 – Belgian

The 1950 Belgian Grand Prix, formally titled the Grand Prix Automobile de Belgique, was a Formula One motor race held on 18 June 1950 at Spa-Francorchamps. It was race five of seven in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers. The 35-lap race was won by Alfa Romeo driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from second position. His teammate Luigi Fagioli finished second and Talbot-Lago driver Louis Rosier came in third.

Qualifying

1          8          Italy Nino Farina           Alfa Romeo      4:37      –

2          10        Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo       4:37     + 0

3          12        Italy Luigi Fagioli           Alfa Romeo      4:41      + 4

4          2          Italy Luigi Villoresi         Ferrari 4:47     + 10

5          6          France Raymond Sommer        Talbot-Lago-Talbot        4:47     + 10

6          16        France Philippe Étancelin          Talbot-Lago-Talbot        4:49     + 12

7          4          Italy Alberto Ascari        Ferrari 4:52     + 15

8          14        France Louis Rosier      Talbot-Lago-Talbot        4:53     + 16

9          18        France Yves Giraud-Cabantous             Talbot-Lago-Talbot        4:56     + 19

10        22        France Pierre Levegh    Talbot-Lago-Talbot        5:01     + 24

11        20        France Eugène Chaboud          Talbot-Lago-Talbot        5:13     + 36

12        26        United Kingdom Geoffrey Crossley        Alta      5:44     + 1:07

13        30        Switzerland Toni Branca            Maserati           5:45     + 1:08

14        24        Belgium Johnny Claes   Talbot-Lago-Talbot        No time            –

By the time of the Belgian Grand Prix, the pace of the season was beginning to tell, with only 14 cars arriving at the Spa circuit. These included the dominant Alfa Romeos of Nino Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli. Scuderia Ferrari was down to two 125s for Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari, although Ascari had a new V12 engine to try out. The factory Talbot-Lago team had three cars for Louis Rosier, Yves Giraud-Cabantous and Philippe Étancelin (standing in for the injured Eugène Martin). The rest of the field was made up of Talbot-Lagos (notably one for Raymond Sommer), a single Alta and one Maserati for Toni Branca. This race was the final entry for Geoffrey Crossley, the sport’s high costs forcing him, like many privateers, to retire after just a handful of races.

Farina and Fangio were fastest as usual in qualifying with Fagioli unable to match them. Sommer split the Ferraris in his old Talbot-Lago. The race would be a similar story. The Alfas went off on their own and Sommer battled with the two Ferraris. When the Alfa stopped for fuel, Sommer found himself in the unlikely position of being race leader. Unfortunately his engine blew up. Ascari took the lead but he had to stop for fuel and that meant that the Alfas went ahead again with Fangio leading Farina and Fagioli. Farina suffered transmission trouble in the closing laps and dropped to fourth behind the best of the surviving Talbot-Lagos being driven by Rosier. Ascari finished fifth.

 

 

 

 

 

Race Results

1   10 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 35 2:47:26 2 8
2   12 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 35 + 14 3 6
3   14 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 35 + 2:19 8 4
4   8 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 35 + 4:05 1 41
5   4 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 34 + 1 Lap 7 2

Standing

1 Nino Farina 22
2 Luigi Fagioli 18
3 Juan Manuel Fangio 17
2 4 Louis Rosier 10
1 5 Johnnie Parsons 9

Farina leading the 1950 Belgian GP

Race 6 – France

The 1950 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 July 1950 at Reims-Gueux. It was race 6 of 7 in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers. The 64-lap race was won by Alfa Romeo driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from pole position. His teammate Luigi Fagioli finished second and Peter Whitehead took third in a privateer Ferrari

Qualifying

1 6 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 2:30.6
2 2 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 2:32.5 + 1.9
3 4 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 2:34.7 + 4.1
4 16 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:39.0 + 8.4
5 18 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:42.7 + 12.1
6 20 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:46.0 + 15.4
7 28 Franco Rol Maserati 2:46.7 + 16.1
8 36 José Froilán González Maserati 2:48.0 + 17.4
9 22 Pierre Levegh Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:49.0 + 18.4
10 24 Eugène Chaboud Talbot-LagoTalbot Unknown
11 40 Felice Bonetto MaseratiMilano 2:51.0 + 20.4
12 32 Reg Parnell Maserati 2:54.0 + 23.4
13 44 Robert Manzon SimcaGordini 2:55.5 + 24.9
14 30 Louis Chiron Maserati 2:55.9 + 25.3
15 42 Johnny Claes Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:57.4 + 26.8
16 26 Charles Pozzi Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:58.0 + 27.4
17 12 Raymond Sommer Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:59.3 + 28.7
18 34 David Hampshire Maserati 2:59.5 + 28.9
19 14 Peter Whitehead Ferrari 3:01.0 + 30.4
WD 8 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari
WD 10 Alberto Ascari Ferrari
DNA 38 Franco Comotti Maserati

 

Race Result

A total of 22 cars entered the event, four of which did not start the race. Franco Comotti did not attend the event; Eugène Chaboud did not start in his own car, instead sharing Philippe Étancelin‘s Talbot-Lago; and the two Scuderia Ferrari entries of Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari withdrew in practice.

Fangio put in a stunning display with a 187 km/h (116 mph) practice lap. With Ferrari not starting their 3-litre cars, the main opposition was to come from the Talbots, complete with dual ignition engines with 12 spark plugs. However, they suffered from radiator problems and overheated, allowing Fangio and Fagioli to lead home another Alfa demonstration run, whilst Farina succumbed to fuel pump trouble. Peter Whitehead finished third despite a fractured head gasket in the last two laps.

1 6 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 64 2:57:52.8 1 91
2 4 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 64 + 25.7 3 6
3 14 Peter Whitehead Ferrari 61 + 3 Laps 18 4
4 44 Robert Manzon SimcaGordini 61 + 3 Laps 12 3
5 16 Philippe Étancelin
Eugène Chaboud
Talbot-LagoTalbot 59 + 5 Laps 4 1
1

 

Standing

2 1 Juan Manuel Fangio 26
2 Luigi Fagioli 24
2 3 Giuseppe Farina 22
4 Louis Rosier 10
5 Johnnie Parsons 9

Fangio at the finish line

Whitehead in the Ferrari 125

Race 7 – Italy

The 1950 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 September 1950 at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. It was race 7 of 7 in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers. In this race, Nino Farina became the first World Drivers’ Champion, and the only driver to win the title in his home country.

 

Qualifying

 

1 18 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 1:58.6  –
2 16 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 1:58.8 + 0.2
3 10 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 2:00.2 + 1.6
4 46 Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo 2:00.4 + 1.8
5 36 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 2:04.0 + 5.4
6 48 Dorino Serafini Ferrari 2:05.6 + 7.0
7 60 Piero Taruffi Alfa Romeo 2:05.8 + 7.2
8 12 Raymond Sommer Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:08.6 + 10.0
9 4 Franco Rol Maserati 2:10.0 + 11.4
10 44 Robert Manzon SimcaGordini 2:12.4 + 13.8
11 40 Guy Mairesse Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:13.2 + 14.6
12 42 Maurice Trintignant SimcaGordini 2:13.4 + 14.8
13 58 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:13.4 + 14.8
14 64 Henri Louveau Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:13.8 + 15.2
15 30 Prince Bira Maserati 2:14.0 + 15.4
16 24 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:14.4 + 15.8
17 38 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 2:14.4 + 15.8
18 8 Peter Whitehead Ferrari 2:16.2 + 17.6
19 6 Louis Chiron Maserati 2:17.2 + 18.6
20 56 Pierre Levegh Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:17.2 + 18.6
21 32 Cuth Harrison ERA 2:18.4 + 19.8
22 2 Johnny Claes Talbot-LagoTalbot 2:18.6 + 20.0
23 52 Felice Bonetto Milano-Speluzzi 2:19.8 + 21.2
24 50 David Murray Maserati 2:22.0 + 23.4
25 22 Clemente Biondetti FerrariJaguar 2:30.6 + 32.0
26 62 Franco Comotti MaseratiMilano 2:33.6 + 35.0
27 28 Paul Pietsch Maserati 3:00.2 + 61.9
DNA 14 Giovanni Bracco Ferrari  –  –
DNA 26 Reg Parnell Maserati  –  –
DNA 34 Luigi Platé Talbot  –  –

 

Race Result

Ferrari pulled out all the stops to impress at their home circuit, producing a new unsupercharged 4½ litre engine to try to end the Alfa Romeo monopoly. Alberto Ascari used it to achieve second place on the grid to Juan Manuel Fangio‘s Alfa Romeo 158 and then in the race behind the fast starting Nino Farina (Alfa Romeo 158) before briefly leading. The pace was too punishing for the new car and a porous block broke on lap 20 and the battle returned as usual to the Alfas. Fangio retired twice; once in his own Alfa Romeo 158 and a second time after taking over Piero Taruffi‘s. Farina led to the finish from Ascari who was now in teammate Dorino Serafini‘s Ferrari 375 with Luigi Fagioli finishing third in his Alfa Romeo 158. Louis Rosier finish fourth in his Talbot-Lago T26C with Philippe Étancelin fifth in his Lago-Talbot. Étancelin would become the oldest driver to ever score a world championship point with that finish. Only seven cars finished out of the 27 starters and with Farina’s win and Fangio’s failure to score and Fagioli’s third place points removed as his worst scoring finish, Farina became the first recipient of the World Driver’s Championship crown.

