Sebastian Vettel will certainly now be regarded in Germany as the new Schumacher - first of all he's a German in an Italian car (with a Ferrari engine); he learned his craft at the Schumacher family's kart track in Kerpen, and even comes from the same part of Germany. He has one major asset over Schumacher though - he's a really nice guy. Oh yes, and he isn't pug ugly either. The girls are gonna love him - but he's already going out with a girl with an English mother and apparently loves Monty Python, Little Britain, and can even tell jokes!

This win couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Let's hope the slower engine in the Red Bull he'll be driving next year won't be detrimental to his career progress (or that Red Bull get a better engine...).

Lewis Hamilton rescued what he could from his disastrous qualifying when he didn't even survive Q2 and so had to start from 15th. He climbed 8 places to finish 7th at the close though, just one place and one point behind Massa who finished where he started. Lewis still leads the World Championship - by one point, so it is close! Kimi Raikkonnen, who started one place ahead of Hamilton finished two places behind him in 9th and out of the points, but again got the fastest lap. What on earth is Kimi playing at? He (or his car) seems useless on cold tyres.

Max Mosley made a trip down the grid, letting everyone know he was back - and that of course included the stewards who clearly needed a bit of discipline after their antics of the last week. As I predicted before the race, the new rule governing chicanes and overtaking by cutting them short caused some chaos in the field.

It certainly prevented some interesting battles from flowing, and nearly cost Massa a place to Hamilton when Massa had to give a place back to a car he was trying to overtake (I think it was Mark Webber's Red Bull) and then had to trundle around behind the slower car ahead of him all around the Curva Grande while Lewis Hamilton, his main title rival was able to travel at full speed, unimpeded by a slower car.

If Hamilton hadn't have worked his tyres so much from his pit stop and still had some life in them, he could have sailed past both Massa and the mobile chicane in front of him without the normal degree of effort required - thanks to the new chicane regulation that made Massa wait behind the slower car until Lewis caught him up. There's some poetic justice in there somewhere!

Toch is de heroïsche zege van Sebastian Vettel en Toro Rosso niet zo verrassend. Toen de jonge Vettel in augustus 2006 voor het eerst in een F1-wagen stapte, tijdens de vrijdagtrainingen voor de GP van Turkije, klokte hij meteen de snelste tijd, vóór zijn grote idool Michael Schumacher. In zijn debuutrace, de GP van de Verenigde Staten in 2007, pakte hij ook al direct een WK-punt. Voor het tweede deel van 2007 verhuisde Vettel van BMW Sauber naar Toro Rosso, met een knappe vierde plaats in Shanghai als beste resultaat tot nog toe. Voor de kenners is het al langer duidelijk dat Vettel een zeldzaam groot talent is.

En Toro Rosso dan: het team uit Faenza is na het verdwijnen van Super Aguri opnieuw de kleinste renstal geworden. Maar het team heeft de laatste twee jaar een enorme gedaanteverandering ondergaan. Gerhard Berger heeft komaf gemaakt met de Minardi-cultuur, en dankzij Red Bull Technology beschikt Toro Rosso over erg competitief materiaal. Dat de STR3, een creatie van Adrian Newey, aangedreven door een Ferrari-motor en bestuurd door supertalent Vettel, nu in de voorste gelederen verschijnt, is haast vanzelfsprekend.

21 year old Vettel led from pole position to claim victory in his 22 GP start beating Fernando Alonso's maiden victory of 22 years in a rain soaked Imola track. What was even more incredible about this victory is that the Toro Rosso car in which he won is effectively an ex-Minardi back marker.

Toro Rosso is the supposed baby sister team of Red Bull and Vettel was announced as David Coulthard's replacement recently. He must surely be now wondering if he's done a wise thing as the Ferrari powered Toro Rosso has been out-performing the Renault powered (and Adrian Newy-designed) Red Bull.

Personalmente, anche se oggi non vedo un ferrarista sul podio a Monza, sono felice per la triade Vettel-Kovalainen-Kubica. Quei bravi ragazzi (:D), giovani e simpatici che tra l'altro rappresentano anche il futuro della Formula 1. Questo è anche il podio più giovane di sempre della Formula 1! Segue l'ordine d'arrivo.

GP Italia, Monza. Ordine d’arrivo:

01. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1h26:47.000
02. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 12.512
03. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 20.471
04. Alonso Renault (B) + 23.903
05. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 27.748
06. Massa Ferrari (B) + 28.816
07. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 29.012
08. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 32.048
09. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 39.468
10. Piquet Renault (B) + 54.445
11. Glock Toyota (B) + 58.888
12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 1:02.015
13. Trulli Toyota (B) + 1:05.954
14. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 1:08.635
15. Button Honda (B) + 1:13.370
16. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) + 1 giri
17. Barrichello Honda (B) + 1 giri
18. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 giri
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) + 2 giri

Race Review

The race started under the safety car as conditions were very wet, and the FIA wanted the drivers to have a "taster" of the circuit before they went racing.  Sebastien Bourdais luck was out before he started, the Toro Rosso wouldn't go anywhere, and being under safety car there is no formation lap and he had to be wheeled to the pits to try and get him started.

In the beginning everyone was ambling around, but when the safety car came in it all kicked off.  Vettel was tenths of a second faster on every lap than anyone else, he showed great courage and probably luck in the fact he had no spray to deal with!

Further back drivers were trading places, but everyone was paranoid about driving over chicanes after "Chicane gate".  Massa had to give a place back, as did many others.

Lewis Hamilton pushed his way through the field, passing Raikkonen like he was stood still despite having much more fuel than the Finn.

