The name Francois Hesnault is not something you are overly familiar with. A great driver for junior formulas in the early 1980s – third and second in the second consecutive season of French Formula 3 – he appeared to have found a step up to the turbocharged one car.
In ’84 he qualified only in the closing race near Liguier Renault’s teammate Andrea de Sesaris, and his move to Brabham in ’85 was miserable. Alongside already two-time world champion Nelson Piquet, Hesnow is a totally incomplete and after failing to qualify for Monaco, he was let go. However, he made a one-time return to Formula 1 for the German Grand Prix Renault team later that year, joining full-time incumbents Patrick Tangbey and Derek Warwick. This is the last time F1 teams will drive three cars at the World Championship GP.
But there is another reason why Hesnow has a place in the history of Formula 1: that pessimistic day new nüRubrgring, his Renault RE60 became the first car to start the Grand Prix carrying onboard cameras. Sadly, fate only has eight laps to Hesnow before falling victim to Renault’s deplorable reliability issues in that season. It’s available on YouTube.
Compared to a 360-degree view obtained with numerous Formula 1 and IndyCar via automatically cleaned lenses, or a camera mounted on a helmet, Hesnow’s efforts through a dirty camera, perhaps looking primitive. However, it seemed very impressive at the time. It didn’t matter if the image was blurred or carried by a driver who hadn’t dueled for the lead. Its mere presence made our TV audience better understand that the multicolored Onesea hero had experienced from race to race.
For those of us old enough to remember that day forty years ago (August 4, 1985, to be precise), it still feels like a privilege, rather than looking at the perspective of a Max Barstappen driver like the Max Barstappen produced at Suzuka this season. With trucks where the result of the error is more than a loss of time and convulsion into the parking lot. There is a risk. But that’s another day’s rumour…
Of course, before that, I was watching the driver’s eye viewpoint F1 action. It’s easy to find Juan Manuel Fangio Testing His Maserati 250f in Modena Autodrome, Mario Andretti wraps Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1966 And then a series of clips from onboard of “Rap of the God.” Patrick Depailler’s performance On Long Beach and In a wet Montreal It’s especially fun. But these were all test laps, runs that were made just before the official practice, or during the practice itself. Mike Hawthorne’s Le Mans knee in the 1956 Jaguar D type Runs at slow speeds and the roads are still open to the public, but they are still quite valuable. Derek Bell’s rap rap from 1983 Porsche 956 It’s pure gold, but it’s recorded during practice.
So, what did we miss? Here is a list of great performances in motorsport history that you’d like to see from your driver’s seat, in order of date.
A purely novel factor means it is worth watching on-board footage of the Tazion Nuvo Lari drive in 1935 by Nurburgring Alfa Romeo P3. Von Brauchitsch won an unlikely victory on that final lap. And speaking of silver arrows, no one has mastered a rear-engine autounion like the Bernd Rosemeyer, so witnessing his amazing final victory at Donington Park in 1937 is a moving choice.
I don’t know if Ted Horn will “along with” about his misfortune in the Indianapolis 500. Nine The fourth or more consecutive finishes are an extraordinary achievement at a time when race cars are far less reliable than they are today. However, he never managed his talent, the “500” victory, where he was a three-time AAA Series champion, so obviously it’s only natural. But maybe his brave 1941 drives in Adams Sparks from 30th The grid, which finishes third while nursing his injured arm, will once be pleased with Indy that Horn’s fate had at least surpassed his pre-race expectations.
