WEBVTT

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They call it the jewel in the crown of the Formula

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One calendar. And they're right. There's nowhere

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else like it. No circuit more glamorous, no backdrop

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more iconic. But don't let the luxury fool you.

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This place can be brutal. Narrow streets mean

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zero margin for error. One lapse in focus and

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you're in the wall. Or worse, in the harbour.

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It's as tough on the cars as it is on the drivers'

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minds. And the pressure? It all comes down to

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Saturday. Nail qualifying and your name might

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just end up etched into history. But it's not

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always a procession. Sometimes Monaco delivers

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magic. From anonymous first winners to the rise

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of future champions. And wars of attrition where

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simply getting your car to the finish can mean

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triumph. Sure, the cars hate it. But the drivers,

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they love it. Because winning here, it means

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more. This can make a career. This can forge

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a legend. This... is the Sporting Almanac Podcast.

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afternoon ben hello jack how are you today yeah

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yeah i'm good mate great fa cup final can i just

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say yes lived up to the expectations Yeah, I

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mean, the FA Cup is magic. The FA Cup is a unique

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sort of magic. And after the fact, it's always

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easy to point to and say, oh, it always felt

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like that was going to happen. Oh, the magic

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of the Cup or whatever. But it just always delivers.

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And for those who don't know, Crystal Palace

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beat Manchester City. It was the first ever trophy.

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They qualified for Europe for the first time.

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Massive achievement. Obviously the underdogs

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on the day. Lovely stuff. Yeah, very good. But

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let's not dwell. Let's get to the heat of the

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action for this week. We're in Monaco. We are

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in Monaco, and I'm very excited by that. Though

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there may be two or three mentions of the Indy

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500 as well, which is taking place on the same

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day as it usually does in Indianapolis. Between

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that, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the 24 Hours

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of Le Mans, which is in a few weeks' time we're

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going to be doing a full episode on, they make

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up the triple crown of motorsport. So there might

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be a few mentions of the Indianapolis 500 as

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well today. Just maybe one or two. It's fair

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to say, isn't it, that you and I have a love

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-hate relationship with the sport of Formula

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One. Not always the most successful and not always

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the slickest of run sports either, Formula One.

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No, that's true. Often influenced by politics,

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often influenced by off -track issues, which

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you perhaps, you know... get exposure to in more

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diluted uh ways in other sports whereas in formula

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one it seems to be very in your face yeah very

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entrenched with the way in which the sport is

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governed the way the sport is run so formula

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one is a sport that um if you fall in love with

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it too hard it's very easy to then fall out of

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love with it when things go against your sporting

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expectations shall we say And 2021 was a good

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example of that for me particularly, because

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for those of you who haven't realised yet, I'm

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a big fan of rules and regulations and sticking

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to them. And we won't go into details on 2021

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today. It's one of the great sporting injustices

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and it was manipulated with abandon and utter

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disregard for the rules in a way that was unprecedented

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and will probably never be seen again. Yeah,

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so COVID. 2020 COVID was a hard time for everyone

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of course it was and one of the things that really

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helped get me through it was a couple of sports

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particularly that I fell in love with I was already

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in love with but I fell in love even harder with

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them and one of them was Formula One that coming

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back that season going on and the other one was

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the NFL as well with that going on and 2021 having

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had obviously it was probably the greatest season

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of Formula One in my lifetime 2021 up there with

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2008 2009 2010 all cracking seasons and some

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others but that was a brilliant season and for

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it to end the way it did burst my bubble as i

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said i fell in love so hard with it it was a

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long way down from there and i guess that leads

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us on to sort of the burning question because

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monaco is a sport well not sport an event rather

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that encapsulates perhaps some of the um paradoxical

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yeah the paradoxical aspects of like formula

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one um very neatly uh and i think i think you

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had posed the question to me prior to this jack

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is it even good it's a simple question is is

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monaco even a good event if you were shortening

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the formula one calendar would you put it in

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an eight race season would you put it in a race

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season for example at what point do you bring

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Monaco in given that the vast majority of races

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there are very processional very much if you

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qualify on the front row certainly first on the

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grid on Saturday you are more than likely going

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to win on the Sunday especially in modern cars

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in the past Monaco used to be a war of attrition

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the amount of gear changes you go through obviously

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affects your gearbox the suspension is badly

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affected by the hills and the camber obviously

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your brakes because you're braking a lot during

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the race and old formula one cars used to be

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very unreliable and obviously the concentration

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levels required for the drivers there is no room

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for error if you brake late if you lock up you're

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probably going into a barrier so it used to be

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the case that you would get someone qualifying

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lower down the grid finishing near the front

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because people would retire people would crash

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out but in modern formula one with the cars being

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as wide as they are as big as they are and as

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reliable as they are Yeah, there's been Monaco

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Grand Prix's, there's been two Monaco Grand Prix's,

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2003 and 2021, where there's not been a single

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overtake during the entire race. And that's only

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ever happened five times in Formula One history.

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Two of those were farcical races, 2005 US Grand

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Prix, where only six drivers started. In Indianapolis,

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ironically. In Indianapolis, yeah. And Spa 2021,

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which was farcical, where it's just a procession

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round behind the safety car. And the other one

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was Sochi 2017. And that's the only time this

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happened, twice at Monaco. And Monaco doesn't

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have the excuse of things influencing the race

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to cause that. You've just described circumstances

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in which the weather was so poor that there was

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a procession around with a safety car, or there

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was a farce with the tyres, as was the case in

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Indianapolis. Whereas Monaco was an authentic

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race distance event that just did not allow for

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overtaking. And yeah, I think you've summed it

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up perfectly, mate. The only thing I would add

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is the sport is so professional, as is the case

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with most sports now, that the standards required

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in order to even get into Formula 1 are so high

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that the guys are so talented and so damn good,

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even the ones that you would question are not

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even necessarily there on pure merit, that when

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you combine that with such sophisticated machinery,

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the likelihood of them binning it... in a way

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that made Monaco so attractive in the past, with

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it being so narrow, with no runoff areas, with

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just limited room for error, that's all been

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negated now. And so what you effectively have

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is a series of talented dudes driving around

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in very, very sophisticated machinery, not making

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mistakes, and it doesn't always make for a great

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spectacle. It's very intriguing nonetheless,

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if you are aware of that context and the skill

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that's still involved and the engineering that

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goes into it. You can still admire it, but...

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It's not a good spectacle, necessarily. If the

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Monaco Grand Prix didn't exist nowadays and someone

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proposed it, they would get laughed out of the

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room immediately. It's just not a practical place

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to drive Formula One cars around. It's not a

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practical place to drive Formula One cars around

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in the 1960s when the cars were half as wide

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as they are now. All the cars now are 50 % wider

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than they used to be, so half again, the whiff

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on top. It's a race that really only exists because

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of its history. But it is a brilliant history.

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And every so often, it throws up a magnificent

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race that just makes you realize, my words, maybe

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this is a place where you can race Formula 1

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cars. Like, incredible races. Some of the greatest

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races in Formula 1 history have been there. Yeah,

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exactly. And I think, yeah, I mean, the succinct

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answer is, is it good? I think we come down on

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yes. It is good. I think you've got a perfect

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summary, mate. You've got a one -line summary

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of it. Do you want to just say what you said

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to me? Because I think it's spot on and then

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we can delve into the event itself. It's a paradox.

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It's deeply flawed, yet it's emotionally irresistible.

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Yeah, I think that's nice. I think that's so

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well put. And with that in mind, like, allow

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us, indulge us whilst we try and explain to you

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why, despite all the shortcomings that we've

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just summarized existing, it is nonetheless good

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and worthy of its place on the sporting calendar.

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Well, its history is incredible. Its history

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is so deep. so linked to Formula 1. There's good

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things and there's bad things. Obviously, you've

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got the opulence, you've got the wealth, you've

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got flaunting of wealth, the yachts by the side

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of the bay, the champagne being popped left,

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right and centre, $20 ,000 hotel rooms throughout

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the weekend. It's not accessible for the common

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man. But yet, the sporting history alone is incredible.

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You can take that, put all that to one side and

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just talk about the heroes that have driven there

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and the fact that it does separate, the cream

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rises to the top, it separates the... the rookies

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from the heroes of the sport because the margins

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are so fine and the amount of bravery and the

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amount of control and the amount of discipline,

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mental concentration you need to win there is

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so vast and it is notable that the drivers that

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have won it multiple times are the gods of the

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sport. I mean, like, the ones particularly, and

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we'll probably indulge in some of these stories,

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but, like, in the 70s, the 60s, the 70s, the

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50s, 60s, 70s, probably, actually, it's probably

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the golden era where it was a super dangerous

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sport. Incredibly dangerous. And, as you say,

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like, some of the greats really came out of that

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period of time, ones that have gone down in folklore.

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But, yeah, I mean, having said all of that, and

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we've given it a big, that's a big intro, but

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having said all of that, you know, it's... Its

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origins are not as glamorous as it is now, and

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it's a fairly average origin story, so to speak.

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It's so mundane. To think of where it is now,

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to think of the glitz and the glamour and everything

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connected to it, it basically came about because,

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this is in the years before Formula One, this

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is in the late 1920s, there was the Automobile

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Club de Monaco. who were most famous for organizing

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the Monte Carlo Rally. The Monte Carlo Rally

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went all around Europe. It just finished in Monaco.

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So it was obviously not contained entirely within

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the principality. At that time, the ACM, Automobile

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Club de Monaco, applied to the AIACR, the Association

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Internationale d 'Automobile Club Reconus. Rolls

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off the top. Call it the FIA. It became the FIA

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after the war. But what is now the... uh federation

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international automobile and the fia as in the

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governing body of all of all motorsport um so

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the the acm applied to them for full international

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recognition but were rejected because monaco

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had no race that took part in its own soil so

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in order to be accepted uh anthony knows she

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was the president of the acm just basically saw

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the solution which was creating a grand prix

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within the city itself which again not quite

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as bonkers as it would seem today but It is not

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a place that you would naturally think to race

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motorcars around. Nevertheless, we're backing

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from Prince Louis II, the ruling prince of Monaco.

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A course was designed around the hills and the

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city streets, and the first Monaco Grand Prix

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was held as a result of that in 1929. All that

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just because the ACM wanted to be recognised

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as an international body, just like the Automobile

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Club of Britain of France. That's all it came

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down to. There is a lovely symbiosis to this

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all still, which is... Politics were at play

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from the off. Always. And I think that, you know,

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you just summarized it nicely, which is just,

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it was rich people wanting a playground of their

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own, having to jump through some administrative

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bureaucracy in order to get their fun. Yeah.

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And it led to one of the most iconic racing events

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in history. Probably the most iconic, I would

00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:34.460
say. Le Mans or Monaco. Yeah, yeah, yeah. One

00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:37.639
or the other. Yeah, just very quickly on Monaco

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as well, because you mentioned it. Most people

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probably obviously heard of Monaco. I don't know

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how many people have been, because it is very

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rich, and it's not the most accessible, I think.

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Nice is probably the nearest biggest town or

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city in France. You can get there on the train

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fairly easily. You can obviously fly into Monaco,

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but I don't know if it's got its own airport.

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I think it's just outside. I think most people

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fly into Nice and then get the train to Monaco,

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unless your first name is Sheikh. You probably

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can't afford to get in any other way. It's tiny.

00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:13.639
It's hilly. It's in a mountainous region. It's

00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.889
pretty. Yes, very pretty. It's southwest. um

00:14:16.889 --> 00:14:21.110
sorry southeast france uh not too far from the

00:14:21.110 --> 00:14:24.769
italian border and um on the mediterranean with

00:14:24.769 --> 00:14:28.909
a big harbor very very narrow streets undulating

00:14:28.909 --> 00:14:34.070
um topography yeah like not the place you would

00:14:34.070 --> 00:14:36.929
set up a grand prix no you and i went there once

00:14:36.929 --> 00:14:38.990
when we were poor students we did we couldn't

00:14:38.990 --> 00:14:41.090
even afford an ice cream we just went there and

00:14:41.090 --> 00:14:43.490
basically walked a lap of the Grand Prix circuit,

00:14:43.610 --> 00:14:45.049
because, of course, what else do you do when

00:14:45.049 --> 00:14:47.269
you're poor students in Monaco? Yeah, exactly.

00:14:48.149 --> 00:14:50.970
Nice to have gone, though. Well, before we get

00:14:50.970 --> 00:14:53.450
into the Grand Prixs proper, is it worth, therefore,

00:14:53.649 --> 00:14:57.649
just going, explaining a bit about the circuit

00:14:57.649 --> 00:14:59.309
itself, then, since we've just said we've been

00:14:59.309 --> 00:15:05.590
there? Yeah. It's not changed, so... Well, it's

00:15:05.590 --> 00:15:07.370
changed a little bit, but barely changed. I mean,

00:15:07.389 --> 00:15:09.009
the most significant thing that's changed since

00:15:09.009 --> 00:15:11.070
the early days is they now actually put barriers

00:15:11.070 --> 00:15:13.870
down. Whereas before, if you missed a turn, if

00:15:13.870 --> 00:15:15.950
you missed some of the turns, you were in the

00:15:15.950 --> 00:15:18.509
drink, you were in the harbour, which did happen

00:15:18.509 --> 00:15:21.850
a couple of times. Or someone's house. Or someone's

00:15:21.850 --> 00:15:25.190
house, yeah. I mean, if you look at old videos

00:15:25.190 --> 00:15:27.049
of it, or some people have done mock -ups on

00:15:27.049 --> 00:15:29.450
racing simulators of how it used to be, it is

00:15:29.450 --> 00:15:31.750
terrifying. I don't believe people used to drive

00:15:31.750 --> 00:15:33.929
around there. It's bad enough now with the barriers.

00:15:34.009 --> 00:15:36.690
Without the barriers, my word, these men were

00:15:36.690 --> 00:15:39.629
brave. If you play it on a simulation game, I

00:15:39.629 --> 00:15:42.210
know this is completely absurd because it's clearly

00:15:42.210 --> 00:15:44.570
never going to be as good. It's still so hard.

00:15:45.190 --> 00:15:48.409
Yeah. Like, really hard to play on the computer.

00:15:49.190 --> 00:15:52.509
I remember the old Formula One, I think Formula

00:15:52.509 --> 00:15:54.629
One 97 I used to play quite a lot when I was

00:15:54.629 --> 00:15:57.350
a kid, so I'd been like 10 years old, and I just

00:15:57.350 --> 00:16:01.059
used to skip it. I'd start seasons and I'd just

00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:04.279
skip Monaco. Same, DNF it. Just crash out. Just

00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:07.059
DNF it, yeah, exactly. What's the point? I'm

00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:09.700
not as good as some of these drivers, to be fair.

00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:14.320
Well, yeah, that is probably the key element.

00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:18.240
We'll take you around the circuit itself anyway.

00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:23.340
So it's just over two miles long, 3 .337 kilometres.

00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:27.200
So just over two miles. Features 19 turns, incredibly

00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:30.120
tight confines. It was described by Nelson Piquet

00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:32.440
as like cycling through your living room, which

00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:35.059
I think is a really good description. How dangerous

00:16:35.059 --> 00:16:39.120
it feels. There's been 81 editions so far. It'll

00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:42.019
be the 82nd this weekend. Obviously it's glamorous.

00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:45.639
Obviously it's dangerous. Or difficult, I'd say.

00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:47.960
Relatively speaking, not that dangerous compared

00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:50.720
to other circuits in terms of driver injuries

00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:56.639
and death. But still. one moment of poor concentration

00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:58.960
and you were in the wall and it happens a lot

00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:01.299
to the best. Literally, I've got a couple of

00:17:01.299 --> 00:17:03.840
stories where just casually mentioned, oh, and

00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:06.160
Alan Cross went into the wall and oh, Ayrton

00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:08.480
Senna went into the wall. It's just, it happens

00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:12.380
to the best. Yeah. Very difficult. It's an unforgiving

00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:14.500
place. It's like one error and you're out. Effectively,

00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:19.019
there are no... Exactly. Yeah. But yeah. Yeah,

00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:21.460
it can be a procession, but add a little bit

00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:24.829
of weather or... a bit of someone being out of

00:17:24.829 --> 00:17:27.210
position on the grid, and it can become one of

00:17:27.210 --> 00:17:29.769
the greatest racetracks in the world. There's

00:17:29.769 --> 00:17:32.309
been some incredible races there. But the drivers,

00:17:32.430 --> 00:17:34.410
generally speaking, they love it. They speak

00:17:34.410 --> 00:17:37.150
so highly of it. They love the attention to detail

00:17:37.150 --> 00:17:38.990
it needs, the concentration and skill that's

00:17:38.990 --> 00:17:43.269
required, the challenge. And it is so heavily

00:17:43.269 --> 00:17:46.150
focused on the Saturday. Qualifying is so important

00:17:46.150 --> 00:17:49.930
that it makes it the biggest Saturday of the

00:17:49.930 --> 00:17:53.259
year, by far. Yeah, by far, exactly. Yeah, and

00:17:53.259 --> 00:17:54.980
a lot of drivers have described it being almost

00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:57.660
a spiritual experience, like having an out -of

00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:00.420
-body type feeling while driving around it. And

00:18:00.420 --> 00:18:03.099
non -drivers have too, when they've been lucky

00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:06.119
enough to go around the circuit. I mean, I'd

00:18:06.119 --> 00:18:08.039
love to give it a go in real life, but I wouldn't

00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:09.880
like to have to pay for the car I'm driving.