Both he and Raikkonen had previously dispatched Giancarlo Fisichella, but when the Italian tried to defend against David Coulthard he knocked his nosecone.  coming down to the parabolica, Fisichella's nose completely disintegrated and he went straight into the barriers.

Hamilton was going fast still while most of the other drivers were struggling to make overtakes stick. The track was growing drier and drier, and while most made a stop and put Extreme wets on, Hamilton continued and stopped on lap 27, a clear 1 stop strategy.  Intellegence was coming frmo the radars that rain was coming so Hamilton put extreme wets on his car, it would prove to be a mistake.

No rain was coming, and the track was getting drier all the time.  David Coulthard then Fernando Alonso came in and gambled on the wets.  It worked for Alonso who was lapping well faster than everyone else.  Felipe Massa changed too at his scheduled stop, as did most of the rest of the field.  Robert Kubica's stop was perfectly timed to take the intermediate tyres, and this paid dividends turning a quite race into a podium finish.

This meant that Hamilton was losing time on the wrong tyres, and his strategy of 1 stop was thrown out of the window as McLaren acknowledged his need to change to inermediates.  He did so, but ruined his chances of winning.  Webber was catching Hamilton very easily as the Brit wasn't getting them up to temperature.  Webber tried to outbrake Hamilton round the outside into the first chicane, but Hamilton bumped wheels with the Australian forcing him across the grass.

From there, Massa kept Hamilton behind easily, it never really looked like the McLaren would gain enough advantage to pass.

Towards the end there was more incident.  Jenson Button crossed the chicane into turn 1 and clean scraped the side of Nelson Piquet, not really sure what was going on but there was carbon fibre all over the place.  A lap later Piquet would powerslide his Renault across the grass, just a couple of incidents the driver had there.

Kimi Raikkonen came right through, passing laods of people and getting the fastest lap time, bringing it down 4 times in a row, this will anger many Ferrari fans who will be left feeling "why didn't he do it sooner?" once again, 3 races in a row without points for the Finn.

Rubens Barrichello pitted late to put extreme wets on, but it was a stupid gamble as no rain ever came.  Late stops for Intermediates from Toyota and Williams drivers left them nowhere near any points.

RACE RESULTS

Classified Results:

The Santander Italian Grand Prix;

Autodromo D'Monza, Italia;

53 Laps;

Weather: Heavy Rain, turning light then damp track.

Fastest Lap: K. Raikkonen, Ferrari: 1.28.047

Retirements:

Interview with the race winner:

"It's Unbelievable," said Vettel.

"The whole race we had no problems, the car was working really fine. I had a fantastic race, a really good strategy but all that was gone when I crossed the chequered flag, and the lap back to the pits all the podium ceremony was unbelievable.

"For sure this is the best day of my life, these emotions I will never forget, it is so much better than you might think it is.

"I can just say a big big thank you to the guys in the team, they did a fantastic job, who would have thought it at the start of the season, in these conditions we can do a bit more. It is fantastic, I am speechless."

"Looking back, being first and having no visibility problems was the key," he added. "I could make a good, solid gap to Heikki straight away and then I was pushing very hard, sometimes I went over the limit and it got hard.

"I think it got more tricky in the middle of the race as there was no standing water any more. People were going left and right to cool down the tyres, it was very, very slippery, in the last stint.

"A perfect weekend, pole position, race win. I don't know what to say."

"All the people might be used to hearing the Italian national anthem but for Scuderia Ferrari.  It is a special day and for all the team they won't forget this day as long as I won't."

"I have seen every angle of the grid now. It is difficult when you start from the back. Now we can be proud of ourselves. Celebrating our victory is great, putting these words together sounds unbelievable.

"The mentality has changed, the atmosphere is fantastic. When I jumped into the car before the race they said: 'Now destroy them'.

"I was pushing like hell, they were looking forward, in that sense you could say we had the balls to do it today.

"Compared to BMW or McLaren or Ferrari, we have not that amount of manpower at the factory, we have about 160 people working at Faenza and they can feel very special. I am one of them we are one team and I feel extremely happy."

Sebastian Vettel, 21 anni e 2 mesi, espugna Monza con la sua Toro Rosso e diviene il più giovane pilota di Formula 1 a vincere una gara! Dopo la pole position ottenuta ieri con pioggia, Vettel ha oggi condotto una gara magistrale portando a casa una vittoria che lo proietta come la stella nascente soprattutto perchè ha vinto con la Toro Rosso, una scuderia di "secondo ordine".

Anche la stessa Toro Rosso fa festa per la conquista del primo podio in assoluto che è giunto proprio con la prima vittoria! La Toro Rosso ha sede a Faenza in Italia, quindi il successo arriva anche in "casa".

Tegno a ricordare che la Toro Rosso nasce dalle ceneri della Minardi fondata da Giancarlo Minardi nel 1979 al quale sicuramente va dedicata questa vittoria. Inoltre monta motori Ferrari, unica consolazione per il cavallino rampante.

Ottimo lavoro di tutto il Team Toro Rosso!

Congratulazioni!

Qui trovate la griglia di partenza, a breve l'ordine d'arrivo.

He's the youngest driver to have ever won a grand prix, but he drove like a man with many more years experience in F1 than the year and a bit that he has.

During the Turkish Grand Prix in 2006, at just 19 years of age, he became the youngest driver to have ever competed at an F1 event by driving a BMW in Friday practice.

He then took over from Robert Kubica last year after the Pole had his serious crash during the Canadian Grand Prix, and became the youngest driver to score an F1 point during the subsequent US Grand Prix.

So he's had some previous with being ‘the youngest' in F1.

