17 replies to this topic

[BuddyHolly]

Does anyone have any info on Delboy's younger brother?   Just how good was he, do we have any ideas?

I'd love to hear any comments from people that saw him race or know about him.

[PlatenGlass]

Not much of any use probably, but Derek Warwick always said that Paul was better than him - and Derek made F1 obviously. He was also dominating the British F3000 championship when he died in 1991. Not sure how competitive it was though. Pedro Chaves (who failed to qualify for Coloni in F1 several times in 1991) won the title for the same team as Paul Warwick in the previous year (1990). Not sure how good/not good Chaves was though - the Coloni was probably unqualifiable.

[ensign14]

I think there's a bit of nil mortuis nisi bonum with Paul Warwick.  He didn't pull up any trees in F3.  In his third season (admittedly a quality one) he was losing to the likes of Steve Robertson and Peter Kox.  His second year had been utterly woeful, albeit in a team where he scored its only three points and team-mate Jason Elliott didn't get in the top six once. 

 

It could be that he was a late developer, and that the confidence of monstering the British F3k title would have catapulted him to greater things, or that he was like James Hunt, the more power the better.  But I didn't see "can't miss prospect" in him.  But Warwick was within a gnat's crotchet of being beaten by Dave Coyne when the latter made his series debut partway through the season - indeed would have been had Coyne's gearbox not started playing up.  And much as Dave Coyne was underrated was he really F1 material?

[Mallory Dan]

I'm with Ens, I'm afraid. Warwick looked OK in FF and FF2K, without being outstanding, and didn't look at all great in F3.

[Michael Ferner]

Not much of any use probably, but Derek Warwick always said that Paul was better than him - and Derek made F1 obviously. He was also dominating the British F3000 championship when he died in 1991. Not sure how competitive it was though. Pedro Chaves (who failed to qualify for Coloni in F1 several times in 1991) won the title for the same team as Paul Warwick in the previous year (1990). Not sure how good/not good Chaves was though - the Coloni was probably unqualifiable.

British F 3000 wasn't a terribly competitive series; the list of champions reads like Gary Brabham, Rickard Rydell, Pedro Chaves, Philippe Adams - all fine drivers, but hardly future world champions. The series had some ups and downs, and from memory I'm not really sure whether 1991 was a particularly good one, or a bad one - googling around a bit shows 16- to 19-car grids, which is actually tops for the series (there were years with single-digit entries), and the names Frederik Ekblom and Julian Westwood as runners-up in points. Tells you something. I also really struggle to recall anything he did in F 3.

Maybe Paul was F 1 material, I don't know. But I can't see an early nineties F 1 team manager taking a chance on him withound bundles of money.

[john aston]

I think there's a bit of nil mortuis nisi bonum with Paul Warwick.

 

 

Aye , we speak of little else in Thirsk  . But I tend to agree ,  death does tend to burnish reputations in the sport. But , like Bertrand Fabi, maybe it was too early to tell ? A recurrent theme of mine is how some so-so drivers in lower formulae thrive in the big league - D Hill, Mansell- whilst others' star burns out when the numbers get serious -  J Magnussen, D Walker . Et al .     

[alansart]

I liked Paul Warwick. I came across him several times when I was racing FF1600 in the 80's and he seemed a genuinely nice guy. His career did go off the path a bit but he seemed to be getting back on stream with the F3000 races. He had a lot of talent but whether he had enough we'll never know. He needed to prove himself on the Euro F3000 scene but sadly that never happened.

Formula Ford Festival 1986, Paul giving the late Pete Rogers some help!

Peter Rogers assisted by Paul Warwick by Alan Raine, on Flickr

[F1matt]

I am sure there was thread discussing Paul Warwick previously. As mentioned above up to British F3000 his career was average at best but in 1991 he won every race he contested, his engineer who’s name evades went on to engineer Roland Ratzenberger at Simtek and he holds Warwick in higher regard as a driver.  Maybe with Derek’s help he might of got to F1 who would have had plenty of contacts.

Sounded like a horrible accident those F3000 cars were way too quick for some of the circuits they were visiting!

