Tony Brooks, the last surviving Formula 1 race winner from the 1950s, has passed away at the age of 90.

Born Charles Anthony Standish Brooks on February 25 1932, Brooks was known as the ‘The Racing Dentist’, having famously dovetailed his studies in dentistry at the University of Manchester with the beginnings of his racing career – Brooks then qualifying as a dentist in 1956.

Soft spoken, mild mannered and lacking the obvious star quality of fellow British racers like Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn, Brooks was nonetheless a searingly fast driver, winner of six Grands Prix (from just 38 starts), including his joint win at the 1957 British Grand Prix at Aintree – a victory he shared with Moss.

Brooks made his debut for BRM at the 1956 British Grand Prix, going on to drive for Vanwall in 1957 and 1958, before being picked by Enzo Ferrari to race for his famous team – with Brooks coming close to winning the world title in 1959.

He would race on until 1961, his last outing seeing him finish on the podium in that year’s United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen for BRM, before he left the sport behind him to focus on business interests.

Highly rated by his peers, Moss would always say of Brooks that, if he were to create his own Formula 1 team and pick any two drivers to race for the squad, Brooks would have been one of them, with Jim Clark alongside.

Speaking of the news of Brooks’ passing, meanwhile, Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “I was saddened to hear the news that Tony Brooks has died. He was part of a special group of drivers who were pioneers and pushed the boundaries at a time of great risk. He will be missed and our thoughts are with his family at this time.”

When Michael Schumacher dropped $45 million a year salary just not to team up with Kimi Raikkonen

On the 40th anniversary of Gilles Villeneuve's death, Formula 1 remembers a legend of its history. In a freshly uncovered interview from 1996, Ferrari chief designer Harvey Postlethwaite provides insight into Villeneuve, his relationship with team-mate Didier Pironi and his impact at Ferrari
Adam Cooper

The untold Gilles Villeneuve story from inside Ferrari
Forty years ago today, Gilles Villeneuve lost his life after colliding with Jochen Mass during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder.

The story of his Ferrari team’s tumultuous 1982 Formula 1 season, which also included career-ending injuries for Villeneuve’s team-mate Didier Pironi, has been told many times.

However, one voice rarely quoted is that of the Maranello team’s chief designer Harvey Postlethwaite, whose 126C2 won the constructors’ championship that year – and should have won the drivers’ title.

In 1996, three years before he died, Postlethwaite told this writer about that season and the complex relationship between Villeneuve and Pironi. The interview wasn’t used at the time, and for the past 26 years it’s been lost in a box of old micro cassettes.

Much like his contemporary Patrick Head, Postlethwaite was a no-nonsense racer, not given to sentimental reflection. However, it was clear that he had fond memories of Villeneuve among the many drivers he had worked with over the years.

“Gilles had this image of being completely mad,” he said. “Well mad is probably the wrong word, but of being very fast and being I suppose irresponsible, almost, in a racing car. In fact, it wasn't quite like that.

“He was a very serious driver, he took his driving very seriously. But he did like to take everything very much to the limit. And he liked every lap he drove to be as quick, or quicker, than the last lap he drove.

“Now, that was a way I suppose he probably had of pushing himself to the limit. But he was certainly rather brighter and rather less of a madman than people have made out. I mean, the image has probably grown with the passing time, but actually, I always found him very serious, and really quite a bright guy.

“He was by no means a politician, and he spoke very clearly and simply about the car. And I think he was greatly appreciated for that. But he was bloody quick. I mean, there's no doubt about that. He was probably one of the fastest racing drivers there's ever been.”

Postlethwaite confirmed that Enzo Ferrari had a soft spot for Villeneuve, who first raced for him at the end of 1977.

“Ferrari the racing team then was much, much less political than it is now,” reckoned Postlethwaite. “Still, there was a certain amount of not stepping on people's toes. And Gilles didn't mind whose toes he stepped on! If he thought the car was no good, he said that, and that tended to upset a number of people, but he didn't mind doing that.

“And the Old Man loved him very much for it, because he thought that was exactly what he wanted to hear. He wanted to know.

