1970 was the year of transition in Grand Prix racing; the season that pitched the old guard against a feisty new breed of racers intent on pushing Formula One forward into the new decade. Nothing symbolised this battle more than the cars used by top contenders: Jackie Ickx’s Ferrari 312B relied on brute force to compensate for its outdated styling, whereas Jochen Rindt’s Lotus 72 showed that radical aerodynamics represented a brave and (potentially) faster way forward. And with the technological battles came a fascinating season’s racing. Jackie Stewart was the defending champion but took nothing for granted. When different drivers won the first four races, Stewart, and the world, knew that the Championship was wide open. Thrilling battles ensued until triumph and tragedy came together in one fatal collision: on the 5th of September 1970 Championship leader Jochen Rindt died during practice at Monza. He was to become the sport’s first posthumous champion. Brunswick Films were pioneers in the embryonic days of Formula One production, when sponsors controlled the demand for footage, and before the era of global TV coverage began. They have skilfully combined film from their famous archive - including some previously unseen material - to create a review that captures the essence of a very special era in Grand Prix racing.
The reigning champion, Ferrari’s Niki Lauda, started the 1976 season as the favourite. His nearest rival, Emerson Fittipaldi, made the patriotic switch from McLaren to the Brazilian-funded Copersucar team. This left a hole at McLaren, filled by flamboyant Brit James Hunt. Tyrrell stole the limelight early on with their revolutionary six-wheeled P34. Hunt quickly adapted to life at McLaren and, unfazed by Lauda's early dominance, continued to pick up valuable points and podium finishes. The 1976 season however will probably be best remembered for Niki Lauda's horrific accident at the Nurburgring that nearly ended his life. His resilience and dedication to racing saw him make a remarkable recovery, returning six weeks later to ensure a thrilling climax to a season that ended with only one point separating 1st and 2nd place in the championship.
After years of domination, the McLaren-Honda team received a shock in 1991, in the form of Williams-Renault. The Williams were by far the most competitive cars in the Championship. Ferrari, the stars of winter testing, fell into disarray during the season and finished a distant third. Benetton's highpoint was winning the Canadian race and introducing the most dynamic new driver of the season, Michael Schumacher, whilst newcomers Jordan performed superbly to take 'best of the rest' in the Constructors’ Trophy. Ayrton Senna thoroughly dominated the early races of the '91 season, but it soon developed into a tense two-way battle as Nigel Mansell clawed his Williams-Renault into contention. The official review somehow squeezes all the highlights of a dramatic and exciting year into 162 minutes.
Determination paid off for Nigel Mansell in 1992 as he finally succeeded in capturing the crown. Mansell left nothing in reserve as he piloted his Williams-Renault to nine wins and fourteen pole positions: his winning margin was more than 50 points over team-mate Riccardo Patrese. With no Alain Prost, Senna’s McLaren-Honda team off the pace, Ferrari still in the wilderness and Jordan replacing both of their 1991 drivers, ‘92 proved to be a year of turmoil for most of the grid. The exceptional team was Benetton whose young driver Michael Schumacher was proving to be a force to be contended with. With five winners in the final five races of this season the annual review packs in so much action it will reward multiple viewings.
Prost’s retirement in 1991 quickly turned out to be a “sabbatical” as he was unveiled as Williams-Renault’s star driver for the 1993 season with Damon Hill in the second car. With Honda out, McLaren became a Ford customer team, it was the end of a legendary pairing. Senna persisted in what seemed to be an impossible task, trying to stay in contention with the returned Prost and the runaway Williams-Renault. Other notable performances come from the talented Schumacher who deserved better results; Hill, who repaid the support of his team; Barrichello, who did not have the chance to show his potential and Mika Hakkinen who displayed future World Champion qualities with just three appearances.
The official two-hour review of the 1994 season - a year packed with controversy, triumph & tragedy, and lots of ‘down-to-the-wire’ racing. The season will always be remembered for the tragic accident which claimed the life of one of the all-time-greats, Ayrton Senna in the San Marino round on the Imola circuit. Damon Hill took the number one seat at Williams-Renault from Round 4 on, but the 1994 Championship appeared to belong to Michael Schumacher. But then he lost valuable points in controversial circumstances and had to sit out two races. As a result Hill was able to close to within one point following the rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix.
1999 saw Formula 1 celebrate 50 years as the World’s top motor racing series. The season was a classic and a worthy milestone, the most open in years, producing six winners and four title contenders. In the early rounds the Championship was fought out between Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher until the German's accident at the British round. Ferrari, who had a real possibility of winning the Drivers' World championship, were despondent but they had not taken into account Eddie Irvine rising to the challenge. In the end the Championship went down to the wire at the final race in Japan where Hakkinen and Irvine fought a psychological and tactical battle dividing the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship between them.
The 2003 season was unprecendented, but 2004 was just remarkable. Thirteen wins out of eighteen handed Michael Schumacher his record breaking seventh FIA Formula One Drivers Championship title. To say that Michael's ruthless domination of the sport was the only story of 2004 is just not true. McLaren and Williams fell by the wayside with just one win each, leaving Renault and BAR to pick through the pieces. This year marked Jenson Button's meteoric rise to become a genuine championship contender. Ride on-board with Jenson as he hits almost 19,000 rpm taking his first ever pole position in Imola. Listen to Takuma Sato's team radio at the start of a race, experience the return of Jacques Villeneuve and the crash that put Ralf Schumacher out for much of the season. 2004 saw East meet West with new circuits in Bahrain and China that brought out the best and worst in Michael Schumacher. Watch the record-shattering season unfold from a multitude of on-board cameras, exclusive interviews and unseen footage as Michael does it again!
The 1971 season saw a major skirmish in the battle between 12-cylinder rearguards BRM, Ferrari and Matra against the ever growing ranks of teams using the lighter and cheaper Ford DFVs. Ferrari’s aging flat-12 powered 312 earned debutant Mario Andretti a welcome win in the first race of the season, but once ‘69 world champion Jackie Stewart found his stride with the monocoque Trell-Ford 003, there wasn’t too much joy for fans of the big twelves. As the season progressed, Stewart and Tyrell developed a magical recipe that combined a very well designed car, a strong reliable engine and the Scot’s sublime talent. Stewart was helped to victory by an extremely talented chasing pack that saw wins spread between four other drivers, making it hard for anyone to sustain the momentum needed to overhaul the flying Scotsman. The 1971 season is perfectly summarised in this 52 minute piece of nostalgia. Relive key events from this colourful, exciting and hard-fought year of racing.