[john aston]

Not really- F1 races were run with DFV power (etc ) at Oulton , Brands and Mallory (etc )  for many years and F3000s were not a quantum leap in perfomance over older F1 , F2 and F3000  . I don't wish to sound crass but , sadly , accidents like this can , did and still do happen 

[MCS]

I didn't go to a race meeting for many years in the eighties but went to the practice day for a round of the British F3000 championship, April-time in, I think, 1990.

 

I can remember Alain Menu being the quickest - probably in the by then ubiquitous Reynard - but being disappointed as to how slow and uninteresting the cars, speed and spectacle were.  I didn't bother attending the race day.  Let's not forget that Paul Warwick was killed as a direct result of a component failure.

[GazChed]

I wonder which circuit you were spectating at MCS ? I watched several Formula 3000 races at Thruxton and the sight and sound of Formula 3000 cars screaming up Woodham Hill , into the chicane before blasting down tbe pit straight with the sound reverberating around the Grandstands was memorable indeed . Philippe Adams reset the outright lap record in the last Formula 3000 race held at Thruxton with a time of 1:2.75 , an average speed of 135.16 mph . Hardly slow I think you would agree .

A month later Damon Hill demonstrated his Williams setting an unofficial lap record of 57.6 but due to Traction Control the Williams didn't sound half as nice as the Formula 3000 cars !

Edited by GazChed, 16 May 2018 - 18:14.

[Thundersports]

I am sure there was thread discussing Paul Warwick previously. As mentioned above up to British F3000 his career was average at best but in 1991 he won every race he contested, his engineer who’s name evades went on to engineer Roland Ratzenberger at Simtek and he holds Warwick in higher regard as a driver. Maybe with Derek’s help he might of got to F1 who would have had plenty of contacts.
Sounded like a horrible accident those F3000 cars were way too quick for some of the circuits they were visiting!

Humphrey Corbett was the engineer.

[MCS]

I wonder which circuit you were spectating at MCS ? I watched several Formula 3000 races at Thruxton and the sight and sound of Formula 3000 cars screaming up Woodham Hill , into the chicane before blasting down tbe pit straight with the sound reverberating around the Grandstands was memorable indeed . Philippe Adams reset the outright lap record in the last Formula 3000 race held at Thruxton with a time of 1:2.75 , an average speed of 135.16 mph . Hardly slow I think you would agree .

A month later Damon Hill demonstrated his Williams setting an unofficial lap record of 57.6 but due to Traction Control the Williams didn't sound half as nice as the Formula 3000 cars !

Everything is of course relative, but my apologies, GazChed.  The circuit was Oulton Park.

 

Much more importantly, I am pleased you enjoyed the F3000 races at Thruxton.

[john aston]

The demise of F3000 was a sad day for UK motor sport; the domestic series was no great shakes but the opportunity to see International F3000 (and F2 before then ) racing at Donington. Silverstone etc  is greatly missed by me. And as for Birmingham...what a fabulous  sight and sound F3300 was there .

 

Then our short friend BCE deemed that  GP2 would be exclusively the support act to F1  ,then  add in F3's  decline and that's why I spend a lot of time at Historic race meetings, as nowhere else offers the opportunity to see fast and noisy single seaters. F3 is being relaunched  but the round I saw in March was dull beyond words .  ..

[opplock]

 

 but being disappointed as to how slow and uninteresting the cars, speed and spectacle were. 

 

I got a different perspective from the cockpit of a 1600cc Caterham on a public test day at Snetterton in 1991. Justin Westwood lapped me every two laps while he was on circuit, invariably in the middle of Sear. Nothing slow or uninteresting from that viewpoint.

[BuddyHolly]

Thanks everyone!

[bigears]

He wasn’t too bad in F3000 when he finished 8th (a lap down I believe) in his Leyton House car after being hit from behind by Phil Andrews at the 1990 Birmingham Superprix. But then there was a lot of drivers retired from the race though.

[AJCee]

I think it is hard to quantify his crucial first F3 season in 1988. The Reynard/VW combination clearly wasn't as potent as it had been at the start of the previous season and both he and Jason Elliott were better drivers than their meagre points haul. It didn't get much better the next year at Intersport and PSR respectively and there are rarely third-chances with new talent coming through all the time.
He was good, but hard to judge just how good. Same for so many who weren't in the right place at the right time.

Edited by AJCee, 19 May 2018 - 07:23.