He then replaced Scott Speed at STR in July of last year, where he quickly started to get peoples' attentions and he's already being talked about, by Germans, as being the next Michael Schumacher.

And on the strength of today's form, you can certainly see why!

Vi ricordo che qui trovate la griglia di partenza.

It must be tough to be Anthony Davidson. Spending years of his career at Honda as a test driver, when he could have secured drives elsewhere is testament to this man's loyalty - but when a seat vacancy arose, Davidson did not mean as much to Honda, as Honda did to Davidson.

Over his years of testing for Honda, Davidson picked up a reputation. He was not good at his job, he was one of the best. It could be argued that only McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa and former Ferrari's former World Champion-cum-occasional tester Michael Schumacher are better at getting the technical aspects of the car just right.

Looking on as his twice former teammate Takuma Sato is helped by what seems to be half of Japan (the Honda half, not the Toyota half) to secure the second seat at Scuderia Toro Rosso for 2009, Davidson must be wondering what happens next. Maybe there would be more of an outcry if it was not for Lewis Hamilton's gleaming star.

This week it was announced that Sato would be testing for STR in Jerez later this month, but for Davidson, the Formula One options look bleak. Although the Brit insists he would be happy returning to a developmental role, providing it meant his profile remained high, he is a racer, pure and simple.

It was his testing, first with BAR and then when they became Honda, that brought Davidson into the spotlight. Barring a few lowly outings with minnows Minardi, he completed a total of six laps when he was the substitute for Sato in 2005. Following the creation of satelite team Super Aguri, again in order to keep Takuma Sato in Formula One, Davidson was given the second seat. In 2007 Davidson completed his first full season as a race driver this decade, in a car he knew like the back of his hand from testing at Honda in 2006. It is at this point that Honda's cars started to nosedive in performance, and, although a wrongly calibrated wind tunnel has been blamed, you cannot help but think they would have done better had Davidson been around.

Super Aguri survived until the Spanish Grand Prix of 2008, when financial problems - caused by defaulted payments by title sponsor S.S. United - caused their downfall. Davidson had performed impressively, bearing in mind he was driving the slowest car on the grid, he was running in third at the Australian GP of 2008 before a warthog put him out of the race. Although Sato grabbed the headlines for overtaking then-World Champion Fernando Alonso at Montreal, Davidson's performances went by almost unnoticed. Honda have said they are helping their dynamic duo to gain employment, but it is clear that the Japanese marque favour the Japanese driver, and it seems Davidson is going to have to migrate east, to the Honda-powered IndyCar Series.

The Briton was a guest of IndyCar Series frontrunner Panther Racing at last weekend's Detroit round and, according to the official series website, should have tested with the team a couple of weeks ago, only for a shoulder injury, sustained while training on a mountain bike, derailed the plans.

The Briton is not entirely alien to the US open-wheel scene, having been offered the chance to quit his test driver role at Honda to join leading the Champ Car World Series outfit Newman/Haas Racing as long ago as 2005, (the same year a full-time drive at Williams F1 fell through because BAR wanted Davidson to return in 2006) but eventually opted to pursue his goal of racing in F1 instead of replacing Bruno Junqueira, who had broken his back, ironically, in a one-off IndyCar outing at Indianapolis. The rid eventually went to Oriol Servia who, like Junqueira, has been a full-time member of the now unified IndyCar Series this season..

Since Davidson's visit to Detroit, Panther has signed fellow Briton, and former karting rival, Dan Wheldon to race the number 4 Dallara next season, but is reportedly trying to find the finance for a second entry as the IRL-sanctioned series regains some of its former lustre. While current Panther driver Vitor Meira would be high on team boss John Barnes' shopping, list, Davidson is tipped as a serious contender, along with GP2 race-winner Mike Conway, who wowed onlookers, including several other IndyCar teams, with an impressive testing debut at Infineon Raceway last month.

Neal's View: It is sad to see a grid without Anthony Davidson on it. He has more talent than some drivers lining up there and his testing ability makes him a valuable asset for any Formula One team.

Nombre: Anthony Davidson

Fecha de nacimiento: 17/04/1979

País: Reino Unido

Monoplaza número: 19

Trayectoria

-Minardi: Año 2002

-BAR Honda / Honda (Probador): 2005 (disputó un GP sustituyendo a Sato, que estaba enfermo)

-Super Aguri: 2007 - 2008

Estadísticas

Grandes premios disputados: 23

Victorias: 0

Pole Positions: 0

Podios: 0

Campeonatos ganados: 0

Nombre:Mark Webber

Fecha de nacimiento: 27/09/1976

País: Australia

Monoplaza número: 10

Trayectoria

-Minardi: Año 2002

-Jaguar: 2003 - 2004

-Williams: 2005 - 2006

-Red Bull Racing: 2007 - Actualidad

Estadísticas

Grandes Premios disputados:111

Victorias: 0

Pole Positions: 0

Podios: 2

Campeonatos ganados: 0

Italian ex-FIA 3000 championship runner-up Enrico Toccacelo (2005) visited the recent Jerez testing session last week on a fact finding mission, and he's keen to get behind the wheel of an SF car when the championship kicks off in August this year.

“The car really impressed me, especially the sound, because the V12 is unbelievable," Toccacelo said. "The car looks great and I just dream to drive it.”

The Italian is a former test driver for Minardi in Formula One and also represented Italy in A1GP.

18th of April - Jackie Stewart scores the first ever win for the Tyrrell marque at the 1971 Spanish Grand Prix. It was only the fifth race Tyrrell entered with its own 001 chassis and another seven wins would follow that year, a total seven by Stewart and one by François Cevert. All this success would culminate in Team Tyrrell winning the Constructors' World Championship in its first full season in Formula 1 with its own car.

