Formula 1 is about being fast, and being fast is about having grip. For the most part, Formula 1 engineers and drivers work pretty well together in order to maintain traction when and where it counts. There come times however when things don’t go entirely to plan, – these 12 photos are the result.
12. Jean Pierre Beltoise with a little ‘right hand down’ leading Jack Brabham during the 1970 Spanish GP.
11. Brabham had his turn at hanging the tail out for the camera four years earlier, in Holland.
10. Jenson Button feeling his way through a touch of liquid horsepower during the Brazilian GP of 2003.
9. Peter Collins on the edge of control at Silverstone in 1958, a race which he went on to win.
8. Three years later the No.1 Ferrari was being driven in a similar, sideways fashion by Phil Hill in the 1961 Dutch GP. Hill was runner-up by less than one second.
7. Jacky Ickx peeking to the left as he roars through a right hander in Sweden, 1973.
6. Niki Lauda dialling out the opposite lock on exit in Spain, 1976.
5. Nelson Piquet showing some aggressive pre-corner preparation back in 1983, Monaco.
4. Tom Pryce placed fourth in the ’76 Dutch Grand Prix, here you can see him carefully coercing the front wheels straight at the conclusion of an unexpected slide – we expect full throttle would have been applied just moments later.
3. Those ripple strips can be slippery! We love Schumacher’s head tilt, Imola in 1998.
2. This shot of John Surtees taken at the 1967 Mexican GP is one of our favourites. Not only does the rushed framing capture the sense of urgency felt by both driver and photographer at the time, but the four-knuckle grip on the top of the steering wheel and stark look of absolute concentration laments the steering precision that times like these demand of man and machine.
1. Easily the most dramatic photograph of the lot – this stunning shot was taken in 1975, Sweden. The No.3 car was the Tyrrell Ford of Jody Scheckter, seen here visiting the outer most limits of steering correction.
Images: The Cahier Archive
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