00:18:10.660 --> 00:18:13.980
I mean, like I know Senna is the most iconic

00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:16.980
of those, and he's said it a few times about

00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:19.140
various laps, but I think he's particularly,

00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:22.750
there was one lap in Monaco where... yeah he

00:18:22.750 --> 00:18:24.690
sort of talks about it like being an almost now

00:18:24.690 --> 00:18:28.069
a body experience um and i don't know close to

00:18:28.069 --> 00:18:31.009
god yeah and lewis hamilton has said similar

00:18:31.009 --> 00:18:35.269
things i think and yeah it's i imagine they still

00:18:35.269 --> 00:18:37.410
love it because uh they are as we were saying

00:18:37.410 --> 00:18:40.069
so good and it still poses a challenge despite

00:18:40.069 --> 00:18:43.880
the fact that you know i sort of sought to undermine

00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:47.059
somewhat the credibility of the race by saying

00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:48.700
that the engineering is so good the cars are

00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:50.480
so good and the racing drivers are so good that

00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:52.940
it's um it's a bit of a dull watch like that's

00:18:52.940 --> 00:18:54.680
true but that doesn't mean that it's it's not

00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:56.980
extremely difficult and extremely challenging

00:18:56.980 --> 00:18:59.119
and these guys are probably seeking out that

00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:01.460
level of challenge because they are so talented

00:19:01.460 --> 00:19:06.000
and it remains that to this day yeah there's

00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:08.819
still no room for error as we say and obviously

00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:11.240
You've got to be perfect on the Saturday, and

00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:13.720
to be perfect, you've got to be incredibly brave

00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:17.660
and have incredible car control, which is why,

00:19:17.859 --> 00:19:20.240
obviously, you say Ayrton Senna being an icon.

00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:23.119
Ayrton Senna was renowned for his attention to

00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:25.299
detail on his car control. I thought this story

00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:27.420
was from Monaco, but it's not. I think it was

00:19:27.420 --> 00:19:29.400
from a Dallas Grand Prix, but there's a famous

00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:32.119
story about Ayrton Senna. uh crashing into a

00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:34.720
barrier yes during qualifying i know what you're

00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:36.640
gonna say and he came back to the pit and he

00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:38.059
was furious he was like someone's moved that

00:19:38.059 --> 00:19:39.960
barrier yeah that barrier wasn't where it's supposed

00:19:39.960 --> 00:19:42.019
to be and they're just like yeah calm down net

00:19:42.019 --> 00:19:44.380
and don't be ridiculous and then they check the

00:19:44.380 --> 00:19:45.819
footage or whatever else afterwards and they

00:19:45.819 --> 00:19:47.900
were like yep someone here hit it earlier and

00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:49.519
it was like three inches to the right of where

00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.789
it was previously Yeah, and he clipped his wheel

00:19:51.789 --> 00:19:54.529
and caused him to retire. And they all thought

00:19:54.529 --> 00:19:56.569
he was making excuses. And in actual fact, he

00:19:56.569 --> 00:20:00.150
was spot on. Just that good. He just has such

00:20:00.150 --> 00:20:04.230
good feel for it. And we'll jump the gun a little

00:20:04.230 --> 00:20:06.410
bit. No one has won more races around Monaco

00:20:06.410 --> 00:20:09.890
than Ayrton Senna. His reputation in Formula

00:20:09.890 --> 00:20:13.200
One and there generally is massive. to bear in

00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:16.160
mind as well that unfortunately he lost some

00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:18.619
of the best potential years of his racing when

00:20:18.619 --> 00:20:21.400
he lost his life in 1994 as well so could have

00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:25.200
been even more than the 61 well exactly he is

00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:29.920
widely considered as top three that have ever

00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.319
lived even though certainly the fastest yeah

00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:35.640
yeah so you can have a debate as to who the best

00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:38.140
is we me and you have our opinions on that maybe

00:20:38.140 --> 00:20:40.380
we'll do that another day but he will always

00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:44.960
be in that conversation Always. Anyway. Should

00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:49.559
we try something novel? Yeah. Try and do an actual

00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:52.720
lap of the circuit. An actual flying lap of the

00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:56.140
circuit. This might not pay off, so apologies

00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:57.920
in advance, everyone. But if it does, it might

00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:00.980
be fun. All right. Do you want turn one or turn

00:21:00.980 --> 00:21:05.599
two? I'll go two. You lead us off the line. So

00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:07.980
off the line, it's a slight right -hand bend

00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:11.240
until the first proper turn, which is Sandovot.

00:21:11.609 --> 00:21:13.470
which is a right -hander prone to lock -ups and

00:21:13.470 --> 00:21:16.490
early race incidents, mostly due to how it acts

00:21:16.490 --> 00:21:18.990
as a bottleneck early on, especially with the

00:21:18.990 --> 00:21:20.890
width of the cars now. Two don't go into one

00:21:20.890 --> 00:21:23.190
through there. There are a lot of incidents early

00:21:23.190 --> 00:21:25.609
in the race there. It's named after the 11th

00:21:25.609 --> 00:21:28.049
century chapel dedicated to Monaco's patron saint,

00:21:28.250 --> 00:21:30.549
Sainte -Devote. Nice. And then that'll lead you

00:21:30.549 --> 00:21:34.369
into turn two, Beau Ravage. More of a bend in

00:21:34.369 --> 00:21:37.029
the road rather than a conventional turn. Lovely

00:21:37.029 --> 00:21:39.829
viewpoint of Monaco from here, though. And that

00:21:39.829 --> 00:21:41.930
is where its name comes from. It basically means

00:21:41.930 --> 00:21:45.849
beautiful shore. Turn three is Massonet, which

00:21:45.849 --> 00:21:47.789
is a sweeping left -hand corner near the Opera

00:21:47.789 --> 00:21:49.609
House. This is one of the great things about

00:21:49.609 --> 00:21:52.369
Monaco. Near the Opera House, just casually mentioning

00:21:52.369 --> 00:21:55.250
that. And that is one of the highest points on

00:21:55.250 --> 00:21:57.569
the circuit there. Yeah, and turn four needs

00:21:57.569 --> 00:22:01.170
virtually no introduction. Casino Square, very

00:22:01.170 --> 00:22:04.349
glitzy backdrop of the Monte Carlo Casino, famously

00:22:04.349 --> 00:22:08.069
featured in the movie Goldeneye. James Bond throwing

00:22:08.069 --> 00:22:12.250
a bone there to our film lovers. And it's emblematic,

00:22:12.289 --> 00:22:15.750
really. It's just, yeah, Monaco's opulence in

00:22:15.750 --> 00:22:19.029
a single building, a single location. Turn five

00:22:19.029 --> 00:22:22.950
is Mirabeau Hot, which means Mirabeau High. It's

00:22:22.950 --> 00:22:25.089
just the high part of the Mirabeau turn. named

00:22:25.089 --> 00:22:27.750
after the old Mirabeau Hotel which was torn down

00:22:27.750 --> 00:22:29.809
for apartment blocks as much as Monaco has been.

00:22:30.490 --> 00:22:32.829
Drivers used to take the tight inside line there

00:22:32.829 --> 00:22:35.450
but it's down the hill and modern cars are too

00:22:35.450 --> 00:22:37.309
large for that and will probably end up on three

00:22:37.309 --> 00:22:39.509
wheels if they tried that now. And then I hand

00:22:39.509 --> 00:22:41.450
over to you Ben for probably the most famous

00:22:41.450 --> 00:22:44.299
turn in all of Formula One. Yeah, the hairpin,

00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:47.500
turn six, the slowest corner in F1 as well. Coming

00:22:47.500 --> 00:22:49.319
down the hill, you're going to be hard on the

00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:52.200
brakes here. Known originally as the station

00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:56.019
hairpin, later as the Lowe's hairpin, after another

00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:59.190
hotel, and then... variously at different times

00:22:59.190 --> 00:23:02.150
uh the grand the sun casino and now the fair

00:23:02.150 --> 00:23:05.390
mont hairpin as the hotel continued to change

00:23:05.390 --> 00:23:08.470
hands and therefore names name changes belie

00:23:08.470 --> 00:23:10.069
the fact that it's probably the most recognizable

00:23:10.069 --> 00:23:12.170
corner on the circuit and arguably in all of

00:23:12.170 --> 00:23:15.250
f1 as you said uh you go get down to speeds of

00:23:15.250 --> 00:23:17.430
40 miles an hour which illustrates just how fast

00:23:17.430 --> 00:23:20.250
this sport is if it's the slowest corner um in

00:23:20.250 --> 00:23:22.970
formula one 40 40 mile an hour is still pretty

00:23:22.970 --> 00:23:26.019
quick extreme steering lock and precision usually

00:23:26.019 --> 00:23:30.000
a bad place to overtake yes then you're into

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.339
turn seven which is mirabeau bass which is the

00:23:32.339 --> 00:23:34.099
base of mirabeau and that's all that needs to

00:23:34.099 --> 00:23:36.920
be said about it and then turn eight portier

00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:39.700
another famous another famous turn some of these

00:23:39.700 --> 00:23:42.200
names are probably resonating with any conventional

00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:45.299
f1 fans we have near the sea it's a right -hand

00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:47.990
turn that goes into the tunnel I've seen some

00:23:47.990 --> 00:23:51.269
major incidents, including Ayrton Senna's 1988

00:23:51.269 --> 00:23:55.250
crash and the 2017 collision between Jenson Button

00:23:55.250 --> 00:23:58.430
and Pascal Wehrlein, whose head reportedly touched

00:23:58.430 --> 00:24:00.950
the barrier, which is terrifying considering

00:24:00.950 --> 00:24:03.829
how fast they go through that tunnel. Sergio

00:24:03.829 --> 00:24:07.269
Perez also crashed out there during the 2022

00:24:07.269 --> 00:24:12.769
qualifying. And last season's coming together.

00:24:13.180 --> 00:24:15.619
of the alpines when ocon tried to overtake gasly

00:24:15.619 --> 00:24:19.480
um and uh yeah like a lot of these corners also

00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:21.660
has a very nice view if you've got time to take

00:24:21.660 --> 00:24:24.619
it in and it used to be a place where if you

00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:26.240
got it wrong you'd end up in the sea not anymore

00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:29.519
though portier leads into turn nine which is

00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:31.839
the tunnel which is a gentle right -hander within

00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:33.920
the tunnel you'll all have seen the tunnel you'll

00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:36.359
know it it sounds incredible in there uh the

00:24:36.359 --> 00:24:38.599
change of lighting and the change of aerodynamics

00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:39.819
when you're in there because obviously you don't

00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:42.400
have the wind the air pressure is slightly different

00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:45.539
in there, can make an effect when you're going

00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:46.859
into the tunnel and when you're coming out of

00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:49.359
it. And speaking of coming out of it, Ben? Yeah,

00:24:49.380 --> 00:24:51.579
you come out of it into turn 10 and 11, and this

00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:53.460
is also another one of the most iconic parts

00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:56.960
of the Monaco track, the Nouvelle Chicane. It's

00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:01.319
probably the best, if not the only, overtaking

00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:04.519
spot in the circuit. Would you agree with that?

00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:07.259
It's certainly the only one anyone really ever

00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:10.539
tries it at nowadays. Or at least if they're

00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:13.660
sensible, unlike Esteban Ocon. Yeah, it gets

00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:16.380
very tasty in the wet as well in this area, but

00:25:16.380 --> 00:25:18.960
it was reprofiled in the 1980s and renamed in

00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:22.099
1986, having previously been the Chicane du Port.

00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:25.339
And yeah, it's a very high stakes braking zone.

00:25:25.380 --> 00:25:28.039
It's the fastest part of the track, decelerating

00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:32.339
and downhill, as we say, into a chicane. And

00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:34.980
yeah. The light change is coming out of the tunnel,

00:25:35.019 --> 00:25:37.200
as you said, about going in. It is unsurprisingly

00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:38.640
one of the most dangerous parts of the course.

00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:41.140
And it's the only place on the circuit where

00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:43.059
there's ever been a fatality as well, which we'll

00:25:43.059 --> 00:25:47.720
come to. So turn 12 is Tobacco, which is named

00:25:47.720 --> 00:25:51.339
after a tobacco shop. In 1950, a wave flooded

00:25:51.339 --> 00:25:54.259
the corner, which caused a mail pileup. But generally,

00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:56.740
other than that, it's fairly unmemorable, save

00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:58.519
for the random cigarette shop that happens to

00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:03.299
be there. Oh, that is random. I'm getting very

00:26:03.299 --> 00:26:05.240
lucky here with some of the iconic turns. I was

00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:06.559
going to say, you're getting the best ones, yeah?

00:26:06.740 --> 00:26:09.599
Another good one now. Didn't even mean to. Turns

00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:12.940
13 and 16, the swimming pool section. Again,

00:26:13.140 --> 00:26:16.759
iconic. A tight technical series, including the

00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:20.200
Louis Chiron and the Piscine Chicanes. Piscine

00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:23.430
meaning swimming pool. in French, of course.

00:26:23.950 --> 00:26:26.750
Drivers risk suspension damage if they clip turn

00:26:26.750 --> 00:26:30.170
15. Mick Schumacher split his car in two here

00:26:30.170 --> 00:26:33.049
in 2022. The second time a Haas has been split

00:26:33.049 --> 00:26:35.369
in two in 18 months, but obviously the less dramatic

00:26:35.369 --> 00:26:40.490
of the pair by far. Yes. Mr Grosjean basically

00:26:40.490 --> 00:26:42.430
turning himself into a fireball by accident.

00:26:43.289 --> 00:26:45.950
Yes. Miraculously surviving, which is a story

00:26:45.950 --> 00:26:48.759
for another day. Definitely, and still the most

00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:50.799
incredible thing I've ever seen in my time watching

00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:55.000
Formula One live. So into Turn 17, Rascasse,

00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:58.440
named after a local restaurant. I love the naming

00:26:58.440 --> 00:27:00.440
of some of these, just like restaurants and hotels.

00:27:02.259 --> 00:27:05.380
Rascasse is most famous for 2006, where Michael

00:27:05.380 --> 00:27:07.200
Schumacher decided to park his car there during

00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:09.420
qualifying, which he didn't get away with. He

00:27:09.420 --> 00:27:10.740
got a penalty for that and got sent to the back

00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:13.079
of the grid. I remember that. Yeah, yeah. The

00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:16.319
old deliberate runoff. Yeah, and that leads you

00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:20.720
into Turn... 18 and 19, Virage Anthony Noges,

00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:25.619
named for the GP founders. The final corner of

00:27:25.619 --> 00:27:28.839
the race, basically, used to be another hairpin

00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:32.819
named Gazza Mitra until the 1970s when it was

00:27:32.819 --> 00:27:34.980
redesigned into a right -hander, which kinks

00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:38.160
slightly to the left into the pit and then straight

00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:41.019
to the end of the lap. And then you are back

00:27:41.019 --> 00:27:44.299
to turn one. There you go, Monaco, everyone.

00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:46.940
I hope you enjoyed that. But yeah, I guess we've

00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:52.019
got Monaco, we've intro'd it. I guess the opportunity

00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:57.240
is to just take us down memory lane, Jack. As

00:27:57.240 --> 00:28:02.299
we like to do in the beginning. So the very first

00:28:02.299 --> 00:28:06.420
Monaco Grand Prix was held in 1929. This is obviously

00:28:06.420 --> 00:28:08.319
before the Formula One World Championship. The

00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:10.920
Formula One World Championship came along in

00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:13.579
1950, but the Grand Prix had been going on a

00:28:13.579 --> 00:28:16.160
few years intermittently before that. It stopped

00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:19.279
for a few reasons. Obviously, the Second World

00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:22.920
War and some financial reasons as well skipped

00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:26.259
a few years, but most years between 1929 and

00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:29.559
1950, it was run barring those war years. The

00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:32.880
inaugural Grand Prix was in 1929. The idea came

00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:34.940
from Anthony Nose, as we said, president of the...

00:28:35.230 --> 00:28:38.109
automobile club de monaco who proposed a race

00:28:38.109 --> 00:28:40.710
through the winding streets of principality just

00:28:40.710 --> 00:28:42.910
for the basis of earning monaco international

00:28:42.910 --> 00:28:46.650
recognition so it was approved in late 1928 and

00:28:46.650 --> 00:28:49.910
the event was first run in on april the 14th

00:28:49.910 --> 00:28:54.450
1929 over 100 laps of a 3 .18 kilometer street

00:28:54.450 --> 00:28:56.849
circuit twisted through the harbor casino and

00:28:56.849 --> 00:28:59.130
hairpins of monaco one of the most picturesque

00:28:59.130 --> 00:29:01.329
and treacherous courses ever designed as it remains

00:29:01.329 --> 00:29:05.680
to this day it was designed by charles and cars

00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:08.140
had to navigate tight corners, tram tracks, tunnels,

00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:10.880
and sheer cliffside drops, which is incredible.

