F1weekly podcast # 425
Prismacolor on archival Canson stock, 12″x 9″
© Paul Chenard 2009
The Grand Prix de Monaco was the inaugural race of the 1961 season, which introduced new 1.5 litre engine rule.
Most teams, except for the Scuderia Ferrari team, were ill-prepared for the new season.
Sir Stirling Moss was racing a 1960 Lotus 18 F1 fielded by privateer team owner Rob Walker. This outdated Lotus was certainly not as sophisticated or as powerful as the Ferraris, but Sir Moss’ virtuoso driving skills more than made up for the disadvantage.
In a very hard fought, tight race, he finished 3.6 secs ahead of American Richie Ginther who drove the new Ferrari 156 “Sharknose”.
In the illustration above, Sir Moss rounds the Station hairpin.
The original sketch is Prismacolor pencils on Canson archival gray stock, 12″ x 9″. The original is available from Historic Car Art.
It is also available as a limited edition of 50 number/signed archival Giclee 14.5″x 11″ (image size 12″x 9″) prints for $150 plus shipping/handling each.
Monaco GP: First held in 1929, the Monaco Grand Prix is the most prestigious race on the calendar, and one of the most evocative.
Sunbathers watch from balconies and yachts as F1 cars race around the harbour; the deafening echo of the engines bouncing off the walls of high-rise apartment blocks. Landmarks such as the Garnier-designed Casino de Monte Carlo and the famous Hotel de Paris line the twisting streets that are barely wide enough to fit the cars through.
As Nelson Piquet once said, the Monaco Grand Prix is like trying to ride a bicycle around your living room. But it’s the race every driver wants to win.
Graham Hill was known as Mr Monaco, but Vijay Mallya is catching up fast. His annual yacht party has become a highlight of the weekend, but there will be other parties to rival it in 2010.
Total travel guide.
[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mp3.f1weekly.com/podcasts/05-14-10f1weekly425.mp3]