Formula 1 in 1980

I recently blogged about the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix:

1978 Monaco Grand Prix

In that article, I speculated that the race signified in some respects the end of an era, with changes, both technological and commercial, afoot, or at least on the horizon. 

Following on from the Monaco article, I also recently watched some footage from the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix, in Montreal.  It was instructive to see how many of the impending upheavals discernible just over two years earlier had now come to pass, or were firmly entrenched.

Ground effect cars were now de rigueur, and the beginnings of today's Grand Prix "circus" were now more fully noticeable, albeit in a relatively embryonic form.

The Formula 1 cars of 1980 were nowhere near as immediately lovable, or as individualistic, as they had been in the Spring of 1978, but all the same they possessed a certain primal, savage beauty.  The attentions of the aerodynamicists, and more pointedly their wind tunnels, were beginning to reap their "benefits".

It was not just the cars that had changed.  Niki Lauda and James Hunt had both retired, and former champions Jody Scheckter and Emerson Fittipaldi were uncompetitive, and also destined to exit the stage. A new generation was emerging, to dominate the early to mid-1980s, in the form of Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost, Rene Arnoux, Didier Pironi and others.

The teams which had loomed so large in the preceding decade, such as Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren and Tyrrell were all at sea, although the green shoots of McLaren's renaissance were just visible.  The centre of gravity of F1 had been disturbed, and the resultant disorientation is one of the things which makes the 1979-1981 era a touch nebulous and disconcerting for many.  For the open-minded though, there was still much to fascinate and enthuse over...

I may be slightly biased in my own assessment, as I became interested in the sport in 1981. However, even from the vantage point of 2012, those years do have a slightly sterile and uninspiring air about them. There was neither the variety and charisma of the 1970s, nor the distilled and untamed drama of the turbocharged era which was to follow.  In this respect, I see the late 70s/early 80s, as a period of transition, rather than an era in itself.

The racing in Montreal was close and exciting, although there was an accident at the start, which caused proceedings to be halted. Nelson Piquet was badly affected, having to revert to his spare car, but valiantly led the early laps until his engine cried enough.  Pironi having being penalised for a jumped start, this paved the way for Alan Jones to cruise home in relative comfort, thereby clinching the world title.

I suppose that Jones is remembered as one of the less "glamorous" world champions, but his success in 1980 was fully merited.  He was a natural charger, and had paid his dues in Formula 1.  He had dominated the latter portion of 1979, but was too late to contend for the top prize.  In 1981, he would prove that he was a worthy champion by driving arguably even better than before, only to be plagued by ill-fortune.

One of the less savoury spectacles of the 1980 Canadian round was the serious accident suffered by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the Renault, and the failure to stop the race, even while he was being extricated from the car and given medical treatment at the side of the track.  Such a thing would be inconceivable and unthinkable today.  The race would be red-flagged promptly.  Clearly, even in 1980, F1 still had a long way to go in some respects.

That was "the way we were" in 1980.....