Ayrton Senna

In the summer of 1983, I was slowly becoming obsessed with Formula 1 racing, having had my imagination well and truly captured by the exploits of Gilles Villeneuve a couple of years before. I vividly recall reading the various motor sport magazines around that time, and learning about a remarkable young Brazilian, who in those days raced under the name Ayrton Senna da Silva. Soon enough this precocious talent found his way to Grand Prix racing, and we now found ourselves commemorating the twentieth anniversary of his tragic accident at Imola.

Only yesterday I was speaking with a female friend, who told me that she had no great interest in Formula 1 as such, but had been utterly captivated by Senna's charisma, and remains so to this day. Untold millions around the globe were affected in a similar way. Senna possessed that intangible magic which transcended his own field of endeavour, an accolade which goes to the very few. It can be persuasively argued that he played a massive role in transforming F1 into the slick multinational media spectacle that we see today.  He broadened the appeal of the sport.

Not unnaturally, Senna's tenure with the McLaren team tends to be highlighted, but I find his period with Lotus, from 1985 to 1987, equally compelling. The legendary outfit was in a slow decline, but Senna's mixture of raw ability, work ethic and competitive spirit kept them in the hunt. His tally of pole positions from those seasons, even when up against McLaren, Williams, Ferrari et al, speaks for itself. Senna was competitive almost everywhere, at least in '85 and '86, and his fearsome commitment and dedication were already clearly evident. Both in and out of the car, he took the "science" and "art" of Grand Prix racing to a new level, even above that practised by such modern greats as Stewart, Lauda and Prost, who had been cited as innovators and modernisers.

In common with most of the truly great drivers, Senna had what almost amounted to a "sixth sense", by way of his mechanical sensitivity. The most startling example of this which I have personally seen was captured in a British television documentary covering the 1993 season. At one race, Senna returned to the pits, unhappy with the performance of his car, and insisted that there was a minor problem with the engine, this seemingly having not been highlighted by telemetry and so forth. After much debate, the engine was dismantled, and sure enough a small but significant fault was discovered....

Raikkonen returns to Ferrari

After interminable speculation, rumour and counter-rumour, it has at last been confirmed by Ferrari that Kimi Raikkonen has signed a two-year deal to drive for them from the 2014 season. Thus comes to pass one of the more unlikely tales in recent F1 history - Raikkonen's restoration to the very top table, after a period in exile.

This is certainly a signal of some intent by the Scuderia, possibly heralding an uncompromising aim to return to the pinnacle of the sport, but also carrying with it risks and imponderables. The most glaringly obvious is how the drivers will handle the situation. Raikkonen is not renowned for being overtly political, and much of the uncertainty will centre on Fernando Alonso's attitude towards the arrangement.

In my opinion Alonso, such a brilliant all-round driver, should let his performances on the track do the talking, but as we know, human beings (and particularly racing drivers) are complex creatures, and we can expect at least some friction, real or imagined.  It is in the nature of the beast.  If the tensions are positively channeled, they could benefit the team, but this is easier said than done.

Despite getting together the most formidable driver line-up on the Formula 1 grid, Ferrari face other pressing challenges. In the past couple of seasons, the performance of their cars has been uneven, and if they do not adapt successfully to the new turbo regulations, the problems inherent in the "joint number one" set-up may be aggravated . Having said that, both drivers are capable of flattering mediocre cars, and the presence of two bona-fide superstars in the red projectiles will doubtless galvanize the team's personnel.

Raikkonen's return to the Prancing Horse will of course have knock-on effects throughout the grid.  It can be hoped that the Finn's vacated place at Lotus will be occupied by Nico Hulkenberg, so deserving of further advancement, and more consistently competitive machinery.  The reshuffle may yet enable Felipe Massa to continue his F1 career.

Today's announcement certainly adds an intriguing sub-plot to the 2014 season....

2013 Chinese Grand Prix

Today's Chinese Grand Prix gave further evidence of the capricious nature of modern Formula 1.  A comfortable victory in the end for Fernando Alonso and Ferrari, and much to muse on elsewhere in the field.