Race Results

1 10 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 80 2:51:17.4 3 8
2 48 Dorino Serafini
Alberto Ascari
Ferrari 80 + 1:18.6 6 3
3
3 36 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 80 + 1:35.6 5 4
4 58 Louis Rosier Talbot-LagoTalbot 75 + 5 Laps 13 3
5 24 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-LagoTalbot 75 + 5 Laps 16 2

Final Standing

2 1 Nino Farina 30
1 2 Juan Manuel Fangio 27
1 3 Luigi Fagioli 24 (28)
4 Louis Rosier 13
1 5 Alberto Ascari 11

Farina winning the Italian GP and the 1950 F1 championship

Farina was the first F1 champion.  Here is his complete F1 stats

Emilio Giuseppe Farina

Born the 30 October 1906 – Turin (Piedmont)
Die the 30 June 1966 – 59 years – Aiguebelle (France) – Accident de la route

Nation: Italy

First Grand Prix: Britain 1950

Last Grand Prix: Belgium 1955

Best result: 1st

Best grid position: 1st

World Champion in 1950

1950 – 1

1951 – 4

1952 – 2

1953 – 3

1954 – 8

1955 – 5

37 involvements

33 Grands Prix

4 no starts

Result by Grand Prix

Result by circuit

21 teammates

7 seasons

 

Ian Caldwell @CavallinoRampa2

THE OSELLA STORY

This history is a bit different than the other stories I have written for Il Blog Del Ring, in that instead of focusing on a single race or season, I’ll look at a team’s history.

Today’s story is the history of Osella Squadra Corse.

Vincenzo Osella started his racing career in the mid-1960’s in Turin, driving a variety of sportscars for the Abarth team.

1966 Arbath 1000

 

In the early 1970’s Arbath entered into an agreement with Osella to design a car. In 1974, Osella took over the factory Abarth sports car program and expanded into single-seater racing. In 1975, the team entered the European Formula Two Championship with Giorgio Francia and Duilio Truffo, achieving some success with its own car, the BMW-powered Osella FA2.

Abarth-powered Osella PA1.

Osella continued in Formula Two the following season, but financial problems meant that the team was not competitive and withdrew from the championship before the end of the season. In the following years, the FA2s were occasionally entered by privateers, one of them being the Swiss touring car driver Charly Kiser. The experience prompted Osella to try to become a manufacturer for other teams. The Osella FA3 Formula Three car, powered with Toyota or Lancia engines, competed in the 1976 German and Italian F3 championships without making any great impression. After this, the team concentrated on running in local sports car events during 1977 and 1978.

In 1978 Osella made the decision to build its own car and in 1979 used the BMW F2 with Eddie Cheever while designing their own F1 car.

The BMW F2 car used by Osella and driven by Eddie Cheever in 1979. While a couple of years old the car was good enough to propel Cheever to 4th in the European F2 championship.

 

Move To F1

The first Osella F1 car was designed by Giorgio Stirana and powered by a Cosworth DFV. The car was named the FA1 and a modified car the FA1A.

The car was slow and overweight and unreliable, only finishing 2 of 14 races. Both finishes were out of the points.

The FA1A
1981
Cheever was poached by Tyrrell for 1981, as Osella expanded to a two-car team with the very wealthy Beppe Gabbiani in the lead car and a second car pedalled by Miguel Ángel Guerra. Denim remained as main sponsor but Monopolio Tabacchi, the Italian state-owned tobacco company, withdrew their MS funding. Two restyled FA1Bs were produced, the cars having a highly-modified chassis with the driver sitting further forward, and with the structure stiffened by carbon fibre panels, but the season did not go well, with both cars regularly failing to qualify.
Gabbiani fell out with Enzo Osella over his performances, and Ángel Guerra’s season was curtailed when he was badly injured in an accident at San Marino. Piercarlo Ghinzani and Giorgio Francia took over Ángel Guerra’s repaired car for the next few races, then new sponsor Saima S.p.A funded the employment of Jean-Pierre Jarier, unexpectedly unemployed since his Talbot-Ligier drive fell through. Jarier joined the team at the British GP, immediately giving Osella its best ever results with two eight places. Jarier then moved into the new FA1C at the Italian GP, while Gabbiani continued to post DNQs in the old FA1Bs.

Beppe Gabbiani

1982

The 1982 season would be a changer for Osella.  Jarier would be resigned and new Italian driver Paletti brought in. The design team would change with Giorgio Valentini and Tony Southgate brought in to give it a more “English” design. The result was the FA1C.Race 4 of the season would see Osella’s first points taken by Jarier with a fourth place.

Jarier taking 4th at San Marino

The Canadian GP race was marred by the death of Italian driver Riccardo Paletti, in only his second F1 race start. At the start, the lights took an unusually long time to turn to green. During this time, Didier Pironi, who had the pole position, stalled the engine of his Ferrari. Pironi lifted his hand to signal the problem just as the lights switched to green, which was too late to abort the start. The other cars swerved across the track, trying to squeeze past Pironi’s stationary car.  Raul Boesel just clipped the back left of the Ferrari, spinning his March into the path of Eliseo Salazar and Jochen Mass. Salazar, Boesel and Mass suffered minor impacts but it looked as if everyone had passed the Ferrari without serious consequences.  However, Paletti could not react in time and slammed into the rear of the stranded Ferrari at 180 km/h (110 mph), catapulting it into the path of Geoff Lees. The Osella’s nose was crushed in severely.

The death of Paletti

1983

The 1983 season was a transition for Osella. Ghinzani returned and Corrado Fabi (brother of Teo Fabi) joined the team. There was also a big change in engines. The Alfa V12 was made available. The Alfa would be used by Ghinzani from race 4 and Fabi from race 9. Regardless of the engine the car was a disaster only finishing 3 races.

Osella FA1E 12-cylinder 1983

1984

The 1984 season saw some dramatic changes for Osella.  The team was down to one driver, Ghinzani, and had a new turbo engine, the 1.5 L V8 Alfa Romeo.

The 1984 Alfa 1.5 L turbo

The 1984 Osella team

 

The highlight of the season was Ghinzani scoring a 5th in Dallas. It would be Osella’s peak.

Ghinzani’s 5th in Dallas.

 

I must add that Jo Gartner scores a single point for Osella at the Italian GP, but because the rules allowed “guest” drivers to participate, they could not score any points. Garner was classified as a guest throughout the season.

1985

In 1985, Osella only entered a single vehicle. The only driver of the team was Piercarlo Ghinzani, the FA1G debuted at the San Marino Grand Prix in May. The FA1G was entered in the sixth race, driven by Ghinzani. Five times out of the six, the Italian team failed to qualify. The only finish was 15th at the French Grand Prix

Ghinzani’s successor Rothengatter failed to qualify in seven races out of the eight he was entered in. He had to retire three times due to of technical problems. The best result he manages to achieve was seventh place in the Australian Grand Prix.

1985 Osella

1986

For 1986, Osella would return to 2 full time cars. Ghinzani would complete in all 16 races, while Danner, Berg and Caffi would drive a second car.

The best result would be two 11 place finishes from Ghinzani and Danner and a 12 from Berg. The 1986 season would begin the decline of Osella as a competitive factor in F1.

Berg in the FA1H

1987

The 1987 F1 season saw dramatic changes at Osella. Ghinzani and Berg were gone, with Italian driver Alex Caffi entering all sixteen races, with Tarquini and Swiss driver Franco Forini each entering a couple. There was a new title sponsor in the Swiss engineering company Landis – Gyr.

The season would be Osella’s worst ever, with Caffi only finishing one race, a 12-place finish in San Marino.

Caffi in the FA1G
1988
1988 would see another change of drivers with Nichola Larini entered in every race except the opener in Brazil. Osella would only run a single car in 1988. Of the 16 races the team entered it finished only 3 with the best result a 9th at Monaco.

FA1L

1989

With the new engine regulations of 3.5 L normally aspirated, Osella went aback to a two-car team. Larini was retained and Ghinzani brought back. There was a new title sponsor in Fondmetal. The all-new car was designated the FA1M. Unfortunately, the car was uncompetitive and would not score a single point.

