Bloggers' British Grand Prix Heroes with MoneySupermarket.com

In advance of the forthcoming British Grand Prix, MoneySupermarket.com asked several F1 bloggers, including yours truly, to vote for who in their view are the best British F1 drivers from history.

Britain isn't short of great drivers, and as such picking out the very best isn't a straightforward task. The result of ranking the bloggers' ratings of the top three are below in the infographic. You'll also see there's a lovely quote from little old me:


Image source: MoneySupermarket Car Insurance

The vote found a worthy winner: Jim Clark is also by my reckoning Britain's best ever, possibly the best ever full stop. Jackie Stewart was a close second in the rankings, and the people's champion Nigel Mansell completed the podium. Personally, I'd have liked to see Stirling Moss a bit higher (I placed him second behind Clark), and given all of his recent focus including via the Rush film I'm a little surprised that James Hunt is only tenth. But in my view the top ten is a pretty credible one. Maybe it shows that there is collective wisdom among F1 bloggers after all(!)

There are more details on it all here: http://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/infographics/british-gp-heroes-results/

Looking back: 'A typical English summer's day', the 1975 British Grand Prix

Rain and the British Grand Prix are reasonably familiar acquaintances. This has been the case this weekend, with each session for the F1 cars being disrupted by rain showers to some extent. However, whatever happens this weekend, or indeed at any other F1 race, it's very hard to imagine any being as rain-affected as the British Grand Prix of 1975, which was then as now at Silverstone.

After two days of rain-interjected practice, the race pivoted on two rain separate storms sweeping over the circuit. The second of which was of such force that it accounted for thirteen cars (compare that to the six that left the track via the Nurburgring river in 2007), leaving only six cars running as the race was terminated ten laps ahead of time. In between, the drivers did their best to put on a diverting motor race, with seven different leaders, and nine changes of lead, and a top order that swayed this way and that.

The F1 circus gathered at Silverstone for the 1975 race, and the large and enthusiastic crowd present across the three days (practice was Thursday and Friday, and the race on the Saturday - not unusual at the time), and the fact that everyone who was anyone in British motorsport was in attendance it seemed, ensured a jamboree atmosphere. This was despite the persistently iffy weather, storms intermingling with bright sunshine throughout.

Ronnie Peterson prepares for the start
Credit:  Lawson Speedway

The 1975 British Grand Prix was also one of watersheds (perhaps appropriate given the weather). First of all, Graham Hill had finally announced his retirement from driving, after a then record 176 starts, to concentrate on running his F1 team. I say 'finally' partly as the decision wasn't exactly unexpected, his previous attempt to qualify an F1 car was back in the Monaco event over two months earlier, but also because his performances had been far short of his former majesty for a number of years. Still, Hill threatened to bring the house down when he did a demonstration lap just before the race start, smiling, waving and minus a crash helmet, in one of his latest Hill GH1s.