Last of the real F1 heroes?

I am a long-term fan of formula one, it is fair to say that it has changed hugely over the past 30 years – it is now a much safer sport, thankfully deaths are rare (and long may that continue). The last ‘bad’ period for deaths in Formula one was around the time that Senna was killed, (and just before him Roland Ratzenberger). I am not suggesting for a moment that the sport shouldn’t be safe or that it makes it any less exciting. But I do believe that the 1970′s and 80′s drivers were ‘a different breed’, they got in the cars in the knowledge that death was a definite possibility.

The reason I bring this up is that it is 30 years next month that the late great Gilles Villeneuve was killed. He was one of Ferrari’s finest drivers at a time when they were in one of their successful periods. Villeneuve was killed a couple of years after they won the constructor’s championship and his team-mate Jody Schechter won the individual title.

When I visited the Ferrari museum in Maranello a couple of years ago (recommended for any petrol head) I was  reminded just how basic the F1 cars of the 70′s & 80′s were. There was no real protection for the driver, no fancy driver aids. It was as basic as a car could get – but strangely even more impressive than the current cars because of it. This photo gives an idea of the simple cockpit design – no protection above the hips, no forward crash areas – just an aluminum tub (and a real gear stick!). The car is to be run at Maranello on the 30th anniversary of his death, it will be driven by his son Jacque, a nice tribute.

So next time you watch Hamilton, Button and the rest of the F1 circus hurtling around a track spare a thought for those that went before and by their sacrifice made F1 as safe as it is today.

RIP Gilles Villeneuve – 8th May 1982

 

The end of an era……..

Real chemistry.....

I am probably getting to an age where things start to become more poignant, but when the everyday balance of live is changed it can be quite a shock!

Today is one such day, a part of my life which I have followed for many years is being taken away. What is it and by whom? The BBC and Formula One live coverage.

It sounds rather dramatic but I have followed Formula One ever since I was a small boy, and apart from a short period it has always been on the BBC. Murray Walker was the voice of F1 and Sunday afternoons were all about 3 hours of motor sport.

In the early days it was quite often a very dramatic event – terrible accidents and deaths were sadly not uncommon. That was not the reason for watching – it was the fact that these men were driving the most ‘high tech’ cars in the world (and still are).

More recently F! has gained from the advances in technology from a coverage point of view. We are able to sit in the car with the likes of Vettel, Button or Alonso. I can get instant timing on my iPhone, plus lap charts and everything that would only be available to the teams when I was a kid. It is to me a fantastic sport which I love watching and following the politics and tech side.

Consequently today is a sad day for me – the last coverage by the BBC of a full season – yes we will get 10 races live next year on terrestrial TV, but if I want to watch the full season (I do), I will need to pay Sky for the privilege (I won’t).

So tonight will be the end of an era for all UK F1 fans – the BBC coverage of the last few years has been amazing, Sky will benefit from this I am sure, Martin Brundle has already admitted to moving to do the same job for Sky. But my Sundays will be different from now on, I will have to follow it on Radio 5live (not a bad thing, their coverage is excellent) but without any pictures. My trusty iPhone will provide the data as usual.

Will I watch the edited ‘almost full’ highlights? Possibly, but if they are shown at peak viewing times I will be in competition for the TV with the other members of the family, so it is not guaranteed.

So, yet another example of the money in sport driving it away from the grass-roots level viewer. Am I being ‘tight’? Possibly, but I don’t want all the other sport that Sky provides in that package, so why pay for it. Now if there was a pay to view per race that might be a different matter…….