The FA1M

1990

The 1990 season would see Osella drop both of its drivers and bring in Frenchman Olivier Groiuillard as the sole driver. Of the 16 races his best finish was a 13th at Monaco. By the end of the season, it was all over for Osella.

At the end of the 1990 season, Osella sold the team to Gabrieli Rumi, who was the owner of Fondmetal.

In 11 seasons Osella scored 5 points.

I wrote this short history of Osella because the first F1 race I went to in 1982, I had tickets which allowed me to get a grid walk. During that walk I met and had a short conversation with Riccardo Palettti. He was a really nice guy and answered a couple of questions I had. The next day he was dead. Killed in a crash at the start of the race. RIP Riccardo.

Ian Caldwell 

A FATAL MISTAKE

A FATAL MISTAKE

 

This story is a bit different from my previous histories. This story will deal with a single event, that would have a major impact on Honda for nearly twenty years.

 

Early Honda in the late 1940’s

 

Like many Japanese companies in the early 1960’s, Honda saw their key to success in exporting their products to Europe and North America.

In 1962 Honda decided that the path to follow was to enter F1.

By 1964 the RA271 was built and would contest three races. The car was driven in Germany, Italy and the US by American driver Ronnie Buckhum who failed to score any points.

Ronnie Buckhum with his RA271

 1965 was a bit of a breakthrough for Honda with new driver Dan Gurney finishing 4th in the driver’s championship, and Ginther winning the Mexican GP.

Ginther winning the 1965 Mexican GP

For Honda 1966 was a lost season. They only competed in 5 of the 9 races, deciding to focus on 1967.

In 1967 there were big changes at Honda. Ginther and Bucknum were released and former Ferrari world champion, John Surtees, brought in.

Surtees in the Honda RA273 at 1968 South Africa

1968 was to be a momentous year for Honda. They had just introduced their first road car in the US, and the new RA300 F1 car was released.

The 1968 Honda N600

 In F1 Honda would contest the entire season for the first time.

1968 RA300

 

The 1968 F1 session would consist of 12 races, starting in South Africa and ending in Mexico.

 

1 South African Grand Prix Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, Midrand 1 January
2 Spanish Grand Prix Circuito Permanente Del Jarama, Madrid 12 May
3 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 26 May
4 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 9 June
5 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort 23 June
6 French Grand Prix Rouen-Les-Essarts, Orival 7 July
7 British Grand Prix Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown 20 July
8 German Grand Prix Nürburgring, Nürburg 4 August
9 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 8 September
10 Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Mont-Tremblant 22 September
11 United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen International, New York 6 October
12 Mexican Grand Prix Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City 3 November

I am going to write about the sixth race in France as that is the focus of this story.

1968 French GP ad.

As F1 moved to France for the sixth race, things were getting desperate for Honda. So far Honda hadn’t scored a point and Honda were begging to question the F1 program. Honda did have what they believed was their ace, a radical new car that was designated the RA302.

The new Honda RA302 used a magnesium chassis. It was supposed to be light and nimble. When Surtees tested the car, he found it slow and cumbersome. An engineering friend advised him not to drive the car, and that is what Surtees did, he told Honda he wouldn’t drive the car. In a panic Honda signed a veteran French driver named Jo Schlesser.

At 40 Schlesser had been in various categories of racing for more than ten years. This would likely be his last chance at F1.

The Honda 302

Jo Schlesser

 

The Race

The support races had all been run on a dry track, but now rain began to fall as the F1 cars lined up for the start, everyone on dry tyres to start with as there was no time to change to wet tyres.

Stewart got the jump to lead down to Nouveau Monde for the first time, Rindt and Ickx keeping him honest. Most expected Stewart to take up where he left off at Zandvoort but Ickx was already showing his Ferrari to be much better in the wet conditions and he had a lead of a number of lengths at the end of lap 1, ahead of Stewart and Rindt. Surtees was 4th, ahead of Rodriguez doing well in 5th, Hill 6th, McLaren 7th, and Beltoise 8th. Amon’s Ferrari was sounding rough as he dropped to 9th, ahead of Hulme, Attwood, Brabham, Elford, Courage, Schlesser and Servoz-Gavin. Siffert was already a minute behind at the back, his car had struck clutch problems at the start and his mechanics got him going albeit belatedly. After two laps Ickx was pulling away, Rindt had grabbed second from Stewart, while Surtees, Rodriguez and Hill were closing on the Scot.

On lap 3, tragedy struck. Jo Schlesser, who had struggled all weekend with the new Honda, spun at Six Frères. Witnesses stated that they thought his engine had cut out, and the Frenchman was a passenger as his car slithered up the embankment, overturned, and burst into flames. Spectators near the incident suffered minor burns as the magnesium-built car burned fiercely, Schlesser stuck underneath. Efforts were made to retrieve him, but the combination of the intense heat and the lack of chemical fire extinguishers made that task almost impossible. Water extinguishers were used but they made no impression on the flames, instead merely making matters worse allowing rivers of flame to flow down the circuit. Before long, it became clear that nothing could be done, and poor Schlesser perished in the flames. It would be almost 20 minutes after the initial crash before he could be pulled from the charred wreckage. This tragedy cast a black cloud over the whole race, and would have far-reaching consequences for both Rouen and the Honda team.

Schlesser’s fatal crash.

His car rides up the bank (1) and then erupts into flames (2)

Postscript

Schlesser’s death would have a prefund impact on F1. It would push Jackie Stewart to demand more safety and tracks and better medical services.

The negative publicity would cause Honda to pull out of F1 until 1983 when they suppled engines to Spirit and later Williams. From 1975 until 1996 every Ligier car was named JS in memory of French driver Jo Schlesser.

 

By I. Caldwell

aka @CavallinoRampa2

THE RISE OF NIKI (1975 SEASON)

Ferrari was in desperate shape at the end of the 1973 season. Its answer was to sign a driver who had just two F1 points to his name. The gamble paid off. After only five GPs with the Scuderia, Niki Lauda was winning races; after just two seasons, the world title was his. As would Michael Schumacher 20 years later, Lauda brought speed and steel to Enzo’s team.

The new 3L engine spec which had been introduced in 1966 had not been kind to Ferrari. Henry Ford 2, the president of Ford, wanted to destroy Ferrari for not selling out to him. The new Ford engine was a world-better and almost every F1 team wanted it. By 1973 Ferrari were at rock-bottom. Changes had to be made.

The changes were dramatic. Luca di Montezemolo, the new team boss, brought back Mauro Forghieri as head of design. But the biggest change were the drivers. Clay Regazzoni was brought back, but the biggest change was a young driver named Niki Laudi.

For 1974 Ferrari heavily modified the existing car and named it the 312 B3-74.

   

The 312 B3-1974

The 312 B3-1974 would go on to win three races. Spain, Holland, and Germany. Regazzoni would finish the season in second, and Laudi fourth. Ferrari was back and the team eagerly waited for the 1975 season to start.

The 1975 F1 season was 14 races. The season would begin in Argentina in January and finish in the US in October.

1 Argentine Grand Prix Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires 12 January
2 Brazilian Grand Prix Autodromo de Interlagos, São Paulo 26 January
3 South African Grand Prix Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, Midrand 1 March
4 Spanish Grand Prix Montjuïc circuit, Barcelona 27 April
5 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 11 May
6 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder 25 May
7 Swedish Grand Prix Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp 8 June
8 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort 22 June
9 French Grand Prix Paul Ricard Circuit, Le Castellet 6 July
10 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 19 July
11 German Grand Prix Nürburgring, Nürburg 3 August
12 Austrian Grand Prix Österreichring, Spielberg 17 August
13 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 7 September
14 United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen Grand Prix Course, New York 5 October

The points system remained the same. There were two regulation changes.

  • Fire-resistant race suits were made obligatory.
  • The concept of marshal posts, with service roads leading to and from them, was created and implemented at various circuits. Also, from now on, marshals had to practice rescuing drivers from their cars.

 

Race 1 – Argentina

 

The close season had been fairly quiet – Jochen Mass had replaced Denny Hulme at McLaren, John Watson had joined Surtees and Mike Wilds, Rolf Stommelen and Jacques Laffite were confirmed at BRM, Hill and Williams respectively.

March had announced their retirement, but then in a dramatic U-turn confirmed their entry for 1975 with Vittorio Brambilla and Lella Lombardi.

There were contractual wrangles with Ronnie Peterson, reportedly discontent at Lotus and it was uncertain up until the start of practice whether he would be driving for them or Shadow.

Jean-Pierre Jarier proved the Shadow’s effectiveness, putting in the fastest ever lap of the circuit, averaging 122 mph to gain his first pole from Carlos Pace and Carlos Reutemann.