18/4/1979, Anthony Denis Davidson is born in Hemel Hempstead, UK.

A test driver for British-American Racing since 2000, “Ant” Davidson got his break in Formula 1 when the Minardi team decided to drop Alex Yoong for a couple of races. He’s debut came at the Hungarian GP and despite showing a solid job he had no other options than remaining BAR’s test driver up until 2005. He got a chance to race for BAR at the 2005 Malaysian GP when Takuma Sato had to withdraw because of illness. The car lasted just a couple of laps. Davidson stayed on as a tester when Honda took over the team in 2006 and his loyalty with Honda was finally rewarded with a race drive with Super Aguri F1 in 2007 and 2008.

18/4/1990, Robert Drake dies.

Bob Drake was a privateer driver and automobile restorer who used to race Aston Martin, Cooper sports car and, more famously, a Type 61 Birdcage Maserati. He gained some prestige by finishing 2nd in the 1960 Riverside Grand Prix driving an Ol' Yaller Mk.II.

Born: 14th of December 1919 in San Francisco, USA.
Died: 18th of April 1990 in Woodland Hills, USA, aged 70.

18/4/1942, Karl-Jochen Rindt is born in Mainz, Germany.

Jochen Rindt’s breakthrough came by beating the likes of Graham Hill, Jim Clark and Denny Hulme in the 1964 London Trophy for Formula 2 cars at Crystal Palace and got him a three-year-contract with the Cooper Formula 1 works team. But it remained a winless association and so, in 1968, Jochen switched to the Brabham-Repco team. But yet again his season was blighted by technical problems. As a result, for 1969 he moved to Colin Chapman's Lotus team, effectively assuming the mantle of the late Jim Clark. Rindt stormed to his first GP win in the US race at the end of 1969 then started his '70 Championship charge with a dramatic last corner win at Monaco. Thereafter armed with the sensational Lotus 72, he won four more Grands Prix before being killed in practice for the Italian race at Monza becoming motor racing's first posthumous World Champion.

Born: 18th of April 1942 in Mainz, Germany;
Died: 5th of September 1970 in Monza, Italy, aged 28.

18 de abril - Jackie Stewart conquista a primeira vitória da marca Tyrrell no GP da Espanha de 1971 no que era somente a quinta participação com o chassi 001, o primeiro de fabricação própria. A marca debutante conquistaria ainda mais sete vitórias, no total sete de Stewart e uma de François Cevert, a caminho do titulo no Mundial de Construtores da Formula 1. Um desempenho notável, considerando que tratava-se da primeira participação da marca em uma temporada completa.

18/4/1979, Anthony Denis Davidson nasce em Hemel Hampstead, UK.

Piloto de testes para a British American Racing (BAR) a partir de 2000, "Ant" Davidson conseguiu estrear num GP quando a Minardi decidiu substituir Alex Yoong por um par de corridas. Foi no GP da Hungria e, apesar de fazer uma corrida sólida, não teve outras opções a não ser permanecer como piloto de testes na BAR. Teve uma chance de correr por essa equipe no GP da Malásia de 2005 quando Takuma Sato desistiu por razão de saúde. O carro durou apenas poucas voltas. Davidson permaneceu testando, quando a Honda adquiriu a equipe e sua lealdade com a marca foi finalmente recompensada com um posto de piloto titular na Super Aguri em 2007 e 2008.

18/4/1990, morre Robert Drake.

Bob Drake era piloto amador e um restaurador de automóveis conhecido que corria principalmente com carros da Aston Martin, um pequeno esportivo Cooper e a sua própria Maserati Type 61 Birdcage. Ganhou prestigio ao chegar em 2º lugar no GP de Riverside em 1960 com um estranho veículo com nome mais esquisito ainda, o Ol' Yaller Mk.II. Também entrou para a história ao ser o ultimo piloto a largar com uma Maserati 250F em uma etapa do Mundial de Formula 1.

Nasceu: 14 de dezembro de 1919 em São Francisco nos EUA.
Faleceu: 18 de abril de 1990 em Woodland Hills nos EUA aos 70 anos.

18/4/1942, Karl-Jochen Rindt nasce em Mainz, Alemanha.

Jochen Rindt despontou na elite do esporte ao derrotar figuras como Graham Hill,Jim Clark e Denny Hulme no London Trophy de Fórmula 2 em 1964 no circuito de Crystal Palace em Londres, o que lhe rendeu três anos de contrato com a equipe Cooper de fábrical na Fórmula 1. Mas essa associação não resultou em nenhuma vitória e então, em 1968, Jochen foi para a equipe Brabham-Repco. Mas de novo sua temporada lá foi marcada por problemas técnicos. Por causa disso, para 1969 se transferiu para a Lotus de Colin Chapman, efetivamente assumindo o manto do falecido Jim Clark. Rindt arrasou na sua primeira vitória num Grand Prix em Watkins Glen no fim de 1969, e em 1970 iniciou seu ataque à conquista do título com uma vitória dramática, na última curva da última volta em Mônaco. A partir daí, armado com a sensacional Lotus 72, venceu mais quatro GPs antes de morrer num terrível acidente nos treinos para o GP italiano em Monza, assim tornando-se o primeiro Campeão Mundial póstumo.

Nasceu: 18 de abril de 1942 em Mainz, Alemanha;
Faleceu: 5 de setembro de 1970 em Monza,Itália, aos 28.

