The GSOH - Round Two - 1979 vs 1956

[crmalcolm]

The next match of the GSOH bracket puts 1979 up against 1956.

Summaries from Wikipedia:

1979 - Race 1: Argentina
Laffite led at the start with Depailler following, but the two men starting on the third row, John Watson in the McLaren collided with Jody Scheckter's Ferrari at the very fast first 2 corners, creating chaos behind. The resulting accident involved Pironi, Tambay, Piquet, Merzario and Andretti; Piquet was taken to hospital) and the race was red-flagged, and aside from Piquet's injury, no one else was injured.

The race restarted after the mess was cleared, and this time Depailler set off into the lead with Jean-Pierre Jarier's Tyrrell and Watson (in his spare car) following him. But soon Laffite was up to second, and a few laps later he took the lead from Depailler. The Ligiers drove away, whereas Jarier struggled and dropped down the order with engine troubles, leaving Watson third before he was passed by a recovering Reutemann. Reutemann drove a stirring race in front of his home crowd, but it wasn't enough as Laffite went on and won comfortably, but teammate Depailler suffered a misfire and dropped to fourth, leaving Reutemann second and Watson third.

Race 2: Brazil
This time, Laffite was able to lead right from the first corner with Reutemann taking second from Depailler, but Depailler regained the place soon after and Andretti also passed his teammate to take third. Andretti however soon retired with a misfire, and so Reutemann was back in third. In the race Laffite took the lead while Reutemann briefly grabbed second place before Depailler seized it back again. Reutemann lost third place as well as Andretti went past him. Behind them came Scheckter and Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi then overtook Scheckter and moved to fourth when Andretti's Lotus began to misfire and went into the pits. Piquet retired from his first home race after losing his front wing in an attempt to overtake Regazzoni, who later also collided with Tambay, eliminating Tambay. Fittipaldi then attacked Reutemann while behind them Scheckter came under pressure from Pironi. Pironi got ahead but then spun and found himself behind again. He repeated the overtaking move and began to pull away from the Ferrari. On the twenty-second lap Fittipaldi's fine charge ended when a rear wheel worked itself loose and he had to pit. Both Ferraris pitted for new tires and Villeneuve got ahead and they finished fifth and sixth behind Laffite, Depailler, Reutemann and Pironi. Laffite dominated as he had in Buenos Aires, completing his clean sweep of the South American segment of this Formula One season, although he was pushed by Depailler all the way – Depailler finished 2nd to Laffite to complete a 1–2 for Ligier and Reutemann completing the podium.

Race 3: South Africa
It was overcast when the race started but Jabouille stayed ahead of Scheckter and Villeneuve, even banging wheels through the fast Barbecue and Jukskei corners. Within a few moments however a cloudburst resulted in the race being stopped but before that happened Villeneuve had managed to get ahead of Scheckter and Jabouille. As a result, he was on pole for the restart. The weather was still uncertain and several drivers (notably Scheckter, Depailler, Patrick Tambay (McLaren) and Nelson Piquet (Brabham) decided to race on slicks. At the restart Villeneuve was able to build up a lead but as the track dried it became clear that the men who had gambled on slicks were in a much better position and Scheckter took the lead when Villeneuve pitted on lap 15. He rejoined second ahead of Tambay and Piquet. Villeneuve charged after Scheckter. Piquet began to suffer engine trouble and fell behind Jarier and Andretti and a few laps later the pair were also ahead of Tambay. Jabouille then moved back up to fifth with Reutemann and Laffite following him until the Renault engine failed again. With Laffite having spun off because of a puncture, Reutemann moved to fifth.

When the race restarted, most drivers were on wets, but Scheckter and a few others opted for slicks. Villeneuve led at the restart and built up a gap, but the track dried and he had to pit for slicks along with most of the field. This left Scheckter leading comfortably, and he looked well set for a home win until he had to pit for new tyres, handing the lead back to Villeneuve and in behind, Patrick Tambay briefly ran third in his McLaren, until he was passed by Jarier. It was Villeneuve who won the race with Scheckter close behind, and Jarier taking the final spot on the podium. On lap 52 Scheckter pitted for new tires and so Villeneuve took the lead with Scheckter now chasing him. The gap closed to within four seconds at the flag but victory went to Villeneuve, with Scheckter 2nd for a Ferrari 1–2. Jarier was a distant third with Andretti fourth, Reutemann fifth and Lauda sixth. Piquet nursed his car to seventh.

Race 4: United States West
The starting procedure was a mess with Reutemann being forced to start from the pits half a lap behind because of an electrical failure. Villeneuve overshot his grid position and decided to lead the field around again. When the grid arrived on the grid for the second time, Laffite's car locked up and turned sideways and so Villeneuve led half the field around again, the rest having been stopped by officials. The leaders had to then weave through the backmarkers to take up their positions. Finally the race got underway with Villeneuve taking off into the lead with Depailler holding off Scheckter to grab second. In the process the South African damaged a front wing. Further back in the field Tambay ran into the back of Lammers and was launched through the air and landed on top of Lauda's Brabham. Both cars were out.

