I am sure I read, in a Jim Clark biography a few years ago, that very few laps into the Monaco GP an anti-role bar on his Lotus 25 broke.
He completed the remainder of the race by switching his engine off & on at every corner.
Oh, & he won the race.
I think Clark never won the Monaco GP.
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Correct.
Best result - 4th - 1964 (in Lotus 25 - Coventry Climax).
PS. The Coventry Climax FWMV V8 engine won 22 F1 races in total, 19 of those being with Jim Clark. Powerful⌠but fragile�
He let Graham Hill win that one a few times.
Yes sorry, my faulty memory.
Just found an Autosport report (Dennis Jenkinson) from the time. I think what confused me was that, according to the report, Clark had a 6 second lead when the role bar mount broke & extended this by a further 4.5 seconds over the next few laps while the stewards were deciding whether to black flag him as bits were trailing from the rear of his car & were dangerous to other cars.
Chapman decided to call him in before he was blacked flagged & just before he pitted the offending parts fell off, unbeknown to Clark, who pitted & lost the lead.
I confused winning the race with increasing his lead with a damaged car until forced to pit, unnecessarily as it turned out.
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Lewis Hamiton has signed for another 2 years with Merc, and Russell has also extended his contract until the end of 25. Some reports are saying Lewis is getting another ÂŁ10 million a year to do so meaning his salary will again match Maxâs.
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Lewis must be a magical negotiator if that is correct.
I think it is likely true and Merc is willing to pay this because of his value in marketing activities. Whether he is worth it for his driving abilities now, remains to be seen. But as Alonso is showing with modern sports science older drivers can keep going a lot longer. In the 50s drivers that survived could carry on longer but as cars got faster and downforce arrived in the mid to late 60s drivers did not appear to be able to keep up with the physical demands and be fast enough as they go close to 40s.
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I guess that is most important. Itâs unlikely Mercedes will be challenging for the championship this season or next.
That, plus who else would they sign? Merc will want at least one driver from the top tier, and at the moment everyone of those is tied. Is it perhaps not a coincidence that Hamilton is now signed until LeClercs contract at Ferrari expires?
Lots of free agents next year. I am not sure Le Clerc is any better than Russell and I think we have an unusually large number of potential top-tier drivers at the moment. Norris and Paistri are definitely in the group with Russell and Le Clerc, then you have Sainz and Albon who both appear to have the potential to be world champs in the right car. Vowles is clearly very impressed with Alex and he has worked with a few world champs, some of them who won multiple championships so I guess knows a very good driver when he works with one. Of course, Hamilton might do an Alonso and continue into his 40s at the top and Merc will stick with what they have driver-wise for 26 and the new regs.
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Obviously all cars running are running thin rear wings but the Ferrari wing looks incredibly shallow to me.
Albon seems to be able to perform when the expectation is low. He was less good when he had a challenging teammate. But maybe he has improved?
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Agreed. I think any driver going up against Max in the same car at the moment is under immense pressure.
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While all the drivers you mention are indeed very good, I donât think any of them are currently in that very top-tier that Hamilton, Alonso & Verstappen occupy. Piastri undoubtedly will be, but in a few years. LeClerc could be if he can stop making so many mistakes. Merc will want a driver thatâs there now, Hamilton was their only option for the moment AFAICT.
Russel, Norris, Albon & Sainz are all very fast, excellent, drivers, but simply not of that calibre. But as you say, in the right car (and with the right teammate), they can still win championships.
I think Albon may be better than the car is showing him to be. In a Merc he could surprise Russel.
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Carlos!!!
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If iâm not mistaken, Leclercâs contract ends after 2024 season whereas Lewis has re-upped until end 25. Lando on the other handâŚ