00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:14.599
That is incredible. All protected with, and I'm

00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:16.619
sure you'll agree these are suitable protections,

00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:19.400
sandbags and wooden barriers to stop you falling

00:29:19.400 --> 00:29:21.640
into the sea. God, it's come a long way, hasn't

00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:25.140
it? Like, that is absolutely insane. I mean,

00:29:25.140 --> 00:29:27.039
obviously the cars were very different too, and

00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:29.119
blah, blah, blah. They were still quick. They

00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:31.200
were slower, but they were still quick. Yeah.

00:29:31.720 --> 00:29:36.180
There's a reason that this sport has a... A long

00:29:36.180 --> 00:29:40.759
history with death. But yes, sorry. And we will

00:29:40.759 --> 00:29:43.779
come into that more later. So the reward for

00:29:43.779 --> 00:29:47.240
taking the risk were a prize of 100 ,000 francs,

00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:49.240
which was a lot back in the day, and obviously

00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:52.859
prestige as well. And as a result, it drew top

00:29:52.859 --> 00:29:55.740
talent from across Europe. So participation was

00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:58.480
invitation only. So it was 20 cars who entered

00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:02.119
and 16 who ultimately started due to withdrawals

00:30:02.119 --> 00:30:05.430
from crashes, logistical issues. And the battle

00:30:05.430 --> 00:30:08.869
on the day was between the nimble 2 .3 litre

00:30:08.869 --> 00:30:12.190
Bugattis and the fearsome 7 .1 litre Mercedes

00:30:12.190 --> 00:30:15.150
-Benz SSKs. How is that that different? It's

00:30:15.150 --> 00:30:19.730
incredible. Exactly. So Formula One, as regulations,

00:30:20.029 --> 00:30:22.069
has been around since just after the war, which

00:30:22.069 --> 00:30:24.950
obviously specifies the size of the engines or

00:30:24.950 --> 00:30:26.930
limits on the size of the engines, the weight

00:30:26.930 --> 00:30:28.970
of the cars, various other things. Very strict

00:30:28.970 --> 00:30:32.049
regulations nowadays. Very strict. Prescriptive

00:30:32.049 --> 00:30:35.220
almost, but yeah. At this point, none of that.

00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:38.680
So you've got, as I say, 2 .3 litre Bugattis

00:30:38.680 --> 00:30:42.799
and 7 .1 litre Mercedes, which are massive. So

00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:46.599
that was the head -to -head belt. The main Mercedes

00:30:46.599 --> 00:30:49.740
was driven by a man called Rudolf Caracciola.

00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:55.200
Well tried. But I did my best. Apologies in advance.

00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:56.940
There's a lot of French and Italian names in

00:30:56.940 --> 00:30:58.420
this, and I'm probably going to butcher some

00:30:58.420 --> 00:31:00.680
of them, but I'll do my best. Here's one I can

00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:03.680
get right, though. A British driver officially

00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:06.519
named only Williams arrived late, but managed

00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:08.160
to practice on the eve of the race and was given

00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:10.680
special permission to compete. When Sunday arrived

00:31:10.680 --> 00:31:13.140
with clear skies and warm sunshine, tens of thousands

00:31:13.140 --> 00:31:15.779
flocked to the circuit, lining rooftops, balconies

00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:18.279
and hillsides to watch racing thunder through

00:31:18.279 --> 00:31:21.019
their town. The race itself was an instant classic.

00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:23.779
Williams, as he was known, driving a British

00:31:23.779 --> 00:31:26.420
racing green Bugatti with full factory backing,

00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:30.400
took an early lead and dueled fiercely with Caracciola's

00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:32.809
powerful Mercedes. Though the German briefly

00:31:32.809 --> 00:31:35.710
snatched the lead on laps 30 and 50, a lengthy

00:31:35.710 --> 00:31:37.609
pit stop for fuel and tyres pushed him down to

00:31:37.609 --> 00:31:39.849
fourth. Williams seized the opportunity, pulling

00:31:39.849 --> 00:31:41.750
ahead and ultimately maintaining his lead to

00:31:41.750 --> 00:31:44.930
claim victory in front of a roaring crowd. Second

00:31:44.930 --> 00:31:47.349
place went to his teammate, a Belgian driver

00:31:47.349 --> 00:31:51.130
called Georges Buriano, also in a Bugatti, with

00:31:51.130 --> 00:31:53.930
Caracciola recovering to finish third. The remaining

00:31:53.930 --> 00:31:55.829
finishers were all in Bugattis, highlighting

00:31:55.829 --> 00:31:58.529
the car's dominance on the tight technical circuits.

00:31:59.079 --> 00:32:01.559
The heavy Alphas, Maseratis and others just couldn't

00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:04.619
keep up with the pace. Though some other less

00:32:04.619 --> 00:32:06.440
well -known races had already taken place in

00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:08.099
that year, the Monaco Grand Prix was immediately

00:32:08.099 --> 00:32:10.680
hailed as a spiritual start to the 1929 season.

00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:14.019
Its daring layout, high -stakes glamour and thrilling

00:32:14.019 --> 00:32:16.839
competition establishes it as one of the sports

00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:18.779
crown jewels, a status it would maintain for

00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:21.000
nearly a century to come. That's a cool first

00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:23.299
story. It is a cool, that's a good way of which,

00:32:23.339 --> 00:32:26.039
you know, like it enters the fray, so to speak.

00:32:26.940 --> 00:32:29.519
Yeah. And like Formula One, like you've already

00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:33.079
alluded to, it didn't really exist until like

00:32:33.079 --> 00:32:38.259
post -war. Yeah. Like in its modern framework,

00:32:38.279 --> 00:32:40.859
I guess, for want of a better phrase. So yeah,

00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:44.900
like the pre -war is just very much dotted races.

00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:48.839
fairly dysfunctional very disorganized like the

00:32:48.839 --> 00:32:52.440
sport playboys yeah boys yeah in their big cars

00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:54.640
some very talented drivers still though some

00:32:54.640 --> 00:32:57.960
legends yeah whose careers started before the

00:32:57.960 --> 00:32:59.960
war but ended up racing in formula one after

00:32:59.960 --> 00:33:03.579
the war yeah and like i mean since we're on the

00:33:03.579 --> 00:33:08.180
war indeed you know what we like to do jack and

00:33:08.180 --> 00:33:10.400
i'm hoping you've come i'm hoping you've come

00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:13.119
prepared there's there's two things we like to

00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:15.500
do on this podcast firstly we like to go back

00:33:15.500 --> 00:33:17.220
to the beginning and tell you about how an event

00:33:17.220 --> 00:33:20.180
started which we've just done and secondly we

00:33:20.180 --> 00:33:21.799
love to unearth a cracking world war ii story

00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:24.119
now normally you have to work through the years

00:33:24.119 --> 00:33:25.819
to find a competitor whose story needs to be

00:33:25.819 --> 00:33:27.720
told because i mean what are the odds that the

00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:29.640
guy who won the very first monaco grand prix

00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:32.519
would turn out to be a complete freaking madman

00:33:32.519 --> 00:33:35.430
of a war hero Oh, really? What are the odds,

00:33:35.470 --> 00:33:38.730
Ben? This chap Williams? So the year's 1942.

00:33:39.170 --> 00:33:42.509
A British spy operating deep in occupied France

00:33:42.509 --> 00:33:45.690
under the code name Sebastian has helped set

00:33:45.690 --> 00:33:49.650
up a spy network within the country, helped rejuvenate

00:33:49.650 --> 00:33:52.509
the French resistance, and made a real name for

00:33:52.509 --> 00:33:55.269
himself. Wouldn't you know it, that spy Sebastian

00:33:55.269 --> 00:33:57.509
was none other than the man who'd once danced

00:33:57.509 --> 00:34:00.890
through Monaco's most elusive clubs, raced Bugatti's

00:34:00.890 --> 00:34:02.609
first street, and won the inaugural Grand Prix.

00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:06.059
under the name Williams. His real name was Willie

00:34:06.059 --> 00:34:09.119
Grover Williams. And honestly, that scratches

00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:11.420
the surface of this story. But hold on a second.

00:34:11.539 --> 00:34:13.500
Is this geezer just like, is he using like effectively

00:34:13.500 --> 00:34:15.780
like a code name so that his real identity isn't

00:34:15.780 --> 00:34:19.099
known? I'll go through it. But yeah, essentially.

00:34:19.559 --> 00:34:23.159
So his name, his name was Charles Frederick William

00:34:23.159 --> 00:34:26.440
Grover, known as Willie. He was born to a French

00:34:26.440 --> 00:34:28.980
mother and an English horse breeder father who

00:34:28.980 --> 00:34:31.260
settled in Paris. He was raised mostly in Monte

00:34:31.260 --> 00:34:34.170
Carlo. He got his first motorbike for his 15th

00:34:34.170 --> 00:34:36.789
birthday, learned to drive in his sister's boyfriend's

00:34:36.789 --> 00:34:42.070
Rolls Royce. So far, all very Monaco. Yes. In

00:34:42.070 --> 00:34:44.449
his early 20s, he was competing and winning in

00:34:44.449 --> 00:34:47.110
motorcycle races and rallies, lying about his

00:34:47.110 --> 00:34:50.389
age and using W. Williams to keep his participation

00:34:50.389 --> 00:34:52.989
secret from his parents, who did not approve.

00:34:53.369 --> 00:34:56.170
Okay. So a slightly more benign reason for...

00:34:56.170 --> 00:34:58.829
It is, yeah. But nonetheless, he ends up being...

00:34:58.829 --> 00:35:03.190
Carry on. He was fast, stylish, and already turning

00:35:03.190 --> 00:35:05.369
heads. In between races, he worked as a chauffeur

00:35:05.369 --> 00:35:08.210
in Paris for the famous artist Sir William Orpen.

00:35:08.590 --> 00:35:11.230
Through that job, he fell in love with a woman

00:35:11.230 --> 00:35:14.090
called Yvonne Aubic, who was actually Orpen's

00:35:14.090 --> 00:35:19.349
mistress, which is very south of France. Orpen

00:35:19.349 --> 00:35:21.190
seemed to approve, though, and gave the couple

00:35:21.190 --> 00:35:23.230
his blessing. And even more than that, he gave

00:35:23.230 --> 00:35:25.929
them a house on the Rue Weber in Paris and a

00:35:25.929 --> 00:35:28.110
luxury open -top Rolls -Royce as a wedding gift.

00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:30.860
Grover at that point also changed his name to

00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:33.639
Grover Williams due to the recognisability of

00:35:33.639 --> 00:35:37.420
his pseudonym and presumably by this point the

00:35:37.420 --> 00:35:39.420
fact his parents probably didn't care so much

00:35:39.420 --> 00:35:43.300
now he's in his late 20s. So as his driving career

00:35:43.300 --> 00:35:45.599
took off he was known for his mechanical genius

00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:49.900
and his fearless racing style. In 1927 he made

00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:51.940
headlines by keeping pace with world champion

00:35:51.940 --> 00:35:55.099
Robert Benoit in an underpowered Talbot at the

00:35:55.099 --> 00:35:57.320
French Grand Prix winning the crowd over as he

00:35:57.320 --> 00:36:00.309
did. By 1928, he was winning the same race outright,

00:36:00.429 --> 00:36:02.289
behind the wheel of a second -hand Bugatti. He

00:36:02.289 --> 00:36:05.010
talked Ettore Bugatti himself into selling him

00:36:05.010 --> 00:36:08.929
at a discount, the founder of Bugatti. Monaco,

00:36:09.010 --> 00:36:11.590
1929, the first Grand Prix held in the Principality,

00:36:11.690 --> 00:36:15.349
as we mentioned, winning that. He carried on

00:36:15.349 --> 00:36:18.030
racing until 1936, winning multiple Grand Prixs,

00:36:18.030 --> 00:36:20.210
befriending his old rival Robert Benoit in doing

00:36:20.210 --> 00:36:24.730
so. More on him later. Honestly, this story.

00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:27.739
On his racing retirement, he and Yvonne split

00:36:27.739 --> 00:36:30.159
their time between Brittany and Monaco and were

00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:32.619
famed for often driving two cars around the principality

00:36:32.619 --> 00:36:35.639
at high speeds, William leading Yvonne. Whenever

00:36:35.639 --> 00:36:37.719
Yvonne was inevitably the one who was stopped

00:36:37.719 --> 00:36:39.780
by the police for speeding, she'd ask them why

00:36:39.780 --> 00:36:42.199
they'd let her husband off. He's Williams, they

00:36:42.199 --> 00:36:47.659
said. We don't stop Williams. That must be slightly

00:36:47.659 --> 00:36:50.000
embellished, but I'm going to buy in so hard.

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:53.880
Who cares? It's a story. If the glamour of pre

00:36:53.880 --> 00:36:56.139
-war motorsports shaped his legend, it was wartime

00:36:56.139 --> 00:36:58.340
courage that made him a hero, though. When the

00:36:58.340 --> 00:37:00.480
war broke out, Grover Williams answered Britain's

00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:02.780
call. Despite living most of his life in France,

00:37:02.860 --> 00:37:05.900
he was a patriotic Britishman. Initially serving

00:37:05.900 --> 00:37:08.900
as a driver for a general, as you'd expect, he

00:37:08.900 --> 00:37:10.900
pulled off a daring escape with the general from

00:37:10.900 --> 00:37:13.920
Brittany in 1940 after they were cut off from

00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:17.179
Dunkirk. But more than that was to come. When

00:37:17.179 --> 00:37:19.639
on the general's recommendation, his cool head,

00:37:19.719 --> 00:37:21.750
his fluent French, and his intimate knowledge

00:37:21.750 --> 00:37:24.110
of the country, earned him a place in Churchill's

00:37:24.110 --> 00:37:27.530
shadowy Special Operations Executive, the SOE,

00:37:27.550 --> 00:37:30.070
the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare himself,

00:37:30.429 --> 00:37:34.789
as a spy. Nice. So, after brutal training, at

00:37:34.789 --> 00:37:38.730
01 .30 on the 31st of May 1942, Grover Williams,

00:37:38.989 --> 00:37:41.429
co -named Vladimir at that point, later Sebastian,

00:37:41.849 --> 00:37:44.769
parachuted into France to help rebuild the shattered

00:37:44.769 --> 00:37:47.210
resistance network, after the previous one had

00:37:47.210 --> 00:37:49.289
been compromised and annihilated by the Gestapo.

00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:52.940
The job was simple. The job was simple to describe

00:37:52.940 --> 00:37:55.239
anyway, but it was nearly impossible to execute.

00:37:55.559 --> 00:37:57.980
Build an underground army under the noses of

00:37:57.980 --> 00:38:01.019
the Nazis. As you do. Nice and easy. There's

00:38:01.019 --> 00:38:03.400
your briefing. Off you go. Here's where it gets

00:38:03.400 --> 00:38:06.159
even more extraordinary, Ben. The first people

00:38:06.159 --> 00:38:08.619
he contacted when he landed in France, his wife

00:38:08.619 --> 00:38:11.780
Yvonne and Robert Benoit, the same driver he'd

00:38:11.780 --> 00:38:14.440
once pushed the limit on racetracks. Benoit,

00:38:14.599 --> 00:38:17.139
who was codenamed Lionel, had been a First World

00:38:17.139 --> 00:38:19.579
War pilot, so naturally didn't hesitate. with

00:38:19.579 --> 00:38:21.940
a call, nor did another old rival whose name

00:38:21.940 --> 00:38:25.360
was Jean -Pierre Wimille. So three former race

00:38:25.360 --> 00:38:28.019
drivers now attached to the French Resistance

00:38:28.019 --> 00:38:31.639
and building a network. I mean, this could be

00:38:31.639 --> 00:38:33.480
a Hollywood movie, honestly. I was about to say,

00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:35.000
why has no one made a movie out of this? These

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:37.800
guys are absolutely bonkers. And also, for anyone

00:38:37.800 --> 00:38:39.539
who's not familiar with World War II, the people

00:38:39.539 --> 00:38:41.760
in the French Resistance were seriously hardcore,

00:38:41.760 --> 00:38:45.659
brave people. But anyway, carry on. So obviously

00:38:45.659 --> 00:38:47.300
it was their job to arm train and coordinate

00:38:47.300 --> 00:38:50.019
resistance fighters. in preparation for D -Day.

00:38:51.059 --> 00:38:53.400
Benoit's cover was working in a Bugatti showroom

00:38:53.400 --> 00:38:56.460
in Paris, with Ettore Bugatti himself providing

00:38:56.460 --> 00:38:59.659
the documentation that allowed him to freely

00:38:59.659 --> 00:39:02.480
travel around France. That also allowed him to

00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:04.579
borrow trucks from Bugatti to move weapons around

00:39:04.579 --> 00:39:07.019
as they coordinated the resistance. They carried

00:39:07.019 --> 00:39:09.380
out sabotage missions, most notably at the Citroën

00:39:09.380 --> 00:39:12.099
factory, and ran entire underground networks

00:39:12.099 --> 00:39:14.139
of intelligence and logistics. They were the

00:39:14.139 --> 00:39:16.019
reception committee for new agents parachuted

00:39:16.019 --> 00:39:17.980
in, and their lives were in constant danger.

00:39:19.369 --> 00:39:21.349
Yeah, this is probably the thing that's a good

00:39:21.349 --> 00:39:24.150
place to take. Sorry, I didn't emphasise this

00:39:24.150 --> 00:39:26.170
clearly enough. If you're in the French Resistance

00:39:26.170 --> 00:39:29.630
in your court, you're dead. You're dead. You're

00:39:29.630 --> 00:39:31.969
not being imprisoned. Probably tortured first.