“They barely had a language in common – they had some French in common. But I don't think anyone was ever really close to Enzo Ferrari. Certainly, he had a great affection for Gilles without any doubt, because Gilles did what few other people could do. He could do what Michael Schumacher is doing today, he could take a car which is probably not the best, and he could make it go as quick as anybody else.

"Gilles was quick everywhere. But particularly, and it sounds almost silly, but it's quite true, Gilles was amazing on slow corners. On twisty corners he was unbelievably quick" Harvey Postlethwaite
“Pironi was a different sort of guy,” Postlethwaite recalled. “I knew him less well, I didn't know him at all until I went to work for Ferrari. He wasn't such an open sort of person, so rather more difficult to get to know. But he was also pretty quick.”

Postlethwaite gave an interesting insight into the styles of the two drivers: “Gilles was quick everywhere. But particularly, and it sounds almost silly, but it's quite true, Gilles was amazing on slow corners. On twisty corners he was unbelievably quick.

“And Pironi was quick at fast circuits. He was a very, very amazingly brave driver in fast corners. He never lifted. And in a funny way, they complemented each other.”

Villeneuve and Pironi were firm friends – until the infamous 1982 San Marino GP, a race boycotted by most of the British teams.

After the Renault challenge faded, they traded the lead several times. The Canadian believed they were putting on a show for the fans, and that Pironi would comply with a pre-race agreement and let him win. It was also a tight race on fuel consumption, and both drivers had to be mindful of that.

On the last lap Pironi blasted past and took the flag, leaving Villeneuve with no time to respond. After the race he was adamant that he had been robbed, and swore that he would not talk to his team-mate again.


Although Villeneuve’s feelings were well known, Postlethwaite downplayed the impact in the camp. “I think the animosity that was supposed to have been between them was blown up out of proportion,” he insisted.

“There may have been a moment's animosity over the business of what happened at Imola. But even that was blown out of all proportion. Certainly, within the team, it wasn't perceived as anything particularly problematic at the time."

So had Pironi established himself in a strong enough position to get away without censure from the management?

“I didn't think his position was any stronger than Gilles' was,” said Postlethwaite. “I think rather the opposite, I would say. Don't try and simplify the internal politics of Ferrari to a thing like that, there was much more going on than that. And the Old Man was pretty much up to date with everything that was happening.

“He had them in and gave them both a talking to. He was talking to the drivers all the time. They spent a lot of time at Maranello, the drivers, they had to be there. When the testing was on he liked to watch, and he talked to the drivers all the time. I think he was very much in control of the situation.”

Villeneuve stuck to his vow not to talk to Pironi in the days after Imola, and he was still fuming when he got to the next race in Zolder.

The accepted wisdom is that he was so fired up by what had happened a fortnight earlier, and so keen to outpace his team-mate, that the qualifying accident that claimed his life was a direct result of their feud.

Postlethwaite, who was back in Maranello that weekend and thus arguably a step removed from the tension in the camp, downplayed any connection: “Gilles was always desperate to qualify ahead.

“Gilles had a will to win which was just incredible. He would overtake anybody in anything, all the time. He didn't care. I mean, that was the way he was, he just wouldn't let people get in his way.

“Personally, I do not think that what happened at Imola in any way contributed to what happened subsequently in Zolder. I never have believed that. It's a good story, but I don't think it had anything to do with it.

“Gilles wanted to be the quickest all the time, and if that meant overtaking people… You should see the things he got up to on the bloody road. If a car was in front of him, it was to be overtaken. It wasn't that he was sort of particularly aggressive. It was just that was the way he was, if he saw a car in front, he would overtake it. That was it. He just knew he was the quickest driver.”

"Gilles would have been world champion that year I think, without any doubt. The car was good enough, the engine was good enough and Ferrari was good enough to get him onto the podium often enough" Harvey Postlethwaite
After Zolder the team carried on, with Patrick Tambay stepping in and later scoring an emotional win in Germany. Pironi won in Holland and logged a string of podiums in a year when no driver or team dominated. Heading to Hockenheim in August with five rounds to go, he led the world championship by nine points.