However it was all in vain. On the warm-up lap, his crown-wheel-and-pinion stripped, leaving him a non-starter. Local hero Reutemann gratefully accepted the lead from Pace. James Hunt driving the newest Hesketh with new rubber suspension climbed from the 6th row up to third place, duelling with Niki Lauda. Jochen Mass and Jody Scheckter tangled. Meanwhile, John Watson was stranded with a loose fuel-pipe and was disqualified after attempting trackside repairs.

Wilson Fittipaldi crashed on lap 13, his car catching fire and requiring the fire engine to be deployed. By now, Hunt had passed Lauda and was catching the two Brabhams. Pace took the lead on lap 15, but spun on the very next lap. Reutemann having retaken the lead, was understeering badly and on lap 25 was passed by Hunt. There was a ferocious battle with Emerson Fittipaldi for the lead.

Race results

1 1 Emerson Fittipaldi McLarenFord G 53 1:39:26.29 5   9
2 24 James Hunt HeskethFord G 53 + 5.91 6   6
3 7 Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord G 53 + 17.06 3   4
4 11 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari G 53 + 35.79 7   3
5 4 Patrick Depailler TyrrellFord G 53 + 54.25 8   2
6 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari G 53 + 1:19.65 4   1
 

               

 

Race 2 – Brazil

Jarier took pole position, after beating the 1973 pole record. He lined up ahead of local driver Emerson Fittipaldi. The race was delayed whilst the track was washed down to remove debris – punctures had played a critical part in the 1974 race and race organisers wanted to avoid a repeat of these problems.

This was the 176th and last championship race start of Graham Hill‘s Formula One career.[citation needed]

Brazilian drivers finished 1–2 in the race (for first time in the history of the category), with Carlos Pace taking the only win of his career and Emerson Fittipaldi finishing second.

Race results

1 8 Carlos Pace BrabhamFord 40 1:44:41.17 6 9
2 1 Emerson Fittipaldi McLarenFord 40 + 5.79 2 6
3 2 Jochen Mass McLarenFord 40 + 26.66 10 4
4 11 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 40 + 43.28 5 3
5 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 40 + 1:01.88 4 2
6 24 James Hunt HeskethFord 40 + 1:05.12 7 1

 

Drivers’ Championship standings

Pos Driver Points
1 Emerson Fittipaldi 15
2 Carlos Pace 9
3 James Hunt 7
4 Clay Regazzoni 6
5 Carlos Reutemann 4
     
     

Race 3 – South Africa

Ferrari had used the free month of February profitably, producing the new 312T model with a new transverse gearbox. There was also a new face in the persona of female Italian racer Lella Lombardi (the first woman to take part in a World Championship race since Maria Teresa de Filippis in the 1958 Italian Grand Prix).

In practice, Graham Hill‘s car spun on oil dropped from Ronnie Peterson‘s car and crashed, destroying his car. He opted to sit out the race. Once the debris had been cleared and holes in the catch fencing mended, there was a second accident as Niki Lauda spun on engine oil, hitting the wall at 120 mph. With further violent accidents to Jody Scheckter and Guy Tunmer, the drivers deemed the circuit not safe and refused to continue until fencing defects were remedied and the track improved, further helped by the support of mechanics who insisted no more practice be carried out.

When the racing got under way, Carlos Pace led from pole in a Brabham 1–2 but was soon passed by Jody Scheckter and Carlos Reutemann after experiencing braking problems, and Patrick Depailler soon climbed to third. James Hunt retired with a broken throttle linkage, Vittorio Brambilla with oil cooler problems and Ian Scheckter crashed. Emerson Fittipaldi was challenging Depailler for 4th place when he suffered a cracked plug lead. Jody Scheckter held on from Reutemann for his only home win.

Race results

1 3 Jody Scheckter TyrrellFord 78 1:43:16.90 3 9
2 7 Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord 78 + 3.74 2 6
3 4 Patrick Depailler TyrrellFord 78 + 16.92 5 4
4 8 Carlos Pace BrabhamFord 78 + 17.31 1 3
5 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 78 + 28.64 4 2
6 2 Jochen Mass McLarenFord 78 + 1:03.64 16 1

Championship Standing

1 Emerson Fittipaldi 15
2 Carlos Pace 12
3 Carlos Reutemann 10
4 Jody Scheckter 9
5 James Hunt 7

 

Race 4 – Spain

 

On the morning of the race, Fittipaldi announced he would not race, and went back home. During the morning, Ken Tyrrell went out onto the circuit with his spanner to make sure the barriers were how they should be. The race was due to start at 12:30pm but there was delays.

The two Ferraris of Niki Lauda (on pole) and Clay Regazzoni qualified on the front row, but their glory would not last long. At the start, Vittorio Brambilla‘s March tangled with Mario Andretti‘s Parnelli. Andretti’s car hit the back of Lauda’s, sending him into Regazzoni. Lauda was out immediately, while Regazzoni took his car to the garage, where repairs were made, and Regazzoni was sent back out. Patrick Depailler also retired on the first lap because of suspension damage, and Wilson Fittipaldi and Arturo Merzario withdrew in protest.

After the first-corner madness ceased, James Hunt was shown as the leader. Shockingly, Andretti had managed to keep going and was running in second. John Watson was in third, Rolf Stommelen was fourth, Brambilla fifth, and Carlos Pace sixth.

On lap four, the engine in Jody Scheckter‘s Tyrrell blew, and the oil dumping onto the circuit caused Alan Jones and Mark Donohue to crash. Three laps later, Hunt also slipped in the oil and crashed. The top three had become Andretti, Watson, and Stommelen. Watson’s car suffered from vibrations and dropped out. Andretti’s rear suspension lasted only seven more laps before it failed, causing him to crash out of the lead. Jean-Pierre Jarier and Brambilla stopped to change tyres, whilst Tom Pryce and Tony Brise tangled. Stommelen was now in the top spot, followed by Pace, Ronnie Peterson, Jochen Mass, and Ickx. On lap 24, Peterson was out after he tangled with François Migault while trying to lap the Frenchman.

Two laps later, tragedy struck. The rear wing on Stommelen’s Embassy Hill broke, sending him into the barrier, ironically at the point that his own mechanics had worked on. He bounced off it and back into the road, hitting the barrier across the way, and flying over it. While trying to avoid Stommelen as he crossed the track, Pace crashed. Four people were killed by Stommelen’s flying car: fireman Joaquín Benaches Morera, spectator Andrés Ruiz Villanova, and two photo-journalists, Mario de Roia and Antonio Font Bayarri.[3] Stommelen himself suffered a broken leg, a broken wrist, and two cracked ribs.

The race continued for another four laps, during which Mass passed Ickx for the lead. On lap 29, the race was halted with Mass the winner, Ickx second, and Jean-Pierre Jarier crossed the line in third position. Carlos Reutemann finished fourth ahead of Brambilla in fifth. Lella Lombardi finished in sixth and became the only woman in Formula One to score championship points. With the race being stopped before 60% of the scheduled race distance was reached,[4] only half points were awarded for the first time in the history of the championship. After the race, stewards found that Jarier had overtaken in a portion of the track covered by a yellow flag caution. Jarier was given a sixty-second penalty that relegated him to fourth position.[

1 2 Jochen Mass McLarenFord 29 42:53.7 11 4.5
2 6 Jacky Ickx LotusFord 29 + 1.1 16 3
3 7 Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord 28 + 1 lap 15 2
4 17 Jean-Pierre Jarier ShadowFord 28 + 1 lap 10 1.5
5 9 Vittorio Brambilla MarchFord 28 + 1 lap 5 1
6 10 Lella Lombardi MarchFord 27 + 2 laps 24 0.5

Championship Standing

1 Emerson Fittipaldi 15
2 Carlos Pace 12
3 Carlos Reutemann 12
4 Jochen Mass 9.5
5 Jody Scheckter 9

 

Race 5 – Monaco

Lauda winning the 1975 Monaco GP

The race began under rain conditions, so everyone went for wet tyres. Lauda was fastest at the start, while Pryce had a slow start and was passed by Jarier and Peterson;[2] the Frenchman soon attempted to pass Lauda in an ill-advised overtaking manoeuvre, and hit the barriers at the Mirabeau; his car was damaged in the collision and handled badly, which caused him to hit the wall again at the Tabac corner[2] and then retire. Peterson went into the second place with Vittorio Brambilla third, until Pryce hit the Italian’s wheel. Regazzoni stopped to change a tyre and the nosecone of his car, and James Hunt stopped to change onto slick tyres, anticipating a drying of the track surface. However, his team’s slow pit work cost him a substantial amount of time.