00:39:32.250 --> 00:39:35.070
Yeah, but you are dead. It's very dangerous.

00:39:35.210 --> 00:39:37.750
But anyway, sorry, go on. Speaking of torture,

00:39:37.929 --> 00:39:40.829
operatives were captured and one of them was

00:39:40.829 --> 00:39:43.730
Benoit's own brother, Maurice, who unfortunately

00:39:43.730 --> 00:39:46.949
under torture betrayed them to the Gestapo, something

00:39:46.949 --> 00:39:49.559
that none of them ever blamed him for. in the

00:39:49.559 --> 00:39:53.559
situation. The net closed on them and Robert

00:39:53.559 --> 00:39:57.340
Benoit himself managed to enact two hair -raising

00:39:57.340 --> 00:39:59.699
escapes, once by hurling himself and a Gestapo

00:39:59.699 --> 00:40:02.380
guard from a moving car, another time slipping

00:40:02.380 --> 00:40:03.980
through a building surrounded by eight armed

00:40:03.980 --> 00:40:07.739
men again. Why is this not a movie? Before he

00:40:07.739 --> 00:40:10.199
eventually made his way back to Britain for now.

00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:13.500
Benoit returned to France twice before eventually

00:40:13.500 --> 00:40:16.780
being captured in Paris in June 1944. was sent

00:40:16.780 --> 00:40:18.840
to Buchenwald, and unfortunately he was executed

00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:23.159
there. Wimiel survived the war, but died in a

00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:24.739
ball of flames during a practice run for the

00:40:24.739 --> 00:40:27.679
1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, unfortunately.

00:40:29.099 --> 00:40:31.820
That's insane that you'd survive all of that

00:40:31.820 --> 00:40:36.739
and then that happened to you. It's a very dangerous

00:40:36.739 --> 00:40:38.280
sport, so it's not actually that surprising.

00:40:38.380 --> 00:40:42.280
What I mean is it's just weird the way... It

00:40:42.280 --> 00:40:44.940
feels like the more dangerous part of your life

00:40:44.940 --> 00:40:47.079
is over with. And then you go back and race cars

00:40:47.079 --> 00:40:50.599
in the 1940s. But there we go. Some people are

00:40:50.599 --> 00:40:53.920
made for adventure. Our hero, Grover Williams.

00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:57.079
War records show he never made it back to Blighty.

00:40:57.280 --> 00:41:01.719
He was captured, tortured and sent to Saxon housing

00:41:01.719 --> 00:41:04.380
concentration camp. Starved and beaten, he is

00:41:04.380 --> 00:41:07.059
said to have been executed by firing squad alongside

00:41:07.059 --> 00:41:10.400
legendary British agent Francis Sutil. just weeks

00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:14.320
before the war's end. Except, that's not the

00:41:14.320 --> 00:41:18.039
only version of events that people say. Rumours

00:41:18.039 --> 00:41:20.340
persist to this day that Grover Williams survived,

00:41:20.639 --> 00:41:25.039
that the British staged his death, that MI6 exfiltrated

00:41:25.039 --> 00:41:27.400
him from Berlin to the United States in 1947,

00:41:27.860 --> 00:41:30.280
that he continued to work in espionage after

00:41:30.280 --> 00:41:33.039
the war. One theory claims he reappeared eventually

00:41:33.039 --> 00:41:35.460
in France once his duties were done under the

00:41:35.460 --> 00:41:38.170
name Georges Tambal. a man who shared Grover

00:41:38.170 --> 00:41:40.550
Williams' birthday, mechanical skills, and even

00:41:40.550 --> 00:41:43.050
his injuries, and quietly moved in with Yvonne

00:41:43.050 --> 00:41:46.030
in Evero. They lived like husband and wife. When

00:41:46.030 --> 00:41:48.210
Tambal was asked to register officially with

00:41:48.210 --> 00:41:50.630
the mayor, the police intervened, and the requirement

00:41:50.630 --> 00:41:54.530
was mysteriously waived. Yvonne lived until 1973,

00:41:54.809 --> 00:41:58.030
and in 1983, that man, Georges Tambal, was killed

00:41:58.030 --> 00:42:01.090
in a cycling accident in the town of Agen. He

00:42:01.090 --> 00:42:03.789
was struck, ironically, by a German tourist driving

00:42:03.789 --> 00:42:07.539
a Mercedes. Some say fate is a sense of humour.

00:42:08.380 --> 00:42:11.639
However, again, going back, a research done by

00:42:11.639 --> 00:42:13.619
a group of historians by the Bugatti Trust and

00:42:13.619 --> 00:42:16.099
by William's own brother Frederick have upheld

00:42:16.099 --> 00:42:18.599
the official story. They were shot in Sachsenhausen

00:42:18.599 --> 00:42:20.800
as a spy. Perhaps it's just wishful thinking

00:42:20.800 --> 00:42:23.219
on the part of racing fans, or on our part for

00:42:23.219 --> 00:42:25.440
that matter, that make the alternate story persist.

00:42:25.719 --> 00:42:28.480
Or maybe there's more to it. Either way, an incredible

00:42:28.480 --> 00:42:30.440
man amongst incredible men and women in the French

00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:35.099
Resistance. And an incredible story. I'm going

00:42:35.099 --> 00:42:38.039
to choose to believe that he survived and disregard

00:42:38.039 --> 00:42:41.559
the facts. It's a nice story. It would be the

00:42:41.559 --> 00:42:43.039
ending of the movie, wouldn't it? Put it that

00:42:43.039 --> 00:42:49.679
way. How is that not a film? There's so many

00:42:49.679 --> 00:42:51.519
layers to that. I'm not even going to try and

00:42:51.519 --> 00:42:53.239
deconstruct it. I just think that was cool. I

00:42:53.239 --> 00:42:54.719
don't know where you found that, Jack, but thank

00:42:54.719 --> 00:42:58.599
you. I literally found it because I was like...

00:42:58.809 --> 00:43:00.829
Well, let's see if these guys have any stories.

00:43:00.889 --> 00:43:02.869
Let's click on this Mysterious Williams fellow.

00:43:03.010 --> 00:43:05.210
Oh my God, he was in the SOE. This is ridiculous.

00:43:06.050 --> 00:43:07.809
Because I texted you in the week and I was like,

00:43:07.889 --> 00:43:10.389
this shouldn't be this easy to find a story like

00:43:10.389 --> 00:43:12.710
this. Yeah. This is the first time I told you

00:43:12.710 --> 00:43:14.610
the story, but I'd given you a heads up that

00:43:14.610 --> 00:43:16.030
there was a good story and it was incredible.

00:43:16.150 --> 00:43:19.070
The very first winner. Yeah, very first winner

00:43:19.070 --> 00:43:22.289
and just generally just a really interesting

00:43:22.289 --> 00:43:24.710
bloke regardless of his links to Monaco. So how

00:43:24.710 --> 00:43:29.750
is that guy's life not... more documented um

00:43:29.750 --> 00:43:33.849
it was it is it is a well -known story like within

00:43:33.849 --> 00:43:36.809
um motorsport circles but a lot of the articles

00:43:36.809 --> 00:43:39.789
i found on him were quite it's it's not like

00:43:39.789 --> 00:43:42.230
i was looking at the guardian or any major newspaper

00:43:42.230 --> 00:43:44.769
to get these stories it was sort of i think autosport

00:43:44.769 --> 00:43:47.929
perhaps maybe had a story on him but um yeah

00:43:47.929 --> 00:43:50.210
generally speaking yeah it's it's a little bit

00:43:50.210 --> 00:43:51.809
underground this story more than you'd expect

00:43:51.809 --> 00:43:54.710
it to be because that's that's a i mean given

00:43:54.710 --> 00:43:57.269
the modern age of like These long -form series

00:43:57.269 --> 00:43:59.449
and stuff. Obviously, you've got SAS Rogue Heroes,

00:43:59.710 --> 00:44:02.590
things like that. I mean, this is everything.

00:44:04.050 --> 00:44:07.889
It's right up there. Yeah, that's a really good

00:44:07.889 --> 00:44:12.190
story. I guess we should try and get back on

00:44:12.190 --> 00:44:16.829
track to the Monaco Grand Prix specifically.

00:44:17.130 --> 00:44:21.170
But that is a wonderful little tangent and rabbit

00:44:21.170 --> 00:44:24.699
hole to have ventured down. So it's really post

00:44:24.699 --> 00:44:28.000
-war where it really establishes itself in the

00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:32.480
Formula One calendar and in motorsport generally.

00:44:33.019 --> 00:44:35.099
Yeah, it was after the war that motorsport went

00:44:35.099 --> 00:44:37.860
global, essentially. There was motorsport in

00:44:37.860 --> 00:44:39.619
America, there was motorsport in Europe. The

00:44:39.619 --> 00:44:42.440
FIA, as it was renamed after the war, really

00:44:42.440 --> 00:44:44.599
their aim was to go global. Their aim was to

00:44:44.599 --> 00:44:48.460
incorporate every continent or all the continents

00:44:48.460 --> 00:44:52.840
under a single world championship. which they

00:44:52.840 --> 00:44:55.519
did. They formed the first Drivers' World Championship

00:44:55.519 --> 00:44:59.480
in 1950 under, as I mentioned, Formula One regulations

00:44:59.480 --> 00:45:02.619
that were agreed upon in 1946 and the F1 World

00:45:02.619 --> 00:45:05.280
Championship was born, which Monaco was a part

00:45:05.280 --> 00:45:09.039
of, in 1950 and then not in 1951, 1952, 1953

00:45:09.039 --> 00:45:11.920
and 1954 because they couldn't agree on the regulations

00:45:11.920 --> 00:45:16.719
or couldn't settle on the regulations relative

00:45:16.719 --> 00:45:18.960
to Monaco compared to the rest of the Formula

00:45:18.960 --> 00:45:21.840
One season. But the first Monaco Grand Prix,

00:45:21.980 --> 00:45:24.860
as part of the World Championship, was won by

00:45:24.860 --> 00:45:27.579
Juan Manuel Fangio, a legend of the sport. Quite

00:45:27.579 --> 00:45:31.000
famous. Went on to win five Formula One World

00:45:31.000 --> 00:45:33.719
Championships, which was a record until Michael

00:45:33.719 --> 00:45:36.099
Schumacher overtook him with seven. Lewis Hamilton

00:45:36.099 --> 00:45:40.000
also overtaking him later, also on seven. The

00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:42.260
inclusion of Monaco originally was a recognition

00:45:42.260 --> 00:45:44.920
of prestige, but that prestige grew exponentially

00:45:44.920 --> 00:45:52.059
after 1952. Sorry, after 1955. So 1952 was the

00:45:52.059 --> 00:45:54.659
only time, 1951 to 1954, the event was held.

00:45:54.739 --> 00:45:57.039
It was held as a sports car race, which is mainly

00:45:57.039 --> 00:45:59.539
notable because it allows classic car races now

00:45:59.539 --> 00:46:02.780
to take part at Monaco around the same time as

00:46:02.780 --> 00:46:04.719
the Formula 1 because it takes so many weeks

00:46:04.719 --> 00:46:06.699
to set up the Formula 1 track and so many weeks

00:46:06.699 --> 00:46:08.199
to put it away. It's like six weeks to set up,

00:46:08.280 --> 00:46:10.579
three weeks to put it away. So they pack a few

00:46:10.579 --> 00:46:13.280
races, like the E -Prix goes in there, the classic

00:46:13.280 --> 00:46:17.170
cars race, and obviously Formula 1 as well. nice

00:46:17.170 --> 00:46:20.610
that's fun yeah that is fun i mean we've just

00:46:20.610 --> 00:46:22.329
sort of entered now that we've entered the modern

00:46:22.329 --> 00:46:25.510
era of f1 we are entering the era that me and

00:46:25.510 --> 00:46:28.110
you were talking about um earlier with respect

00:46:28.110 --> 00:46:32.530
of uh a relatively subpar i say relatively why

00:46:32.530 --> 00:46:35.849
am i qualifying that an extremely subpar safety

00:46:35.849 --> 00:46:40.909
record so so jackie stewart did some maths once

00:46:41.440 --> 00:46:44.340
And he worked out that if you were to start racing

00:46:44.340 --> 00:46:47.760
at the same time he did, so in the 1950s, you

00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:50.900
had a 66 % chance of dying before the end of

00:46:50.900 --> 00:46:54.559
your career, which is staggering. And then the

00:46:54.559 --> 00:46:56.880
amount of legendary drivers killed in that period,

00:46:56.900 --> 00:47:01.940
such as Jim Clark, two -time Formula One world

00:47:01.940 --> 00:47:03.860
champion, who never won at Monaco, funnily enough.

00:47:04.760 --> 00:47:08.360
British drivers dominated the early years. It

00:47:08.360 --> 00:47:11.199
was Sterling Moss, Jackie Stewart, and obviously

00:47:11.199 --> 00:47:13.460
Graham Hill as well, who did that dominating.

00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:16.500
Amazingly, Jim Clark never won one. The closest

00:47:16.500 --> 00:47:20.800
he got was he came fourth in 1961, but his notoriously

00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:25.280
unreliable Lotus 25 failed on him again. And

00:47:25.280 --> 00:47:28.199
unfortunately, he missed out on a chance of top

00:47:28.199 --> 00:47:30.159
spot on the podium, Graham Hill winning, as he

00:47:30.159 --> 00:47:33.699
often did at that point. So Graham Hill is known

00:47:33.699 --> 00:47:37.989
as Mr. Monaco, which is a good name. So Graham

00:47:37.989 --> 00:47:41.289
Hill, he won two Formula One world titles, but

00:47:41.289 --> 00:47:45.050
his links to Monaco are vast. He's known as a

00:47:45.050 --> 00:47:47.130
charismatic, witty, charming and immensely talented

00:47:47.130 --> 00:47:51.130
man, which obviously the era it was with the

00:47:51.130 --> 00:47:54.349
rise of celebrity. Princess Grace, famously,

00:47:54.769 --> 00:47:59.190
Grace Kelly, the mixture of celebrity and racing

00:47:59.190 --> 00:48:03.150
at this time. Graham Hill won the Monaco Grand

00:48:03.150 --> 00:48:07.530
Prix five times, 1963, 64, 65, 68, 69. Quite

00:48:07.530 --> 00:48:10.050
a few times. His driving style was smooth, precise

00:48:10.050 --> 00:48:12.070
and daring, which is exactly what you need to

00:48:12.070 --> 00:48:15.130
succeed at Monaco. And his signature moustache,

00:48:15.170 --> 00:48:18.250
cut glass British accent, witty personality made

00:48:18.250 --> 00:48:20.690
him the embodiment of 1960s British charm. Just

00:48:20.690 --> 00:48:23.050
think James Bond, but driving a racing car. And

00:48:23.050 --> 00:48:24.730
that's Graham Hill. He's probably the inspiration

00:48:24.730 --> 00:48:26.869
for the likes of James Hunt and people that came

00:48:26.869 --> 00:48:30.579
after him. He was. the original the original

00:48:30.579 --> 00:48:35.159
poster boy like playboy charming bastard basically

00:48:35.159 --> 00:48:38.480
yeah he's almost a stereotype because of himself

00:48:38.480 --> 00:48:40.840
like he's he's formed this sort of stereotype

00:48:40.840 --> 00:48:44.239
of the the british gentleman racer um he was

00:48:44.239 --> 00:48:47.219
a former he was a former rower as well his helmet

00:48:47.219 --> 00:48:49.420
was famously in the colors of the london rowing

00:48:49.420 --> 00:48:51.760
club which is a helmet he shared with his son

00:48:51.760 --> 00:48:54.719
damon hill who was also a formula one world champion

00:48:54.719 --> 00:48:57.219
who won in 1996 and they were the first father

00:48:57.219 --> 00:49:00.760
and son to both win the world championship followed

00:49:00.760 --> 00:49:05.260
by uh nico and kk rossberg after nico won in

00:49:05.260 --> 00:49:08.559
2016 damon hill probably only a world champion

00:49:08.559 --> 00:49:11.519
because of an untimely demise event in senna

00:49:11.519 --> 00:49:15.059
arguably yeah yeah i i think that's that's fair

00:49:15.059 --> 00:49:16.440
i think we'll come to that a bit more when we

00:49:16.440 --> 00:49:19.260
talk about senna but um i think damon hill definitely

00:49:19.260 --> 00:49:20.940
deserved to win his championship when he did

00:49:20.940 --> 00:49:22.679
he had michael schumacher who was up against

00:49:22.679 --> 00:49:26.099
as well as his teammate and he He drove superbly

00:49:26.099 --> 00:49:27.900
to get there in the end. Oh, yeah, sorry. He

00:49:27.900 --> 00:49:30.139
was obviously benefited. Yeah, a moment. Senna

00:49:30.139 --> 00:49:31.440
died, therefore he became Williams. Oh, yes.

00:49:31.760 --> 00:49:33.619
Senna would have been the team leader, absolutely,

00:49:33.780 --> 00:49:35.800
at Williams, and probably would have added to

00:49:35.800 --> 00:49:38.199
his championships significantly had he stayed.