Komende zondag zal Stoddart nog een laatste keer optreden als teambaas van Minardi Team USA voor de afscheidsrace van de Champ Cars in Long Beach. Stoddart verklaarde eerder dit jaar niet geïnteresseerd te zijn in een overstap naar de IndyCar Series. Zijn partner bij Minardi Team USA, Keith Wiggins, ging met HVM Racing wel door in de IndyCars.

Stoddart verkocht het Minardi Formule 1 team eind 2005 aan Red Bull eigenaar Dietrich Mateschitz. Het in Faenza gevestigde team gaat sinds die overname door het leven als Scuderia Toro Rosso. Sinds begin 2008 staat de renstal echter opnieuw te koop. Voor Stoddart een gelegenheid om zich opnieuw in de F1 in te kopen. Maar er zijn meerdere opties.

Vandaag kwam het bericht dat de toekomst van Super Aguri opnieuw zeer onzeker is geworden na het afspringen van de onderhandelingen met de Magma group uit Dubai. Het voortbestaan van Super Aguri lijkt af te hangen van de goodwill van Honda en het vinden van een nieuwe investeerder. Stoddart werd enkele maanden geleden al gelinkt aan Super Aguri.

Theoretisch is er ook nog een plaats voor een twaalfde Formule 1 team. Die plaats was normaal gereserveerd voor Prodrive. Maar David Richard riskeerde het niet om het seizoen 2008 aan te vatten met een McLaren klantenchassis en borg Prodrive's F1-plannen opnieuw op.

Meer opportuniteiten dan belemmeringen dus voor ondernemers als Paul Stoddart. Over belemmeringen gesproken: met Mosley-gate zou zelfs Stoddart's grootste vijand van het F1-toneel kunnen verdwijnen.

Desde o post sobre o primeiro carro de Formula 1 de cor laranja foram lembrados outras baratas que se apresentavam nesta cor. Por exemplo, as McLaren no final dos anos 60/início dos anos 70 (continuo achando que aquilo era cor abóbora), o Beta-March do Brambilla (lembrando que o Vittorio também pilotou um Surtees nessa cor) e a Arrows patrocinada pela Orange. Mas parece que esqueceram este aí de cima. Lembra do ano? Que carro é? Quem está ao volante? Onde foi tirada esta foto?

16/4/1988, morre Louis José Lucien Dolhem.

José Dolhem era meio-irmão de Didier Pironi e entrou na Fórmula 1 pela equipe Surtees após alguns resultados decentes na Fórmula 2 por três corridas em 1974, não conseguindo a classificação na Franca e Itália, retirando-se do GP dos Estados Unidos por ordens da equipe depois do acidente fatal do companheiro de time Helmut Koinigg. A carreira de Dolhem foi caracterizada por uma série de altos e baixos - ocupado em um ano, nem tanto no seguinte. Então em 1988, apenas oito meses após o acidente fatal de Pironi, Dolhem morreu quando o avião privado no qual viajava caiu perto de Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert, na região do Loire, na França.

Nasceu: 26 de abril de 1944 em Paris na França;
Faleceu: 16 de abril de 1988 em Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert na França aos 43 anos.

16/4/1918, Richard Gibson nasce em Bourne, Lincolnshire, Reino Unido.

Dick Gibson foi um daqueles iniciantes a participar de um Grande Prêmio pilotando um carro de Fórmula 2. No seu caso era um Cooper T43 de motor traseiro, com o qual ele disputou o GP da Alemanha em 1957 e 58. Em ambas as ocasiões ele abandonou com problemas mecânicos depois de poucas voltas. No início de 1959 ele voltou à África do Sul, vencendo em Natal, Cidade do Cabo e Pietermartzburgo o campeonato internacional sul-africano da RAC. Sua carreira chegou ao final após Gibson terminar em sétimo lugar o GP da África do Sul de 1960, quando ele sofreu um grave acidente que o deixou hospitalizado.

16/4/1979, Christijan Albers nasce em Eindhoven, Holanda.

Campeão da Fórmula 3 Alemã em 1999, Albers progrediu pela Fórmula 3000 em 2000 e no DTM alemão entre 2001 e 2004. Durante sua carreira no DTM Albers foi piloto de testes da Minardi e finalmente entrou para a equipe de F1 como piloto oficial em 2005 depois de testar pela Jordan e pela Walker na ChampCar. Sua primeira temporada foi sólida, mas com a compra da Minardi pela Red Bull, Albers mudou para a MF1 em 2006 e fez um trabalho decente. Teve o contrato renovado para 2007 pelo time que foi comprado pela companhia holandesa Spyker, mas foi demitido após ter causado um embaraçoso pit-stop no GP da França de 2007. Para 2008, Albers voltou a figurar no DTM.

Since I’ve published the post about the first and the last Formula 1car carrying an orange livery, the late sixties/early seventies McLaren-look, Brambilla’s Beta-March (mind you, Vittorio drove a Surtees, too…) and the Orange-sponsored Arrows have been pointed out as also-rans. However, nobody seems to remember this one above. Or do you? Which car is it? Who’s the driver? Where’s this shot been taken?

16/4/1988, Louis José Lucien Dolhem dies.

José Dolhem was Didier Pironi’s half-brother and entered Formula 1 with the Surtees team after half-decent results in Formula 2 for three Grand Prix in 1974 failing to qualify in France and Italy and withdrawing from the US Grand Prix on team orders after the fatal accident of team-mate Helmut Koinigg. Dolhem's career was characterized by a series of ups and downs, busy one year, not the next. Then in 1988, just eight month after Pironi's fatal accident, Dolhem was killed when the private plane in which he was flying, crashed near Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert in the Loire region of France.

Born: 26th of April 1944 in Paris, France;
Died: 16th of April 1988 in Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert, France, aged 43 years.

