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FERRARI/IMORTALITY/F1/SOME THOUGHTS

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by ginoBBi512, Mar 9, 2021.

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  1. ginoBBi512

    ginoBBi512 F1 Rookie
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    #1 ginoBBi512, Mar 9, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2021
    After watching Ferrari Race To Immortality for the 10 the time, as you folks have seen as well, Peter Collins, Mike Hawthorn, Portago, Castolotti , Moss, Fangio Musso , Brooks, Hill, Gurney are a far cry from the tatooed , man bunned , prima donnas that drive in F1 today, its almost pathetic if you ask me. I shed tears when the part comes where Collins Dies at the Nurbergring. These fellows had more class and more guts and more personality than any others I have seen in a long time. The last great great eras of F1 are not when Schumacher won his 7 titles, you know, in the era of sterility, but in the 1960s with J. Stewart , 1970s with Lauda / Hunt / Andretti and company, and then with Senna, Prost etc. At least these were drivers with a sense of personality and I also believe with spirituality mixed in, for sure as far as Senna . In my opinion, there is not much to like about any of the drivers today, other than Riccardo, and Alonso. One time , at the top of Ortega Highway, I had the chance to talk with Dan Gurney, I remember asking him what it was like to drive in Formula 1 during his era , all I can remember was that his answer was , absolutely insane , crazy fun and dangerous !!! That was all I needed to hear, I thanked him and got to shake his hand. I will never forget that Sunday afternoon. Sometimes when I go for a hard fast drive through whatever stretch of road, I can sense a little of what it might have been like for those heros of mine . The biggest personality today in my estimation is and has been for a long while, Valentino Rossi. The deepest connection I feel to a racing driver is without a doubt, Ayrton Senna. As far as Alonso goes, hell yes, leaves F1 and wins twice at Le Mans !! . Hes a drivers driver .

    Thank you
     
  2. paulchua

    paulchua Cat Herder
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    #2 paulchua, Mar 10, 2021
    I enjoyed the movie, highly recomended.
     
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  3. tx246

    tx246 F1 Veteran
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    #3 tx246, Mar 10, 2021
    This is an amazing well done movie. The old footage and music...

    It is my “when home alone” movie I watch. I seem to never get tired of the presentation.
     
  4. Gary Sandberg

    Gary Sandberg Formula Junior

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    #4 Gary Sandberg, Mar 10, 2021
    The only problem with that era was that, for example, out of the 20 top 1966 F1 drivers, over the course of their careers, 10 were killed and six seriously injured.

    The ones to escape relatively unscathed were Brabham, Stewart, Ginther and Gurney.

    Thanks to Sir Jackie Stewart, safety measures were beginning to be implemented.

    A great book on this era is F1 Mavericks by Pete Biro and George Levy, from which the above stat was taken.
     
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  5. ginoBBi512

    ginoBBi512 F1 Rookie
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    #5 ginoBBi512, Mar 10, 2021
    Its for sure sad with regards to the lives lost, today we have no lives lost (thats good) , no personalities , and no excitement .

    Thank you
     
  6. spirot

    spirot F1 World Champ

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    #6 spirot, Mar 11, 2021
    The drivers of the '50s would never get along in today's world. they were mostly ex-fighter pilots, military guys, who were adrenaline junkies - like the drivers today. Castelotti, Portago ... Bira were all young guys who were bored, and their only way to feel useful was to risk it all. they were chasing that moment of glory... and either survived or died. that is what is so sad, most of those guys barely made ends meet or were wealthy in their own right so they were racing for the fun, and thrill. then you add on the pressure from Ferrari and Mercedes, and the "Pro" teams for the minimal press they got and it was literally crazy.

    The side you don't see so much is the holdover of tonight we play for tomorrow we may die... so a lot of those guys were hard-charging misogynists, drunks, playboy types, who would be uber white privileged by today's standards.... The actual driving is amazing, and the fact that they were so brave is equally amazing. those cars while slow by today's racing standards would still give a modern road car a run for their money on a race track... I think because of the experience from the war - death was not as horrible. Life was cheaper then. that is the sad truth. they were used to people dying ... here today is gone tomorrow whether in a bombing run over Germany or in a car on a track... it attracted those same Uber Masculine types. Moss was quoted as saying that Racing is too safe today, and from his point of view I get it. .... he was used to risking it all - albeit at a lower threshold, but still, you were putting it all on the line for basically nothing.. .just like in the war. today, we value life so much that kind of thinking is inconceivable.
     
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  7. ginoBBi512

    ginoBBi512 F1 Rookie
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    #7 ginoBBi512, Mar 11, 2021
    With all that being said, I love those drivers of F1s long past, they were good guys, they mostly all got along, they had personality, they had a lot of skill and a lot of guts, they did the best they could with the cars of the day, it says way more than what we see in todays F1 To be able to handle those cars the way they did, not just in F1 but also in Sports cars, puts them in my book way ahead, better than the drivers of today and the cars they are racing in, its that simple.I dont look at or feel any feelings with todays drivers the way I feel emotionally when I watch that movie, and for me, thats really what sets them apart.

    Thank you
     

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