00:49:38.599 --> 00:49:41.039
So Graham Hill famously is the only driver to

00:49:41.039 --> 00:49:43.400
win the Triple Crown in motorsports. He won the

00:49:43.400 --> 00:49:46.400
Indianapolis 500 in 1966, the 24 Hours of Le

00:49:46.400 --> 00:49:51.900
Mans in 1972, and as mentioned, he won five Monaco

00:49:51.900 --> 00:49:54.059
Grands Prix and two World Championships. And

00:49:54.059 --> 00:49:55.639
to some people, the triple crown of motorsport

00:49:55.639 --> 00:49:57.880
is the Formula One World Championship, not the

00:49:57.880 --> 00:50:00.059
Monaco Grand Prix, depending on who you ask.

00:50:00.280 --> 00:50:04.760
So it doesn't matter. He's won it. Although he

00:50:04.760 --> 00:50:09.340
would not be the only one, right, if it was the

00:50:09.340 --> 00:50:11.860
World Championship. Is that right? No, no, he'd

00:50:11.860 --> 00:50:14.480
be the only one in either case. Everyone's got

00:50:14.480 --> 00:50:19.599
a gap in their CV except him. I thought Jim Clark

00:50:19.599 --> 00:50:21.699
got close, but I don't, maybe that's... He never

00:50:21.699 --> 00:50:24.949
won Monaco. Oh, for the championship, yeah. He

00:50:24.949 --> 00:50:27.250
didn't win Le Mans, maybe. I don't think he won

00:50:27.250 --> 00:50:30.409
Le Mans. Yeah, Le Mans. Sorry, not Le Mans. I'm

00:50:30.409 --> 00:50:33.010
mispronouncing it. My girlfriend will be unhappy

00:50:33.010 --> 00:50:36.090
with me if I mispronounce it. Your French girlfriend.

00:50:38.389 --> 00:50:41.889
Unfortunately, in 1975, while piloting a private

00:50:41.889 --> 00:50:44.329
plane, returning from a testing session at Paul

00:50:44.329 --> 00:50:47.969
Ricard, Hill crashed near Arklay in London, killing

00:50:47.969 --> 00:50:51.039
himself and five team members. Devastating blow

00:50:51.039 --> 00:50:53.940
to the sport, 46 years old, cut short, a post

00:50:53.940 --> 00:50:57.059
-racing career where he'd built his own team,

00:50:57.199 --> 00:50:59.579
Embassy Hill, which was beginning to show some

00:50:59.579 --> 00:51:02.119
promise. And as I said, yeah, his son Damon went

00:51:02.119 --> 00:51:04.280
on to become Formula World World Champion. Funnily

00:51:04.280 --> 00:51:06.380
enough, Damon never actually won the Monaco Grand

00:51:06.380 --> 00:51:09.739
Prix. He missed a good opportunity in 1996, which

00:51:09.739 --> 00:51:12.639
we'll go over briefly soon. But equally, his

00:51:12.639 --> 00:51:15.219
dad never won the Silverstone Grand Prix, which

00:51:15.219 --> 00:51:17.079
Damon did. So, you know, swings and roundabouts.

00:51:17.860 --> 00:51:20.449
But yeah, that's Graham Hill. Yeah, that's really

00:51:20.449 --> 00:51:25.449
cool. He's an iconic name, an iconic figure.

00:51:27.670 --> 00:51:30.250
I think we probably summed him up as best as

00:51:30.250 --> 00:51:33.570
we can in an introductory episode to the Monaco

00:51:33.570 --> 00:51:35.889
Grand Prix, but if anybody's interested, just

00:51:35.889 --> 00:51:38.570
Google him, Wikipedia him, you'll find an awful

00:51:38.570 --> 00:51:42.050
lot more information. We'll probably talk about

00:51:42.050 --> 00:51:45.190
him a bit more in two weeks' time. at Le Mans

00:51:45.190 --> 00:51:47.690
as well, speaking probably a bit more about the

00:51:47.690 --> 00:51:49.610
Triple Crown then. I think we were going to talk

00:51:49.610 --> 00:51:54.429
a little bit about the safety record in Formula

00:51:54.429 --> 00:51:57.469
1, and it's linked to Monaco, really. So in Monaco,

00:51:57.570 --> 00:51:59.329
there's only ever been one death, as I mentioned,

00:51:59.489 --> 00:52:03.369
which was Lorenzo Bandini in 1967. Funnily enough,

00:52:03.409 --> 00:52:05.769
he was the 1963 Le Mans winner, and he was going

00:52:05.769 --> 00:52:08.230
for the second leg of the Triple Crown at this

00:52:08.230 --> 00:52:09.929
point. He was actually leading, but he crashed

00:52:09.929 --> 00:52:14.929
at what is now the Nouveau Chicane. His car overturned

00:52:14.929 --> 00:52:17.949
and it burst into flames. The accident was televised

00:52:17.949 --> 00:52:20.869
as well and was marred by, as was so often the

00:52:20.869 --> 00:52:23.269
case at this point, a slow response and inadequate

00:52:23.269 --> 00:52:27.489
firefighting capabilities. So there was a famous

00:52:27.489 --> 00:52:33.409
and infamous accident in 1973 at Zandvoort. This

00:52:33.409 --> 00:52:35.590
is six years after Bandini's death, bear in mind,

00:52:35.610 --> 00:52:39.329
where a driver named Roger Williamson was trapped.

00:52:40.110 --> 00:52:42.210
It's horrible. He was trapped inside his car.

00:52:42.619 --> 00:52:44.699
There have been incidents in the past where cars

00:52:44.699 --> 00:52:47.280
are burnt up with drivers inside, but most of

00:52:47.280 --> 00:52:50.239
the time the impact was so hard that, fortunately,

00:52:50.780 --> 00:52:52.900
if you can call it that, the driver probably

00:52:52.900 --> 00:52:56.380
didn't feel a thing. Roger Williamson. Unfortunately,

00:52:56.679 --> 00:53:00.280
that is not the case. Another driver tried to

00:53:00.280 --> 00:53:03.659
get him out, failed to do so. The reason another

00:53:03.659 --> 00:53:05.780
driver had to intervene to try and help was because

00:53:05.780 --> 00:53:08.000
none of the marshals, and bear in mind, this

00:53:08.000 --> 00:53:10.909
was six years after Bandini's incident. None

00:53:10.909 --> 00:53:13.929
of the Marshalls had fireproof gear. So the other

00:53:13.929 --> 00:53:17.570
driver had to take the fire extinguisher off

00:53:17.570 --> 00:53:20.230
a Marshall. He didn't know how to use it. He

00:53:20.230 --> 00:53:22.949
had to get shown by the Marshall, wasting time,

00:53:23.070 --> 00:53:26.389
wasting effort. And this was six years after

00:53:26.389 --> 00:53:29.090
Bandini's death. I think this just goes to show

00:53:29.090 --> 00:53:31.630
the problem with Formula One at the time. It

00:53:31.630 --> 00:53:34.170
was so slow to change anything. Drivers weren't

00:53:34.170 --> 00:53:36.510
mandated to wear fireproof clothing until I think

00:53:36.510 --> 00:53:40.949
1963, somewhere around there. um for marshalls

00:53:40.949 --> 00:53:44.110
not to have i think it was 1975 um in the in

00:53:44.110 --> 00:53:47.449
the wake of roger williamson um that's that caused

00:53:47.449 --> 00:53:49.769
that from that point marshalls had to wear fireproof

00:53:49.769 --> 00:53:52.630
gear but it's just it is incredible and horrible

00:53:52.630 --> 00:53:55.949
that it had to come to this um so it was david

00:53:55.949 --> 00:53:58.889
pearly was the other driver um try try to get

00:53:58.889 --> 00:54:00.829
him out you got you got the george cross yeah

00:54:00.829 --> 00:54:04.130
the highest civilian award that can be given

00:54:04.130 --> 00:54:06.510
by the british government and thoroughly deserved

00:54:06.510 --> 00:54:09.070
it it's a horrible video And he did everything

00:54:09.070 --> 00:54:14.030
he could possibly do. Which the FIA or Formula

00:54:14.030 --> 00:54:15.630
One, whoever was running it, making the safe

00:54:15.630 --> 00:54:18.710
decisions, didn't. Six years after it happened

00:54:18.710 --> 00:54:21.989
to Bandini. It was horrible. I mean, Bandini

00:54:21.989 --> 00:54:24.630
died three days later from his severe burns.

00:54:25.349 --> 00:54:27.530
There were some safety reform discussions, but

00:54:27.530 --> 00:54:29.269
they clearly came to nothing significant because

00:54:29.269 --> 00:54:33.429
six years later, it happened again. So it just

00:54:33.429 --> 00:54:36.289
sums up. It was a horrendously dangerous sport.

00:54:38.190 --> 00:54:41.369
not helped by the governing bodies who were just

00:54:41.369 --> 00:54:44.949
unprepared to help it took drivers most notably

00:54:44.949 --> 00:54:48.329
jackie stewart who is a legend in formula one

00:54:48.329 --> 00:54:50.170
safety terms a three -time world champion but

00:54:50.170 --> 00:54:53.469
he is his very last race ever jackie stewart

00:54:53.469 --> 00:54:57.090
he saw his teammate killed horribly again quickly

00:54:57.090 --> 00:55:01.110
at least in this case but but horribly and he

00:55:01.110 --> 00:55:03.150
just walked away from the sport at that point

00:55:03.559 --> 00:55:08.420
and has spent his life from there because he's

00:55:08.420 --> 00:55:10.840
still going, campaigning for safety. He is an

00:55:10.840 --> 00:55:14.219
excellent orator. He's excellent at speaking

00:55:14.219 --> 00:55:18.340
about it. And his input, as well as other drivers,

00:55:18.400 --> 00:55:21.420
Ayrton Senna being a notable example, and many

00:55:21.420 --> 00:55:24.139
other drivers, have made a huge difference. And

00:55:24.139 --> 00:55:26.719
the sport today is so safe. I mean, we talked

00:55:26.719 --> 00:55:29.039
briefly about Romain Grosjean going through a

00:55:29.039 --> 00:55:32.079
barrier in Bahrain. there is zero chance that

00:55:32.079 --> 00:55:33.940
he would have survived that even 10 years ago.

00:55:34.099 --> 00:55:37.420
The modern technology. The halo saved his life.

00:55:37.940 --> 00:55:41.679
Yeah, no halo, no head in that case. It saved

00:55:41.679 --> 00:55:43.619
his life. The fact that he survived the explosion

00:55:43.619 --> 00:55:45.840
and the inferno that followed as well is indicative

00:55:45.840 --> 00:55:48.420
of how advanced things are compared to what you're

00:55:48.420 --> 00:55:52.280
describing in this instance. The car did what

00:55:52.280 --> 00:55:55.079
it's supposed to do. The monocoque protecting

00:55:55.079 --> 00:55:59.059
the driver separated. Took him somewhat to safety.

00:55:59.079 --> 00:56:00.739
He was able to extract himself from the car because

00:56:00.739 --> 00:56:03.400
of the fireproof clothing he was wearing. He

00:56:03.400 --> 00:56:05.699
got some burns on his hands, but honestly, for

00:56:05.699 --> 00:56:07.320
the level of accident, at the time, I didn't

00:56:07.320 --> 00:56:08.539
think he was going to survive it when I watched

00:56:08.539 --> 00:56:10.800
it live. To see him climb from the wreckage and

00:56:10.800 --> 00:56:14.219
to see him back racing a year later, albeit in

00:56:14.219 --> 00:56:16.380
IndyCar, because that was his last race ever

00:56:16.380 --> 00:56:19.559
in Formula 1. Not because of what happened, but

00:56:19.559 --> 00:56:22.480
just because of... Yeah, the contracts. Haas

00:56:22.480 --> 00:56:26.280
wanted to go a different direction. so incredible

00:56:26.280 --> 00:56:29.119
yeah i mean like on that on the point of safety

00:56:29.119 --> 00:56:33.260
it's uh like after senna's death in 94 uh and

00:56:33.260 --> 00:56:35.940
ratzenberger on the same weekend which is often

00:56:35.940 --> 00:56:38.659
not mentioned they were you know there's only

00:56:38.659 --> 00:56:40.300
been one death since isn't there which is jules

00:56:40.300 --> 00:56:42.940
bianchi and that was that led to quite significant

00:56:42.940 --> 00:56:45.440
changes in safety that was another oversight

00:56:45.440 --> 00:56:49.360
yeah yeah um where he hit the back of a one for

00:56:49.360 --> 00:56:51.500
a better phrase a tractor it was a recovery vehicle

00:56:51.500 --> 00:56:53.280
that was picking up another car that had been

00:56:53.280 --> 00:56:56.659
that slid off in wet conditions and bianchi slid

00:56:56.659 --> 00:56:59.639
off and hit hit the back of it and that was pre

00:56:59.639 --> 00:57:03.300
halo as well um yeah and so the halo came in

00:57:03.300 --> 00:57:05.900
as a as in part as a result of that as well as

00:57:05.900 --> 00:57:08.599
obviously recovery vehicles now cannot be on

00:57:08.599 --> 00:57:12.260
the track either unless there's a safety car

00:57:12.260 --> 00:57:16.039
in place um yeah yeah basically like it's uh

00:57:16.880 --> 00:57:19.420
Completely different to the attitude. The changes

00:57:19.420 --> 00:57:21.400
have been exponential in safety since the early

00:57:21.400 --> 00:57:24.780
90s, really. But yeah, on the more light -hearted

00:57:24.780 --> 00:57:27.559
side of safety, want to tell us about some of

00:57:27.559 --> 00:57:30.440
these dudes that ended up in the water? Yeah.

00:57:30.780 --> 00:57:36.960
So Monaco, as I mentioned, there's a possibility

00:57:36.960 --> 00:57:40.440
that you can end up in the harbour in the olden

00:57:40.440 --> 00:57:41.900
days because there weren't any barriers in place.

00:57:42.059 --> 00:57:44.119
And it's happened twice in the history of the

00:57:44.119 --> 00:57:46.820
race. The first time was 1955. It was Alberto

00:57:46.820 --> 00:57:48.760
Ascari, who was actually a two -time Formula

00:57:48.760 --> 00:57:51.199
One champion, which again goes to show that even

00:57:51.199 --> 00:57:53.159
the best people can be caught out by this circuit.

00:57:53.460 --> 00:57:56.480
He was the, I think, 1952, 1953 world champion.

00:57:56.780 --> 00:57:59.539
He was leading the race at the time. He crashed

00:57:59.539 --> 00:58:01.880
in the chicane and ended up in the harbour. He

00:58:01.880 --> 00:58:03.940
survived the plunge with a broken nose and a

00:58:03.940 --> 00:58:07.199
concussion, but was able to extract himself from

00:58:07.199 --> 00:58:09.460
the car because they simply didn't wear safety

00:58:09.460 --> 00:58:12.699
harnesses in those days. It was safer to be thrown

00:58:12.699 --> 00:58:14.440
from the car than it was to be trapped inside.

00:58:15.150 --> 00:58:17.389
a car being flung around and potentially set

00:58:17.389 --> 00:58:19.329
on fire. So the drivers took their chances and

00:58:19.329 --> 00:58:21.130
said, I would rather be thrown out of this car.

00:58:21.250 --> 00:58:23.710
And in this case, going into the water, that

00:58:23.710 --> 00:58:26.409
actually was a good thing because I think in

00:58:26.409 --> 00:58:28.550
a modern Formula One car, they would really struggle

00:58:28.550 --> 00:58:30.590
to extract themselves. They used to have divers.

00:58:30.869 --> 00:58:34.090
They used to have divers for the purpose of potentially

00:58:34.090 --> 00:58:36.349
extracting the drivers if needed. They don't

00:58:36.349 --> 00:58:38.909
anymore. They do have divers, but they're, strictly

00:58:38.909 --> 00:58:40.750
speaking, for drunk people falling off yachts

00:58:40.750 --> 00:58:45.059
now, not for extracting drivers. I think if a

00:58:45.059 --> 00:58:46.559
modern Formula One car was to go in and there

00:58:46.559 --> 00:58:48.280
was no one to help, I don't think the driver

00:58:48.280 --> 00:58:50.199
would be able to get themselves out. But fortunately,

00:58:50.300 --> 00:58:52.400
they've mitigated that with better barriers nowadays.

00:58:53.340 --> 00:58:57.739
So yeah, the other driver was 1965. Same situation

00:58:57.739 --> 00:59:00.880
without harnesses on. It was Paul Hawkins. So

00:59:00.880 --> 00:59:04.639
Ascari, 1955. He got himself out. But unfortunately,

00:59:04.820 --> 00:59:07.039
he actually died four days later after that.

00:59:07.460 --> 00:59:10.659
And he was a very superstitious man and a very

00:59:10.659 --> 00:59:14.000
careful man. He would never drive on the 26th

00:59:14.000 --> 00:59:15.619
of the month because that was the day his dad

00:59:15.619 --> 00:59:17.840
died on. His dad was also a Grand Prix racer.