16/4/1918, Richard Gibson is born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, UK.

Dick Gibson was one of those starters to participate in a Grand Prix with a Formula 2 car. In his case it was a rear-engined Cooper T43 he entered at the German GP in 1957 and 1958. On both occasions he was sidelined with mechanical problems after only a couple of laps. Early in 1959 he went back to South Africa, taking wins at Natal, Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg to win the RAC South African International Championship. His career came to an end after finishing seventh in the 1960 South African Grand Prix, when he suffered a severe accident which left him hospitalized.

16/4/1979, Christijan Albers is born in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

From German Formula 3 champion in 1999 Albers progressed through Formula 3000 in 2000 and the German DTM series from 2001 to 2004. Throughout his DTM career Albers had been a regular test driver for the Minardi and finally joined the F1 team as a race driver in 2005 after tests with Jordan Grand Prix and the Walker Racing Champ Car team. His first season was a solid one but with Minardi being bought by Red Bull, Albers ended up switching to MF1 Racing in 2006 and did a decent job. He was initially retained in 2007 by which time the team had been taken over by the Dutch car company Spyker but was dropped after an embarrassing pit-lane plunder at the French GP. For 2008 he returned to the DTM frame.

Naquela época vivia na Alemanha e curtia, já que tive que encerrar a carreira de piloto, relatar sobre carros de rua e de competição que testava com freqüência para algumas revistas. Além dos test drives fui chamado também para escrever avaliações de pré-temporada sobre uma variedade de campeonatos. Já que o meu estilo parecia agradar, resolvi aproveitar os meus contatos e inventei entrevistar o Nelson Piquet – na época ainda um amigo – e o Ayrton Senna, ex-adversário na Formula Ford 2000. O Nelson tinha se recuperado mais ou menos da horrível acidente em Indianápolis, mas não falava nem à paulada com a imprensa. E o Ayrton estava em uma fase de descobrir o mundo dos negócios e tinha até lançado a sua empresa, promovendo a marca Senna.

Já que ninguém tinha como oferecer estas matérias foi moleza vendê-las para uma revista especializada alemã. Liguei então para a FIA em Paris e pedi informação sobre o procedimento de credenciamento. Conversei com uma moça bastante atenciosa, acho que o nome dela era Sally, e que me concedeu uma credencial de free lancer para um evento, mesmo com o prazo de pedido já vencido, mas que teria que enviar cópia do trabalho para eles em seguida. Beleza, fiz reserva do vôo pra São Paulo, fiz a mala e me mandei rumo a minha cidade natal. Com a ansiedade de estrear como jornalista de Formula 1 cheguei a Guarulhos cedinho na manhã da sexta-feira do GP. Peguei um táxi para o Hotel Transamérica, onde a FIA entrega as credenciais aos jornalistas até hoje. Só que não havia credencial alguma para mim. Pior: Ninguém se empenhava para descobrir por onde a minha credencial, oficialmente concedida ale do prazo. Não tinha como imaginar que este seria o primeiro golpe de muitos deste tipo que certo personagem da FIA aprontaria comigo dali pra frente. Mas essa eu conte em outra ocasião.

Lá estava eu no saguão do Transamérica, pensando no que fazer agora. Nisto encontro o Willy Weber, empresário do Schumi e que conhecia desde a época em que ele pilotava um Formula 3 com banco de couro (...), e o Harry Hawelka. Sobre este ultimo já relatei por aqui, era o nutricionista/fisioterapeuta da Benetton e se tornaria um grande amigo. Resolveram me dar carona até o circuito e que deveria resolver as coisas por lá. Havia um amigo do Michael acompanhando, então chegamos de carro lotado no portão do autódromo, onde todo mundo tinha que mostrar o passe da FIA. Os outros estava com os passes da Benetton e foram mostrando e eu... acabei mostrando o meu cartão de milhagem da empresa aérea. E quando o cara olhou mandei o Harry descer a bote e... tchum, tava dentro. Jeitinho brasileiro, sabe? Uma vez na área do paddock faltava o portão que dava acesso ao. Ali parava cada personagem conhecido, jornalistas, fotógrafos, membros de equipe e pedia para entregar uma notinha ao Martin Whitaker na sala de imprensa. A época o Martin era o assessor de imprensa da FIA nos GPs e F1 e quando a mesa dele se encheu daquelas notinhas minhas, resolveu descer ao portão para ver que raios estava acontecendo, quem seria este Mario Bauer.

Uma vez relatada a história ao Martin, ele foi pegar uma credencial de imprensa oficial da FIA e me entregou o passe sem rodeio. O Martin me salvaria a pele várias vezes durante a temporada, aplicando sensatez onda a FIA costumava demonstrar falta da mesma. Enfim, meu primeiro compromisso profissional começava ali e a primeira coisa que pesquisei foi a retirada oficial da equipe March de F1 do Mundial. A ex-equipe de Max Mosley tinha ainda embarcado para a etapa de abertura em Kyalami, mas faltaram os trocados para pagar os motores da Ilmor e, em conseqüência do suíço recusar levar calote, a equipe não teve outro jeito senão desistir. Depois da Brabham, da Pacific e da equipe espanhol Bravo, cujo projeto foi realizado pela Simtek de Nick Wirth, mas não foi adiante, a March tornou-se mais uma vítima da recessão da época.

