Tag Archives: Formula One

50th Anniversary – Ferrari F50

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Just as the Ferrari F40 was a showcase for the companies technology on it’s fortieth anniversary so the Ferrari F50 showcased the companies technology on it’s fiftieth anniversary.

Ferrari F50, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

Unlike the F40 which was loosely based on the 288 GTO evolution of the and 308 GTB the F50 was not in anyway based on any existing road vehicle.

Ferrari F50, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

Instead the F50 appears to have used as it’s starting point a 60 valve, 5 valve per cylinder, 4.7 litre / 286 cui version of the 4.0 / 244 cui V12 motor that powered Ferrari 333SP endurance sports racing car, a motor that was itself an evolution of the 1991 3.5 litre / 213 cui V12 used in the companies Formula One programme.

Ferrari F50, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

The 513hp normally aspirated motor was fitted to an all new carbon fibre chassis, unusually the steering was unassisted, though by this time power assisted steering had been introduced and later banned from Formula One racing cars.

Ferrari F50, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

Of the 349 F50’s built between 1995 and 1997 304 were Rossa Corsa, 31 Giallo Modena, 8 Rosso Barchetta, 4 Argento Nurburgring and 4 Nero Daytona.

Ferrari F50, Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham

Test showed the F50 capable of reaching 60 mph from rest in 3.7 seconds and cover a 1/4 mile in 12.1 seconds reaching 123 mph. Top speed was quoted as 202 mph.

Thanks for joining me on this 50th Anniversary edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at an early Formula 3 car powered by an aircooled motor cycle engine. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Importing A Ladder – Maserati 250F #2530/32

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Somewhere around 1980 Pink Floyd Drummer Nick Mason entered into negotiations to purchase ERA 10B and found that he could only buy the car on condition that he bought a Maserati 250F, today’s featured car, as part of the package.

Maserati 250F, Rob Hall, Cholmondeley Pageant Of Power

Nick bought both cars and found that the 250F had a 1957 lightweight chassis which turned out to be #2530 to which people had fitted numerous incorrect parts including a Chevrolet V8.

Maserati 250F, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham

Nick described the car as a “basket case” and recalls the car being described as a ladder for import purposes.

Maserati 250F, Rob Hall, Cholmondeley Pageant Of Power

#2530 was originally fitted with a V12 motor but never raced with it, later in 1958 #2530 was fitted with a six cylinder motor and sent to South America. It appeared in the 1960 Argentinian Grand Prix with the chassis number #2532 where Gino Munaron drove the car to a 13th place finish.

Maserati 250F, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham

To keep you on your toes Antonio Creus drove another 250F in the 1960 Argetinian Grand Prix this was chassis #2526 which carried the #2530 ID tag ! Antonio retired from with driver fatigue.

Maserati 250F, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham

Towards the end of 1960 Brazilian Rugeno Peruzzi bought the car and between 1962/64, according to David McKinney’s Maserati 250F, it appears to have been raced by Camillo Cristofaro with a Chevrolet V8 in the engine bay.

Maserati 250F, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham

Colin Crabbe found the car with out any identity in the early 1970’s and Nick had the frame replaced by a new one to the correct 1957 lightweight specification.

Maserati 250F, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Rob Hall is seen yumping #2530 at Cholmondeley Pageant Of Power at the top of the post while Charles Knill-Jones, a member of the Ten Tenths team which looks after Nick Mason’s many cars, is seen in period attire hustling Nicks 250F around Castle Combe at last years Autumn Classic meeting.

My thanks to Castle Combe historian Pete Stowe for letting me know who was driving #2530 at Castle Combe.

Thanks for joining me on this “Importing A Ladder” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a vintage Bugatti. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Ringmeister – Maserati 250F T2 #2529

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For the 1957 season Maserati manufactured 3 lightweight versions of the 250F to keep pace with the Lancia Ferrari D50’s which Juan Manuel Fangio drove to his fourth World Drivers Championship title in 1956.

Third of the three T2’s was chassis #2529 which was shared during 1957 between Stirling Moss, Harry Schell and the returning ‘Old Man’ Fangio who despite his success was not overly enamoured by his time at Maranello.

Maserati 250F, by Paul Chenard


Pen&ink and markers on watercolour paper 9″x 7″ © Paul Chenard 2014

Fangio won the opening two championship races of the 1957 season at home in Argentina and in Monaco, the third race of the Championship season was the Indy 500 for which only Giuseppe Farina of the regular World Drivers Championship contenders was entered.