00:59:18.179 --> 00:59:21.119
And he got out of this car four days later. It

00:59:21.119 --> 00:59:25.420
was the 26th of May, 1955. And he went against

00:59:25.420 --> 00:59:28.960
all his normal behaviour. He borrowed someone's

00:59:28.960 --> 00:59:30.900
helmet, which he never did. He went out without

00:59:30.900 --> 00:59:33.820
wearing racing clothes on the 26th of the month

00:59:33.820 --> 00:59:35.719
and he died in a test crash at Monza. And they

00:59:35.719 --> 00:59:38.039
reckon, in my opinion, his concussion that he

00:59:38.039 --> 00:59:40.820
got during this crash at Monaco that caused his...

00:59:41.050 --> 00:59:44.389
poor decision making on that case. That's interesting.

00:59:44.650 --> 00:59:47.110
That is interesting. Sad. Yeah, the first Formula

00:59:47.110 --> 00:59:51.530
One champion to lose his life, I believe. I think

00:59:51.530 --> 00:59:55.969
Mike Hawthorne was the next, but yeah, sad. That

00:59:55.969 --> 00:59:59.940
is sad. but yeah i mean like also completely

00:59:59.940 --> 01:00:02.119
insane that they used to do this circuit with

01:00:02.119 --> 01:00:05.039
like without harnesses incredible so like without

01:00:05.039 --> 01:00:07.539
barriers without harnesses and then the weird

01:00:07.539 --> 01:00:09.679
thing about both of those things is that the

01:00:09.679 --> 01:00:12.059
absence of safety features was actually a blessing

01:00:12.059 --> 01:00:14.719
if you ended up in the sea in this one in this

01:00:14.719 --> 01:00:18.599
one specific case yeah and the addition of um

01:00:18.599 --> 01:00:21.500
the safety features in a modern car could be

01:00:21.500 --> 01:00:24.039
the death of you now but fortunately of course

01:00:24.039 --> 01:00:25.739
they've mitigated it in other ways which is what

01:00:25.739 --> 01:00:28.599
you absolutely should do because not wearing

01:00:28.599 --> 01:00:31.900
harnesses was a crazy time. The amount of drivers

01:00:31.900 --> 01:00:34.239
who died was incredible. Someone like Jackie

01:00:34.239 --> 01:00:36.480
Stewart, getting to the end of his career, winning

01:00:36.480 --> 01:00:38.739
world championships, walking away when he did

01:00:38.739 --> 01:00:41.820
was rare. Really rare. There was a posthumous

01:00:41.820 --> 01:00:45.980
world champion in 1970, Joachim Rindt, who died

01:00:45.980 --> 01:00:47.900
with a couple of races to go and had enough points

01:00:47.900 --> 01:00:50.800
to win the title, but it was given to his wife,

01:00:50.840 --> 01:00:54.440
I believe, not him, his widow. I think Joachim

01:00:54.440 --> 01:00:58.360
Rindt had nearly... Nearly completed the Triple

01:00:58.360 --> 01:01:03.599
Crown. Had he? Yeah. Hold on. I'd be very surprised

01:01:03.599 --> 01:01:07.039
if he hadn't won at Le Mans. He might have. He

01:01:07.039 --> 01:01:10.500
might be the guy I was thinking of when I said

01:01:10.500 --> 01:01:15.599
about somebody who might have nearly completed

01:01:15.599 --> 01:01:20.500
it. Joachim Rindt won. He didn't win the Indianapolis.

01:01:22.099 --> 01:01:26.199
But he won the Monaco Grand Prix in 70. He was

01:01:26.199 --> 01:01:30.019
a Formula One world champion, posthumously, as

01:01:30.019 --> 01:01:35.739
you say. And he won Le Mans in 1965. So he would

01:01:35.739 --> 01:01:39.019
have been a contender, but for his death. Yeah,

01:01:39.039 --> 01:01:40.480
he wasn't that old either. I think he was in

01:01:40.480 --> 01:01:43.960
his late 20s when he died. So, I mean, I bet

01:01:43.960 --> 01:01:46.340
you anything he'd have gone for it. He was 28,

01:01:46.579 --> 01:01:51.679
yeah. Good knowledge. Graham Hill. obviously

01:01:51.679 --> 01:01:53.519
Graham Hill died relatively young he was in his

01:01:53.519 --> 01:01:56.219
40s but there's a lot of people who probably

01:01:56.219 --> 01:01:57.760
could have done what Graham Hill did in terms

01:01:57.760 --> 01:02:00.539
of winning the Triple Crown but just didn't live

01:02:00.539 --> 01:02:05.300
long enough sadly such as obviously Jim Clark

01:02:05.300 --> 01:02:08.199
being one example of that yeah Jim Clark was

01:02:08.199 --> 01:02:10.880
a very good example of that incredible dangerous

01:02:10.880 --> 01:02:13.900
time Jim Clark having won Indianapolis in 65

01:02:13.900 --> 01:02:17.179
and world champion in 63 and 65 but didn't win

01:02:17.179 --> 01:02:19.380
as you say at Monaco and didn't win Le Mans yeah

01:02:19.380 --> 01:02:21.739
but He would have done, eventually. It was too

01:02:21.739 --> 01:02:24.300
good not to. As I said, he would have won, but

01:02:24.300 --> 01:02:26.159
for the fact that lotuses were made of cheese

01:02:26.159 --> 01:02:28.719
and just fell apart at the slightest breath of

01:02:28.719 --> 01:02:30.539
wind. They were small, they were nimble, they

01:02:30.539 --> 01:02:33.260
were quick, but they just fell apart. Famously

01:02:33.260 --> 01:02:36.739
unreliable. Do you want to know a fun one? I

01:02:36.739 --> 01:02:39.139
know these things have a strict criteria, so

01:02:39.139 --> 01:02:42.039
we cannot just unilaterally decide that it applies.

01:02:42.320 --> 01:02:47.070
Bruce McLaren... Of fame. Of McLaren fame, yeah.

01:02:47.170 --> 01:02:49.349
Of McLaren fame, and McLaren being the only constructor

01:02:49.349 --> 01:02:52.329
to have completed the Triple Crown. That's true.

01:02:52.449 --> 01:02:54.570
Thanks for that. I forgot that. You're welcome.

01:02:55.030 --> 01:02:58.190
He himself, as a racing driver, won Monaco in

01:02:58.190 --> 01:03:03.349
62, Le Mans in 66, and just didn't win the Indianapolis

01:03:03.349 --> 01:03:06.610
500. Did he not die young as well? I think he

01:03:06.610 --> 01:03:11.769
died in a Can -Am accident. He died aged 32.

01:03:13.460 --> 01:03:16.679
And he did die in a Cam Allen accident. Mate,

01:03:16.800 --> 01:03:20.039
that is quite wonderful knowledge. He crashed

01:03:20.039 --> 01:03:22.559
on the Levant Strait just before Woodcock Corner

01:03:22.559 --> 01:03:25.860
at the Goodwood Circuit in England in 1970. Been

01:03:25.860 --> 01:03:30.480
testing his McLaren M8D when it fell apart at

01:03:30.480 --> 01:03:35.619
high speed. Yeah. Jesus. Yeah, that is sad. He

01:03:35.619 --> 01:03:37.559
probably would have completed it in his personal

01:03:37.559 --> 01:03:40.059
capacity as well as obviously his team going

01:03:40.059 --> 01:03:44.119
on to do so. Yeah. Was that again? Yeah. It's

01:03:44.119 --> 01:03:46.199
a crazy time. And obviously, drivers nowadays

01:03:46.199 --> 01:03:47.820
don't really go for the Triple Crown because

01:03:47.820 --> 01:03:52.380
they tend to focus on a single event. Like a

01:03:52.380 --> 01:03:54.360
Formula One driver doesn't go off and drive Indy

01:03:54.360 --> 01:03:56.179
anymore unless they're Fernando Alonso that one

01:03:56.179 --> 01:03:59.199
time. Whereas back in the day, they'd just drive

01:03:59.199 --> 01:04:01.119
Mulder and you could probably do it in one year

01:04:01.119 --> 01:04:05.199
if you were mad enough and good enough. Yeah.

01:04:06.039 --> 01:04:08.199
Anyway, I think we need to plough on because

01:04:08.199 --> 01:04:11.280
we could natter. about this all day i was gonna

01:04:11.280 --> 01:04:13.780
say do you want to tell us any uplifting stories

01:04:13.780 --> 01:04:17.219
i've got a funny story actually i'll go through

01:04:17.219 --> 01:04:20.079
this quickly 1982 i did mention at the beginning

01:04:20.079 --> 01:04:22.780
obviously um there's been some of the most bonkers

01:04:22.780 --> 01:04:25.719
fun races in formula one history 1982 is known

01:04:25.719 --> 01:04:28.119
as the race that no one wanted to win so i'll

01:04:28.119 --> 01:04:30.480
try my best to go through this because so it

01:04:30.480 --> 01:04:32.300
took place just after gilles villeneuve's death

01:04:32.300 --> 01:04:34.840
so ferrari only entered one car they hadn't replaced

01:04:34.840 --> 01:04:37.409
villeneuve yet And the entirety of Formula 1

01:04:37.409 --> 01:04:39.010
was in mourning for the legend that was Gilles

01:04:39.010 --> 01:04:42.190
Villeneuve, father of Jacques Villeneuve, of

01:04:42.190 --> 01:04:45.469
course, 1997 world champion, and probably a future

01:04:45.469 --> 01:04:48.809
champion himself had he not lost his life. So,

01:04:48.909 --> 01:04:51.570
let me do my best here. René Arnoux took the

01:04:51.570 --> 01:04:53.530
lead, took the pole, and then built an early

01:04:53.530 --> 01:04:55.730
lead, but crashed out after lap 14 at the Swimpool

01:04:55.730 --> 01:04:58.409
Chicane. Alan Prost inherited the lead, pulled

01:04:58.409 --> 01:05:00.329
away despite increasing rain in the final 15

01:05:00.329 --> 01:05:02.210
laps, and looked like he was strolled to the

01:05:02.210 --> 01:05:05.510
win. Other drivers around him crashed out. uh

01:05:05.510 --> 01:05:09.909
derek daly um williams was leaking oil um and

01:05:09.909 --> 01:05:12.250
then with three laps to go alan pross crashed

01:05:12.250 --> 01:05:14.329
heavily as i mentioned even the best drivers

01:05:14.329 --> 01:05:17.670
can lose concentration at monaco so in crashing

01:05:17.670 --> 01:05:20.809
he handed the leave to ricardo petraezi there

01:05:20.809 --> 01:05:22.690
was only a few drivers left in the race at this

01:05:22.690 --> 01:05:25.570
point as well petraezi then spun on daly's oil

01:05:25.570 --> 01:05:28.210
he dropped at the lowes hairpin which was on

01:05:28.210 --> 01:05:30.269
the penultimate lap of the race and stole this

01:05:30.269 --> 01:05:32.690
car ended up facing backwards up the hill excellent

01:05:32.690 --> 01:05:36.150
which meant the Peroni and De Cesaris overtook

01:05:36.150 --> 01:05:38.449
him to take first and second place. Peroni then

01:05:38.449 --> 01:05:41.090
ran out of fuel on the last lap and retired.

01:05:41.650 --> 01:05:44.510
De Cesaris then ran out of fuel moments after

01:05:44.510 --> 01:05:47.250
him at Casino Square, which then handed the lead

01:05:47.250 --> 01:05:49.329
technically back to Patrese, who'd remained in

01:05:49.329 --> 01:05:53.860
his car. But had stalled it, obviously. So he's

01:05:53.860 --> 01:05:55.840
leading. So Petraeus is leading. Technically.

01:05:58.079 --> 01:06:00.599
James Hunt famously said in his commentary, we've

01:06:00.599 --> 01:06:02.519
got this ridiculous situation where we're all

01:06:02.519 --> 01:06:04.699
sitting by the start -finish line waiting for

01:06:04.699 --> 01:06:06.840
a winner to come past and we don't seem to be

01:06:06.840 --> 01:06:09.960
getting one. With the help of the stewards, Petraeus

01:06:09.960 --> 01:06:11.860
had just barely managed to get his car going

01:06:11.860 --> 01:06:14.940
and he nursed it to the finish to take the record

01:06:14.940 --> 01:06:16.940
flag. But when he crossed the line, he had no

01:06:16.940 --> 01:06:18.360
idea that he'd won because there weren't any

01:06:18.360 --> 01:06:20.429
team radios in the day. So he got out of his

01:06:20.429 --> 01:06:23.070
car and then got told he'd won the race. So he

01:06:23.070 --> 01:06:25.030
had this bizarre podium where Patrese obviously

01:06:25.030 --> 01:06:27.289
won it. And then he had Peroni and De Cesaris

01:06:27.289 --> 01:06:30.030
who hadn't even finished the race, but had because

01:06:30.030 --> 01:06:31.809
they'd lapped the people behind them who'd crashed

01:06:31.809 --> 01:06:35.150
out or who had finished the race, but they finished

01:06:35.150 --> 01:06:37.349
a lap behind where they were. They were still

01:06:37.349 --> 01:06:39.789
technically second and third in the race, bizarrely.

01:06:41.610 --> 01:06:44.869
Nigel, even though they didn't finish, but because

01:06:44.869 --> 01:06:47.869
the checkered flag is taken. Nigel Mansell finished

01:06:47.869 --> 01:06:50.010
fourth, but he was a couple of laps down. So

01:06:50.010 --> 01:06:52.510
they had already crossed the line for the next

01:06:52.510 --> 01:06:54.630
lap. So they were ahead of him, technically.

01:06:55.130 --> 01:06:59.789
So only one car finished the allotted laps. So

01:06:59.789 --> 01:07:01.969
only five cars finished, but most of them were

01:07:01.969 --> 01:07:04.210
so many laps down. Only one car finished the

01:07:04.210 --> 01:07:06.989
allotted laps. Barely. Because he got pushed

01:07:06.989 --> 01:07:09.210
off on the marshals to start again. But it's

01:07:09.210 --> 01:07:12.250
just a crazy, unpredictable race when it wants

01:07:12.250 --> 01:07:16.340
to. I don't think you are right. Did Senna not

01:07:16.340 --> 01:07:18.199
get disqualified for that once for getting a

01:07:18.199 --> 01:07:20.119
push start? I'm going to say I don't think that's

01:07:20.119 --> 01:07:22.239
allowed anymore. I'm sure back in the days where...

01:07:22.239 --> 01:07:25.059
It's allowed in MotoGP. They're allowed to help

01:07:25.059 --> 01:07:27.679
the drivers back on their motorbikes, but I didn't

01:07:27.679 --> 01:07:30.340
think... So I'm sure this is... I'm sure this

01:07:30.340 --> 01:07:32.340
is a controversial one. I won't say it's 1989,

01:07:32.780 --> 01:07:36.840
Prost versus Senna time. Senna got a push start

01:07:36.840 --> 01:07:38.400
and then got later disqualified from a race.

01:07:38.440 --> 01:07:40.699
I need to look up the details of that, but anyway.

01:07:41.019 --> 01:07:43.159
Maybe the circumstances were different, but...

01:07:43.159 --> 01:07:46.179
Speaking of 1 -8 and Senna. Yeah. He's quite

01:07:46.179 --> 01:07:50.960
good. Yes. So it seems rude not to talk about

01:07:50.960 --> 01:07:52.820
him. He's the undisputed king of Monaco. Not

01:07:52.820 --> 01:07:56.940
to doff a cab. Obviously, even anyone listening

01:07:56.940 --> 01:07:58.880
who doesn't know anything about Formula 1 will

01:07:58.880 --> 01:08:01.099
probably have heard of Ayrton Senna. He is a

01:08:01.099 --> 01:08:03.980
legend. As with many of his races at Monaco,

01:08:04.119 --> 01:08:06.519
a lot of his wins followed a similar format.

01:08:07.000 --> 01:08:09.760
Loewe won away on the Saturday and then reaped

01:08:09.760 --> 01:08:12.630
the rewards on the Sunday. His precision was

01:08:12.630 --> 01:08:14.309
legendary. I mentioned that story from Dallas.

01:08:14.449 --> 01:08:17.989
I think it was Dallas earlier. So, I mean, his

01:08:17.989 --> 01:08:20.670
six wins as well that he ended up with could

01:08:20.670 --> 01:08:24.649
easily have been eight as well. But for a couple

01:08:24.649 --> 01:08:28.270
of unfortunate incidents, he put in in 1988 what

01:08:28.270 --> 01:08:32.630
was the most famous qualifying lap in Monaco

01:08:32.630 --> 01:08:35.149
history. Back in those days, you used to do two

01:08:35.149 --> 01:08:37.279
days of qualifying at the end of day one. He

01:08:37.279 --> 01:08:39.340
was two seconds ahead of his nearest rival, which

01:08:39.340 --> 01:08:42.600
was his teammate, Alan Prost. So, A, not a slouch.

01:08:42.920 --> 01:08:45.779
Yes. A three -time world champion, Alan Prost,

01:08:45.819 --> 01:08:48.079
wasn't it? Four -time world champion, yeah. At

01:08:48.079 --> 01:08:50.659
this point, twice world champion, I believe.

01:08:50.800 --> 01:08:53.859
And he'd win again the following year. So, not

01:08:53.859 --> 01:08:56.899
a slouch. And after day two, he was still 1 .4

01:08:56.899 --> 01:08:59.479
seconds ahead of him. So, in the same car as

01:08:59.479 --> 01:09:01.979
well. So, his teammate, a multiple -time world

01:09:01.979 --> 01:09:04.140
champion, in the same car, 1 .4 seconds faster.