As Williams-Renault de Alain Prost e Damon Hill pareciam – como na etapa anterior na África do Sul – imbatíveis e ocuparam devidamente a primeira fila com o francês marcando a pole. Atrás destes mísseis azul-amarelos e de motores V10 alinhavam as equipes sem-oficiais da Ford e seus V8s. Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Ford) e Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Ford) na segunda fila, Michael Andretti (McLaren-Ford) e Riccardo Patrese (Benetton-Ford) na terceira. Logo atrás JJ Lehto com a Sauber e Jean Alesi e sua Ferrari. O Outro Sauber de Karl Wendlinger e o Ligier de Mark Blundell na fila seguinte.

Senna largou muito bem e conseguiu passar por Hill na primeira freada, tentando não perder o contato com o Prost. Mais para trás o Andretti e o Berger se estranharam, os dois batem no muro e a McLaren sai voando por cima da Ferrari. Conheço dois fotógrafos alemães que comemoram esta data como segundo aniversário. Por sorte ninguém se feriu. Na ponta o Prost abre vantagem ao Senna que faz de tudo para manter o Hill atrás dele. Mas na 11ª volta não temos como resistir à superioridade da super-máquina, o FW15C. O tricampeão é obrigado a ceder ao piloto novato, agora ocupa a 3ª posição na frente de Schumacher. Pior: recebe uma penalidade de 10-segundos por ultrapassagem sob bandeira amarela e isto parece o fim das esperanças de Senna enquanto subir ao pódio.

Mas feito encomenda, um temporal desce em Interlagos, a começar pelo retão, e surpreende Aguri Suzuki e o compatriota Ukyo Katayama. Ambos perdem controle e batem no muro dos boxes. Senna parou para trocar pneus e só após disto veio receber a "multa". Enquanto isto os boxe já estavam em caos, e a Benetton de Schumacher cai do macaco atrasando o alemão. Christian Fittipaldi e o líder Alain Prost, prestes a colocar uma volta no brasileiro, ambos não entenderam as chamadas das suas equipes e Christian acabou rodando, parando de contramão após a elevação da freada da primeira curva. O francês é surpreendido tanto pela quantia de água na pista como pela Minardi que de repente surge no trajeto e acaba escorregando ao encontro do carro do brasileiro. Um momento histórico, pois pela primeira vez entre em ação o Safety Car – a versão F1 do carro madrinha - em um GP. Momento de confusão para os pilotos, pelo que parece, já que o Alesi passou vários carros atrás do carro madrinha. O que não pode, Jean!

A equipe Lotus foi a primeira a reagir assim que o sol voltou a brilhar e chamou o Johnny Herbert logo após a re-largada para trocar de volta aos pneus slick, mesma coisa para o Alex Zanardi. Senna no entretempo levantou a galera nas arquibancadas passando por Hill na freada da Ferradura ainda no molhado e o inglês parecia conformado em conquistar pelo menos o seu primeiro pódio. Estava de bom tamanho, afinal era somente a sua quarta corrida de F1. Alesi, advertido pelas maluquices atrás do carro madrinha, e Schumacher ambos passam pelos boxes para pagar as devidas penalidades com um stop-go cada. Mas o alemão ainda consegue arrancar mesmo assim no finalzinho o 3º lugar do Herbert que acabou em 4º à frente de Blundell e Zanardi.

A galera no autódromo nem prestava mais atenção a estes detalhes e fez o maior carnaval pra celebrar a 2ª vitória de Senna em casa com uma invasão de pista que parou a volta de honra do tricampeão. A McLaren também tinha motivos de sobra para celebrar. Foi a 100ª vitória da marca em GPs de Formula 1. Mas já na 2a-feira fui encontrar o Ayrton lá na rua Olávo Egídio, o prédio onde hoje continua o Instituto Ayrton Senna. Mesmo com pouco tempo disponível o Ayrton foi antecioso como sempre, assim como e toda a sua equipe. E como seus familiares vem me recebendo desde então. Do "amigo" Piquet não posso dizer a mesma coisa, mas isto conto numa outra.

Grande Prêmio do Brasil de Formula 1, São Paulo.

Pole Position: Alain Prost, Williams FW15C-Renault, 1m 15.866s, 205.230 km/h de média.

Resultado: Vencedor – Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4/8-Ford, 71 voltas x 4,325 km = 307.075 km distância total em 1h51m15.485s.

2) Damon Hill, Williams FW15C-Renault + 16.625s
3) Michael Schumacher, Benetton B193-Ford + 45.436s
4) Johnny Herbert, Lotus 107B-Ford + 46.557
5) Mark Blundell, Ligier JS37-Renault + 52.127
6) Alessando Zanardi, Lotus 107B-Ford + 1 lap

Melhor volta: Michael Schumacher, Benetton B193-Ford, 1m 20.024s na volta 61 = 194.567 km/h de média.

Destaques entre os pilotos:

- Ayrton Senna liderou um GP pela 80ª vez (novo recorde)

- Ayrton Senna liderou por 2723 voltas em GPs (novo recorde)

- Riccardo Patrese largou pela 243ª vez em um GP (novo recorde)

- Ayrton Senna vence pela 2ª e ultima vez em casa.

- Damon Hill conquista o 1º pódio em um GP.

Destaques entre as equipes, construtores e fornecedores:

- McLaren conquista a 100ª vitória em GPs

- Renault conquista a 75ª pole position como fabricante de motores

In those days I lived in Germany and having enjoyed writing for a couple of magazines, mainly testing road and race cars as well as season previews for all sorts of championships, I had made up my mind that my old pal Nelson Piquet and former Formula Ford 2000 grid mate Ayrton Senna would probably be happy to concede exclusive interviews. Nelson had smashed his feet in Indianapolis, mind you, and wasn’t talking to the media at all. And Ayrton went about to establish his businesses away from motor racing. Good stuff, I guessed.

