History at Monaco Historique
The Old Glory. Once upon a time Roger Penske had a team in Formula 1. The project started with the driver who gave him his first victory in the Indy 500 in 1972, Mark Donohue.
The “Unfair Advantage” driver lost his life after suffering serious head injuries, after a tire failure, in Sunday’s warm up session at the old Österreichring for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix.
His replacement was Ulsterman John Watson. At the same venue, a year later “Wattie” gave Penske his one and only F1 victory.
Today, Watson is a well-respected racing commentator and Penske runs a large auto dealership network under Penske Auto Group. His racing team is the most successful in Indy car history. The “Captain” also owns the Indy car series and the famous “Brickyard” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
French racing blue. Matra – Mécanique Aviation Traction – was a company primarily involved in aerospace and defense activities. “To improve the image of the company, Matra went racing”, said then CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère.
Jean-Pierre Beltoise gave Matra their first racing victory in the 1965 Formula 3 race at Reims.
The sound of their V12 is still talked about and was, in the words of Mario Andretti, “power”.
Jackie Stewart’s first championship in 1969 was won driving a Cosworth-powered Matra MS80.
The photo shows the beautiful and final F1 car from Matra MS120, designed by Bernard Boyer.
“Can you hear the drums, Fernando? ”Relaxed and fan friendly Fernando Alonso is seen chatting with out of picture Zak Brown. In 2007, Alonso won the Monaco Grand Prix with McLaren over a rapidly rising rookie. Against all odds, he was reunited with Ron Dennis and McLaren in 2015 but it was no peaches and herbs. The team and driver endured Honda hybrid engine misery which forever will be remembered for the “GP2 engine” comment that will live in infamy.
Alfa Romeo & Scuderia Ferrari. Enzo, like Colin Chapman and Bernie Ecclestone decades later, started out as a racing driver. The now mythical Scuderia Ferrari was formed when he was asked to manage the racing activities of Milan-based Alfa Romeo. Tazio Nuvolari was one of his drivers.
After starting his own company, it was at Silverstone in 1951 that a Ferrari F1 car won its first championship Grand Prix with Argentine driver Jose Froilan Gonzalez. Second was the Alfa Romeo of his compadre, Juan Manuel Fangio.
“That day I felt like I stabbed my own mother,” said Enzo of this historical moment.
– – Nasir Hameed.