01:09:04.420 --> 01:09:08.670
That is an eon faster. Yes, light years. However,

01:09:08.909 --> 01:09:11.689
during the race, he had an uncharacteristic loss

01:09:11.689 --> 01:09:14.510
of concentration at Portier and crashed, as mentioned

01:09:14.510 --> 01:09:16.930
earlier. Happened to the best of them. And that

01:09:16.930 --> 01:09:20.270
was the only race between 1987 and 1993, the

01:09:20.270 --> 01:09:22.970
only Monaco Grand Prix, that Senna didn't win.

01:09:23.109 --> 01:09:26.890
He won all the rest. However, I am going to talk

01:09:26.890 --> 01:09:29.050
about the other time he didn't win it that he

01:09:29.050 --> 01:09:32.109
could have done. Of course we are. Because I

01:09:32.109 --> 01:09:34.029
love this story because it's not just Senna.

01:09:34.090 --> 01:09:35.810
There's another driver as well who's an absolute

01:09:35.810 --> 01:09:41.930
legend here. So 1984. Tell us his name. Introduce

01:09:41.930 --> 01:09:46.550
him. I will do. Let me tell my story. So 1984,

01:09:46.989 --> 01:09:49.729
Monaco Grand Prix. It was Senna's debut year

01:09:49.729 --> 01:09:53.069
in the sport, driving an unfancied Toleman. And

01:09:53.069 --> 01:09:55.069
it was famous not just for what happened, but

01:09:55.069 --> 01:09:58.390
what was prevented from happening. It was a day

01:09:58.390 --> 01:10:02.270
of torrential rain and the emergence of two potential

01:10:02.270 --> 01:10:04.829
greats who mastered the conditions where far

01:10:04.829 --> 01:10:07.279
more experienced drivers failed to. and at the

01:10:07.279 --> 01:10:09.279
centre of it all, a red -flagged wave far too

01:10:09.279 --> 01:10:12.680
soon, suspicions of favouritism, and the dawning

01:10:12.680 --> 01:10:14.960
of a bitter rivalry between two titans of the

01:10:14.960 --> 01:10:19.119
sport. So, at this time, before it even got to

01:10:19.119 --> 01:10:21.539
Monte Carlo, Alan Pross and McLaren were the

01:10:21.539 --> 01:10:23.880
dominant force in Formula One. Alan Pross and

01:10:23.880 --> 01:10:26.239
Nicky Lauda at McLaren, so that's a heck of a

01:10:26.239 --> 01:10:29.779
team, spanning two generations worth of multiple

01:10:29.779 --> 01:10:32.439
Formula One world titles. No one gave a second

01:10:32.439 --> 01:10:34.850
glance to this little team called Tolman. Yet

01:10:34.850 --> 01:10:37.189
under the grey skies, that script began to unravel.

01:10:37.550 --> 01:10:40.789
The heavens opened and it was in this chaos that

01:10:40.789 --> 01:10:44.689
Ayrton Senna was able to introduce himself to

01:10:44.689 --> 01:10:46.029
the world, but not just him. There was another

01:10:46.029 --> 01:10:49.829
driver called Stefan Belov as well on that day.

01:10:49.909 --> 01:10:52.630
And Stefan Belov was starting back of the grid

01:10:52.630 --> 01:10:55.550
in a naturally aspirated Tyrrell. So every other

01:10:55.550 --> 01:10:58.189
car was turbocharged. The only naturally aspirated

01:10:58.189 --> 01:11:01.029
car who qualified that day was Belov in his Tyrrell,

01:11:01.069 --> 01:11:03.739
but he qualified last, as I say. So you've got

01:11:03.739 --> 01:11:06.800
Senna starting 13th in the Toleman, and Belov

01:11:06.800 --> 01:11:09.439
in the Tyrrell starting, I think, 20th in the

01:11:09.439 --> 01:11:12.319
last. So when the lights went out, Monaco delivered

01:11:12.319 --> 01:11:14.979
its usual drama whenever the rain starts pouring.

01:11:15.159 --> 01:11:17.479
So accidents to Sainte -Devote eliminated nearly

01:11:17.479 --> 01:11:20.439
a quarter of the field by lap two, and Prost

01:11:20.439 --> 01:11:22.579
inherited an early lead after Mansell spun out

01:11:22.579 --> 01:11:25.199
from the front. Meanwhile, Senna sliced through

01:11:25.199 --> 01:11:27.699
the chaos with alarming ease, dispatching drivers

01:11:27.699 --> 01:11:30.439
in vastly superior machinery, including world

01:11:30.439 --> 01:11:33.220
champions like Keke Rosberg, Ferrari aces on

01:11:33.220 --> 01:11:36.539
his way, en route to taking second place. As

01:11:36.539 --> 01:11:38.699
draw -dropping as Senna's progress was, Beloff's

01:11:38.699 --> 01:11:41.119
was arguably even more astonishing. The German

01:11:41.119 --> 01:11:45.039
rookie, in an underpowered Tyrell, started from

01:11:45.039 --> 01:11:46.739
last and picked his way up the order with raw

01:11:46.739 --> 01:11:48.880
bravery, overtaken with flair and confidence

01:11:48.880 --> 01:11:52.239
in appalling visibility on the day. By lap 29,

01:11:52.539 --> 01:11:56.079
both Senna and Beloff were closing rapidly on

01:11:56.079 --> 01:11:59.069
Prost. Senna in second, Beloff in third. Senna

01:11:59.069 --> 01:12:03.449
gained 4 .4 seconds in a single lap on a guy

01:12:03.449 --> 01:12:05.869
in the best car, in the best car on the grid.

01:12:06.210 --> 01:12:08.609
And Belov was nearly matching that as well as

01:12:08.609 --> 01:12:11.130
he danced past René Arnoux's Ferrari into third

01:12:11.130 --> 01:12:14.229
place. Only nine cars still racing in the rain

01:12:14.229 --> 01:12:16.890
in test and firing. A showdown was brewing. Senna

01:12:16.890 --> 01:12:18.930
was just seven seconds behind Prost and closing

01:12:18.930 --> 01:12:21.789
like a missile. And Belov was about 10 seconds

01:12:21.789 --> 01:12:24.170
behind Senna at this point. The rain had equalized

01:12:24.170 --> 01:12:26.729
anything and for a few glorious minutes it looked

01:12:26.729 --> 01:12:28.819
like... formula one was teetering on the edge

01:12:28.819 --> 01:12:33.159
of history but then came the twist on lap 31

01:12:33.159 --> 01:12:37.439
race director jackie ix himself a former formula

01:12:37.439 --> 01:12:39.939
one driver and a very experienced racer waved

01:12:39.939 --> 01:12:42.520
the red flag due to the rain bringing the race

01:12:42.520 --> 01:12:45.399
to a halt simultaneously michelle burry the head

01:12:45.399 --> 01:12:47.920
of the automobile club de monaco ordered the

01:12:47.920 --> 01:12:50.119
checkered flag be shown as soon as the checkered

01:12:50.119 --> 01:12:52.680
flag was waved the race was over this was despite

01:12:52.680 --> 01:12:55.550
rules allowing a race if red -flagged with less

01:12:55.550 --> 01:12:58.529
than 75 % of the laps completed, could be restarted.

01:12:58.550 --> 01:13:00.729
And more than that, at the French Grand Prix

01:13:00.729 --> 01:13:03.069
just three years earlier, the race had been stopped

01:13:03.069 --> 01:13:05.010
and restarted, which on that day allowed Alan

01:13:05.010 --> 01:13:07.430
Prost to gain his first victory in Formula 1.

01:13:07.609 --> 01:13:09.810
The precedent was there, so why was it followed

01:13:09.810 --> 01:13:12.130
differently at Monaco? Well, the reaction was

01:13:12.130 --> 01:13:15.170
immediate and explosive. To observers, the timing

01:13:15.170 --> 01:13:18.170
looked suspiciously convenient. Prost was driving

01:13:18.170 --> 01:13:20.949
a McLaren powered by a tag -badged Porsche engine.

01:13:21.189 --> 01:13:23.689
The Porsche engine... And he was spared from

01:13:23.689 --> 01:13:25.369
the relentless charge of Senna and Beloff by

01:13:25.369 --> 01:13:27.989
Jackie X, who was famously a Porsche sports car

01:13:27.989 --> 01:13:31.770
driver at that point. The fact he didn't consult

01:13:31.770 --> 01:13:34.609
race officials before stopping the race led to

01:13:34.609 --> 01:13:37.630
a $6 ,000 fine and a suspension of his license,

01:13:37.710 --> 01:13:40.829
which was even then a punitive action against

01:13:40.829 --> 01:13:43.229
a race official, which doesn't happen very often,

01:13:43.250 --> 01:13:46.689
as we know. And so, yeah, in hindsight, the questions

01:13:46.689 --> 01:13:49.939
multiply. Would Senna have caught Prost? Almost

01:13:49.939 --> 01:13:52.020
certainly. He was gaining three to five seconds

01:13:52.020 --> 01:13:54.579
per lap. He had half the race ahead of him. There

01:13:54.579 --> 01:13:56.979
was a cruel irony to that. Senna had damaged

01:13:56.979 --> 01:13:59.460
his suspension when muscling past Rosberg and

01:13:59.460 --> 01:14:01.619
hitting the kerbs. So the question of whether

01:14:01.619 --> 01:14:04.939
the car would have lasted another 46 laps? Maybe.

01:14:05.239 --> 01:14:06.920
If it had been red flagged, though, they'd have

01:14:06.920 --> 01:14:10.140
been able to repair it and start again. And then

01:14:10.140 --> 01:14:12.140
the question goes, would Belov therefore have

01:14:12.140 --> 01:14:15.039
caught both of them? Possibly. Here's Pace with

01:14:15.039 --> 01:14:17.199
the... His pace in the latter laps before the

01:14:17.199 --> 01:14:19.140
red flag was sensational. His light and nimble

01:14:19.140 --> 01:14:21.920
Tyrell, with no turbo lag as well, was thriving

01:14:21.920 --> 01:14:24.180
in the wet conditions. He wasn't just keeping

01:14:24.180 --> 01:14:27.260
up, he was attacking. Had the race been red flagged

01:14:27.260 --> 01:14:29.500
and then restarted, Tolman might have got the

01:14:29.500 --> 01:14:31.880
chance to repair Senna's car. Belaf would have

01:14:31.880 --> 01:14:33.779
started higher up on the restart and it might

01:14:33.779 --> 01:14:35.840
have been a three -way battle for victory. But

01:14:35.840 --> 01:14:38.420
we'll never know, unfortunately. The chequered

01:14:38.420 --> 01:14:41.239
flag was waved too soon and history took a different

01:14:41.239 --> 01:14:45.170
path. Senna was understandably furious. His fury

01:14:45.170 --> 01:14:47.750
was immediate. He didn't even return to the pits.

01:14:48.130 --> 01:14:50.149
Carried flat out and crossed the line ahead of

01:14:50.149 --> 01:14:52.590
Prost. Just seconds after the red flag had been

01:14:52.590 --> 01:14:55.289
shown, so he effectively overtook him, albeit

01:14:55.289 --> 01:14:59.229
after the red flag. But the result was taken

01:14:59.229 --> 01:15:00.909
on count back to the previous lap, so obviously

01:15:00.909 --> 01:15:03.270
Prost was the winner. It marked the start of

01:15:03.270 --> 01:15:05.510
Senna and Prost's legendary rivalry, the biggest

01:15:05.510 --> 01:15:09.770
rivalry in the sport. I mean, forget Hamilton

01:15:09.770 --> 01:15:13.739
and Rosberg. Schumacher, Hakkinen. Hamilton,

01:15:13.819 --> 01:15:16.779
Verstappen, probably. It's really only one season,

01:15:16.800 --> 01:15:20.260
though. Really. But what a season. Let's not

01:15:20.260 --> 01:15:26.600
go into that again. Can I add some flavour to

01:15:26.600 --> 01:15:30.779
the Tolman experience? Tolman only ran in 70

01:15:30.779 --> 01:15:34.340
races with 57 starts. They only ever achieved

01:15:34.340 --> 01:15:38.380
three podiums. A certain Ayrton Senna is responsible

01:15:38.380 --> 01:15:42.319
for all three. Yeah, they only ever achieved

01:15:42.319 --> 01:15:45.060
one pole position and two fastest laps in their

01:15:45.060 --> 01:15:49.439
entire history. But as a wonderful little link

01:15:49.439 --> 01:15:51.720
to the next generation of drivers, which might

01:15:51.720 --> 01:15:53.600
lead us on to someone else that you might want

01:15:53.600 --> 01:15:56.760
to mention in the context of Monaco, they were

01:15:56.760 --> 01:16:03.359
bought out by one Benetton, who went on to give

01:16:03.359 --> 01:16:06.100
another extremely successful and famous Formula

01:16:06.100 --> 01:16:11.300
One driver his debut. Michael Schumacher, which

01:16:11.300 --> 01:16:13.000
is... Well, his first championship. He made his

01:16:13.000 --> 01:16:15.939
debut with Jordan. Yeah, true. Yeah, with another

01:16:15.939 --> 01:16:18.779
legend, actually. Yeah, wrestling piece Eddie

01:16:18.779 --> 01:16:21.960
Jordan. Yeah, the recently departed. Sorry, yes,

01:16:22.000 --> 01:16:24.100
that was an error. Not debut, but their first

01:16:24.100 --> 01:16:26.600
championship. But that's lovely because it's

01:16:26.600 --> 01:16:29.100
giving Senna his debut and Schumacher the first

01:16:29.100 --> 01:16:32.199
championship. And then I was just going to very

01:16:32.199 --> 01:16:34.199
quickly mention, just because we were doing little

01:16:34.199 --> 01:16:36.520
links between this and the Indy, the Indy never

01:16:36.520 --> 01:16:40.640
runs in the wet. oh really it's not allowed to

01:16:40.640 --> 01:16:42.319
run in the wet probably for the best that yeah

01:16:42.319 --> 01:16:45.619
yeah it's because it's because it's so damn dangerous

01:16:45.619 --> 01:16:48.979
um because it averages like 220 mile an hour

01:16:48.979 --> 01:16:51.380
so if you crash in the india in the wet like

01:16:51.380 --> 01:16:55.439
you are you are fucked um In the nicest terms,

01:16:55.479 --> 01:16:58.579
yeah. Yeah. And basically they just postpone

01:16:58.579 --> 01:17:00.939
it. They postpone it until the showers cease

01:17:00.939 --> 01:17:03.720
and or the track is dry. If it can't be finished,

01:17:03.779 --> 01:17:07.800
they go to another day sometimes. And this is

01:17:07.800 --> 01:17:09.180
kind of fun because it's kind of what you were

01:17:09.180 --> 01:17:12.039
talking about with the beneficiary being Alain

01:17:12.039 --> 01:17:14.340
Prost on this occasion. Americans don't abide

01:17:14.340 --> 01:17:18.479
dud endings very well. So they have a procedure

01:17:18.479 --> 01:17:22.460
called the green -white checkered finish. which

01:17:22.460 --> 01:17:24.960
is a racing restart procedure in which the race

01:17:24.960 --> 01:17:27.340
is always restarted from a caution period with

01:17:27.340 --> 01:17:31.020
two laps remaining okay so that you don't get

01:17:31.020 --> 01:17:33.239
races finishing under what they would call caution

01:17:33.239 --> 01:17:36.539
or what we would call a safety car um so no safety

01:17:36.539 --> 01:17:40.560
car finishes yeah uh except you can have that

01:17:40.560 --> 01:17:43.880
at the indie but what the indie for some reason

01:17:43.880 --> 01:17:46.880
it's just the exception to the rule um But what

01:17:46.880 --> 01:17:48.859
they tend to do at the Indy 500, if they think

01:17:48.859 --> 01:17:51.500
that is going to happen, is they just red flag

01:17:51.500 --> 01:17:59.340
it. Fair enough. And then restart it as if you're

01:17:59.340 --> 01:18:03.600
resuming a race after a red flag. But yeah, it

01:18:03.600 --> 01:18:06.279
just basically means green, restart the race.

01:18:07.079 --> 01:18:10.140
White, last lap of the race, check flag. I see.

01:18:10.279 --> 01:18:14.489
Okay, cool. Sorry, tangents. Michael Schumacher.

01:18:16.010 --> 01:18:18.510
Just finish this story quickly and then we'll

01:18:18.510 --> 01:18:20.550
try and get this done before the two -hour mark.

01:18:21.090 --> 01:18:25.989
Never mind. So Beloff never saw his third -place

01:18:25.989 --> 01:18:27.869
result unfortunately become official because

01:18:27.869 --> 01:18:30.369
Tyrrell would later controversially disqualify

01:18:30.369 --> 01:18:33.710
from the championship over a ballast issue, nullifying

01:18:33.710 --> 01:18:36.890
his incredible podium. A year later, he was fighting

01:18:36.890 --> 01:18:39.229
for the lead in the 1 ,000 kilometers of Spa.

