Austria , Formula One Legends Series - 3

When it comes to collecting Formula One themed stamps , Austria would be my first choice. Austria post in the recent years from 2007 to 2009 have issued a series of stamps on "Formula One Legends". 2009 series had a set of 4 stamps which features the portraits of Wolfgang von Trips, Gilles Villeneuve, James Hunt &  Bernie Ecclestone.

Wolfgang von Trips was a German racing driver.  He started his Formula One career in 1956 and his career spanned till 1961. In 1961 he died in a fatal accident during the Italian Grand Prix race.

Gilles Villeneuve was a Canadian racing driver. He also had a tragic end to his life during the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix.

James Hunt was an English racing driver from 1973 to 1979. He won the Formula One Championship in 1976.

In the racing world , Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One are synonymous. Often controversial he is the man behind the Formula One. He is commonly called as "F1 Supremo" and he literally controls the Formula One through his authority as well as through his companies.

South African Grand Prix

Not many countries in the African continent has hosted the Formula One Grand prix races when compared to other continents. There could be many reasons such as popularity , facilities , economic conditions and more importantly Bernie Ecclestone's blessings. Morocco and South Africa are the only two countries that has hosted Formula One Grand prix races. The last Formula One Grand prix held in the African continent was in South Africa in 1993 at the Kyalami Circuit. South Africa has hosted 22 Formula One Grand prix races starting from 1962 till 1993. Between this period around 8 years there were no races due to war , apartheid.

In 1992 South African post issued stamps on Motor Sports and one of the stamp luckily is on Formula One. The stamp features the image of Formula One cars racing around the track.

As Formula One goes to new places every year especially to Asia , Europe the possibility of having another race in the African continent might be a distant reality.

70th Monaco Grand Prix Race

Yet again another blog post on a Monaco stamp , remember the previous blog post is also on a Monaco stamp,  but the difference is ,  this one is new and it smells fresh. Yes , my search for a new stamp for the year 2012 related to Formula One yielded a result finally. Monaco post issued a commemorative stamp to celebrate the 70th Monaco Grand prix race. 

It is officially not the 70th Formula One Monaco Grand prix but Monaco Grand prix has been on the Formula One calender regularly from 1950 except few years due to world wars. The first Monaco Grand prix started in the year 1929 and it was inaugurated by Prince Pierre. All the credit goes to Anthony Noghes who was the founder of the Monaco Grand Prix. The 2012 Formula One Monaco Grand prix race marks the 70th race which is definitely a huge milestone considering the current economic conditions prevailing in Europe where country in the Europe is struggling with the economic crisis.