Because the F.I.A. deemed it wise to run Grand Prix cars on aviation petrol, and reduce race lengths to 200 miles, there has been a distinct trend towards building smaller and lighter Grand Prix cars and in consequence there has been a search for reducing the unsprung weight on the cars. By a logical series of steps the design trend of today's Grand Prix car is undergoing a radical change, for without the possibility of using wasteful alcohol, fuel consumption has improved from something like 4?5 m.p.g. to 9?10 m.p.g.; the shorter races have reduced the total carrying capacity required, this large reduction in weight has allowed smaller tyres and lighter suspension parts to be used, and a smaller overall car has permitted smaller and lighter brakes and the whole character of Grand Prix racing is changing from one where driver, mechanics, team?manager and designer all had to work as a unit, to one where each member of the team does his job and then sits back and watches the next man do his.
Was he correct in saying that the coming of AvGas fundamentally influenced the way the cars were designed? I feel that perhaps he was overstating its impact, and that the cars were going in that direction anyway…
And his comments on teamwork are interesting in the light of today’s races, so often won in the pits…
