It's already May and still no visibility of a Formula 1 race yet. Speculations of a shortened season running around in media and not being concrete, Formula 1's 71st season is still a doubtful starter. 2020 is a year to remember as Corona-virus has brought mass destruction's to the world economy impacting almost everyone's lives including the sports fraternity. Fortunately lock down has made everyone confined to their homes to spend more valuable time with their family. With ample time available, I have been organizing my stamps collection to albums which are otherwise scattered across everywhere. I have been particularly searching for 3 sets of Austrian stamps related to Formula 1 which I haven't seen for a while. Being able to find it finally, these 3 sets of Formula 1 Legend Series gave some motivation to continue this blog after a longtime.
Austrian post started Formula 1 Legends series in 2006, a special issue of commemorative stamps on the legends of Formula 1. First issue labeled as "Formula 1 Legends" has a set of 8 stamps featuring some of the finest drivers across continents.
Jim Clark : A Scottish by birth and a loyal Lotus driver, Clark have won 2 World Championship seasons 1963 & 1965. He also participated in other motorsports events such as sports cars series including touring cars and Indianapolis. He is also the first European to win the Indianapolis 500. Clark holds a distinct record ( called as grand slam ) of being in pole, winning the race along with fastest lap and also leading every lap in 8 Grand Prix races. Only Lewis Hamilton comes next with 6 races of this unique record. Clark was active in Formula 1 for 9 years from 1960 to 1968. He died in a tragic race accident while participating in Formula Two event in Hockenheim, West Germany. At the time of his death he had won more Grand Prix races (25) and achieved more Grand Prix pole positions (33) than any other driver.
Bruce McLaren : Mclaren is the founder of one of the greatest Formula 1 team McLaren, which has won a record 12 constructor championships which is only second to Ferrari. Born in Auckland, New Zealand McLaren moved to Europe in 1958 and started his Formula 1 career with the Cooper racing team. He was also involved in other motorsports events such as the 12 Hours of Sebring, Can-AM, Indianapolis 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans. He along with Eddie Ervine shares a unique record of most wins (4) without a pole position. At the first victory he was only 22 years old and for a long time he was the youngest winner in Formula 1 history. He was killed in 1970 while testing his McLaren M8D racing car at Goodwood Circuit in England.
Sir Stirling Moss : Being described as "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship", Moss has won 16 races in his career of 67 races spanning across 1951 to 1961. He holds a unique record of wins with most different constructors (5) Mercedes, Maserati, Vanwall, Cooper, Lotus. He shares the record of most World Championship seasons as runner-up (4) along with French driver Alain Prost. He was also involved in Mille Miglia road race, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring, 12 Hours of Reims and Rallye de Monte Carlo. In 1963, he retired from racing after a serious accident. In 2000, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to motor racing.
Sir Jack Brabham : Brabham was an Australian driver who has won 3 Formula 1 Championship titles during the seasons 1959, 1960, and 1966. Sir Jack Brabham is the first driver in history to be ennobled by Queen Elizabeth II for his motorsport achievements. He has participated in 128 races, winning 14 races with 31 podium finishes. He also competed in Tasman Series, World Sportscar Championship, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indy 500 and Bathurst 1000 sporting events. He is the only Formula 1 driver to have won a world championship title (1966) in a car he has designed.
Jacky Ickx : A Belgian by birth, he moved from motorcycle racing to Formula 1 racing in 1967 starting his career with Cooper racing team. He was one of the youngest drivers in Grand Prix history to make his first victory at the age of 23. Jacky Ickx contested in 112 Grand Prix races, wining eight times and twice he was runner-up. He was the first youngest pole-sitter achieving the first pole position in 1968 German Grand Prix. He was also involved in 24 hours of Le Mans with 6 victories. He won Paris-Dakar rally in 1983 for Mercedes and finishing second twice for the teams Porchse (1986) and Peugeot (1989).
Sir Jackie Stewart : Fondly called as "Flying Scot", he had a illustrious career in Formula 1 competing 100 races. He could be probably the first driver in Formula 1 history to contest in 100 races and achieved this feat in 1973 season. In the eight years of his Formula 1 career, he celebrated 27 victories in 99 races and became world champion three times. In 2001 Jackie Stewart was elevated to the nobility by the Queen of England. He also participated in Tasman, 24 Hours of Le Mans and Indianapolis 500 series.
Mario Andretti : Andretti owns the rare feat of winning all the major racing championships such as Formula 1 World Championship (1978) , Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967). In his career of 131 races he has won 12 races with 19 podium positions. His first Formula 1 World Championship came almost after 10 years of his entry (1968) in Formula 1. He is also the last American to win a Formula 1 race, 1978 Dutch Grand Prix. He was almost involved in all types of motorsports such as 12 hours of Sebring, 1000 km of Brands Hatch, 1000 km of Monza, 6 Hours of Daytona, Watkins Glenn etc. After retiring from Formula 1, he worked as a professional racer in various racing classes until 1994.
Alain Prost : He was one of the successful race drivers in the history of Formula 1. He was world champion four times with 199 starts from 202 races and won 51 races during his 13 seasons of Formula 1 career. He was the owner the of the Formula 1 racing team Prost until 2002. He holds the record for most number of pit stops (7) in a race, 1993 European Grand Prix. In 1984 season he lost the Championship to Niki Lauda with a margin of 0.5 points which is the fewest points between first and second in the history of World Championship.
No comments:
Post a Comment