The extent of Alonso's superiority came as quite a surprise, and must be seen as persuasive evidence that the Italian team will be genuine contenders for the ultimate prizes this season.  In stark contrast to early 2012, they have hit the ground running this time around, with the reassurance that the Spaniard's talent and tactical resourcefulness remain undimmed. Team and driver are both up to speed, and this two-pronged challenge looks quite formidable.  At the same time Alonso, canny as ever, was quick to acknowledge that the current state of affairs cannot be taken for granted, and that the next race may present new variables to shake things up.

Mercedes continue to press, but it is hard to escape the conclusion that there are couple of small, but significant, pieces missing from their jigsaw.  That extra iota of race-pace, and total mechanical reliability, spring to mind.  Lewis Hamilton's cautionary pronouncements appear to have been borne out.  The team has moved more centre-stage, but there are still areas of weakness to rectify.

Whatever the flaws in the Mercedes situation, their position looks quite enviable in comparison to that of McLaren, who continue to look anaemic.  Today's strategy, although permitting some deceptive prominence at times, seemed tailored to getting a solid points finish on the board.  Jenson Button was philosophical after the Grand Prix, and he must also be conscious of having to shoulder the burden of leadership in the team, with Sergio Perez continuing to struggle.

A few other things are worthy of mention.  Kimi Raikkonen's pace was excellent after a stuttering beginning to the race, and it is this fleet form and relentless consistency which may ensure that the Finn remains in contention in the standings right until the end of the season.

Daniel Ricciardo was once again impressive in the Toro Rosso, and it may be that people will begin to cross-reference his assertive and confident performances with the difficulties afflicting a driver with a not totally unconnected team; a more senior Antipodean, whose future plans are the subject of renewed speculation.

A glance at the drivers' standings could be construed as quite revealing.  The four leading competitors - Vettel, Raikkonen, Alonso and Hamilton are threatening to detach themselves from the pack.  By most measures, this quartet constitutes the cream of the current Formula 1 driving talent.  The respective team-mates of these drivers are enduring various struggles and miseries.  Does this mean that more than in the recent past, F1 today places a premium on out-and-out driving skill?   I know that some observers see things in less straightforward terms, and the end of the season may be the time to formulate a more definitive assessment.

Three different victors in the opening three races.  Heartening, although this year will be hard pushed to match the statistics of 2012!

2013 Australian Grand Prix

My appetite for Formula 1 was in danger of becoming dulled and diminished, for various reasons, but just the merest glimpse of the television pictures from today's race in Melbourne was sufficient to hook me in anew.

It feels increasingly facile to say this, but all the signs point to a season of comparable competitiveness and interest to that of 2012.  The variable of tyre management is once again present to provide the element of unpredictability.

Having said all this, Red Bull still look to have all the equipment to succeed, and it would not be surprising if this made itself felt more acutely in the next few Grands Prix. The car looks very stable, efficient and consistent, and Sebastian Vettel, although ultimately occupying the bottom step on the podium, was in the thick of the action throughout at Albert Park.

One of the main points of speculation before the next race will inevitably be the "plight" of McLaren.  They were utterly anonymous in Australia, and there has been much conjecture about the reason for their shortfall in outright pace.  Is the design itself overly ambitious?  Much work clearly needs to be done in order to remedy matters.

On the McLaren driver front, one has to feel a measure of sympathy for young Sergio Perez.  When he joined the team, he could have expected to have a reasonably competitive machine under him, and the car's deficiencies must be compounding the pressures he will be feeling as a new driver in a top team. He may also be confronted by a dilemma.  Will he be tempted to overdrive in order to surmount the car's failings, or will he be overly-conscious of the need to avoid mistakes, and consequently become excessively circumspect?  How he deals with this situation may tell us much about the Mexican's ultimate potential as a Grand Prix pilot.

By contrast, Ferrari enjoyed a solid and encouraging opening to the new season.  Hopefully, people will not become carried away by all this.  At this time last year, the Italian outfit was going through a tough time, and just as their problems back then were overplayed, there may now be a tendency to inflate expectations on the basis of one race.  At the same time, it was a heartening display, with both drivers performing capably.  In particular, Felipe Massa seems to have been emboldened by the confidence placed in him by Ferrari.

