F1 mavericks : the men and machines that revolutionized Formula 1 racing

243 Pages·2019·67.194 MB·English

by  George Damon Levy, Pete Biro

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F 1 M AV E R I C KS
© 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. ISBN: 978-0-7603-6221-1
Digital edition: 978-0-76036-7-810
Photography © 2019 Pete Biro, unless otherwise specified
Hardcover edition: 978-0-76036-2-211
Text © 2019 George Levy
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
First published in 2019 by Motorbooks, an imprint of The Quarto Group,
100 Cummings Center Suite, 265D, Beverly, MA 01915 USA.
Acquiring Editor: Zack Miller and Jassi Schatz
Project Manager: Alyssa Bluhm
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
Art Director: Laura Drew
without written permission of the copyright owners. All images in this
Cover Designer: Faceout
book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of
Layout: James Kegley
the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by producer,
publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise,
On the front cover: American Dan Gurney wins the 1967 Belgian Grand
arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been
Prix in a car of his own construction.
made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information
On the back cover: Arturo Merzario in the Williams FW05 at the 1976
supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred
United States Grand Prix, Watkins Glen.
and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent
On the frontis: Generations of Grand Prix greats. From left to right: Sir
reprinting of the book.
Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, Innes Ireland, Richie Ginther, René
Dreyfus, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, and Maurice Trintignant at the first Long
Motorbooks titles are also available at discount for retail,
Beach Grand Prix of the United States, 1976.
wholesale, promotional, and bulk purchase. For details, contact the
On the title page: Englishman John Surtees scores a comeback victory
Special Sales Manager by email at [email protected] or by mail
at Spa in Mauro Forghieri’s exquisite Ferrari 312.
at The Quarto Group, Attn: Special Sales Manager, 100 Cummings
Center Suite 265D, Beverly, MA 01915 USA.
Printed in China
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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F 1 M AV E R I C KS
ISBN: 978-0-7603-6221-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
Acquiring Editor: Zack Miller
T H E M E N A N D M AC H I N E S T H AT
Project Manager: Alyssa Bluhm
Art Director: Laura Drew
R E VO L U T I O N I Z E D F O R M U L A 1 R AC I N G
Cover Designer: Faceout
Layout: James Kegley
On the front cover: American Dan Gurney wins the 1967 Belgian Grand
Prix in a car of his own construction.
On the back cover: Arturo Merzario in the Williams FW05 at the 1976 PETE BIRO AND GEORGE LEVY
Grand Prix, Watkins Glen.
On the frontis: Generations of Grand Prix greats. From left to right: Sir
Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, Innes Ireland, Richie Ginther, René
Foreword by Mario Andretti | Afterword by Niki Lauda
Dreyfus, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, and Maurice Trintignant at the first Long
Beach Grand Prix of the United States, 1976.
On the title page: Englishman John Surtees scores a comeback victory
at Spa in Mauro Forghieri’s exquisite Ferrari 312.
Printed in China
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction CHAPTER 8: 1972–1973
6
139
THE QUINTESSENTIAL F1 CAR
Foreword by Mario Andretti
9
CHAPTE 4–1976
161
CHAPTER 1: 1958–1961 RED TEAM RISING
PUTTING THE CART BEFORE
21334
THE HORSE CHAPTER 10: 1977
181
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
CHAPTER 2: 1962–1964
27 SIMPLIFY, THEN ADD LIGHTNESS CHAPTER 11: 1978
193
MARIO’S YEAR AT LAST
CHAPTER 3: 1965
35 IT WAS A VERY GOODYEAR CHAPTER 12: 1979
207
PARLEZ-VOUS TURBO?
CHAPTER 4: 1966
43
ALL HAIL THE DRIVER-CONSTRUCTOR CHAPTER 13: 1980
213
SUDDENLY IT’S 1962
CHAPTER 5: 1967
67
GAME OVER CHAPTER 14: 1981–1982–?
221
END OF AN ERA
CHAPTER 6: 1968–1969
97
WINGS OF CHANGE
233 Afterword by Niki Lauda
CHAPTER 7: 1970–1971
236 About the Photographer
121
FORWARD, MARCH
Index
238
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/ / / / / / / / /
INTRODUCTION
How did we get here? ones that generated so much downforce they could literally drive
When you look back across the 120-year history of Grand on the ceiling. And then, just as suddenly, the gush reverted to a
Prix racing, that’s the question you ask yourself. How did we drip-drip-drip.
get here? How did we go from the lumbering tanks that were That twenty-five-year period—and the people responsible
the first Grand Prix cars to the rocket-sleds we have today? for it—are what F1 Mavericks is all about. Arguably the most
How did the species evolve from mastodons to cheetahs in glamorous era in the sport’s history. Certainly the most
just over a century? dangerous. And the one that produced the greatest advances in
It would be reasonable to presume that it happened in a speed and technology the sport has ever known.
neat, drip-drip-drip, leaky-faucet progression. And sure, most Did it happen because the people who designed and built
of the time it was like that. Gradual improvements happened the cars simply were more clever and motivated than their
year over year. But look closer and you’ll see something else: a predecessors and successors? It can’t be rejected out of hand.
concentrated period when the spigot was turned on full. In the This was, after all, the era of Chapman, Cooper, Forghieri, Murray,
twenty-five-year span including the 1958 through 1982 seasons, Barnard, and Sir Patrick Head. Mavericks all. Geniuses in many
the stream of innovations in Formula One quickly became a cases. But the times were different too. Different rules, different
torrent. From front engines to rear engines. From carburetors culture, different technologies. And very, very different levels of
to turbos. From flexible-flyer space frames to carbon-fiber funding, as F1 mastermind Bernie Ecclestone will attest later in
monocoques. From cars that went around corners on tiptoes to the book. Formula One, meet the Fortune 500.
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INTRODUCTION
All of these things together created a perfect hothouse for aren’t the only F1 mavericks or even necessarily the most
new ideas. significant. It was a time of mavericks; this is merely a sampling.
Illustrating our journey through those very good years will Finally, heed the wisdom of the legendary motorsports author
be the photography of the great motorsports photographer and pioneer Denise McCluggage, who, when asked to try and
Pete Biro, on hand to shoot F1 from the 1960 United States explain the Formula One she was part of in the 1950s and early
Grand Prix at Riverside to the 1982 United States Grand Prix 1960s—palling around with friends Phil, Stirling, Peter, Louise, and
events at Las Vegas and Long Beach, nearly the entire period Taffy—would begin with the opening line of the 1953 L. P. Hartley
in question. Supplementing Pete’s archive with images from the novel The Go-Between: “The past is a foreign country; they do
1958 season and other key moments during the Maverick Era are things differently there.”
some treasures from father-and-son Formula One photographic The Formula One of the period that is the subject of this book is
legends Bernard and Paul-Henri Cahier. We are very grateful for a foreign country. They did almost everything differently there from
their help. For sure there are other books that serve as better the way it’d been done previously and the way it’s been done since.
references for every car at every race, if that’s your goal, but So grab your passport and let F1 Mavericks serve as your
if you’re looking for great shots from several masters during a guidebook to a distant and exotic place that, like Atlantis, shone
golden time, you’ve come to the right place. brightly once upon a time and lives on today in the memories
You’ll find in each chapter, too, a portrait of a different of those who were fortunate enough to witness racing’s most
maverick who was particularly relevant to that stage in our glamorous, glorious, and star-studded stage.
chronology. Be forewarned that the dozen or so we highlight Welcome to the Maverick Era of Formula One.
INTRODUCTION 7
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