In a wet session on Saturday morning the Frenchman was fastest when he ran into the back of Alain Prost’s Renault, and his car took off. The crash was uncannily similar to Villeneuve’s, but he survived, albeit with badly broken legs. It was the end of his racing career.

“What can you do?,” said Postlethwaite. “That's motor racing, isn't it? And these sorts of things happen. The velocity of Villeneuve's accident was incredible, and the severity of the other accident was incredible. The car went up in the air, God knows how fast.

"They were two very, very severe accidents, and to have them both happen in one year was an awful tragedy. And I think it was something that had a very big effect on everybody.

“It's difficult now to remember your emotions at the time. Funnily enough, I remember the day of the Pironi accident more than the day of the Villeneuve accident, because the Pironi accident seemed so silly.”

Including Hockenheim, Pironi missed the last five races of the season – and he was still classified second in the standings, five points behind Keke Rosberg. The constructors’ title provided some consolation for Ferrari.

In 1986 Pironi did some testing with AGS and Ligier, but an F1 comeback was never on the cards. Instead, he forged a new career in offshore powerboat racing. In August 1987, just over five years after the Hockenheim crash, he was killed in an accident off the Isle of Wight.

Postlethwaite remained adamant that Villeneuve would have won in 1982, and could have gone on to achieve much more.

“Gilles would have been world champion that year I think, without any doubt,” he said. “The car was good enough, the engine was good enough and Ferrari was good enough to get him onto the podium often enough for him to have won the world championship.

“Personally, I've always liked drivers who were quick, and he was quick. It's always nice to deal with a driver like that. Gilles was a star in a period before telemetry. It's different now, it's all very much more scientific.

“Whether somebody like him will be capable of winning those races today, I don't know, but certainly in that period he was able to win races. When you look at the bloody races with that turbo car in 1981, Monaco and Spain, it’s unbelievable what he did with that car.

“It's really difficult to know what he would have gone on to do. We can speculate, but I'd like to believe that he would have won several world championships, and that he would have been a wonderful ambassador for the sport.

“I think the sport needs world champions with character, and he was a wonderful character, a colourful character, he was a personaggio, as they say. The fans, particularly in Italy, will always love a driver who is quick. He could do things with racing cars which other drivers couldn't do.

“He had a helicopter and he'd try and make it loop. That was the kind of guy he was. And I think people just appreciated that, certainly then. One of the sad things is probably the whole world is now much more anaesthetised to these things, and perhaps that isn't quite kosher these days."

There would be more race wins before Postlethwaite left Maranello in 1987, but the 1982 car remains the one that his tenure at the team is best remembered for.

“I have my own memories and my own experiences of the situation,” he said. “And I suppose it's not something one likes to go back over, because when a driver gets hurt in a car, you don't really want to go back over it.

“There were positive things and negative things that came out of it. But I personally I don't like to see that whole thing hyped up. And I think it was hyped up.

"I think the sport needs world champions with character, and he was a wonderful character, a colourful character, he was a personaggio" Harvey Postlethwaite
“There is some truth in the various rumours about what happened, and the animosity that there was between the drivers, but it was blown up out of all proportion. And I think actually I'd far prefer to remember those two drivers as good friends, and they were actually, off the track quite good friends, I remember.

“They shared a language, and they shared a lot of other things. I think that they were both excellent drivers, and they were both very, very competitive. It was a great tragedy that both of them got killed in accidents.”

F1 drivers, Paris Match, December, 2017
PARIS, FRANCE - DECEMBER 4: F1 drivers Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Fernando Alonso, Jacques Villeneuve, Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Mario Andretti are photographed for Paris Match on December 2017. This picture has been made thanks to Jean Todt and the FIA during the inauguration of their Hall of Fame at Place de la Concorde, Paris. (Photo by Regine Mahaux/Contour by Getty Images)

This year’s FIA Formula One World Championship is all but decided with six races to go. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen is not only on the verge of winning his second consecutive World Drivers’ Championship but also on pace to shatter records. The 24-year-old Dutchman could break the single-season records for most race wins and highest win percentage. However, the one-sided affair between the front-running teams starkly contrasts with the rest of the F1 field.