Ronnie Peterson‘s victory chances were damaged at his pit stop when a wheel nut was lost under the car. Tom Pryce came in to replace a broken nosecone, and by that time Niki Lauda led by 15 seconds from Emerson Fittipaldi and Carlos Pace. Many accidents happened during the race: Jochen Mass and James Hunt tangled at Mirabeau, and Patrick Depailler got embroiled in their accident; Clay Regazzoni hit the chicane and suffered damage; John Watson spun and stalled the engine of his car; Pryce hit the barrier and had to retire; Mario Andretti entered the pits with his car on fire; Mark Donohue hit the barrier, whilst Alan Jones broke a wheel.

In the last laps Lauda’s oil pressure was fading and Fittipaldi was closing. With three laps left the gap was 2.75 seconds; however, the two-hour time limit was reached and the race was stopped, with Lauda winning. Ferrari had won their first Monaco Grand Prix in 20 years; the tragedy of the Spanish Grand Prix receded and the championship race was back on. Fittipaldi’s second position strengthened his narrow points lead over early season points leader Pace.

Race results

1 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 75 2:01:21.31 1 9
2 1 Emerson Fittipaldi McLarenFord 75 + 2.78 9 6
3 8 Carlos Pace BrabhamFord 75 + 17.81 8 4
4 5 Ronnie Peterson LotusFord 75 + 38.45 4 3
5 4 Patrick Depailler TyrrellFord 75 + 40.86 12 2
6 2 Jochen Mass McLarenFord 75 + 42.07 15 1

 

Championship Standings

1 Emerson Fittipaldi 21
2 Carlos Pace 16
3 Niki Lauda 14
4 Carlos Reutemann 12
5 Jochen Mass 10.5

 

Race 6 – Belgium

Pace took the lead whilst Brambilla and Regazzoni duelled. Jochen Mass and John Watson collided – the German retired whilst Watson returned to the pits with a damaged nosecone. Alan Jones also had to retire after a collision with Jacques Laffite. Arturo Merzario was out with a burnt out clutch. Pace’s fiery start was now causing problems with brakes and cold tyres and he was having to drop back.

Brambilla took the lead until lap six when he was passed by Lauda. Tony Brise spun at the chicane and retired shortly after with piston failure. Jody Scheckter was storming through the field to be in second place by lap ninth. Brambilla’s brakes were fading and he dropped down the order. Jean-Pierre Jarier spun into the catch-fencing, James Hunt retired with a broken gear-linkage. Clay Regazzoni had risen to third, but then dived into the pits to change a blistered tyre. Lauda led Scheckter comfortably and the race settled down into a procession.

Carlos Pace had handling problems and dropped down the order when he lost third gear. By lap 49, Ronnie Peterson crashed into the catch fencing, whilst Brambilla surrendered third place to change a blistered tyre, resuming but retiring with brake problems.

Fittipaldi was also having brake problems, leaving him helpless against the assault of Regazzoni and Tom Pryce as he dropped from fifth to seventh in the last six laps.

Race results

1 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 70 1:43:53.98 9
2 3 Jody Scheckter TyrrellFord 70 + 19.22   6
3 7 Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord 70 + 41.82 4
4 4 Patrick Depailler TyrrellFord 70 + 1:00.08   3
5 11 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 70 + 1:03.84   2
6 16 Tom Pryce ShadowFord 70 + 1:28.45   1

Drivers Standing

1 Niki Lauda 23
2 Emerson Fittipaldi 21
3 Carlos Pace 16
4 Carlos Reutemann 16
5 Jody Scheckter 15

Race 7 – Swedish GP

Ronnie Peterson and Mark Donohue

 

Qualifying resulted in pole position for Vittorio Brambilla in his March,[5] while Lauda qualified fifth fastest and his teammate Clay Regazzoni 11th. In the race Brambilla took the lead, but by lap 16 he was overtaken by Carlos Reutemann‘s Brabham and eventually had to retire with a blistered front tyre. Tom Pryce had to pit early due to throttle slides being clogged by sand, whilst Patrick Depailler suffered a brake line leak. Hunt retired on lap 22 with a brake-pipe leak, promoting Regazzoni and Mario Andretti. Poor Jean-Pierre Jarier lost second place to failing oil pressure on lap 38. Young Tony Brise was showing little respect for his elders, overtaking Mark Donohue and Ronnie Peterson and then challenging championship leader Emerson Fittipaldi. The battle which ensued slowed them up and John Watson in the Surtees had soon climbed up behind them. Meanwhile, Lauda was steadily progressing through the field and on lap 42 he was second. He put a series of fastest laps, benefiting from a harder tyre compound, closed on Reutemann and overtook him to win the Grand Prix by 6 seconds. Reutemann finished second with Regazzoni, in the other Ferrari 312T, third. Brise had his gearbox jammed in fourth and surrendered to Donohue, but on his third Grand Prix gained his first World Championship point and Graham Hill‘s first as a constructor. It would prove the only point of Brise’s promising but brief F1 career. Fittipaldi suffered braking problems and was passed by Jody Scheckter at the race end to finish in eighth.

Race Results

1 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 80 1:59:18.319   9
2 7 Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord 80 + 6.288   6
3 11 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 80 + 29.095   4
4 27 Mario Andretti ParnelliFord 80 + 44.380 3
5 28 Mark Donohue PenskeFord 80 + 1:30.763   2
6 23 Tony Brise HillFord 79 + 1 Lap   1

Drivers Standing

1 Niki Lauda 32
2 Carlos Reutemann 22
3 Emerson Fittipaldi 21
4 Carlos Pace 16
5 Jody Scheckter 15

 

Race 8 – Holland

Hunt winning the 1975 Dutch GP

Niki Lauda dominated practice, with teammate Clay Regazzoni joining him on the front row. Jean-Pierre Jarier had a crash and the Maki team’s weekend ended abruptly in a cloud of smoke from engine problems. James Hunt had a storming practice to take third place on the grid. On Saturday afternoon, weather conditions meant practice times would not improve, so Hunt was sent out to get some extra testing – during which something in the metering unit broke. This was fortunate as the Dutch Grand Prix did not have Sunday morning practice, so had it not been for those extra laps, the mechanical problems would have occurred during the race itself.

The race was delayed by rainstorms as the teams persuaded the organizers to let them run on wet tyres. Lauda led from Jody Scheckter whilst Vittorio Brambilla and Patrick Depailler collided. Jochen Mass was having metering unit troubles and Jacky Ickx exploded his engine. Meanwhile, Hunt had changed onto dry tyres and was gaining time rapidly on the drying surface to take the lead from Jarier and Lauda by lap 15. The Austrian championship leader was finding overtaking a very difficult prospect indeed. Emerson Fittipaldi dropped out with engine problems whilst John Watson broke a wing support and Carlos Reutemann got past Tom Pryce who was suffering from brake problems.

On lap 43, Jarier spun when a tyre burst. Lauda now pursued Hunt desperately for over 20 laps, putting him under immense pressure. Hunt had cracked under similar pressure in Buenos Aires, but this time he resisted. The Ferrari managed to gain on the slow corners, but Hunt pulled ahead on the fast corners and down the straight. The TV directors were so confused that the captions showed three laps left to go when a massive roar from the grandstands signalled it was all over. Hunt became the first Englishman since Peter Gethin to win a Grand Prix.

Lauda’s second place reinforced his championship lead, which expanded to 13 points over Brabham driver Carlos Reutemann.

Race results

1 24 James Hunt HeskethFord 75 1:46:57.40   9
2 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 75 + 1.06   6
3 11 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 75 + 55.06   4
4 7 Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord 74 + 1 Lap   3
5 8 Carlos Pace BrabhamFord 74 + 1 Lap   2
6 16 Tom Pryce ShadowFord 74 + 1 Lap   1

Dirvers Standings

1 Niki Lauda 38
2 Carlos Reutemann 25
3 Emerson Fittipaldi 21
4 Carlos Pace 18
5 James Hunt 16

 

Race 9 – France

Lauda winning the 1975 French GP

 

Despite suffering from flu, Niki Lauda still took pole position. Jean-Pierre Jarier brought a smile to French faces by setting Friday’s quickest time. Jody Scheckter driving the new lightweight Tyrrell 007 set a record through the speed trap of 190 mph.

On the start line, Tom Pryce was left without a clutch and retired shortly afterwards. Lauda led from Scheckter, James Hunt and Jochen Mass. Clay Regazzoni had moved up to second before his engine exploded, Scheckter taking over the position before Hunt passed him on lap eight. Lauda and Hunt maintained first and second whilst Scheckter, struggling with handling issues, had to concede to Mass and Emerson Fittipaldi.

Jarier made a superb pass on him and made a brave bid to catch Fittipaldi, but rev-limiter problems caused him to fall back with erratic power. Mario Andretti and Patrick Depailler were performing brilliantly, advancing from eleventh to fifth and 19th to sixth respectively.