The augurs for the Mercedes team look mixed. There is little sign that they have attained a major breakthrough, and any marginal rise in assertiveness and feistiness my be attributed to "the Hamilton effect". The Englishman raced manfully as ever, and we can be fairly confident that he will extract the maximum from the car.  A cloud was introduced by the retirement of Nico Rosberg, raising the spectre of the spate of mechanically-related retirements which afflicted the team in 2012.

A "wild card" was provided in this race by Adrian Sutil in the Force India.  Some of us have long rated his abilities, and he looked very much at home at or near the front of the field. The internal competition within that team this season could be very interesting to follow, with Sutil perhaps poised to fulfill the role undertaken by Nico Hulkenberg last year.

Turning to Lotus, it is to be hoped that they have learned lessons from 2012, in terms of how to convert strong race-day showings into regular victories. I would suggest that the jury is still out on this.  As has been observed, Raikkonen will be more formidable this season than last, having got plenty of mileage under his belt, and any cobwebs will now have been comprehensively cast off.  He just needs the tools to enable him to consistently take full advantage.

It is good to see a reshuffle among the teams, and the appearance of some new faces to freshen things up.  Malaysia next....

2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

We should have known better than to write off this season's championship chase. Just as some observers were starting to revert to the old "boring and predictable F1" meme, a race occurs which provides a thrilling "race within a race" between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, as well as several other sub-plots.

It seemed prior to the race that Alonso had been let off the hook by the penalty incurred by Vettel, but we had not fully bargained for the events which unfolded. No doubt some of the conspiracy theorists in the general sporting media will be sharpening their pencils, metaphorically speaking...

McLaren appeared a little bemused this weekend about their overall competitiveness, but even so the retirement of Lewis Hamilton from the race will have come as a shattering disappointment.  Hamilton's comments following the race would indicate that he is looking forward to his future with Mercedes rather than dwelling on current frustrations, and his despair will have been tempered by these thoughts.

The cards initially appeared to be falling for Vettel, but his enforced change of front wing made his task more formidable. His display, although admittedly aided by the dramas afflicting others, will hopefully have dispelled some of the wilder aspersions being voiced about his credentials.

All of this almost served to overshadow Kimi Raikkonen's much-deserved returned to the Formula 1 winners' circle. Ironically, this victory came after a series of races during which the Lotus team looked to be becalmed and subdued, and in some respects going backwards.  The Finn looked as inscrutable and impassive as ever on the podium, but today's events will have given him immense satisfaction, even though his championship chances for 2012 are now mathematically over.

Two races to go, and the championship race is still very much on the boil.  Logic would indicate that Vettel should still be favoured, having the better all-round technical package, and the law of averages should preclude him suffering the same misfortunes as he did in Abu Dhabi.  However, F1 rarely conforms to these assumptions....

2012 Korean Grand Prix Review

In the aftermath of this morning's race at Yeongam, it felt to me like a pall of cold reality was hanging over many Formula 1 followers.  Not only did we see a relatively mundane contest, but the realisation has started to dawn that Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull have assumed a momentum which, although not irreversible, will definitely take some arresting.

As some had anticipated, Vettel asserted control right from the start of the race, and that was that.  Although Fernando Alonso sporadically threatened to place himself between the two Red Bulls, in the end Vettel and Webber were reasonably comfortable.  The Red Bulls were visually very stable and efficient, and the writing is very much on the wall  for their competitors.  There was an air of serenity about Vettel, and other Red Bull people, afterwards.  The glum expressions on the faces of some rival teams displayed the flip-side of this.

It has to be admitted that McLaren endured a miserable Grand Prix, but it should be pointed out that after practice and qualifying the team appeared cautiously bullish, if not exactly ecstatic, about their prospective race pace.  In the event, this pace was not permitted to reveal itself, as Jenson Button was eliminated at the start, and Lewis Hamilton was afflicted by mechanical maladies. This all had a detrimental effect on Hamilton's and McLaren's position in the points standings.  The titles may be out of reach, but there are still potential race wins to be fought for in the closing four events, assuming reliability of course!.