Every single team has scored at least six points in the World Constructors’ Championship. Every current full-time driver, except Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, has scored at least four points in the World Drivers’ Championship. While Williams trails the other teams by over three times their own points total, the formerly formidable British team can still score points on occasion if the stars align. For example, the reigning Formula E champion Nyck de Vries scored points in his F1 debut at Monza with Williams. De Vries capitalized on an opportunity created by the FW44’s straight-line speed advantage paired with numerous power unit penalties served by other drivers.

Seemingly, the days of multiple teams struggling to score a single point are over. Things are arguably easier now for teams at the back. The top ten finishers in a Grand Prix score points, instead of the top six, which was the case throughout most of F1’s history. Also, there are only ten teams competing, meaning that every driver will start the race regardless of their position in qualifying. Let’s take a look back to the days when it was possible to fail to make a starting grid or finish a Grand Prix in 26th place. Here are the ten worst teams in Formula 1 history.

10: Forti
Before entering Formula 1, Forti was a very competent junior-category team. The Italian squad won their country’s national Formula 3 championship three times, as well as nine race victories in International Formula 3000, equivalent to today’s Formula 2. The team moved to F1 with Brazilian driver Pedro Diniz, backed financially by his familial wealth.

The FG01, Forti’s debut F1 car, was so slow in 1995 that both their entries failed to complete enough of the race distance to be classified as finishers in two races. The Forti FG01 had a significant power disadvantage and was the only car in 1995 to feature a manual transmission. Pedro Diniz was able to finish 7th in the season-ending Australian Grand Prix, just outside of the points.

While the team showed signs of improvement, Diniz and his financial backing left Forti for Ligier in 1996. Forti failed to qualify nine times due to being too slow during the 1996 season and filed for bankruptcy two-thirds of the way through the season.

9: RAM
The Ford Cosworth DFV made Formula 1 more accessible than at any other time in its history. With engines capable of winning races available for purchase basically right off the shelf, many new teams entered the world championship with huge aspirations without the resources to match.

RAM — no relation to the American truck brand — was one of those new teams in 1976. The very unsuccessful team competed sporadically in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s with the backing of brands like Penthouse Magazine and Skoal smokeless tobacco. In 1983, RAM had 15 entries across the season and failed to qualify 12 times. RAM only entered F1 as a two-car team on a full-time basis for two seasons, 1984 and 1985, after it had started using Hart turbocharged inline-4 engines. The team disbanded after the 1985 season primarily due to losing Skoal as a sponsor.

8: Zakspeed
Zakspeed earned its notoriety by competing with Fords in touring and sports car racing. The German team won the 1984 Interserie championship with the C1/8 derived from the Ford C100 Group C car. The following year, Zakspeed made its Formula 1 debut. However, the team’s five-year stint in the world championship amounted to almost nothing. Martin Brundle was able to score the team’s only points with a 5th-place finish at the 1987 San Marino Grand Prix. The Challenger Deep of Zakspeed’s tenure in Formula 1 was its final season in 1989. The German team had two entries in all 16 races and had an entry fail to pre-qualify 30 times. Zakspeed continued on after departing F1 and even won Nürburgring 24 Hours twice in 2001 and 2002.

7: AGS
Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives was founded by a gas station owner in Gonfaron, France and made its debut at the 1986 Italian Grand Prix. The Formula 1 team was based out of the garages at the same station and initially only had seven team employees. Sadly, the team was as competitive as you would think a gas station-based F1 team would be. Over six seasons, AGS entered 80 races and had an entry fail to qualify 76 times. However, the team did score a single point on two occasions, with 6th place finishes at the 1987 Australian Grand Prix and 1989 Mexican Grand Prix. AGS folded near the end of the 1991 F1 season.