Alan Jones was duelling with Ronnie Peterson and Carlos Reutemann when he spun into the catch fencing. Reutemann suffered from tyre problems and lost a lap, whilst John Watson suffered excess power and took to the escape road. Vittorio Brambilla retired with a damper problem, Wilson Fittipaldi blew his engine, and Jacky Ickx, Mark Donohue and Carlos Pace all broke their driveshafts. Mass was in rapid pursuit of Hunt and Lauda – by the last lap he was only 2.4 seconds behind them. However, a superb lapping manoeuvre gave Hunt the space he needed. On the last corner, Lauda slid offline, but held on to win by 1.6 seconds

Race results

1 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 54 1:40:18.84   9
2 24 James Hunt HeskethFord 54 + 1.59   6
3 2 Jochen Mass McLarenFord 54 + 2.31 4
4 1 Emerson Fittipaldi McLarenFord 54 + 39.77   3
5 27 Mario Andretti ParnelliFord 54 + 1:02.08   2
6 4 Patrick Depailler TyrrellFord 54 + 1:07.40   1

Drivers standings

1 Niki Lauda 47
2 Carlos Reutemann 25
3 Emerson Fittipaldi 24
4 James Hunt 22
5 Carlos Pace 18

 

Race 10 – Great Britain

Brambilla in his March 751

A new chicane had been installed at Woodcote Corner, bringing complaints from the purists but also arguments that it was necessary in the interests of safety. Tom Pryce gained his only career pole position in his home race, whilst the Ferraris were on the second row, with James Hunt languishing on the fifth row.

Graham Hill, who had already announced his retirement as a driver after 17 seasons and 176 races after failing in his attempt to qualify in Monaco, made a farewell lap one hour before the start of the race (without overalls and helmet), and concentrated on the leadership of his Embassy Hill team.

From the start – in which a lights system was being used for the first time in any Grand Prix, replacing the traditional national flag – Carlos Pace led from Pryce.

Following the hail storm, only six cars were running at the end. The RAC declared the race finished officially on the lap after the lap when most cars were running – lap 56. Ferrari, with both of their cars stuck on lap 54 in the classification protested, but the RAC threw these protests out and three days later, the provisional results were confirmed.

The win was the 14th and final win of Fittipaldi’s career which had included two world championships. He would continue racing in Formula One until 1980. The win also vaulted Fittipaldi past Carlos Reutemann into second place in the championship, 14 points behind Lauda.

Race Results

1   Emerson Fittipaldi McLarenFord 56 1:22:05.0   9
2   Carlos Pace BrabhamFord 55 Accident   6
3   Jody Scheckter TyrrellFord 55 Accident   4
4   James Hunt HeskethFord 55 Accident 3
5   Mark Donohue MarchFord 55 Accident   2
6   Vittorio Brambilla MarchFord 55 + 1 Lap   1

Drivers standings

1 Niki Lauda 47
2 Emerson Fittipaldi 33
3 James Hunt 25
4 Carlos Reutemann 25
5 Carlos Pace 24

Race 11 – West Germany

Reutemann winning the 1975 Germany GP

At the start, Lauda took the lead from pole with Pace, Depailler, Mass, Regazzoni and Reutemann who made a lightning start from 10th. Depailler passed Pace at the Nordkurve left hander. At the end of the first lap, the order was Lauda, Depailler, Pace, Reutemann, and Regazzoni. Scheckter had a terrible start, he dropped to 20th and began to work his way through the field. It was a bad day for the McLaren team, as sixth-placed Fittipaldi had a puncture and retired on lap 4 with damaged suspension; and Mass had lost a wheel at the Fuchsröhre (Foxhole) and crashed heavily, he was unhurt. March’s day went rapidly south too: Stuck retired with engine failure on the fourth lap.

Regazzoni got past Reutemann on the third lap, and the order by the start of the fourth lap was Lauda, Depailler, Pace, Regazzoni, Reutemann, and Hunt. Lauda and Depailler battled and began to pull away from the other front-runners, and this battle raged on until the 7th lap, when Depailler had a puncture and went into the pits to repair his rear suspension; he went out again, but had lost a lap- which at the old Nürburgring, was more than 7 minutes of lost time. Pace went off with a puncture and damaged his suspension, he retired near the Karrusell on the 6th lap, and Scheckter- who had climbed to 6th, crashed out on the 8th lap.

Depailler and Pace’s misfortunes allowed Regazzoni to come up to 2nd and make it a Ferrari 1–2, but then Regazzoni’s engine failed and Reutemann took 2nd, with Hunt 3rd, Tom Pryce in the Shadow 4th and Jacques Laffite in the Williams in 5th (who started 17th and 15th respectively). But on the 10th lap, Lauda too suffered a puncture of his right front tire, and Reutemann was able to pass him at the Eiskurve and Hunt was able to get by as well later on. By the time Lauda had reached the pits, his car had sustained damage to the front spoiler, and the handling was made poor. The Ferrari team changed the damaged tire (pit stops in those days were extremely slow compared to today’s pit stops; races were usually run on one set of tires). By the time the Ferrari team had finished their work, Lauda stormed out of the pits; but Reutemann and Hunt were out of sight; Pryce and Laffite had passed him, too.

Lauda charged after the 4 runners ahead of him and he climbed to 4th after Hunt had a wheel-hub failure and retired on the 11th lap; and then he was able to inherit 3rd after he passed Pryce, who had fuel leaking into his cockpit and could not drive at race pace. Reutemann, who was almost 2 minutes ahead of Laffite, who was nearly a minute ahead of Lauda – held onto the lead to record his only victory of the year; and became the first (and so far last) Argentine driver since Juan Manuel Fangio to win the German Grand Prix. Laffite finished second, which equalled the struggling Williams team’s highest ever finish with Piers Courage in 1969; and Depailler, whom Lauda had been fighting for the lead with earlier and was a lap down in 9th place- caught up to and started to push Lauda and attempted unsuccessfully to unlap himself; he finished close behind Lauda’s ill-handling 3rd-placed Ferrari. Pryce finished an excellent 4th, followed by Australian future world champion Alan Jones in Graham Hill‘s Embassy-Hill car, with Dutch Le Mans winner Gijs Van Lennep in an Ensign rounding out the last points finishing slot in 6th place.

With his victory, Reutemann moved into 2nd place in the championship, 1 point ahead of Fittipaldi, but 17 points behind Lauda; and with only 3 races left in the championship, Lauda’s first championship looked to be virtually a lock.

Race Results

1 7 Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord 14 1:41:14.1 10 9
2 21 Jacques Laffite WilliamsFord 14 + 1:37.7 15 6
3 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 14 + 2:23.3 1 4
4 16 Tom Pryce ShadowFord 14 + 3:31.4 16 3
5 22 Alan Jones HillFord 14 + 3:50.3 21 2
6 19 Gijs van Lennep EnsignFord 14 + 5:05.5 24 1
 

 

             

Drivers Championship

1 Niki Lauda 51.5
2 Carlos Reutemann 34
3 Emerson Fittipaldi 33
4 James Hunt 28
5 Carlos Pace 2

 

Race 12 – Austria

Vittorio Brambilla winning the Austrian GP

As the grid formed up, there were reports of rain at the far side of the track. Thunderclouds were forming ominously and the cars were returned to the pits to change to wet tyres.

Argentine driver Carlos Reutemann (left) with Bernie Ecclestone

After 45 minutes, the grid reformed. Lauda led off the start from James Hunt and Patrick Depailler who had shot up from the fourth row. Mario Andretti spun off, whilst Bob Evans retired the BRM.

Vittorio Brambilla had shot through the spray to gain a third place, with Ronnie Peterson leaping from tenth to fourth.

By lap 12, it was obvious that Lauda’s car was not set up fully to cope with wet conditions and by lap 15 Hunt stormed by to lead for the fifth time this season. However, this was to be short-lived. The Hesketh’s engine was running on only seven cylinders and Brambilla was clambering all over the back of the car. Ahead of them Lunger was driving carefully in his first wet race and could not see the leaders approaching him. Brambilla seized the lead and it took a further two laps for Hunt to finally pass his teammate. Peterson had to pit to replace a faulty visor, whilst the Brabham drivers found they had been racing with one of their own rear tyres and one of their teammates’. Jochen Mass spun out of third place, and soon there was frantic activity between the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association and the race officials as to whether the race should continue – it was brought to a halt on lap 29.

As Brambilla took the flag, he crashed into the barriers and the March team celebrated a historic victory. However, behind the scenes, there was confusion. Some teams were preparing for a restart, but as the race had already been stopped with the chequered flag, it could not happen anymore. The race results would stand, but with only half points awarded. Brambilla, the oldest man in the field at 37, had won his first and only Grand Prix.