Farina did not start the ’57 Indy 500 which was won by Sam Hanks in the Epperly Special. Fangio then drove today’s featured 250F T2 chassis #2529 to victory in the 1957 French Grand Prix.

Maserati 250F, by Paul Chenard

Acrylic on canvas 10″x 12″ © Paul Chenard 2014

At the British Grand Prix Fangio retired #2529 with an engine problem leaving Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss to share the first championship Grand Prix victory for Vanwall.

Fangio qualified #2529 on pole, with a time 16 seconds faster than he had driving a Lancia Ferrari 1956, for the 1957 German Grand Prix alongside him Mike Hawthorn qualified 2nd in his Lancia Ferrari with the lightweight 250F T2 of Jean Behra and Lancia Ferrari of Peter Collins filling out the front row of the grid.

Maserati 250F, Denise McCluggage by Paul Chenard

1957 German Grand Prix Mural @ 9′ x 18′ © Paul Chenard 2014, with Denise McCluggage at European Motorsports, Lawrence, MA

On a hot day at the Nurburgring on August 4th 1957 the Ferrari’s of Hawthorn and Collins set off into an immediate lead of the 311 mile German Grand Prix, but by lap 3 Fangio had passed both and unbeknown to the Englishmen sailed off into the distance in order to make a large enough lead to enable him to make a scheduled pit stop, having started the race like Behra in fourth on half empty tanks.

During his pit stop Behra lost time when he broke his filler cap off while climbing back into the car. Fangio was even less fortunate spending 54 seconds in the pits after a mechanic had lost a wheel nut. Fangio rejoined the race in third place 48 seconds behind the battling Howthorn and Collins.

Maserati 250F, SIr Jackie Stewart, Goodwood Revival

Over the next 10 laps Fangio broke the Nurburgring lap record nine times seven times in succession passing Hawthorn for the lead on the penultimate lap with two wheels on the grass to record possibly the greatest Grand Prix victory ever, enough to secure “El Maestro” his fifth and final World Championship Victory.

Fangio noted after the race “I have never driven that quickly before in my life and I don’t think I will ever be able to do it again”, and later admitted “Nürburgring was my favourite track. I fell totally in love with it and I believe that on that day in 1957 I finally managed to master it. It was as if I had screwed all the secrets out of it and got to know it once and for all. . . For two days I couldn’t sleep, still making those leaps in the dark on those curves where I had never before had the courage to push things so far.”

As it turned out Fangio would not win any more championship Grand Prix races before retiring mid way through 1958, meaning the car #2529, seen driven by Sir Jackie Stewart at Goodwood Revival above, was the won in which possibly the greatest driver of all time won his last two Grand Prix victories.

Unusually unlike many of the other Maserati 250F’s it’s number was never used on any other chassis nor did it ever carry any other chassis number. Fangio drive #2529 to second place finishes championship races at Pescara and Monza with Harry Schell taking the car over for the GP Modena where he finished 3rd.

Fangio drove the car to 4th with fastest lap in the non championship 1957 GP du Maroc and 4th in the opening round of the 1958 Championship in Argentina. The car was then sold on to Scuderia Sudamericana who entered #2529 for Giorgio Scarlatti and Jo Bonnier who achieved little by way of success apart from a win for Bonnier in a non championship Formula Libre race at Watkins Glen.

Scuderia Ugolini entered the #2529 again for Giorgio Scarlatti in 1959 it’s final championship appearance being in the 1960 Argentinian Grand Prix from which Scarlatti retired with overheating issues.

After spending time in the Briggs Cunningham museum #2529 was bought by Hartmut Ibing in 1988 in a silent auction.

I did not realise it at the time I took the photograph but having Sir Jackie Stewart drive Fangio’s ’57 German Grand Prix winning car at Goodwood was particularly pertinent because Sir Jackie also took a famous win at the Nurburgring, but this time in the rain in the German Grand Prix of 1968.

My thanks to Paul Chenard for kindly allowing me to use reproductions of his artwork in today’s post.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ringmeister” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when for a look at a Bugatti. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS in a fitting tribute to David McKinney who wrote the definitive “Maserati 250F” last weeks featured 250F #2522/16/23/26 now owned by Graham Adelman was present at Davids funeral last week. My thanks to Tim Murray for forwarding this information.