6: Osella
Osella has to get some credit for its longevity. After a successful Formula 2 season in 1979 with American Eddie Cheever, the Italian team decided to make the leap up to Formula 1. Osella lasted 11 seasons in F1. Though, Osella had only two points-scoring finishes during their time in the world championship. The team entered 132 Formula 1 races and its entries failed to qualify 83 times. Its penultimate season in 1989 would be Oscella’s worst with its entries failing to pre-qualify 21 times. After leaving F1, Osella became a hill-climbing powerhouse. Since 1993, Osella machinery has won 20 FIA European Hill Climb Championships.

5: Coloni
Coloni prematurely rocketed itself up the ladder to F1 after winning the 1984 Italian F3 championship. It entered International F3000 in 1986 and Formula 1 in 1987. Coloni failed to qualify for every single race it entered in 1990 and 1991. While the Coloni name would disappear from F1 after 1991, the team would continue to be backmarkers the following season. The Italian team continued to compete in the penultimate step of the junior ladder to F1 until 2012.

4: EcoBrun
EuroBrun made its Formula 1 debut in 1988 and disbanded after the 1990 season. The Swiss-Italian team struggled both financially and competitive for its entire existence. The team’s best-ever result was when Stefano Modena finished 11th at the 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix. EuroBrun would go on to fail to pre-qualify for every single F1 race in 1989. On Formula 1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Roberto Moreno admitted that EuroBrun did not want to qualify in 1990 because it would be too costly to actually race. EuroBrun had 76 entries over its F1 stints and failed to qualify 53 times.

3: Life
Life was a short-lived Italian team that only competed during the 1990 Formula 1 season. The new team’s efforts were based around a unique 3.5-liter W12 engine, which ended up having at least a 100-horsepower disadvantage compared to the rest of the field. The engine’s configuration of three four-cylinder banks didn’t help either as the team failed to pre-qualify for every race it entered. Life switched to a Judd V8 engine for its final two races, but the team did not live.

2: Mastercard Lola
The title of the shortest-lived Formula 1 team has to go to Mastercard Lola. The British constructor only lasted a single race in the 1997 season despite having the backing of Mastercard. Lola’s agreement with Mastercard centered around the launch of the credit card company’s “F1 Club” program. Revenue to Lola would be pulled from cardholders joining the “F1 Club” so it was like a department store employee peddling store cards for the commission.

Both the team’s entries failed to qualify for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, then Mastercard Lola withdrew from F1 as the team was in Brazil to compete in the next round. Mastercard Lola racked up $9.7 million in debt before it folded.

1: Andrea Moda
In late 1991, Italian shoe designer Andrea Sassetti bought Coloni to start his own Formula 1 team called Andrea Moda, after his fashion brand. After failing to pay the $100,000 deposit for new entries, Andrea Moda was excluded from the 1992 season-opening South African Grand Prix. The team claimed to be a continuation of Coloni, but Sassetti didn’t purchase Coloni’s F1 entry. In the next round in Mexico, the team didn’t participate because its cars weren’t ready, despite its equipment being in Mexico City. Andrea Moda fired both its driver for criticizing the poor management of the team.

Andrea Moda would go on to fail to qualify for every race it entered, except for Roberto Moreno making the field for the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix. That season’s Belgian Grand Prix would be the final race the team would attempt to qualify for as Sassetti was arrested in the paddock for forging invoices for parts. Afterward, the FIA World Motor Sport Council, the highest body in international motorsport, expelled Andrea Moda from Formula 1 for bringing the sport into disrepute.

-Porsche 914
Used in: 1973 Canadian Grand Prix
The Formula 1 safety car made its debut at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park in Ontario. Back then, it was a bright yellow Porsche 914, which had been released by the German automaker in 1969.

-Porsche 911
Used in: 1976 Monaco Grand Prix and 1995 Belgian Grand Prix
There was a three year gap before the next official F1 safety car rolled out the garage, and it was another Porsche. This time, it was a 911 that ran in the 1976 Monaco Grand Prix.A second Porsche 911 served as safety car in the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix, which was won by Michael Schumacher.