Having already “sold” the story to a German sports publication, I checked with the FIA media accreditation bureau in Paris and a lovely lady, I think her name was Sally, would allow me to do my first work on a single race accreditation but commiting mytself to send them a copy afterwards. Deal done, I booked a flight to São Paulo and on my way I was to my debut as a Formula 1 journalist. Arriving in Guarulhos International Airport early Friday morning I took a taxi to the Transamérica Hotel, where the FIA runs the accreditation center for decades now, only to find out that no-one knew anything about my media pass. And no-one seemed interested to check what had gone wrong. Turns out it was only the beginning of my hardships with the FIA media office. But I’ll tell you more about that one some other day.

While I was contemplating what to do now, I bumped into Willy Weber and Harry Hawelka, Schuey’s manager and Benetton's health guru. They gave me and another friend of Michael’s a lift to the race track and once we arrived at the gate you were supposed to show your FIA pass. The other three guys showed the correct passes, I held up the Air Miles card of the carrier I flew in with... and it worked! Once I was at the outer paddock aerea I stopped each and every single person I knew, journalists, photographers, team members at the gate. Each delivered a little note at Martin Whitaker’s desk in the media center. At the time Martin was FIA’s on-site Media Officer and once he got flooded badly enough with those little stick-on memos, he came down to the gate to find out who the hell Mario Bauer was.

It didn’t take long for Martin to come back with an FIA media pass, apparently forfeited by another journalist, and handed it out without much ceremony. Martin would become my guardian angel throughout the year, applying common sense whenever the FIA seemed to lack any of it. Anyway, my first professional commitment in Formula 1 had begun and the first thing I learnt was that the March F1 team was now definitely out of business. They had made it to the opening round in Kyalami, but were somewhat short of money to pay for the Ilmor engines and as a consequence they withdrew from the World Championship. After Brabham, Pacific and Bravo, March became the latest victim of the recession.

The Williams-Renaults of Alain Prost and Damon Hill seemed – as in the opening round in South Africa - unbeatable and duly filled the front row with the Frenchman on pole. Behind the two V10 powered blue-yellow missiles were the fastest Ford V8s, Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Ford) and Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Ford) in row two, Michael Andretti (McLaren-Ford) and Riccardo Patrese (Benetton-Ford). JJ Lehto's Sauber, Jean Alesi's Ferrari, Karl Wendlinger's Sauber and Mark Blundell's Ligier-Renault lined up behind those.

Senna got away with a perfect start, squeezed past Hill into the first corner and tried to keep up with Prost. Further back Andretti and Berger collided, both crashing into the outer wall with the McLaren flying over the Ferrari. Prost was opening up a gap and Senna was doing his best to keep Hill behind. On lap 11 the Brazilian had to give way and was now third ahead of Schumacher. But a 10-second stop-go penalty for overtaking under yellow flags seemed to be the end of all of Senna’s hopes.

But then a massive downpour flooded the main straight and a surprised Aguri Suzuki and fellow countryman Ukyo Katayama both lost control of their cars crashing into the pit wall. Senna came in to switch to rain tires and only after that he stopped for his penalty. Chaos broke out in the pits, Schumacher’s car fell off its jack. Back marker Christian Fittipaldi and leader Alain Prost, about to lap the young Brazilian, both didn’t hear their crews’ call to come in and so first Christian spun over the brow of the first corner and then a surprised Alain slid helplessly into the stalled Minardi. A historic moment, as the new F1 Safety Car was sent out for the first time ever. A confusing moment, too, as Alesi overtook a number of cars behind the SC. Which is not allowed, Jean!

The Team Lotus was spot on to bring in Johnny Herbert very soon after the re-start in order to switch back to slicks, same for Alex Zanardi. Senna meanwhile had the public roaring as he went into the lead past Hill under braking into Ferradura on the still wet track and the Brit, on his way to his first ever podium, seemed content with what seemed within reach for him in his only fourth Formula 1 Grand Prix. Alesi, penalized for his antics behind the Safety Car, and Schumacher were summoned to the pits for stop-go penalties but the German still grabbed 3rd place away from Herbert who finished 4th ahead of Blundell and Zanardi.

That didn’t matter much to the Brazilian fans as carnival broke out on the grandstands and a massive track invasion meant the post race party began right there on the back stretch as Ayrton scores yet another home win and McLaren's 100th GP victory.

1993 Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix, São Paulo.

Pole Position: Alain Prost, Williams FW15C-Renault, 1m 15.866s, 205.230 km/h (127.551 mph) average.

Race Result: Winner – Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4/8-Ford, 71 laps x 4,325 km (2.688 miles) = 307.075 km (190.848 miles) total race distance in 1h51m15.485s.

2) Damon Hill, Williams FW15C-Renault + 16.625s
3) Michael Schumacher, Benetton B193-Ford + 45.436s
4) Johnny Herbert, Lotus 107B-Ford + 46.557
5) Mark Blundell, Ligier JS37-Renault + 52.127
6) Alessando Zanardi, Lotus 107B-Ford + 1 lap

Fastest Lap: Michael Schumacher, Benetton B193-Ford, 1m 20.024s in lap 61 = 194.567 km/h (120.924 mph) average.

Milestones among drivers:

- Ayrton Senna led a Grand Prix for the 80th time (new record)

- Ayrton Senna has led 2723 laps in a Grands Prix (new record)

- Riccardo Patrese started into his 243rd Grand Prix (new record)

- Ayrton Senna’s second and last Grand Prix win on home soil.

- Damon Hill’s first podium finish at a Grand Prix.

Milestones among teams constructors and suppliers:

- McLaren’s 100th F1 Grand Prix Win

- Renault's 75th Pole Position as engine manufacturer