Description
‘a visual treat’
Octane
‘does a fine job recreating the most romantic period of F1’
BBC Top Gear Magazine
‘excellent and varied pictures bring the period to life’
Classic Cars
Motor racing as it used to be – beautifully photographed
The companion title to the author’s Formula 1 in Camera, 1960–69, Volume Two this is an updated edition of the original volume covering the 1960s and will appeal to all motor-racing enthusiasts and especially to new collectors of this successful series. Featuring evocative full-colour photographs throughout, this book depicts one of the most exciting decades in the history of Formula 1. Also containing team, driver and results listings for each year, this beautiful and nostalgic book is enriched, as always, by the author’s meticulous picture research and well-observed commentary.
Formula 1 in the 1960s was the story of British promise fulfilled. Here, in this captivating all-colour book, is a detailed photographic portrait of the decade using rare images from a period that was largely seen in black and white through newspapers, magazines and books. It was a truly heroic and savage era, often conducted over unprotected roads in fragile machines at the mercy of fate.
English-speaking drivers reigned supreme through this period, winning all ten drivers’ titles. Jack Brabham, Phil Hill, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, John Surtees, Denny Hulme and Jackie Stewart were the World Champions, but other significant drivers within the British, Commonwealth and American elite were Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti.
Following on from Vanwall’s achievements in the 1950s and successful evolution of rear-engined cars towards the end of that decade, British cars and engines also came to the fore during the 1960s, with British teams winning eight of the ten constructors’ titles in those years.
The first year of the decade was the last for the 2.5-litre formula, and when Cooper entered the arena that year to become the championship-winning constructor, the old guard, notably Ferrari, were already obsolete. The controversial 1.5-litre formula of 1961, however, left all but Ferrari struggling with underpowered cars, until V8 engines from Coventry Climax and BRM, allied to superior chassis design, soon restored the status quo. By 1964 Dunlop’s wider R7 tyre heralded a long overdue improvement in tyre performance, followed by the participation of Goodyear and later Firestone.
By the end of 1965 Lotus reigned supreme, but Coventry Climax’s withdrawal left them without a suitable engine for the 3-litre formula that arrived in 1966, leaving Brabham unexpectedly able to rule the roost for two seasons with its Repco-powered cars. Then the arrival of the all-conquering Ford-Cosworth DFV engine in 1967 changed everything. Lotus and Matra were victorious in 1968 and ’69, while commercial sponsorship and the use of aerodynamic wings upped the stakes exponentially.
About the author
Paul Parker is the author of Formula 1 in Camera, 1950–59, Formula 1 in Camera, 1960–69 (Volumes One and Two) and Formula 1 in Camera, 1970–79 (Volumes One and Two), along with sister titles covering sports car racing in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. Additionally he has written Sixties Motor Racing with Michael Cooper, Jaguar at Le Mans 1950–95, Races, Faces, Places and Klemantaski: Master Motorsports Photographer. He is a freelance writer and a superb photo researcher, with work published in Octane, Motor Sport, Classic Cars, Forza!, Jaguar World Monthly and The Daily Telegraph. He also track tests historic cars and has raced a Lister Jaguar.
