Peter Collins, Gilded Youth
There is still great warmth in the way Peter Collins is recalled, 48 years after his passing. It’s more than the fact that he was a successful driver, with three…
It is 21 years, I realise with some amazement, since I began covering Grand Prix racing for Autosport, and in that time I have come to know a good many…
The inaugural Mexican Grand Prix of 1962 should have been a celebration. The country's racing prodigy, Ricardo Rodriguez, was to perform in front of his adoring countrymen. These people, who'd…
For today's Formula 1 drivers, the glare of the media spotlight is relentless. TV cameras haunt every corner of the paddock, there are daily press conferences throughout a Grand Prix…
After the euphoria of VE day and VJ day, and the demobbing of the armed forces, Britain woke up to a post-war reality summarised in a single word: austerity. Food…
Ayrton Senna was the most committed man I ever met. The sheer depth of his approach to his profession was something few ordinary people could truly understand. We speak of…
The first car-race meeting was held at Brands Hatch new 1-mile circuit, on April 16th. These were races, and all but one were so closely contested that the leaders, even…
A large Greek called Demis Roussos topped the charts. Water was rationed as Britain sweated in the hottest summer on record. Björn Borg beat Ilie Nastase to take the first…
The name of Lotus, absent since 1994, returns to Formula 1 this year, and if that name is all it shares with its legendary forbear still I think it something…
Many of you, I'm certain, will remember him, head tilted slightly forwards, in the cockpit of that elegant gold pin-striped jet black JPS Lotus 72. Rear tyres chirping audibly as…
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…
Whilst the idea of a journalist carrying out a serious evaluation of a present-day grand prix car is as unlikely as it is presumptuous, it's not every day that the…
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…
Johnny Herbert – 1986 Quest SF86 Formula Ford 2000 While some of his Formula One seats have left a bit to be desired, Johnny Herbert tells Adam Cooper about his…