Austria, Formula 1 Legends Series - 2

The second issue in the Austria post "Formula One Legends series" was released in 2007. Yet again it featured another 8 finest drivers from the Formula 1 history.

Philip Hill was the only American born Formula 1 world Champion who won the prestigious event in 1961. Even though he raced with many teams during his 8 year Formula 1 career, his 1961 Championship was with the team Ferrari. He holds the record for winning the Formula 1 Championship with fewest career points (98). He and another 6 drivers share the record for fewest World Championship seasons (4) before their first title. He and Mike Hawthorn won their respective Championships with fewest career wins (3). He was also the first American to win the Le Mans 24 Hours. He along with Olivier Gendebien won the race thrice 1958, 1961 and 1962. He also participated in other motor sports including the Tasman Series, 12 Hours of Sebring and Targa Florio.

Clay Regazzoni was a Swiss racing driver who started the racing career with Formula 3 then gradually moving to Formula 2 and then in 1970 finally debuted in Formula 1 racing. He had a very tight season in 1974 almost winning the Championship, but finally settled for second place in the Championship title. He is fondly remembered as the mustached charmer from Switzerland who had two 3 years stints at Ferrari (1970 – 1972 and 1974 – 1976), and scoring Williams's maiden GP victory which are the highlights of his 10-year Formula 1 career. After a driving accident in 1977, his Formula 1 career came to an end but still participated in other motor sports events such as Dakar Rally, 12 Hours of Sebring. On 15 December 2006, Regazzoni was killed when the Chrysler Voyager he was driving hit the rear of a lorry on the Italian A1 motorway, near Parma. Regazzoni will be remembered ever for his unique and charismatic character.

An Austrian by birth Gerhard Berger was a Formula 1 racing driver and also Austria's record holder with his 210 starts in Formula 1. In his 14 years of Formula 1 career he had 48 podiums, including 10 victories but never won a world championship tile. His best finish in Formula history was 3rd twice in the 1988 and 1994 seasons with team Scuderia Ferrari. Post his racing career, he took up administration roles, the latest being chairman of ITR, the promoter of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters ( DTM ) from 2017. Due to his Senna connection, he played an advisory role to Bruno Senna, Ayrton's nephew, who made his Formula 1 debut in 2010 world Championship. In 2019 marking the 25th death anniversary of Senna, he said "Had he been alive, I don’t think anyone other than Ayrton would have won the championship for the next five years."

Juan Manuel Fangio is regarded as one of the Greatest race drivers in the history of Formula 1. He was the first racing driver to win 5 Championship titles the record which was not broken for 43 years. The German Michael Schumacher was the first to beat his five Formula 1 world championship titles. In 51 Grand Prix starts, Fangio won 24 times, with a success rate of 46.15% that has never been achieved before. He holds the record for the highest percentage (55.77%) of pole positions, 29 pole positions from 52 races. His record of 4 drivers' Championships with most constructors - Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes, Ferrari stands unbeaten for 70 years. Fangio's 1957 Championship victory is a record for the oldest driver to win a Championship title. He was also the oldest driver to set a fastest lap at the age of 46 in his last 1958 season. His 8 years of Formula 1 career is a testimony for his Greatness in the history of Formula 1.

John Surtees was a British racing driver who was the only racing driver to win seven motorcycle world Championships and one Formula 1 world Championship (1964). He started his Formula 1 career in 1960 with Team Lotus straightaway coming from his illustrious Motorcycle racing career. He also worked as a designer and racing team owner. He started his own race team, the Surtees Racing Organisation, and spent nine seasons competing in Formula 5000, Formula 2 and Formula 1 as a constructor. He was honored with titles such as the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to motorsport. In 1996, Surtees was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Mika Häkkinen, nicknamed "The Flying Finn" was a Finnish Formula 1 racing driver. He won 2 Championship titles during the seasons 1998 and 1999 with McLaren racing team. He will be remembered for his fiercely fought rivalry in many races with Michael Schumacher. His rivalry with Schumacher actually dates back to the Formula 3 days, where they had an infamous last-lap collision which made Schumacher as the Champion. Häkkinen started his career with Lotus Racing Team and after 2 seasons he moved to McLaren where in the first season he finished 4th in the 1993 Championship. He also participated in DTM events for 3 seasons from 2005 with the best finish of 5th. His favorite rival Michael Schumacher once complemented that he gained most satisfaction in racing against him. Häkkinen was awarded the Autosport International Racing Driver Award for 2 consecutive years 1998 and 1999. 

Graham Hill was a British racing driver who won the Formula 1 World Championship title twice in his 18 years of Formula 1 racing career. He was the only racing driver to win the Triple Crown of motorsport, such as the "500 miles from Indianapolis" (1966), the "24 Hours of Le Mans" (1972) and world championship in Formula 1 (1962 and 1968). Hill and his son Damon Hill were the first father and son pair to win Formula 1 World Championships. He also tried his hand in Tasman Series and USAC Championship Car events. Hill died on 29 November 1975 in an air-crash after returning from a car testing session. Silverstone village which hosts the British Grand Prix races named a road to honor this legend for the accomplishment in his racing career.

Emerson Fittipaldi was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula 1 World Championship twice in 1972 and 1974 with the Ford Cosworth racing team. Being inspired by the 1949 Italian Mille Miglia, he had a passion for motorsports which paved the way for his career in Formula 1. He was the youngest champion winning the 1972 title at the age of 25, the record which was never beaten for 33 years. He also participated in the Indy 500 winning twice with the Penske racing team. He helped his team colleague Jochen Rindt win posthumously the world championship in 1970. Post Formula 1, he went to CART and associated with the event for 13 seasons and winning the 1989 title.

Austria, Formula 1 Legends Series - 1

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.