-Lamborghini Countach
Used in: 1981 Monaco Grand Prix, 1982 Monaco Grand Prix and 1983 Monaco Grand Prix.
Probably one of the coolest cars to ever serve as F1's official pace-setter is the Lamborghini Countach. Between 1981 and 1983, three Lamborghini Countach supercars stepped up to the plate for the Monaco Grand Prix.

-Ford Escort RS Cosworth
Used in: 1992 French Grand Prix and 1992 British Grand Prix
The role wasn’t always held by exotic supercars, however. In 1992, Ford offered an Escort RS Cosworth for Formula 1's safety car at two races that year. Finished in white with two orange lights on its roof, the Escort safety car served at the French and British Grands Prix.

-Fiat Tempra 16V
Used in: 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix
Another year, another new safety car. This time, it was at the Brazilian Grand Prix where Formula 1 debuted another example. This time, it was the Fiat Tempra, which was assembled in Brazil between 1991 and 1998.

-Opel Vectra
Used in: 1994 San Marino Grand Prix
By 1994, Formula 1 still didn’t have a permanent safety car in place. So when the San Marino Grand Prix came round, it was the turn of Opel to offer up a car for this purpose. Probably the lowest point in the F1 safety car’s history.

-Honda Prelude
Used in: 1994 Japanese Grand Prix
The fifth generation Honda Prelude served as F1 safety car at just one race. Held at Suzuka, the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix was won by Damon Hill in the Williams after he started the race in second.

-Lamborghini Diablo
Used in: 1995 Canadian Grand Prix
The last exotic Italian safety car burst onto the scene at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix. Built between 1990 and 2001, the Lamborghini Diablo was fitted with a 5.7-liter V12 engine that produced 485 hp. In contrast, the Ferrari V12 fitted to the team’s F1 cars that year churned out 700hp.

-Renault Clio
Used in: 1996 Argentine Grand Prix
From one extreme to another. The final temporary safety car came in 1996, when a Renault Clio donned the lights and stickers as it led the pack at the Argentine Grand Prix.

-Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG
Used in: 1996 Formula 1 season
For the remainder of the 1996 season, a Mercedes-Benz was used as F1's official safety car. This marked the start of a long lineage of Mercedes safety cars, which continues to this day.

-Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG
Used in: 1997, 1998 and 2003 Formula 1 seasons.
For three season, F1 used the Mercedes-Benz CLK 55 AMG as its safety car of choice. Fitted with a 5.4-liter V8 engine, the CLK 55 produced 362 hp and could hit 62 mph in 5.4 seconds.

-Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG
Used in: 1999 and 2000 Formula 1 seasons.
At the turn of the millennium, F1 was still using Mercedes-Benz safety cars, including the CL55 AMG that ran in the ‘99 and 2000 seasons. This was also the first car driven by current F1 safety car driver Bernd Mayländer.

-Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG
Used in: 2001 and 2002 Formula 1 seasons.
This is one of my favorites on this list, the SL 55 AMG from the 2001 and 2002 Formula 1 seasons. The road-going variant of this car had its top speed limited, but rumors swirl that the 5.4-liter engine can power it up to 208mph.

-Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG
Used in: 2004 and 2005 Formula 1 seasons.
First released in 1996, the Mercedes-Benz SLK made its debut as the F1 safety car in 2004. This face-lifted variant was said to have a front end inspired by the very cars it was parading round race tracks every other weekend.

-Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG
Used in: 2006 and 2007 Formula 1 seasons.
Another personal favorite in Mercedes’ long line of safety cars is the CLK 63, this was also the one that was in action when I started to get really invested in F1. The safety car was also given a power boost this year, thanks to the new 6.2 liter V8 Mercedes had to play with.

-Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG
Used in: 2008 and 2009 Formula 1 seasons.
Released in 2008, the SL 63 was the latest and greatest from AMG, so an obvious choice for F1's next safety car. The SL 63 lead the pack as F1 went through one of its biggest controversies in recent years, Crashgate at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

-Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Used in: 2010 to 2014 Formula 1 seasons.
Up until this point, the F1 safety car had been missing one thing (well, technically two): gullwing doors. With the arrival of the SLS AMG in 2010, that error was rectified. As well as gullwing doors, the high-end Mercedes brought with it a 6.2-liter V8 and a top speed of 196 mph.