Nuvolari seals off the biggest victory of his career at the 1935 German Grand Prix. There was no concern about upsetting Aero and could have placed the camera anywhere on that Alpha. Getty Images
He has been developing his retrospective imagination to imagine an open-top sports car since the 1950s. You can hold the camera and get a clear view of the driver and truck in wet condition, but whenever you mention a book or movie, you will see the “art of racing in the rain” and consider that you have regularly approved F1’s regular approved master of rain. Also Jose Florin Gonzalez of Le Mans in 1954 24 Hours. In fact, he probably doesn’t belong to the aforementioned driver, but in a Beef Argentina exceptional season (he finished runner-up in the ’54 F1 World Championship), his outstanding performance was a 24-hour classic in the sports car, driving the Ferrari 375 Plus. In partnership with Maurice Trintignant, González won the second victory for Ferrari Marque, but his first victory at Scuderia Ferrari. Gonzalez, who lost time in the pit lane, was pushed hard by the Jaguar D type and was reluctant to restart the engine due to heat soak and moisture, had to dig deep for this glory. The 340hp output of a 5-liter V12 with a shorter wheelbase than the current VW Golf, snatched the master’s skill with dipping truck bias ply tires. To do it for 18-19 hours faster than the opponents, he took a skill that perhaps even Gonzalez didn’t know he had. The boat must have been refreshing.
AI will inform you that you will record onboarding Sterling Moss and Dennis Jenkinson on the 1955 Mille Miglia Mercedes 300SLR, because it requires 61 rolls of film to film 10 hours, 7 minutes 48 seconds content on 16mm film, so you will be notifying me that you will record Sterling Moss and Dennis Jenkinson on the 1955 Mille Miglia Mercedes 300SLR, changing his 10 minutes, changing his 10 minutes, changing his 10 minutes, changing his 10 minutes, changing his 10 minutes, and changing his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, changing his 10 minutes, and changing his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and changing his 10 minutes, and changing his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and changing his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and changing his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 1955 Mille Miglia Mercedes 300SLR, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, and recording his 10 minutes, But hey, we’re talking fantasy here, so there’s no better way to spend such a huge amount of time than learning how average 97.96mph on the public road from a 992.332-mile round trip to Brescia to Rohm. It is one of the biggest feats in our sport’s history.
Those looking for a much shorter adrenaline shot may prefer the qualifying lap for Eugenio Castellotti, the 1955 Belgian Grand Prix. While drawing F1 Silver in the dominant W196, and just nine days after losing his mentor and Scuderia’s Lancia teammate, 24-year-old Castelotti, he rapped the horrifying 8.8-mile Spa Francorchamps course as more than half a second faster to win Fangio’s Merces. The following year, Fangio joined him at Ferrari, winning 12 hours of Sebring together. A few months later, Castelotti conquered Milmiguria. But in his too-short life, perhaps his greatest achievement was a explosion of 4M18.1S around the spa of the Lancia D50.
Speaking of Fangio, the next “Wish-We-the-in-the-cockpit” is clear. It must be the 1957 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. But would you choose to take a rearward camera from the cockpit of Mike Hawthorne’s Ferrari Dino 246 and first look at his teammate Peter Collins, or the Maestro’s terrifying Maserati 250F approach? Or will you go see the most amazing drives of Fungio’s most amazing drives, their full career? The facts are: Fangio took the pole with a 9m25.6S wrap. Seeing the Ferrari star filling the fuel tank for the race, he chose to run in the half tank and create a pit stop. He had half the lead when he pited on lap 12 of lap 22, but the stop was a disastrous Macer mess, including a falling wheel nut. By the time Fangio was on the way, he was 50 seconds behind the Hawthorn leader, but resetting his lap record nine times, eventually leaving at 9m 17.4s to pass Ferraris on the final lap, earning his final victory, winning his fifth and final championship. Do we all want to know how a great man created the drive that scared him? How much speed did he bring/pass/exit turn? The profits were small, but did he have a certain corner on all 176 or more turns in the 14-mile ring, or 10 miles faster than Ferraris? After pondering, yes, let’s take a look at the onboard camera mounted on the Maserati…
If Fangio had an onboard camera for the 1957 German Grand Prix, it would have been full of Mike Hawthorne’s Lancia at this slow point in the race. Peter Collins is third behind them. Tony Smythe/Getty Images
Ten years later, at the same venue, people were wondering the same thing about Jimmy Clark’s pole rap. His Lotus proves a faster 9.4 than his closest rival, Denny Halm’s Brabham. What’s even more impressive was the Jacky Ickx in the Matra Formula 2 car, in third place, just half a second later than Hulme. The quiet Belgian, who runs a 1.6-liter four-cylinder Ford FVA engine, had given Hulme’s Repco V8 180 and 120 horsepower to his Cosworth V8 in Clark’s car. Imagine Hulme and Ickx lined up side by side now. You can ensure that their cars produced their near-identical knee time in very different ways.
