Design of greatness: How Adrian Newey became an F1 designer
Adrian Newey has achieved remarkable success during the past decade with Williams and McLaren. Indeed, it would not be wrong to say that in recent times the world championship has…
When compiling a list of famous Belgians, I think instantly of Georges Prosper Remi, better known as Hergé, whose Tintin stories have long been favourites of mine. Then there’s Eddy…
Interlagos, first round of the 1976 championship, the dying moments of final qualifying. There's a face-to-face row going on in the McLaren pit. Team boss Teddy Mayer and his new…
In 1981, the year before his death, Colin Chapman's Lotus colleagues witnessed something incredible: the most creative racing car designer of the time fell out of love with motorsport. Convinced…
A hot, dusty afternoon in southern Spain. It’s September 28 1990, Friday qualifying at Jerez. With eight minutes left, Jean Alesi’s Tyrrell has just produced a ripple of interest in…
Fitness is all-consuming in Formula One, I know, but still there is something depressing about the uniformity of drivers' tastes today. Favourite drink: mineral water; favourite food: pasta. An exception…
By Robert Kubica's standards the answer was short, albeit tinged with the Pole's slightly off-beat humour, which has endeared him to the rallying fraternity since he took up the sport…
Standing on a piece of dull Aberdeenshire countryside, shivering against the wind as it blasts off the North Sea, you might not at first realise that there was anything of…
Going through some old tapes recently, I came across an interview with James Hunt in the early '80s. It was typical James, forthright but well-reasoned, and I smiled often as…
After spending a great deal of money last year rebuilding the pits and paddock and modifying the circuit considerably, easing corners, removing bumps, widening the road and re-surfacing, all the…
Purity of line is the first thing that strikes you. Every time the Formula 1 rules shift, it takes only a matter of laps to accept a new look as…
One thing about Colin Chapman and his staff at Ketteringham Hall, the Research and Development centre of Team Lotus, is that they do have a go and do not sit…
The mantelpiece at his home in Monaco has been creaking, these past years, under the weight of invitations to appear at what the Germans call ‘old timer’ events all over…
"Thierry was a very smooth and stylish driver, a quiet man, not that forceful, and a very gentlemanly person who was always a pleasure to have in the team. "He…
1958 Formula 1 Argentine Grand Prix At first it looked as though the Italian teams had stolen a march on the British Grand Prix teams, by being ready for the…
There is precious little room in motor racing for ifs, buts and might-have-beens. As Keke Rosberg is fond of saying, if his aunt had a moustache and balls she’d be…
Teddy Mayer 1935-2009 Teddy Mayer passed away at home in Surrey at the end of January. Mayer, 73, was a stalwart of McLaren Cars through most of the company’s first…