Ferrari was another team which emitted vaguely positive vibes about its performance in race trim, and they at least partly delivered on this, even if they ultimately could not quite live with the redoubtable Red Bulls.  Fernando Alonso, as is usual, extracted the maximum possible from the machinery at his disposal, but must now realise that he is playing catch-up, having been protecting his points lead in previous races.  Felipe Massa once again showed his mettle, and today's display probably secured his 2013 berth with the team, that is assuming that the decision to retain his services had not already been made.

Kimi Raikkonen is third in the championship standings, but the upgrades to the car unsurprisingly did not represent any kind of quantum leap. The changes seem merely to have allowed Lotus to hold station, and prevent the "big three" from disappearing further over the horizon. One positive aspect for the team was the relatively inconspicuous outing enjoyed by Romain Grosjean. He largely kept away from trouble, and after the race seemed happier than of late.  He will be even more buoyant if, as seems increasingly probable, he is kept on for next season.

Nico Hulkenberg attained another solid result in his quiet, unobtrusive but proficient style.  Possibilities of seats at the very top teams seem to be blocked for the time being, and maybe Hulkenberg is just too "unglamorous" and unassuming for his own good in this respect.  However, the indications are that he will find himself in a Sauber for next season, and this should constitute a useful stepping stone.

So, with three consecutive victories, Vettel must now be considered favourite to clinch another title.  This season's fluctuations have taught us not to take anything for granted, but the recent surge by Red Bull has the stamp of permanence and authority about it.  One can also discern a creeping, if not irrevocable, demolarization amongst the other participants.

We know that Fernando Alonso is capable of great things, and of at least partially compensating for a technical performance shortfall, but even he and his team may prove incapable of turning the tide on this occasion.  We shall soon discover whether Ferrari have anything else up their sleeves, or any more aces to play.  Otherwise, they will be relying on mistakes or misfortune befalling Red Bull.

The Indian Grand Prix should provide us with some of the answers....

2012 Monaco Grand Prix Reflections

Despite what some media outlets have been saying, not a thrilling Monaco Grand Prix, but certainly an interesting and intriguing one.  The closeness of the competition, and the vagaries of tyre management and the Monaco weather, tended to obscure the fact that there was little passing, or even attempted passing, in the top echelons of the field, even by the standards of the street circuit.  Because of the trends established thus far in 2012, there must be a temptation to pass even the quite mundane off as pulsatingly exciting.

Mark Webber's performance was composed and error-free, and will be a major filip for the Australian, after some ill-fortune and disappointments earlier in the season.  After the pit-stops and tyre strategies unravelled, he looked reasonably comfortable, and none of his pursuers looked realistically capable of getting by, despite the presence of the tightly-packed bunch, exacerbated by the rain in the closing laps.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of Sunday's race was the performance of Ferrari. Did the nature of the circuit mask some of the car's deficiencies, or has there been genuine progress?  There is probably foundation in both of these theories, and Alonso's comments post-race sounded cautiously upbeat.  The race showing of Felipe Massa will have dampened speculation concerning his future, until Montreal at least...

Perhaps the disappointment of the weekend was the failure of Lotus to fully realise the great hopes which had been invested in them beforehand.  Although they did emerge from the weekend with little tangible to show for their efforts, no major concern or disquiet is evident.  Everyone is fully conscious of the margins under which people are operating this year.  Sauber, another team constantly knocking at the door of a real breakthrough, might have expressed similar sentiments after the race...

Events at McLaren continue to fascinate, as they are further subsumed into the main pack, following their perceived "advantage" at the outset of the season.  Lewis Hamilton appears to be coping better than his team-mate. Button endured another torrid race, caught in traffic, and then spinning out.  Frustration?

Michael Schumacher was ultimately out of luck in Monaco, but the weekend did contain some things which should give him heart.  A fast time in qualifying, and a feisty start in the race, which was curtailed by his contretemps with Romain Grosjean.

A quick word of praise to both Jean-Eric Vergne and Heikki Kovalainen, whose creditable displays have gone relatively unheralded.

All in all, Monaco seemed to offer little in the way of solid pointers for the rest of the season, and anyway any bold predictions are proving futile this year! 

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.....

F1 Testing

Well, the serious pre-season testing activity has thus been concluded,  and the journey to Melbourne beckons.