It’s very easy to focus on this column nürburgringIt’s the biggest thing, but let’s just add one more. Jackie Stewart’s 1968 German Grand Prix race day performance won him a miserable, misty and wet event. 4 minutes! It’s great to see how much Stewart could see, what crest he expected to stand, and see where he simply relied on his cat-like reflexes to respond to the worst…
Endurance races tend to throw some epic drives, but in many cases, only scrap of footage can be found on traditional platforms, and it is rarely onboard. I want to put on a camera both i-tow-you-draft/you-push-i’ll-sandbag Duel car for the 1969 Le Mans honors between Hans Hermann’s Porsche 908 and Jackie Ick’s Ford GT40. The helmet mounted camera for Mario Andretti’s epic charging via Sebring Darkness in the 1970s is 12 hours to win at a Ferrari. The same year, at the Porsche 917, with a BOAC of 1000km from Brand Hatch, Pedro Rodriguez’s Wet Weather Masterclass, or 155mph pole at Le Mans in 1971.
A little later that year, Peter Getin famously won for being the fastest grand prize in Monza. On that occasion, the winning BRM P160’s 360DEG Rollhoop mount camera would have produced some of the most sparkling footage in F1 history. Getin’s victory margin for Ronnie Peterson’s march was just 0.01 seconds, and despite misguided attempts at Michael Schumacher’s wear in the dead heat with Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello at the 2002 US Grand Prix, it remained the closest finish for F1.
Chris Amond’s inspirational Charge at the 1972 French Grand Prix on the 1972 Clermont Ferrand track is a light of ear pain considering his MATRA MS120D scream V12. Watching Renault 5GT Turbo Lap Truck (now called Charade) Almost 40 years ago Provides the necessary information about the track. Amon’s challenge, sadly, remains forever in the eyes of his mind.
Mark Donohue was a well-known, tidy driver and strongly believed that going sideways wasted time that should have been spent in the future and strived to set up his car accordingly. But even he couldn’t help but get the 1973 Penskelan Porsche 917/30. (Main image) At some interesting angles, he controlled a devastating 1,200 horsepower through two rear bias ply tires. Riding this monster’s tail through a camera focused forward around America and Road Atlanta is a life-enhancing experience.
The footage onboard from Villeneuve’s powerful battle with Arnoux at the French Grand Prix in 1979 will be eye-opening. Ercole Colombo/Getty Images
Sometimes sideways were the fastest way, and two such antics were Ronnie Peterson and Jill Villeneuve. Undoubtedly, Peterson’s biggest year was 1974. After Lotus 76 proved one of Colin Chapman’s exaggerated deaths, the team once returned to the 72, 5, at Brylan. Fittipaldi, Brabham BT44 by Carlos Reutemann, or Tyrrell 007 by Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler. But… Ronnie is special, and despite the 72-year-old’s credibility diving, he somehow managed to win three wins that year. These bests are probably Dijon Prenois, and footage of him on board will be Côte de Orr, or astonishing.
Dijon’s story necessarily leads to the aforementioned idea of Villeneuve, and his Ferrari’s breathtaking duel leads to a breathtaking duel with René Arnaud on the ’79 French Grand Prix closure rap. It’s still difficult enough to find a picture of that fight – there are three or four – so we should be grateful for it TV video Although fuzzy, it’s ready to use. Either onboard is spectacular.