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IR, FW or Apollon Fly – Williams Cosworth IR/03 / FW/03

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Ever asked a question of fact and got a different answer dependent upon whom is answering ? Ask any number of people what today’s car is and they will agree it is a 1973/4 Williams but after that it gets complicated.

The Williams IR series cars first appeared at the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix replacing the FX3B Williams design, known in 1972 as Politoys, that did not have deformable structures protecting the fuel tanks. The IR initials were a nod to one of the teams sponsors namely ISO Rivolta.

01 Williams Cosworth IR/04_0130sc

A new car, IR/03 featured today, to the same design as the 1973 cars, appeared at the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix for Arturo Mezario. Denis Jenkinson (DSJ) correctly reported after the Spanish Grand Prix that Frank Williams had renamed the cars with FW initials, but either idiosyncratically or incorrectly that the latest chassis IR/04 was hence forth to be known as FW/04.

DSJ continued referring to IR/04 until the 1975 non championship Race of Champions. However DSJ was possibly confused by the fact that the original IR/02 was damaged and the chassis tub replaced during repairs. While the new car seen at the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix was built around the 4th IR tub it was given the IR/03 chassis number and post the Spanish Grand Prix this fourth chassis seems to have been referred to by everybody apart from DSJ as FW/03.

02 Williams Cosworth IR/04_0129sc

DSJ correctly referred to this car as FW/03 at the non championship 1975 International Trophy and correctly mentions that the new car driven by Art Mezario at the following 1975 Spanish GP as FW/04 !

As if to confirm the respected DSJ’s error no mention is made of chassis IR/04 / FW04 in a MotorSport article about cars entered by Frank Williams from 1969 upto April 1975.

03 Williams Cosworth IR/04_0128sc

Today’s featured car’s best result came in the 1974 Italian Grand Prix where Art Mezario managed to coax IR/03 / FW03 to a fourth place finish at Monza.

This result plus Art’s sixth place finish in South Africa were enough to secure Williams a second consecutive 10th place in the 1974 World Constructors Championship.

04 Williams Cosworth IR/04_0127sc

During 1975 Tony Brise, Damien Magee, Ian Scheckter, Francois Migault, Ian Ashley, the seriously obscure Jo Vonlanthen and Renzo Zorzi all drove IR/03 / FW/03 without much success, Brise recording a best 7th place finish in the 1975 Spanish GP on his Formula One debut.

In 1977 IR/03 / FW/03 now belonging to Swiss Loris Kessel turned up at the Italian GP with a raft of safety upgrades and some cool new body work by ex Ferrari designer Giacomo Caliri from his FLY-studio. Renamed the Apollon Fly Loris failed to qualify for the race, IR/03 / FW03 was restored to the 1974 spec seen here in 2010.

My thanks to Michael Ferner at The Nostalgia Forum for confirming DSJ’s idiosyncratic refferences to IR/03 / FW/03 as IR/04 / FW/04.

Thanks for joining me on this “IR, FW or Apollon Fly” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Maserati 250F. Don’t forget to come back now

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Four Time – Red Bull Renault RB9

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In 1989 Sir Jackie Stewart’s son Paul started a Formula 3 open wheel programme with his own team Paul Stewart Racing which ran two cars. After being consistent championship contenders the team graduated to Formula 3000 and after a season Paul decided his future lay in team management and his team won six Formula 3 championships with Gil de Ferran, Kelvin Burt, Jan Magnussen, Ralph Fairman Jr, Jonny Kane and Mario Haberfeld.

Red Bull RB9, Vettel, Webber, British Grand Prix P2, Silverstone

In 1996 Paul Stewart and his father founded Stewart Grand Prix with Sir Jackie convincing the Ford board in Detroit to underwrite a V10 engine programme with Cosworth. The team one the 1999 German Grand Prix in it’s third season before being sold to Ford who rebranded the team Jaguar for the 2000 season.

Red Bull RB9, Webber, British Grand Prix P2, Silverstone

Jaguar Racing’s only success was two third place finishes in 5 years and Ford concluded there was no point continuing the programme after 2004 when the ambitious Red Bull energy drinks company stepped in to buy the team for the 2005 season.

Red Bull RB9, Vettel, Young Driver Test, Silverstone

In the first four years of operation Red Bull Racing scored just three 3rd place finishes but things started to change once they hired über aerodynamicist Adrian Newey from McLaren for the 2007 season by 2009 Mark Webber and new boy Sebastian Vettel had scored six victories between them and Red Bull Racing finished 2009 second in the constructors championship with Vettel 2nd in the drivers Championship.