This was the first of only two races where Shadow used a Matra engine instead of the Cosworth DFV in Jean-Pierre Jarier‘s Shadow DN7.[7]

With neither Carlos Reutemann nor Emerson Fittipaldi featuring in the points, Niki Lauda‘s sixth position actually allowed him to expand his points lead to 17.5 points. If Lauda scored any points at all at the Italian Grand Prix the Austrian driver could claim the championship.

Race Results

1 9 Vittorio Brambilla MarchFord 29 0:57:56.69   4.5
2 24 James Hunt HeskethFord 29 + 27.03 3
3 16 Tom Pryce ShadowFord 29 + 34.85   2
4 2 Jochen Mass McLarenFord 29 + 1:12.66   1.5
5 5 Ronnie Peterson LotusFord 29 + 1:23.33   1
6 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 29 + 1:30.28   0.5

 

Drivers standings

1 Niki Lauda 51.5
2 Carlos Reutemann 34
3 Emerson Fittipaldi 33
4 James Hunt 28
5 Carlos Pace 24

Race 13 – Italy

Clay winning Monza

Clay and Niki celebrate at Monza

The Italian supporters were gathered in expectation of Ferrari gaining their first championship in 11 years-on home ground, with many Austrians travelling over the border to support Niki Lauda and were delighted when Ferrari filled both spaces on the front row. Tony Brise delighted his boss Graham Hill by gaining a third-row spot.

Lauda only needed to finish better than 6th to be champion; The only other driver who was mathematically eligible for the championship, Argentine Carlos Reutemann needed to win this race as well as the United States Grand Prix with Lauda out of the points in both races.

On Sunday morning there was a cloudburst and for some time the future of the race was in jeopardy, but the rain dried up with about an hour to go before the start. Clay Regazzoni led from Lauda and Jody Scheckter.

Vittorio Brambilla‘s clutch burnt out on the first lap, whilst Bob Evans halted with a failed engine plug. There was a chaotic accident at the chicane-Scheckter had to take to the escape road as around him Jochen Mass hit the kerb, damaging his car’s suspension. Ronnie Peterson collided with another car, jamming his throttle open. Mario Andretti and Rolf Stommelen retired with accident damage and Brise spun across the chicane. Harald Ertl soared over the top of Hans-Joachim Stuck‘s car, damaging the uprights.

After six laps, Carlos Pace retired with a broken throttle link, soon joined by Hans-Joachim Stuck and Lella Lombardi. The Ferraris were circulating 1–2 with Clay Regazzoni leading majestically from Niki Lauda. On lap 14, Emerson Fittipaldi passed Carlos Reutemann for third place, and Reutemann’s involvement in the championship was effectively over; he finished 4th in the race. Despite the Ferraris being way ahead, Fittipaldi would not give up the chase, carving down a gap of over ten seconds. With just six laps left, he managed to pass Lauda.

Meanwhile, Patrick Depailler had taken James Hunt for fifth only to spin off down the escape road. Hunt, Tom Pryce and Reutemann were duelling, Pryce taking the place when Hunt spun off on lap 27—but ceding it to him after a further ten laps. Harald Ertl was a lap down, but drove so well that Pryce could not overtake him.

Regazzoni took the flag, Fittapaldi was second, Lauda was third and it was enough for Lauda to secure his first world championship. Lauda’s 16.5 point lead would be too much for Fittipaldi to bridge at the final round of the championship at the United States Grand Prix. With Regazzoni and Lauda scoring 13 points between them, Ferrari also secured the International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers, their first such win since 1964. Ferrari won the championship for the first time since 1961 in front of their home crowd.

Race Results

1 11 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 52 1:22:42.6   9
2 1 Emerson Fittipaldi McLarenFord 52 + 16.6   6
3 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 52 + 23.2   4
4 7 Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord 52 + 55.1 3
5 24 James Hunt HeskethFord 52 + 57.1   2
6 16 Tom Pryce ShadowFord 52 + 1:15.9   1

Driver standings

1 Niki Lauda 55.5
2 Emerson Fittipaldi 39
3 Carlos Reutemann 37
4 James Hunt 30
5 Clay Regazzoni 25

 

Race 14 – USA

The 1975 F1 Champion

 

On race day, Watson’s Penske suffered electrical problems in the morning warmup. As he was being towed in, the crew retrieved the display car from the First National Citibank podium in the paddock and prepared it to enter the race. Lella Lombardi‘s Williams suffered an electrical failure, and her teammate Jacques Laffite was unable to race after mistaking visor cleaning fluid for his eyedrops.[4] Lombardi tried to use Laffite’s car, but she didn’t fit.

Tom Pryce in a Shadow DN5 during the race.

Lauda led the field away from the grid and through the new chicane for the first time, followed by Fittipaldi, Jarier, Brambilla, Reutemann and Andretti. Carlos Pace and Patrick Depailler collided on lap 2, both retiring from the race as a result.

The gap between Lauda’s Ferrari and Fittipaldi’s McLaren settled at about one second. Mass, who had moved up to sixth, suddenly lost three places to Andretti, James Hunt, and Ronnie Peterson when he accidentally switched off his engine. On the next lap, with Mass now immediately in front of him, Clay Regazzoni smashed his nose against the rear wheel of the McLaren and lost more than a lap as he pitted for a new one. On lap 10, Reutemann’s engine expired and Andretti’s front suspension collapsed. This left Lauda and Fittipaldi twelve seconds ahead of Jarier, who was five seconds clear of a group containing Hunt, Brambilla, Mass, Peterson and Scheckter.

Lauda’s teammate Regazzoni was caught by the leaders on lap 18, after his lengthy pit stop. He let Lauda by, but held up Fittipaldi for six laps, despite blue flags being waved to indicate that he should be let through. Eventually Regazzoni was black flagged and brought in for a warning on lap 24; Ferrari manager Luca di Montezemolo instructed Regazzoni to continue the race, but withdrew him from the race in protest just after four laps.[5]

Back on the track, Fittipaldi was now 15 seconds behind Lauda, Jarier had retired with a seized rear wheel bearing, Brambilla dropped back to seventh suffering from loose seat supports, and Hunt, Mass, Peterson and Scheckter were battling for third. Mass overtook Hunt on lap 33. With nine laps to go, Peterson also passed Hunt, who was struggling with his gear selection and brake balance. Three laps from the finish, Mass’s brakes began to fade, and Peterson closed, but locked up his left front tire under braking. The resulting flat spot slowed him enough for Hunt to retake fourth on the last lap. Lauda took the win by just under five seconds.

This was the final race for Tony Brise and Embassy Racing with Graham Hill. On the evening of 29 November 1975, double-world champion Graham Hill was piloting a Piper Aztec light aircraft from France to London. His passengers were team manager Ray Brimble, driver Tony Brise, designer Andy Smallman and mechanics Terry Richards and Tony Alcock. They were returning from Circuit Paul Ricard where they had been testing the GH2 car being prepared for 1976. They were due to land at Elstree airfield before onward travel to London to attend a party. Shortly before 10pm, the plane hit trees beside a golf course at Arkley in thick fog. In the ensuing crash and explosion, everyone on board was killed.[6][7] As the team now only consisted of the deputy team manager and two mechanics, it was impossible to continue, and so the team was closed down

Race Results

1 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 59 1:42:58.175   9
2 1 Emerson Fittipaldi McLarenFord 59 + 4.943   6
3 2 Jochen Mass McLarenFord 59 + 47.637 4
4 24 James Hunt HeskethFord 59 + 49.475   3
5 5 Ronnie Peterson LotusFord 59 + 49.986 2
6 3 Jody Scheckter TyrrellFord 59 + 50.321   1

 

1975 Final Results

1 Niki Lauda 64.5
2 Emerson Fittipaldi 45
3 Carlos Reutemann 37
4 James Hunt 33
5 Clay Regazzoni 2

The 1975 season was the start of the rebirth of Ferrari as a dominant F1 team. With the exception of 1978 and the Lotus ground effects cars Ferrari was almost unbeatable. It would as mark Niki Lauda as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.

In two weeks a different story. Instead of a season it will be the history of teams that no longer are around. The first story will be on Osella.

 

By Ian Caldweel @CavallinoRampa2

TRENT’ANNI

Gli anniversari portano con sè vari significati, soprattutto quando riguardano la dipartita tragica di esseri umani.

C’è il ricordo della persona, e di quello che ha significato, per i propri familiari, per gli amici o, come nel caso di Ayrton Senna, per il mondo intero. Non esiste, nel mondo dello sport, e se ne trovano pochi anche al di fuori di esso, un personaggio il cui ricordo venga celebrato come è avvenuto e sta avvenendo in questi giorni, anche da chi non l’ha mai visto in vita. E pure da chi, avendolo visto in vita, ha potuto toccare con mano anche i lati negativi della carriera sportiva del personaggio, che oggi vengono giustificati ma, all’epoca, venivano aspramente criticati da chi, e non erano (eravamo) in pochi non lo amava particolarmente.