But it’s Villeneuve’s non-spirited pole in Monaco in 1981, driving the Ferrari’s powerful yet turbocharged F1 car first. The car had no right to ride in the front row (beaten only to P1 by Nelson Piquet’s underweight Brabham).th2.5 seconds slow. It lacked downforce, and with the power delivery of the “Light Switch,” Villeneuve’s practicing horse was so pristine that it came. We don’t all want to know. A fun enhancement to this footage is an inset from the additional camera in the footbox, showing Jill’s tap dancing throughout the pedal.
A week later, another “How did he do that?” performance on this side of the Atlantic, when Mike Mosley charged from behind Kurt Indie Car Field and hit the front 106 laps after the Classic Milwaukee Mile Capture Rex Mays Classic 150. The slow, great Robin Miller has become lyrical about Mosley’s performance in the dramatic-looking “Pepsi Challenger” of Dan Gurney’s All-American Racer team. During the race, he said that the Eagle was a different category of cars, even Chaparal and Pensk, and carried very fast throughout the turns. Mosley’s brave courage footage on board will be the famous flat oval shape…
It will also be a rearward camera on the wings behind the 1982 Indy 500 Gordon John Cock’s Wildcat. Of course, the existing external footage of Gordy’s fight with Rickmears is thrilling and you can still stand up the hair on your arm. But rather than sticking to Pitrain’s driver’s cut to his nervous wife, imagine the TV producers of the closed rap could have shown how quickly Mears’ Pensuke PC10 was down to John Cock. It’s only 0.16 seconds.
One of the drivers who proved to be extremely popular all over the world in the late 70s and early 80s was Keke Rosberg, one of the most resilient and determined fighter jets in the sport. He wore some great drives for Formula Atlantic and Can Am, but when he joined the Williams F1 team in 1982, he needed him in 1982 and ’83. Honda had primitive power characteristics at best. Rosberg was the ideal person for both tasks.
But which of his performances would you like to see most from inside the ship? Well… Probably the 1982 British Grand Prix for Brand Hatch. So, Rosberg’s acrobat in qualifying ensured that Williams FW08B was on the pole more than a second faster than the next fast suction vehicle, but he was not fired immediately due to fuel evaporation at the start of the parade lap due to fuel evaporation. Starting from behind, he was passing eight cars on the opening lap and running sixth by lap 13. Inevitably, his pace at full tank was straining his tires, so the pit stop kept him back, but he had a great display while the car continued (sadly until the end).
By 1985, driving a Williams FW10, the Honda’s power curves were straightened, the chassis became increasingly impressive, and the Rosberg was often released like a champagne bottle cork. Silverstone’s 160mph wrap (slow holes and spots of rain) must have been a thriller from the cockpit, but the chase of teammate Nigel Mansell at Kirami also used half the dirt width of the car when the corner left, and the Lotus Rudale from Airton Senna at Adel Drido.
Of course, Munsell and Senna had their duel at Jerez, especially the spring after leaving 0.014. But imagine seeing Senna’s dexterity eyes in the wet thing in Monaco in ’84, or Munsell’s view of the merciless pursuit of teammate Nelson Piquet in Silverstone in ’87. Senna’s stunning pole at Monaco in ’88, 1.4 seconds faster than teammate Alain Prost, never been captured from the cockpit, nor was Senna’s Munsell’s extremely opportunistic pass in Hungary in ’89…
Thankfully, soon the cameras began to become more common in major cars in the Top Race series. Looking at Hungary’s F1 Grand Prix this weekend, the Portland Indy Car Grand Prix next weekend would not be the same without them. But which of the absolute biggest performances we couldn’t see from inside the ship? Now, please comment below.
And then forty years after etching his name into F1 history, François Hesnow raised his glass and was photographed.