-Mercedes-Benz AMG GT S
Used in: 2015 to 2017 Formula 1 seasons.
Sadly, gullwing doors weren’t long for this world, and after two years the SLS AMG was replaced with the new AMG GT S. This car has remained a fixture of the F1 paddock in one guise or another ever since.

-Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R
Used in: 2018 - 2020 Formula 1 seasons.
A hot new version of the AMG GT meant it was time for a hot new safety car to take to the track in 2018. The AMG GT R used the same engine as the outgoing safety car, but managed to extract 577 hp and accelerate to 62 mph in just 3.6 seconds.

-Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Black Series
Used in: 2021 - 2022 Formula 1 seasons.
These days, this is the safety car you’ll see leading the current generation of F1 cars round racetracks around the world every other week. The AMG GT Black Series is an impressive car, but its 720 hp is still eclipsed by the 1,000 hp plus that the 2022 F1 cars produce.

-Aston Martin Vantage
Used in: 2021 - 2022 Formula 1 seasons.
But the AMG GT isn’t the only safety car in use this year, as we’re treated to two these days. The role is now shared between Mercedes and Aston Martin, which fields a Vantage finished in green as its idea for the perfect safety car.

Villeneuve was reportedly only 0.8sec behind Alpine regular Esteban Ocon

After we found out that Red Bull Racing have been fined a hefty $7 million (some might argue that’s not enough), it got us thinking about other fines in Formula 1. We know that a lot of dollar bills float around in F1, but some of these numbers are HUGE.

1: $100 Million
This eye-watering amount is the biggest fine handed out in F1’s history. The $100,000,000 total was given to McLaren back in 2007 over the whole ‘Spygate’ scenario, where the FIA found the team were in possession of some very important technical data belonging to rivals Ferrari. This data had been leaked by one of Ferrari’s former engineers.

That year McLaren were also disqualified from the constructors’ championship, despite having a total of eight wins between their two drivers – Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

2: $7 Million
This is what Red Bull Racing have been forced to pay after breaching the 2021 Cost Cap. As well as the fine, the team were hit with a 10% reduction in the amount of aerodynamic testing they’re allowed. There’s no doubt this will impact their 2023 car, too

3: $5 Million
Before Spygate, the largest fine in F1’s history was after the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix. Podium politics are to blame for this one, and the FIA handed it to the organisers of the race after a big controversy.

A Turkish Cypriot leader presented a trophy to the winner of the event but was introduced as “the president of the Turkish republic of northern Cyprus”, which angered and upset the Greek Cypriot community.

The FIA said this was a breach of the sport’s political neutrality and fined them $5m, which was later halved.

4: $1 Million
Ferrari were slapped with this fine after Michael Schumacher helped Rubens Barrichello on to the top step of the podium and gave the first-place trophy to his teammate after the 2002 Austrian GP. The FIA fined the team and both drivers, with the event occurring as a result of team orders when Barrichello was told to move over to let Schumacher win.

Most fines don’t exceed seven figures, so here are some other pricey fines for wrongdoing in the championship over the last few years.

5: $450,000
Alongside Red Bull, Aston Martin were also fined for their involvement in the 2021 Budget Cap. Documents stated that the team had 12 cases of “incorrectly excluded and/or adjusted costs” in their submission, which picked them up a fine of $450k.

6: 400,000
Racing Point picked up a fine in 2020 and a deduction of 15 championship points after they were found to have breached the sporting regulations. Renault protested Racing Point for their brake ducts, which had been designed by Mercedes but weren’t allowed as each team needed to design theirs in-house.

7: $309,000
This fine was handed to a team known as ‘US F1’ who had promised they’d be entering the 2010 F1 season but didn’t. The financial sanction was equivalent to the championship entry fee, and the team was also banned from ever participating in an FIA racing series.