Red Bull RB9, Webber, British Grand Prix P2, Silverstone

From 2010 to 2012 Sebastian Vettel scored a further 21 Grand Prix victories and three consecutive World Drivers Championships six further victories for Mark Webber, seen with the green flashes on his airbox camera, in the same period helped Red Bull Racing secure 3 consecutive World Constructors titles.

Red Bull RB9, Vettel, British Grand Prix P2, Silverstone

Clear favourites to win fourth consecutive titles in 2013 the only hiccup to their plans came at the beginning of the season when Red Bull Racing found the mandated tyres did not match their Renault powered RB9 as well as some of the other cars, however after various failures the mandated tyres reverted to 2012 spec and Sebastian and Red Bull Racing never looked back ending the season with 13 Grand Prix wins including the last nine of the season won consecutively to score their 4th consecutive World Championships respectively. Mark managed just five second place finishes before retiring from Formula One to join Porsche’s new sports car programme.

Red Bull RB9, Vettel, Young Driver Test, Silverstone

For 2014 Australian Daniel Ricciardo will replace his Mark Webber as Sebastian’s team mate and the signs from testing are that Red Bull Racing may well struggle to get their new Renault turbo powered RB10 hybrid race car to the finish of it’s first race in Australia on Sunday.

You can follow the fortunes of the Red Bull Racing team on their website linked here, their facebook page linked here and twitter feed linked here.

On testing form the 2014 season could be the most open yet my gut feeling is that the Championships will be Hamiltons’s and Mercedes F1’s to loose but what ever their problems now I expect Red Bull Racing to come back strong towards the end of the season for what should be a thrilling finale with the funny little double dose points.

Wishing all GALPOT readers a thrilling 2014 F1 season over here at GALPOT tyres we are ready to Go ! Go ! Go ! as Murray Walker used to say.

Thanks for joining me on this “Four Time” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now. iing

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Son Of Lobster Claw – Trojan Cosworth T103 #T103/1

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After the successes of the 1973 Trojan T101 Formula 5000 car, particularly in the hands of Jody Schekter in the USA, the company Chairman Peter Agg asked Ron Tauranac to design an all new car for 1974 which would be suitable for F5000, the T102, and Formula 1, the T103 although the Chevy V8 in the former would not be able to be fitted as a fully stressed member as the Ford Cosworth DFV used to power the latter.

Trojan Cosworth T103, Silverstone Classic, Silverstone

Both the T102 and T103, seen above at last years Silverstone Classic, bore a strong resemblance to the Brabham BT34 Lobster Claw formula one car which Ron designed for the 1971 season.

Trojan Cosworth T103, Bonny, Silverstone Classic, Silverstone

Powered by the, as good as, ubiquitous Ford Cosworth DFV with an equally, as good as, ubiquitous Hewland DG300 gearbox the T103 attracted a minimum of sponsorship from Suzuki GB and Australian Tim Schenken was signed up to drive the car.

Trojan Cosworth T103, Silverstone Classic, Silverstone

Like the Amon Cosworth AF101 I looked at last week the Trojan T103 made it’s debut at the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix where Tim qualified 25th, 2 spots behind Amon, but stayed in the race for 54 more laps than Chris before spinning off on oil on lap 76, eight laps early, to be classified 14th.

Trojan Cosworth T103, Silverstone Classic, Silverstone

At the Belgian Grand Prix Tim brought the car home 10th and at Monaco Tim qualified 24th on the 25 car grid only to be involved in an incident that removed seven cars from the race on the opening lap. The team was refused an entry for the Swedish Grand Prix, failed to qualify for the Dutch Grand Prix, missed the French Grand Prix and turned up at the British Grand Prix with a new cockpit surround and Ferrari 312 B3 style single piece front wing.

Trojan Cosworth T103, Silverstone Classic, Silverstone

Tim qualified 25th for the British Grand Prix but but was sidelined with a suspension problem on lap 6. Tim and the Trojan proved unequal to the task of qualifying for the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, but bounced back by qualifying 19th in Austria where he finished a season equal high 10th. The cars final appearance before the money ran out was at the Italian Grand Prix where Tim qualified 20th and completed 15 laps before the gearbox cried enough.

That was pretty much the end of Trojan too, a company that founded in 1914 survived as a manufacturer in it’s own right until the the 1960’s when it started manufacturing first Heinkel bubble cars, then Elva sports racing cars and later McLaren Sports and open wheel racing cars under licence and then manufacturing a hand full of open wheelers of it’s own devising. The company was not dissolved until 2013.

