Characters from the past.

Sir Stirling Moss for my money is perhaps the greatest gentleman to have ever driven in Formula One. He was concerned that how you win a grand prix was as important as the fact that you did.

In fact it probably cost him the 1958 World Championship after he defended Mike Hawthorn's actions in that GP. Hawthorn had his points reinstated by the FIA and Moss lost the championship by 1 point.

On the radio he comes across as a passionate but equally proper sort of person. It actually brings in to light why feels a little sheepish when Fangio "gave" (?) him the British GP.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by D-Type

... Magazine writers and editors were out-and-out motor racing enthusiastsenthusiasts - Gregor Grant, Denis Jenkinson, Henry Manney, Jabby Combrac, Alan Henry, Nigel Roebuck etc.... Nowadays they are 'trained journalists' who have been through the college of knowledge and are doing their spell as correspondent on Auto*** or F1 *** before progressing to senior correspondent on the Pig Breeders' Quarterly or deputy editor of Needlepoint and Embroidery or other such worthy publicationse. They don't know the sport. They don't get a chance to know the drivers. They are pushed to tell the public what the editors think they want to hear...

---

Which is why I don't bother with most motor sport publications nowadays. Except for the mags Motorsport and Vintage Racing. They can keep the rest.

They give Max a very favourable press and are exceedingly sychophantic regarding anything Goodwood-related! One imagines Andrew Frankel tugging his forelock when speaking to Lord March - a bit like the character, Ted, from the 'Fast Show'.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mintexmemory

They give Max a very favourable press and are exceedingly sychophantic regarding anything Goodwood-related! One imagines Andrew Frankel tugging his forelock when speaking to Lord March - a bit like the character, Ted, from the 'Fast Show'.

---

I have a particular problem with Simon Taylor's current series of fawning interviews. Ironically, the one with Mosley probably elicited the most interesting responses of all, to do with his views on historic racing.

I do sympathise with modern-day F1 journalists, though, because getting access to drivers and senior team members is so dependent on not writing anything other than the line they want to put across that it is difficult to end up with anything other than bland pieces. In my own field of specialist journalism, there is much the same problem a lot of the time. However, there are still ways of writing that lessen the effect, and I wish certain motorsport journalists would notice them.

The 'old guard' of journalists aren't immune from annoying habits, either. Nigel Roebuck recycles the same stories so often that I reckon I could write a piece under his name about, say, Gilles Villeneuve, submit it and have it published as one of his columns. Of course, I exaggerate, but not by much.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BDunnell

Nigel Roebuck recycles the same stories so often that I reckon I could write a piece under his name about, say, Gilles Villeneuve, submit it and have it published as one of his columns. Of course, I exaggerate, but not by much.

---

Now on that I do agree.

I don't think Roebuck can use a keyboard without typing the word "Gilles".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gm99

My favorite character from F1's past has got to be Lotus boss Colin Chapman - he was pushing the boundaries like no-one else, sometimes too far and thus represented all of what F1 used to be: Technical innovation and risk taking.

The images of him tossing his cap in the air in celebration of yet another Lotus victory are also legendary.

---

Yes, of course the characters in bygone days were not necessarily just the drivers. You had team owners like Chapman, Teddy Mayer, Ken Tyrrell and Rob Walker, and engineers such as Mauro Forghieri, Gordon Murray and Tony Rudd. There were journalists like Jabby Crombac and Jenks. Even race officials such as Louis Chiron added to the flavour - who was the guy in blazer, red trousers and flat cap who used to start the Spanish GP in the 60s and 70s?

I was a Watkins Glen regular in the late 70s and greatly enjoyed my glimpse into the F1 circus. I got a kick out of seeing Vittorio Brambilla mentioned in the first post. He was something else. He must be the only driver to win a race and then crash on his victory lap! It was raining, but let's face it, the moment was pure Vittorio.

The comments about asking drivers for autographs brought back some memories, too. My brother and I approached Jody Scheckter for his autograph about an hour after a race at The Glen one year. Jody wasn't a character, but he did have a sense of humor. It turns out he was on his way to the helipad, so he looked at my brother, said "I'll sign your program if you carry my bag!," and then handed my brother his overnight bag! We trotted alongside Jody as he signed our program, re-swapped bag for program, and waved to him as he climbed aboard and soared away.

Two of the most prominent characters for me in F1 are recent, but relevant nontheless.

Eddie Irvine - maverick, outspoken, a 4-time grand prix winner and a one-time championship contender.

Juan Pablo Montoya - feisty, confrontational, very quick, great qualifier, 7 wins, another one time championship contender.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by futuretiger9

Vittorio Brambilla - an enthusiastic, uncomplicated racer

---

The first name that came into my head. To win your only grand prix and accidentally stuff it into the wall after the line? Priceless... :D

Anyone metion Teddy Yip (sp?) yet? Apparently a character and a half too.

Looked at the names so far. No Lord Hesketh? Shame... :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by D-Type

Another view of Graham Hill:

The Earl of March (of Goodwood fame) writes of when he was six or seven years and was seeking autographs of drivers attending a party at Goodwood house:
"There was one time when I went up to a driver whose name I hadn't collected. He said 'You don't want my autograph young man - I'm not famous enough. You want that chap's over there'. And he propelled me over to graham Hill, who was holding forth to a group of guests. I didn't, in fact, want his autograph because I already had it. But graham looked down at this small boy with his plastic autograph book and said, simply 'Bugger off!' ~".

---

Oooooh! Never knew about that! That sort of thing Nigel Roebuck doesn't write often about is it?!

Mansell is my all-time hero and lives up to that status because he has time for the fans. He would be quite happy signing autographs all day than do a corporate event, that's for sure!

Watching the early 1980s season reviews on youtube, I'm awe-struck how immensely likeable Nelson Piquet was. Such a shame he sank to low levels with his feud with Mansell and forever tarnished his image.