Several respected and learned observers are of the opinion that 2012 will be a very closely contested season.  For a change, these bold statements stand up to scrutiny, and have some foundation based in what we have seen and deduced.

Yes, the times are close and the overall running order volatile, but the very top echelon still consists of Red Bull and McLaren, when all is said and done.  Mercedes are very probably next in line, but Ferrari is the subject of too many imponderables for comfort.

Some of the midfield teams, such as Force India, Sauber and Lotus have been very assertive during the recent tests, but they need to back up these flourishes with cold hard consistent form when it really matters. Whilst it is awkward to judge and precisely quantify, the form of these three teams in particular appears slightly more than a mere flash in the pan, but of course we do not know for sure.  Thank goodness that the time for sandbagging and deception will soon be over!

By some measures, Red Bull and McLaren are very close. The birth of the new McLaren creation has been slightly more stable and comfortable than that of their closest rivals, and the Woking-based outfit has given the impression of quiet diligence and focus, without over-ebullience.

The Red Bull has encountered the odd glitch, but is demonstrably swift. The team is by no means invincible or infallible, judging by the tests.  When assessing these things,it is tempting to attach excessive importance and significance to the merest weakness or minor occurrence.

Ferrari have been busying themselves seeking to dampen and manage expectations, and throughout these tests they have exuded a certain irritability and unease, if not anxiety. Could they be swamped by the eager and ambitious midfield pack?  That question remains to be answered.  There is, though, historical precedent for teams seemingly beset by maladies suddenly finding that everything falls into place when the season proper commences. The reverse often happens to those whose preparations have gone swimmingly.

Some of us are frankly glad that the testing is over, and that things from now on can be taken at face value.  Let competition commence!

Kimi Raikkonen's Valencia Test

Well, both the Lotus team and Kimi Raikkonen have been making positive noises following the conclusion of the former world champion's comeback F1 test in Valencia.

The Finn clocked up some solid mileage, and also began to become acquainted with his new team. Of course, lap times were meaningless, given the machinery at Raikkonen's disposal during the two-day tesing session, and the absence of benchmarks, and we may only start to deduce pointers to the potential of driver and team once the serious pre-season testing commences with the 2012 cars.

Kimi, rarely the most outgoing or effusive of men, seems genuinely enthused and stimulated by the prospect of driving in Formula 1 once again, and needless to say it is a very welcome and heartening sight for fans to see him back where he undoubtedly belongs.

The team too has been saying all the right things, clothed in the usual F1 PR-speak. They will be relishing the chance to work with a truly top-line driver, who can be expected to drive the car to its limits, and by so doing motivate and excite the team personnel.

One of the fascinating things about the 2012 season will be to find out whether Raikkonen is capable of leading what is ostensibly a "higher midfield" team to greater things by allowing his natural talent to "lead from the front". Perhaps in this environment we will also see aspects of Kimi's make-up which have not previously been overly apparent. He is certainly eminently capable of taking a car to places which it does not "belong", but the human and political facets will also be crucial.

I have been following F1 racing for far too long to be unduly swayed or convinced by pronouncements emanating from pre-season tests. The smiles and brave words on windswept and lonely tracks often mean little once serious combat gets under way, and harsh, cold reality makes its presence felt.

All the same, Raikkonen and Lotus seem to be moving in the right direction, ready and eager to face the challenges which lie ahead.

1988 Japanese Grand Prix

Last night, I watched a full-length video of the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix, and a few things struck me about the race, and about F1 in general during that particular time.

The footage first of all reminded me how ungainly and bulky many of the cars of that time looked, in particular those of the teams which were still running turbocharged engines. Maybe this impression is amplified by many years of watching leaner and more compact normally-aspirated cars. That said, I have read more than one journalist remark how development was curtailed in readiness for the new 3.5 litre regulations to come in 1989.

It was notable how much of an impression some of the "atmo" cars made at Suzuka, particularly Ivan Capelli in the March, and to a lesser degree the Benettons.  After a promising start, both the Ferraris and Lotuses seemed to struggle.

The performance of the March chassis against the mighty McLarens was impressive, and this of course was an early indication, in F1 terms at least, of the talents of one Adrian Newey...