I grandi personaggi sono così, hanno tutto portato al massimo, il talento, la decisione, la professionalità e anche la cattiveria, indispensabile per arrivare ai livelli supremi.

Gli anniversari, dicevamo. Di essi, quando riguardano tragedie, e Imola 1994 più che una tragedia fu una catastrofe, umana e sportiva, è giusto ricordare anche i cambiamenti che hanno portato. E, in questo caso, parliamo di cambiamenti enormi, che per certi aspetti sono andati anche oltre il mondo della Formula 1, affermando un concetto, quello che la competizione non può e non deve mai mettere a rischio l’incolumità di chi vi partecipa. Fino a pochi anni prima, non solo in Formula 1, era normale continuare a correre con i morti di fianco alla pista. Dopo no. E, anche se in tanti (di noi) ricordano con nostalgia i vecchi tempi, è giusto così. Perchè, non mi stancherò mai di ripeterlo, fino a 30 anni fa, quando un pilota saliva su una monoposto, dalla Formula 3 in su, non era per nulla sicuro di scenderne intero o vivo. 

Oggi non è più così, e lo si deve in gran parte proprio ad Imola 1994, non bisogna mai dimenticarlo, anche quando si celebra la grandezza di un personaggio unico, senza dimenticare chi, il giorno prima, ci ha ugualmente rimesso la vita, non sapendo che quell’oggetto che tanto voleva guidare non gli avrebbe perdonato il minimo errore. 

Proprio per non dimenticare questo, oggi vogliamo riproporre un articolo di 5 anni fa, che entra nel merito del perchè, dopo quel 1° maggio di esattamente 3 decadi fa, nulla è stato più come prima.

Buona lettura.

************************************************************************

Nella linea del tempo della storia esiste sempre un “prima” e un “dopo”.

Per la F1 la linea di demarcazione fra il “prima ” e il “dopo” è senza ombra di dubbio il week-end del 1° maggio 1994.

Questo non vuole essere il solito ricordo di coloro che quel giorno caddero, non ne sarei degno, bensì una riflessione su cosa hanno significato quegli sventurati tre giorni trascorsi, ironia della sorte, in una delle zone del mondo dove la passione per i motori raggiunge i suoi massimi.

Il mondo della Formula 1 a quel week-end arrivò ormai disabituato a ciò che fino a non molti anni prima era una eventualità tutt’altro che improbabile: quella di stilare il bollettino di guerra alla domenica pomeriggio. L’abitudine era tale che a rileggere oggi i settimanali specializzati usciti dopo uno dei tanti week-end segnati da tragedie ci si meraviglia di come queste, anziché occupare le prime sei pagine, venissero sovente relegate ad una singola pagina dopo la cronaca della corsa e descritte quasi come un normale episodio di gara.

Ad un certo punto, all’inizio degli anni ’80, una soluzione tecnologica nata per risolvere un problema di prestazione, la cronica torsione dei telai in alluminio sottoposti alle enormi forze generate dalle wing-car, si rivelò, inaspettatamente, molto efficace anche per proteggere il pilota. Quella soluzione era la fibra di carbonio, e dette la dimostrazione della sua forza a Monza nel 1981, quando la McLaren MP4 di Watson si schiantò dopo la seconda di Lesmo dividendosi in due all’altezza del motore, e l’ex-barbuto John ne uscì come se niente fosse.

All’epoca il pilota viaggiava seduto in una vasca che gli copriva sì e no il bacino. La maggior parte degli urti aveva conseguenze poco piacevoli, e un incidente come quello di Watson, con una scocca in alluminio, avrebbe avuto conseguenze ben peggiori. E, invece, niente ferite e niente fuoco, altra costante di quell’epoca.

Da lì a qualche anno tutte le macchine avrebbero utilizzato scocche avvolgenti in fibra di carbonio, e si sarebbe assistito ad urti tremendi dai quali il pilota usciva indenne o quasi. Il numero dei piloti feriti e morti nel periodo fra l’84 e il 93 fu enormemente più basso rispetto a quello del decennio precedente. Da qui la convinzione che, ormai, correre in Formula 1 (ma anche nelle altre categorie “formula”, che avevano adottato le stesse tecnologie) fosse diventato sicuro almeno quanto correre in bicicletta.

Ma era una convinzione frutto di tutto ciò che di tragico si era visto nei decenni precedenti, quando di fatto si correva a 300 e passa all’ora circondati da 4 tubi, 4 lamiere e centinaia di litri di benzina. Almeno ora c’era una scocca avvolgente fatta di un materiale molto robusto, e la benzina era dietro le spalle.

Ma… ma le macchine andavano sempre più veloci, le piste erano sempre quelle, il pilota guidava rannicchiato in uno spazio ridicolmente piccolo e con la testa e le spalle di fuori. Il tutto perché qualcuno aveva capito che stringendo la sezione frontale e alzando il muso si andava più forte. Guardate le macchine del 1994: assomigliano tutte alla Leyton House del 1988. Quel qualcuno era Adrian Newey, il quale aveva pure pensato di mettere i piedi del pilota uno sopra l’altro, per stringere ancora di più il muso. Per fortuna glielo avevano impedito. Ma nessuno aveva pensato di mettere una dimensione minima per gli abitacoli, che, quindi, erano stretti il più possibile e senza alcun tipo di protezione.

In altre parole, la sicurezza del pilota era ancora un “di cui” nell’ambito del pacchetto totale. Non solo per i progettisti, ma anche per la FIA. Nonostante questo, nulla di grave succedeva, quindi tutto ok. Fino a quando alla FIA stessa non venne l’idea di abolire un’altra soluzione che poteva contribuire a rendere quelle macchine un po’ più sicure: le sospensioni attive. E lo fece, ironia della sorte, proprio per ragioni di sicurezza. A qualcuno, in effetti, erano impazzite facendogli rischiare grosso, ma in realtà, proprio grazie ad esse, quelle vetture dall’aerodinamica estremamente sensibile potevano viaggiare ad un’altezza più costante, rimanendo più stabili.

Le macchine che corsero i primi GP del 1994 erano invece estremamente instabili. Compresa la ex astro-Williams, guidata quell’anno da Senna. Che, infatti, si lamentava parecchio di ciò che gli aveva dato il mago Newey. Il quale più tardi ammetterà di avere completamente sbagliato l’auto proprio a causa del cambio regolamentare.

Le piste, dicevamo. E qui arriviamo al tragico week-end di 25 anni fa. Imola era una pista veloce, e aveva (ma ha ancora) delle vie di fuga molto limitate. Qualsiasi problema o errore si paga duramente. E lo pagò, poco, Barrichello il venerdì. Lo pago, duramente, Ratzenberger il sabato. E lo pagò, altrettanto duramente, Senna la domenica.

Per tutti e tre una barriera arrivata troppo in fretta, e niente di niente a tenere ferma e a proteggere la loro testa. A pensarci con le conoscenze di oggi sembra una immensa stupidaggine. Eravamo nel 1994, non nel 1930. Possibile che nessuno si fosse reso conto di quanto vulnerabile fosse un pilota in quelle condizioni? Nessuno che avesse fatto un minimo di analisi dei rischi, prima che gli angeli custodi decidessero di prendersi in massa un week-end di ferie?

Nessuno l’aveva fatta. Punto.

E, infatti, lì finisce il “prima”. E finisce anche un’era, come in tanti hanno titolato il giorno dopo. L’era dei piloti “cavalieri del rischio” e del “motorsport is dangerous”. Quella F1 ha continuato a fare vittime per qualche mese ancora (senza, fortunatamente, risultare fatale) e poi la logica ha preso il sopravvento, probabilmente guidata da esigenze di marketing (le tragedie in diretta non erano più accettabili per gli sponsor) e/o assicurative, col risultato di rendere veramente la F1 uno sport più sicuro del ciclismo. E con lei, a cascata, anche le altre categorie. Tutto questo, ovviamente, se non si corre su ovale e se non si mettono di mezzo errori umani clamorosi e magari evitabilissimi.

Quando critichiamo gli ultimi ritrovati per la sicurezza, come l’Halo, ricordiamoci di cosa successe quel week-end di 25 anni fa. Del quale resta non solo il ricordo di chi non c’è più, campione o ultimo che sia, ma anche ciò che, a seguito di quegli eventi, è stato prodotto in termini di tecnologia e di metodologia per la sicurezza di chi è sulle piste, non solo sulla macchina ma anche fuori.

P.S. per chi fosse interessato ad approfondire il tema della sicurezza in F1, anche a seguito di quei tragici eventi, suggerisco la lettura del libro di Sid Watkins “Life at the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One”.