Scuderia Ferrari

Grands Prix

40 Years of Daydreams

This Sunday, Ferrari will line-up a pair of turbocharged, ground-effect Grand Prix cars on the Imola grid for their two, young hot-shoes. And I will smile, perhaps raise a glass. Think about what motorsport has given me, and those no longer with us. The day after the 2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Monday 25 April, will […]

Racing Daydreams - 1933 Monaco poster by Georges Hamel

Featured Grands Prix

Monaco 1933 – Icons and the Silver Screen

How fortunate we are to have YouTube. Luckier still to have enthusiasts uploading footage, new & old, for our entertainment… and education. In that spirit, enjoy this Movietone newsreel of the 1933 Monaco Grand Prix – presented by the excellent ‘Raceday Replay’ channel. Fantastic, isn’t it? The lack of commentary letting us really hear the […]

Grands Prix Myths & Curios

Genevieve Shows Her Teeth – The 1904 ‘Sharknose’

There’s nothing new under the sun, so they say. Still, I imagine that Carlo Chiti and Medardo Fantuzzi must have gazed upon their new Ferrari 156 and thought it rather unique. It was certainly striking and effective in 1961, and it has proven iconic – the ‘Sharknose’. However that wind cheating snout is not without […]

Grands Prix

Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips

Friday 10th September 2021, Formula One will be back at Monza. Running laps, calculating, analysing. The Tifosi, returned to ‘the temple of speed’ in it’s 99th year, ramping up the atmosphere – the pressure – the utter joy of life & motor racing. Will anyone remember? Have the humility and dignity to mark the remembrance? […]

Grands Prix

‘The One Where Ross Puts Me In Charge’ – a Grand Vision

Today we had Sprint Qualifying for the first time in Formula One. It’s been coming for quite some time and while, since it was announced, I’ve considered it unnecessary, I didn’t give it too much thought. That is until this weekend. Particularly after it was done & dusted, and those with the requisite paddock passes […]

Grands Prix

I Am… I Said

My love of Formula One was born of three things; my granny’s TV, a pair of paper library tickets, and Niki Lauda. Told off for sitting too close to the television, the static tingle and coloured dots were intriguing. As was this, when I was a tiny kid. When I started to follow the sport […]

Grands Prix Northern Ireland Sports Car Racing

C’était un Déluge

We’re lucky to have a lot of motorsport heritage in Northern Ireland. We don’t make enough of a fuss about it. To that end – to make a start – here’s a look at Dundrod. Epic, terrifying, bloody quick Dundrod. Scene of many motorcycle battles, but also the Ulster Trophy for Formula One & Formula […]

Featured Myths & Curios Sports Car Racing

The Priest’s Bed

This is a note I made, on the train And the boy said, “Speak to me of Achille.”. The old man shifted in the bed. Something had nipped him. “What does it matter? It’s over.”. The exclamation stealing his breath, he continued at a whisper. “It is finished. Soon we’ll be dust. Like Campari, like […]

Grands Prix

F1 @ 40

2021 sees the 40th anniversary of the ‘FIA Formula One World Championship’. To explain, here’s something I put together for the 2020 “70th Anniversary Grand Prix”. So it’s time for the “70th Anniversary Grand Prix”… but 70 years of what? Not Formula One, not the F1 World Championship… It’s 70 years since the thing that […]

Myths & Curios Sports Car Racing

Imola – beyond the Grand Prix

Last weekend Formula One returned to Imola – an iconic venue. Beyond the F1 history, Imola was a stop on the Mille Miglia… and it was there, in 1934 that a photographer captured a remarkable moment. History being created. The photo in question is at the top of this page. While the ‘riding mechanic’ oversees […]