Sometimes the memory can play tricks.  My recollection was that once he had taken the lead, Ayrton Senna had built up a sizeable lead. However, the video revealed something different.  Alain Prost stuck doggedly to his task for many laps, and Senna really had to work for the victory, which of course clinched his first world championship.

One thing that has changed since 1988 is the nature of the television coverage. Satoru Nakajima and Aguri Suzuki seemed to get about 60 percent of the airtime!

Jacky Ickx

Often our sporting heroes are not necessarily the ones who are statistically the most accomplished, or those who have bequeathed the most substantial legacy for the historians to mull over.

Rather, it is common for us to revere or respect those who have endeared themselves to us in other ways, by virtue of their charisma, sportsmanship, natural talent or originality. Such is the case with one of my heroes, the Belgian racing driver Jacky Ickx.

A cultured and debonair figure, Ickx was something of a prodigy in motorsport, cutting his teeth on motorcycles and in saloons, before embarking on the path which would make him arguably the greatest sportscar driver of all time.

Soon enough, Ickx made his mark on single-seater racing, becoming the European Formula 2 champion in 1967, and impressing everyone with his first outings in Grand Prix racing.

From 1968 to 1972 Ickx was without doubt in the top three of Formula 1 drivers, twice finishing runner-up in the title race. His career in the premier rank began to ebb in 1973, with Ferrari in the toils, although he reaffirmed his essential class with a podium finish in a one-off drive for McLaren at the Nurburgring.

A move to Lotus for 1974 seemed to augur well on paper at least, but it was not a happy relationship, and before 1975 was out Jacky had departed from the team. His subsequent F1 career was a spasmodic affair, culminating in his swansong with Ligier in 1979. The ground-effect cars did not seem to suit his driving style.

Although Ickx's Formula 1 prospects faded as the 1970s progressed, he continued to be supremely competitive in sportscar racing, and he remained so until his retirement from racing in the mid-1980s. By that time he had recorded six wins in the 24 hours of Le Mans.

With wins also in Can-Am and at Bathurst, as well as in rally-raids, Ickx must be counted as one of the great all-rounders. His economical and elegant driving style appeared to be particularly well suited to the classic "driver's circuits", and he was especially impressive on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, in both single-seaters and prototypes.

His prowess on the classic circuits is also consistent with Ickx's image as a traditionalist, who was ambivalent about some of the driver safety campaigns, and bemoaned the demise or emasculation of many of the historic venues.

In image and outlook, Ickx was something of a throwback to earlier days.

Piers Courage - Last of The Gentleman Racers - Adam Cooper

I have just finished reading Adam Cooper's wonderful book, "Piers Courage - Last of The Gentleman Racers", and would unhesitatingly describe it as one of the most evocative and moving motorsport books which I have ever encountered.

This biography succeeds because of the author's meticulous research and sympathetic style, but also because of the subject himself. Piers Courage was not just a racing driver, but also moved in social circles which encompassed both the British establishment and Swinging London. As a result, his story is also to a large extent a chronicle of a whole era.

Adam Cooper took great care to obtain the recollections and thoughts of those closest to Piers, and these memories greatly add to the narrative.

Apart from the impression one gains of the fascinating and informal motor racing scene of the 1960s, it also emphasises how things have changed. The drivers and their families were a close-knit community, and commercialism was in its infancy. Some of the most heart-warming chapters in the book dealt with Piers' adventures in the Temporada series in South America and the Tasman series in Australia and New Zealand. Vivid tales of an era long since disappeared.

Of course, during that period danger was a constant theme, and the book deals intelligently with the reactions of the drivers and their loved-ones to the risks involved, and the loss of friends. The story of Piers' fatal accident at Zandvoort in 1970, and its aftermath, are dealt with sensitively but candidly, and I for one was immensely moved by these passages.

The biography also left me with a greatly enhanced knowledge of that whole epoch of racing, particularly how highly regarded Courage was by his peers and the motor racing community. It seems that he was close at times to joining both Lotus and Ferrari, and the portents for his sportscar career also seemed favourable. A balanced approach is taken to assessing his merits as a driver, and how he sought to address his perceived weaknesses.

Overall, a superb piece of work, and highly recommended for all racing fans.