Dancing in the rain

With the world still massively impacted by covid-19, I have taken time out from writing the blog, striking a balance between the “new normal", the pressures of work and trying to find some focus…..and maybe the blog is a great place to re-focus. In the initial days and weeks of lockdown I was able to work from home; great in terms of spending time with the family, great to have access to biscuits and great to educate myself by watching Formula One season reviews from the 1970’s and 1980’s in my lunch breaks. Seeing so many hours of footage of wide tyred cars power sliding around the circuits of yesteryear was time well spent (for me at least!) and seeing James Hunt win in the Hesketh at the Dutch GP in 1975 amongst many highlights.

What I also witnessed was so many drivers losing their lives during the course of the 1970’s and early 1980’s – whilst some will argue a necessary edge to the sport (high risk, high reward) actually any major injury or fatality feels more like a totally unnecessary part of Formula One. For the most part the racing in these reviews showed powerful cars being driven with a degree of mutual respect that might not be as apparent in 2020; most accidents weren’t caused by drivers going for impossibly risking overtakes for the most part.

However as I type this blog the rain has made a return to July and I am reminded that writing these posts my aim was to write about the sport I love, and through writing I find happiness. The rain also reminds me of a number of memorable races impacted by liquid sunshine!

Lewis Hamilton , a rain master if ever the sport has seen one, literally dominated the British Grand Prix of 2008 in his McLaren-Mercedes finishing over 1minute 8 seconds ahead of second placed Nick Heidfeld (Williams) and Rubens Barrichello (Honda) – the rest of the finishers were lapped. Lewis’ idol Ayrton Senna was also a renowned rain meister and both drivers had / have a level of touch and feel in changing conditions which elevates them above the mere mortal drivers.

One of Senna’s most famous victories in changeable conditions was the European Grand Prix of 1993, held at Donnington, where Ayrton pulled off one of the greatest first lap performances the sport has ever seen (and quite possibly one of the most written about laps too!); a young Rubens Barrichello showed a similar Brazilian talent until his Jordan-Hart suffered fuel pressure issues whilst running third.

For me however the real star (well, after Ayrton of course) was Johnny Herbert in the Lotus-Ford 107B. Team Lotus were on a rapid decline as a team, and whilst the car was an evolution of the 1992 car, it was hardly competitive in the dry with the front running teams. Johnny qualified 11th a mere 2.8 seconds behind pole sitter Alain Prost in the class leading Williams-Renault FW15C, literally light years behind in F1 terms, and running a simple strategy of not changing his tyres every few laps (Prost changed his seven times, Johnny only once) he finished the race a notable fourth. Whilst he saved time not sat in the pits the two sets of tyres he used had to survive the length of the race and the ever changing conditions.

1993 is also one of my favourite Formula One seasons; Johnny only scored points four times but came ninth in the final points standings – an incredible achievement by driver, car and team given he only finished eight races all season! Prost clinched the title in the Williams, Senna drove the wheels off the Ford powered McLaren winning five races along the way, Damon Hill emerged on the scene as a great driver, Schumacher claimed one win and eight other podiums and Mika Hakkinen made a phenomenal debut towards the end of the season as Senna’s team mate in Portugal outqualifying the three time World Champion!

As a random fact to end on there were nine different Italian drivers in the 1993 championship…….although only two scored points……Fabrizio Barbazza with 2 sixth place finishes in the Minardi, and Alessandro Zanardi with a solitary sixth place finish in the Lotus. Oh the days when only the first six drivers scored points….happy days, unless you came seventh.