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An extract from the Frank Williams podcast
Rob Widdows: Frank, if you went over to the Williams museum would there be one or maybe two cars in there that would make you pause, smile and…
Frank Williams: Absolutely, the first FW07 and then the 1986 car – the FW11 because it pissed on everybody. Simple as that. It’s human nature! You can tell by the speed of my response that it’s automatic.
RW: Yes, well, I thought you might say that.
FW: The good news is that we had an Australian and an Englishman in these cars, both with the same attitude – Alan Jones and Nigel Mansell.
RW: Talking of those cars that “pissed on everybody”, what’s it been like the last few years for someone who is so focused on winning?
FW: That’s the other side of the coin, isn’t it? It’s my turn to be pissed on! That’s how it happens, isn’t it?. Sort yourself out Frankie boy, that’s the answer.
RW: And you are, we’re sure.
FW: Well, we’re plodding along… unless you can ban Adrian Newey. The thing I love about Adrian is that he’s so unspoiled. He’s got no conceit whatsoever.
RW: If he was down in the workshop here, you wouldn’t want to ban him, would you?
FW: No, no, no…
Nigel Roebuck: He’s worth more than any driver, isn’t he?
FW: He’s worth so much more.
And another thing
Our readers on the double-points finale in 2014
John: F1 has increasingly lost the plot. Rather than address a problem head-on, it seems that adding fancy bells and whistles is the solution.
Daryl: It’s getting to the stage where I’ll have two free hours of a Sunday to do something else. It’s getting silly now.
CC: I can put up with this one. The idea is a bit of a gimmick, but in the wider context of F1 – DRS, constant driver penalties, endless tyre nonsense, Tilkedromes, pay drivers – it’s not the worst idea I’ve heard.
Online with our writers
Gordon Kirby
Charge of the last brigade
It’s probably happened before and since in motor racing somewhere around the world, but the most spectacular last-to-first performance I’ve ever witnessed took place on the Milwaukee Mile in June of 1981, when Mike Mosley drove All American Racers’ unique Eagle-Chevy from the back of the grid to win.
Gordon Cruickshank
Ken Gregory and Stirling Moss
“SM was comfortable driving for British teams – not because he was patriotic but because he was comfortable with the British way of doing things,” says Gregory. “But he would have taken the Ferrari drive offered in ’51 except he had a commitment to HWM. He was strict about things like that.”
Andrew Frankel
Martin Brundle on F1 in 2014
“From what I’m hearing, I think it could be complete chaos in the early part of the season,” he replied. “I think we could have a situation where I’m sitting there in the commentary box, watching car after car retire saying, ‘Will someone please win this race?’”
Paul Fearnley
F1’s number conundrum
#5 for most people is red and belongs to Nigel Mansell. (A Fleet Streeter charged with reporting every word and movement made by ‘Our Nige’ was uncharitably nicknamed ‘Brown 5’.) For me, however, it is the digitised #5 on Nelson Piquet’s Brabhams, although the golden #5 on Andretti’s JPS Lotuses
runs it close.
Top tweets
@Damien__Smith Stuart Hicken and Eddie Roberts (motorcycle men) take over running of Mallory Park. Excellent news. Good luck to them. A big task ahead.
@Damien__Smith Ross Brawn to leave Merc. Their loss.
@AnotherEdFoster Schumacher may have had his hand in 14 #F1 world championships, but Ross Brawn tops that on 16 championships. #WhatareyoudoingMercedes?
@Andrew_Frankel Putting a roof on the F-type increases rigidity from 18,000Nm/deg to 33,000Nm/deg. 542bhp F-type R should be something else…
@AnotherEdFoster Looks like DiCaprio will be playing Catch Me If You Can in Formula E next year. It’s a Titanic signing…
@Andrew_Frankel Why we should be taking Honda seriously again
@matoxley Márquez has had an op to improve nasal breathing. The others ain’t gonna see which way he went in 2014.
@Damien__Smith Fittingly, the number of comments on our race number feature is… 27. Forza Gilles.
@matoxley Sad to hear of Rambo Romboni’s passing. He was a sight to behold on a 125 and 250 and also on Aprilia’s 400 twin in the 1990s.
@paulpunter Double points maybe, just maybe, for Spa or Monza or Monaco. But never for Abu Dhabi #F1playsthejoker #parpparpMrTodt
@AnotherEdFoster Double points final round? Has the world gone mad? Oh, no, it’s just #F1.