Tim Schenken’s final Grand Prix appearance came in the 1974 US Grand Prix where he failed to qualify the unloved Lotus 76 27th but took to the grid when it looked like Mario Andretti’s Parnelli would not start but eventually turned up late grid to take his rightful place. Tim took the start only to be disqualified.

Tim eventually hooked up with Howden Ganley to found Tiga a successful company making racing cars for the junior open wheel and sportscar classes. A Tiga chassis tub was started for a Formula One car but it was never finished. Tiga would also become a successful Group C2 and IMSA Lights manufacturer.

The T103 is seen being driven by owner Phillipe Bonny at last years Silverstone Classic above.

Thanks for joining me on this “Son of Lobster Claw” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Maserati Monday. Don’t for get to come back now !

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Maserati Monday – Maserati 250F 2507/23/22

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I thought it would be fun to give the pick ups, commercial and agricultural vehicles that have been a feature of Monday’s posts and restyle the day Maserati Monday, bookend the working week with two Italian marques can’t be bad, can it ?

Of the seven World Drivers Championship era’s perhaps the most romanticised is the 3rd from 1954 to 1960 when the rules mandated 2.5 litre / 152.5 cui motors to replace the 2 litre / 122 cui Formula 2 motors that had been used to determine the 1952 and 1953 World Drivers Championships.

Maserati 250F, Test Day, Mallory Park

If one car epitomises the era more than other then it is the Maserati 205F versions which took part in the very first and very last championship race of the era winning the first the 1954 Argentinian Grand Prix in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio and being long since surpassed by the rear engined cars from Cooper and Lotus when Robert Drake soldiered away to a 13th place finish in his Joe Lubin entered 250F, 7 laps down on the winning Lotus Climax driven by Stirling Moss in the last race of the 2.5 litre era the 1960 US Grand Prix.

Maserati 250F, Test Day, Mallory Park

Apart from the 8 World Championship Grand Prix won by 250F variants, bettered only by Mercedes Benz with nine victories, while the 250F clocked up an unequaled 23 non championship Formula One race victories in the same era.

Maserati 250F, Test Day, Mallory Park

Most of the twenty six 250F’s built led hard racing lives and consequently have complicated histories today’s featured car #2507 is no exception having originally been bought by Gilbey Engineering for Roy Salvadori to drive in 1954. Roy one a non championship race at Snetterton with the car and scored many other podium placings before he crashed at Oulton Park which led to the car being returned to the Maserati factory for repairs.

Maserati 250F, Albuquerque, Test Day, Mallory Park

Maserati replaced the chassis of 2507 and sent it back to Gilbey Engineering an now it get’s complicated, the Gilbey car was eventually retired after Ivor Beub had raced it, but the damaged Gilbey chassis was repaired and given a new identity #2523 for the 1956 season in which Bristol’s Horace Gould drove the car in the Belgian Grand Prix and Piero Taruffi in the French, on each occasion it retired.

Maserati 250F, Test Day, Mallory Park

In 1957 #2523 was rebodied and given a the identity #2522 and from then until 1959 it was driven by a dozen different drivers, including Taruffi, Gould, Harry Schell, Masten Gregory, Ivor Bueb, Hans Herrmann, Joakim Bonnier, Wolfgang Seidel, Carroll Shelby, Cliff Allison, Hernando da Silva Ramos and Fritz d’Orey of which Harry Schell scored the best result a second place in the non championship 1957 Grand Prix de Pau.

By 1960 #2507/23/22 had been shipped to Brazil Gino Munaron raced it at least once before selling it on, eventually the car was fitted with a Chevrolet V8 before being brought back to Europe by Colin Crabbe in 1972. The current owner, Jose Albuquerque seen enjoying the car at a Mallory Park test day a couple of years ago, acquired #2507/23/22 in 1999.

My thanks to David McKinney, Michael ‘Tuboscocca’ Catsch, John Winfield, Allan Luton and Alan Cox at the Nostalgia Forum for their patience and understanding answering my questions and not least to Tim Murray who kindly lent me a copy of David McKinney’s excellent book ‘Maserati 250F‘ which is as good as it get’s in print on the subject of these wonderful cars. New evidence is always being shed on the stories of these cars so if you know different to what is written above, please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Maserati Monday” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be starting the first in a series of Bugatti blogs. Don’t forget to come back now !

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