01:18:40.079 --> 01:18:42.659
He was at this point the world endurance champion

01:18:42.659 --> 01:18:46.840
and he collided going up Eau Rouge with another

01:18:46.840 --> 01:18:49.659
car flat out. He crashed head -on into the barriers

01:18:49.659 --> 01:18:52.699
without any chance to brake. The driver he hit

01:18:52.699 --> 01:18:54.600
ran over to desperately help the marshals in

01:18:54.600 --> 01:18:58.579
extracting Beloff. That man was Jackie X, funnily

01:18:58.579 --> 01:19:02.479
enough. And unfortunately, it took 10 minutes

01:19:02.479 --> 01:19:04.520
to extract him and Beloff was pronounced dead

01:19:04.520 --> 01:19:07.159
before he reached the hospital. He was 27 years

01:19:07.159 --> 01:19:10.579
old. World endurance champion and an up -and

01:19:10.579 --> 01:19:13.239
-comer in Formula 1. One can only speculate what

01:19:13.239 --> 01:19:15.640
the future held for such a clearly talented young

01:19:15.640 --> 01:19:20.539
driver. That accident has eerie hallmarks of

01:19:20.539 --> 01:19:25.500
Antoine Hubert. Same location, collision with

01:19:25.500 --> 01:19:28.220
the driver. Not quite the same collision. It

01:19:28.220 --> 01:19:30.600
was two cars came together and went into the

01:19:30.600 --> 01:19:32.579
barriers as opposed to... One hit in the barriers

01:19:32.579 --> 01:19:34.500
and coming out and getting hit. Got hit, yeah.

01:19:34.659 --> 01:19:39.000
Which was awful. So the race should have continued

01:19:39.000 --> 01:19:41.319
that day. It could have continued. It could have

01:19:41.319 --> 01:19:43.100
gone down as one of the greatest duels in Formula

01:19:43.100 --> 01:19:45.979
1 history. Instead, we have this controversy,

01:19:46.300 --> 01:19:49.760
but there is one side note to this. So Alan Pross

01:19:49.760 --> 01:19:52.920
was the beneficiary of it on the day. The controversial

01:19:52.920 --> 01:19:55.100
red flag gave him the win, but it also cost him

01:19:55.100 --> 01:19:57.960
potentially more than he gained. Because half

01:19:57.960 --> 01:20:00.140
points were awarded for the race, Pross gained

01:20:00.140 --> 01:20:02.880
four and a half points for his win, rather than

01:20:02.880 --> 01:20:04.520
the usual nine points which were awarded at the

01:20:04.520 --> 01:20:07.189
time for a win. His teammate and closest rival

01:20:07.189 --> 01:20:08.989
for the championship, Niki Lauda, had already

01:20:08.989 --> 01:20:11.810
retired from the race. Had the race gone to its

01:20:11.810 --> 01:20:13.829
normal finish, more than likely he'd have finished

01:20:13.829 --> 01:20:16.869
second behind Senna, as looked the most likely

01:20:16.869 --> 01:20:19.449
outcome at the time. If that had been the case,

01:20:19.510 --> 01:20:21.229
he'd have got six points instead of four and

01:20:21.229 --> 01:20:23.729
a half. He ended up losing the title to Lauda

01:20:23.729 --> 01:20:26.569
by half a point, which is the closest title race

01:20:26.569 --> 01:20:28.949
finish in history and was Niki Lauda's third

01:20:28.949 --> 01:20:31.470
and final world title. So what could have been

01:20:31.470 --> 01:20:36.750
all around in this case? Yeah, that is what could

01:20:36.750 --> 01:20:39.069
have been for sure. That's a cool story, though,

01:20:39.149 --> 01:20:43.670
even if interrupted and intersected by the musings

01:20:43.670 --> 01:20:48.029
of my mind and tangents. That's fine. I just

01:20:48.029 --> 01:20:50.390
have to bank through some of these a little bit,

01:20:50.430 --> 01:20:54.689
but we'll get it done. Well, why don't we finish

01:20:54.689 --> 01:20:59.350
on Michael Schumacher then, and we can regale

01:20:59.350 --> 01:21:02.470
people's stories of Monaco another time in more

01:21:02.470 --> 01:21:08.449
detail. I'll very briefly mention 1996 was another

01:21:08.449 --> 01:21:13.170
race with a bit of rain about and only three

01:21:13.170 --> 01:21:16.310
drivers ended up finishing that race. And the

01:21:16.310 --> 01:21:18.430
winner was Olivier Pannis for his only ever Formula

01:21:18.430 --> 01:21:21.289
One win. It was one of the most surprising wins

01:21:21.289 --> 01:21:24.329
in Formula One history. Almost every other driver

01:21:24.329 --> 01:21:26.609
on the track getting technical issues or crashing

01:21:26.609 --> 01:21:28.789
out, including Marcus Schumacher, who crashed

01:21:28.789 --> 01:21:30.850
out on the first lap of that one, having taken

01:21:30.850 --> 01:21:34.430
pole position. It was a brilliant lap. I can't

01:21:34.430 --> 01:21:36.270
remember if I remember this or not. I don't know

01:21:36.270 --> 01:21:39.170
if it's like a memory that has been created because

01:21:39.170 --> 01:21:40.810
I've watched it so many times, like on YouTube

01:21:40.810 --> 01:21:42.189
or something, or whether I actually watched this,

01:21:42.250 --> 01:21:45.729
because I did watch Formula 1 in 1996, but probably

01:21:45.729 --> 01:21:47.890
wasn't aware anyway, even if I did watch it.

01:21:48.510 --> 01:21:51.750
Nevertheless, a very exciting race. We'll mention

01:21:51.750 --> 01:21:53.930
Michael Schumacher because, obviously, he's a

01:21:53.930 --> 01:21:55.949
legend of the sport. To some people, the greatest

01:21:55.949 --> 01:21:58.569
man ever to drive, and I think there's a lot

01:21:58.569 --> 01:22:01.489
of... I think the one thing to say about Michael

01:22:01.489 --> 01:22:04.909
Schumacher, Well, he did push limits. He left

01:22:04.909 --> 01:22:08.189
a winning Benetton team in 1996 to join Ferrari,

01:22:08.470 --> 01:22:11.109
who at that time were not a winning team. He

01:22:11.109 --> 01:22:13.789
stayed with them through the project and he stuck

01:22:13.789 --> 01:22:17.409
with them for four seasons before they became

01:22:17.409 --> 01:22:19.989
a winning team and reaped the benefits of that

01:22:19.989 --> 01:22:21.930
by winning, obviously, five championships in

01:22:21.930 --> 01:22:24.310
a row to win seven in total. I think that's an

01:22:24.310 --> 01:22:25.829
incredible achievement. And he was close to winning

01:22:25.829 --> 01:22:28.069
other titles too. But he wasn't far from controversy.

01:22:28.130 --> 01:22:30.270
Obviously, he got disqualified one season for...

01:22:30.829 --> 01:22:32.289
Essentially trying to take Jacques Villeneuve

01:22:32.289 --> 01:22:35.170
out the race in the last race of the season.

01:22:35.369 --> 01:22:38.210
He's not the only great, though. Our previous

01:22:38.210 --> 01:22:41.649
hero, Anne Senna, who we were discussing, he

01:22:41.649 --> 01:22:44.470
did the same to Prost in Suzuka. He did the same

01:22:44.470 --> 01:22:46.750
to Prost and later just flat out admitted to

01:22:46.750 --> 01:22:48.529
it. Yeah, got away with it and then admitted

01:22:48.529 --> 01:22:53.170
it later. But yeah, Michael Schumacher. I would

01:22:53.170 --> 01:22:55.729
say if anyone wants to watch someone absolutely

01:22:55.729 --> 01:22:59.539
bossing Monaco, just watch the first lap. particularly

01:22:59.539 --> 01:23:03.539
of the 1997 monaco grand prix so it was in in

01:23:03.539 --> 01:23:06.600
changeable conditions and ferrari gambled on

01:23:06.600 --> 01:23:08.840
an intermediate setup where other other teams

01:23:08.840 --> 01:23:11.220
went dry other teams went wet they went for an

01:23:11.220 --> 01:23:12.939
intermediate setup and that's what the conditions

01:23:12.939 --> 01:23:15.960
were like at the start and uh there were other

01:23:15.960 --> 01:23:18.539
drivers around him on similar setups even so

01:23:18.539 --> 01:23:20.880
his first lap you see him sliding around all

01:23:20.880 --> 01:23:23.010
over the place he's trying to find grip He finishes

01:23:23.010 --> 01:23:25.029
the lap six and a half seconds clear of anyone

01:23:25.029 --> 01:23:27.430
else in the field. And by lap five, he was 22

01:23:27.430 --> 01:23:29.569
seconds clear. And this wasn't the dominant Ferrari.

01:23:29.829 --> 01:23:31.810
This was fairly early days of him at Ferrari.

01:23:32.090 --> 01:23:35.229
This wasn't the 2004 Ferrari that won 12 out

01:23:35.229 --> 01:23:38.149
of 13 of the opening races. I think Jarno Trulli

01:23:38.149 --> 01:23:40.350
actually winning at Monaco was the only thing

01:23:40.350 --> 01:23:44.270
that broke that spell. But yeah, nevertheless,

01:23:44.649 --> 01:23:47.489
Monaco is a track for the masters. And that was

01:23:47.489 --> 01:23:51.270
a master on his day in that case. So yeah. I

01:23:51.270 --> 01:23:54.050
think that's Monaco. I think we can probably

01:23:54.050 --> 01:23:56.789
just about leave it there. Unless you've got

01:23:56.789 --> 01:24:00.590
anything? No, I think we've covered most of the

01:24:00.590 --> 01:24:04.949
really important and fun stories and history

01:24:04.949 --> 01:24:07.329
just to give people a flavour of what it's all

01:24:07.329 --> 01:24:10.069
about if they decide to tune in and watch it

01:24:10.069 --> 01:24:13.970
this weekend. Which is good. Certainly on Saturday,

01:24:14.149 --> 01:24:16.069
certainly for qualifying. It's always a good

01:24:16.069 --> 01:24:18.789
qualifying session regardless of the race. You

01:24:18.789 --> 01:24:22.239
always get drama the weekend. You do always get

01:24:22.239 --> 01:24:24.279
drama at some point in the weekend. I was only

01:24:24.279 --> 01:24:26.960
going to mention, just because it would be remiss

01:24:26.960 --> 01:24:29.739
not to talk about our hero, Lewis Hamilton's

01:24:29.739 --> 01:24:34.479
won it three times. 2008, 2016, 2019. Two different

01:24:34.479 --> 01:24:38.060
teams. Which arguably is probably less than he

01:24:38.060 --> 01:24:40.079
could or should have won it, really, when you

01:24:40.079 --> 01:24:42.340
think of his record and success elsewhere. But

01:24:42.340 --> 01:24:44.079
I should mention one of those times he didn't

01:24:44.079 --> 01:24:46.640
win it was the time that Rosberg parked his car

01:24:46.640 --> 01:24:50.489
down a side road, which... brought out the yellow

01:24:50.489 --> 01:24:53.010
flags. Rosberg was not punished for that, whereas

01:24:53.010 --> 01:24:56.149
Schumacher was for parking on Rascasse. So maybe

01:24:56.149 --> 01:24:57.770
it would have been four wins if it wasn't for

01:24:57.770 --> 01:25:00.930
that. Yeah, yeah. But no, I think we've covered

01:25:00.930 --> 01:25:05.449
that very nicely. The Indy 500 is watchable on

01:25:05.449 --> 01:25:12.029
Fox Sports in America and on Sky in the UK. Yeah,

01:25:12.069 --> 01:25:14.869
and on the Sky Formula One channel after the

01:25:14.869 --> 01:25:17.760
Monaco Grand Prix. Yeah, and Sky also have the

01:25:17.760 --> 01:25:19.600
Micro Grand Prix, as you've just alluded to,

01:25:19.659 --> 01:25:24.979
and Channel 4 have the highlights. The Formula

01:25:24.979 --> 01:25:27.779
1 has its own TV channel. For anybody who really

01:25:27.779 --> 01:25:29.560
loves Formula 1, probably be familiar with that,

01:25:29.579 --> 01:25:31.699
so you can watch it there as well. But that requires

01:25:31.699 --> 01:25:34.600
a subscription, although none of it is free to

01:25:34.600 --> 01:25:39.659
air, so apart from Channel 4. So yeah, good fun

01:25:39.659 --> 01:25:42.819
though. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I always

01:25:42.819 --> 01:25:45.640
am looking forward to it. As we say, even though

01:25:45.640 --> 01:25:49.380
I'm 90 % sure that Sunday will be processional,

01:25:49.399 --> 01:25:52.319
as it often is, you never know. And even last

01:25:52.319 --> 01:25:55.979
year, when it was a procession, well, not too

01:25:55.979 --> 01:25:57.619
much of a procession, it was decent last year,

01:25:57.659 --> 01:26:01.100
but last year was notable because for the first

01:26:01.100 --> 01:26:04.439
time since 1931, when Louis Chiron won it. Last

01:26:04.439 --> 01:26:06.880
year's race was won by a monogast driver, Charles

01:26:06.880 --> 01:26:08.680
Leclerc. Yeah, that was cool. Which was awesome.

01:26:09.279 --> 01:26:11.100
Especially because Charles Leclerc has had horrible

01:26:11.100 --> 01:26:12.619
luck at that race. He hadn't finished it, had

01:26:12.619 --> 01:26:14.939
he? And made mistakes as well. Yeah. Maybe not.

01:26:15.000 --> 01:26:18.039
He qualified on pole one year, but then crashed.

01:26:18.399 --> 01:26:20.840
Or he crashed, which made him qualify on pole,

01:26:20.979 --> 01:26:22.159
because obviously that brought out the red flag

01:26:22.159 --> 01:26:24.260
and the qualifying. But then he couldn't start

01:26:24.260 --> 01:26:27.680
the race because he crashed so hard. He broke

01:26:27.680 --> 01:26:30.140
his car, basically. And if they'd have changed

01:26:30.140 --> 01:26:31.500
it too badly, they'd have sent him to the back

01:26:31.500 --> 01:26:33.300
of the grid. So they gambled, and then he pulled

01:26:33.300 --> 01:26:37.260
out during the formation lap. And Ferrari's strategy,

01:26:37.460 --> 01:26:40.239
as it does, had let him down as well. So it was

01:26:40.239 --> 01:26:42.020
nice to see him finally stand on the top step.

01:26:42.119 --> 01:26:44.920
And the crowds were obviously loving it as well.

01:26:45.260 --> 01:26:48.960
And then he walked home. That's the best part

01:26:48.960 --> 01:26:51.800
of that story. To be fair, I think most Formula

01:26:51.800 --> 01:26:53.600
One drivers probably can walk home from Monaco

01:26:53.600 --> 01:26:55.300
because they all live there. But most of them

01:26:55.300 --> 01:26:57.680
didn't grow up there. or get the bus to school

01:26:57.680 --> 01:27:01.100
there, or walk around the street as a child that

01:27:01.100 --> 01:27:04.380
he later went on. So, special story. That is

01:27:04.380 --> 01:27:07.340
a nice one. That's a nice way to end, actually.

01:27:09.119 --> 01:27:13.659
So, I guess with that in mind, where are we off

01:27:13.659 --> 01:27:18.739
to next? So next week, we're back on football

01:27:18.739 --> 01:27:21.340
because one week off is far too long for us not

01:27:21.340 --> 01:27:24.039
to go back to football. Yes. And it's also the

01:27:24.039 --> 01:27:27.859
Champions League final. So we are there. Sore,

01:27:27.939 --> 01:27:32.359
but we'll be there nonetheless. Sorry, Ben. That

01:27:32.359 --> 01:27:35.180
will be Inter Milan versus Paris Saint -Germain,

01:27:35.340 --> 01:27:38.560
which is interesting. Probably the complete opposite

01:27:38.560 --> 01:27:41.180
of the final anyway. Well, I wanted, you wanted,

01:27:41.279 --> 01:27:44.760
a lot of Arsenal fans certainly wanted, but nevertheless.

01:27:45.449 --> 01:27:48.810
It will still be an interesting one, and I imagine

01:27:48.810 --> 01:27:52.770
the neutrals will be into fans. Quite possibly,

01:27:52.770 --> 01:27:55.789
for similar reasons to why neutrals were Crystal

01:27:55.789 --> 01:27:58.630
Palace fans this weekend, or last weekend, for

01:27:58.630 --> 01:28:03.229
the FA Cup. Indeed. Cool. Well, yeah, join us

01:28:03.229 --> 01:28:04.810
then if you're interested in the Champions League.

01:28:05.590 --> 01:28:11.390
But until then, au revoir, Jack. Au revoir, Ben.

01:28:17.160 --> 01:28:19.899
Once again, thank you so much for listening to

01:28:19.899 --> 01:28:22.479
the Sporting Almanac podcast. I cannot say that

01:28:22.479 --> 01:28:25.100
enough. If you enjoyed it, give a like, subscribe,

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01:28:34.220 --> 01:28:36.649
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01:28:36.649 --> 01:28:38.869
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01:28:38.869 --> 01:28:41.130
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01:28:41.130 --> 01:28:44.069
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01:28:44.069 --> 01:28:45.649
you next week in Munich for the Champions League

01:28:45.649 --> 01:28:48.630
final. But until then, stay curious. Sport is

01:28:48.630 --> 01:28:50.810
nothing without the stories that make it. Goodbye.