Villeneuve thus led Depailler, Scheckter and Jarier and Andretti but it was Jarier who was on the move and he soon overtook both Scheckter and Depailler to run second. Depailler then dropped behind Scheckter and the Ferrari driver then attacked Jarier and finally on lap 27 he moved to second place. The two Ferraris were out ahead and interest centered on the battle for third with Jarier under pressure from Depailler, Andretti and Jones. The Williams driver managed to get ahead of Andretti and all three then overtook Jarier and so as the race went into its closing stages Jones was challenging Depailler. On lap 62 he got ahead, but it wasn't enough to catch Villeneuve and Scheckter, who finished 1–2. In the closing laps Depailler lost fourth gear and dropped behind Andretti, while Jarier finished sixth.

Race 5: Spain
At the start Depailler took the lead from Laffite while Villeneuve tried to challenge the Ligiers and dropped behind the fast-starting Reutemann. Keen to win back his place Villeneuve spun and dropped down the order. Laffite tried to find a way to pass Depailler but eventually missed a gear and blew up his engine. This left Reutemann second with Scheckter third until lap 60 when he dropped behind Lauda. The Austrian then went out with an engine failure, matching Piquet's early exit so Scheckter regained the position only to lose it a few laps later to Andretti. So Depailler won ahead of the Lotus pair of Reutemann and Andretti, while Scheckter thus had to settle for fourth place with Jarier fifth and Pironi sixth.

Race 6: Belgium
At the start of the race Depailler went into the lead with Jones grabbing second from Piquet while Laffite dropped to fourth. On the second lap Scheckter collided with Clay Regazzoni's Williams and Villeneuve was also involved as he snagged the rear wheel of the Williams at the chicane. Both Ferraris were able to keep going by Regazzoni was out. Villeneuve had to pit for a new nose cone. On the fourth lap, Laffite overtook Piquet, while behind them Scheckter was able to get ahead of Andretti and soon afterwards Scheckter also overtook Piquet who was having tyre trouble after a promising start. The order settled for a while and then Laffite slipped ahead of Jones and on lap 19 took the lead. Depailler quickly dropped behind Jones as well and on lap 24 Jones went into the lead. Both Brabhams again expired with engine trouble on lap 23. Jones's hopes of victory ended on lap 40 with electrical failure and as Laffite had fallen behind Depailler again it was the second Ligier driver who went back into the lead until lap 47 when he understeered off into the barriers at the first corner and Laffite went back into the lead. Behind him was Scheckter and the Ferrari closed gradually in and on lap 54 went ahead. All this left Reutemann in third place but in the closing laps he was caught and passed by Pironi. So Scheckter won in front of Laffite, Pironi and Reutemann, while Patrese finished fifth with Watson sixth. Villeneuve finished seventh after running out of fuel on the final lap.

Race 7: Monaco
At the start Scheckter took the lead with Lauda getting ahead of Villeneuve and Depailler in the run to Ste Devote. Laffite was fifth with Pironi sixth and Jones seventh. On the third lap Villeneuve was able to get ahead of Lauda and set off in pursuit of Scheckter. For the next few laps it was quiet as Villeneuve closed the gap to the leader while Lauda ran third under pressure from Depailler, Laffite, Pironi, Jones and the rest. On lap 16 Pironi ran into the back of Laffite, which forced the Ligier driver into pits. Three laps later Pironi punted Depailler out of the way at the Loews Hairpin. On lap 22 Pironi tried to pass Lauda and the two collided and retired. This left Jones in third place but he survived only until lap 43 when he retired having damaged his steering. As fourth placed Jarier had disappeared with a transmission problem a little earlier Mass found himself third but he was in gearbox trouble and dropped behind Clay Regazzoni's Williams. On lap 54 Villeneuve's race ended with transmission failure and so Scheckter seemed to have everything under control. But in the closing laps Regazzoni closed in dramatically (despite a gearbox problem). At the same time Depailler was closing on Reutemann for third. The last lap provided an exciting battle but Scheckter got to the line first, four-tenths ahead of Regazzoni. Reutemann was third because Depailler's engine had blown, so fourth went to Watson with Depailler classified fifth and Mass sixth, although the German driver was seven laps behind.

Race 8: France
In the race Villeneuve took the lead with Jabouille second, Scheckter third. Arnoux made a poor start and dropped to ninth. The early part of the race witnessed Arnoux climbing back through the field. By the 10th lap he was fourth and on lap 15 he took third place. At the front Villeneuve's Ferrari began to handle less well and on lap 47 Jabouille moved ahead as Villeneuve fell back towards Arnoux. Piquet blew his chances of a good position soon afterwards by spinning from fourth place (having overtaken Scheckter) and so the place went to Jones.

In the closing laps, a legendary battle between Arnoux and Villeneuve was to take place, cementing this race's place in F1 history. Arnoux caught Villeneuve and on lap 78 he went ahead. On the next lap, the penultimate lap, Arnoux's engine began to splutter and Villeneuve was back ahead and for the last lap the pair indulged in a wild battle as they ducked and dived and banged wheels. With half a lap to go Arnoux drifted a little wide and Villeneuve was able to go down the inside and secure second place. The two crossed the line just two-tenths of a second apart. Jones was fourth, Jarier fifth and Regazzoni sixth. Renault's first victory and the first for a turbocharged engine marked an important turning point in F1 history. The turbocharged engine had become competitive.

Race 9: Great Britain
At the start Jones went into the lead with Jabouille chasing and the fast-starting Regazzoni third. Piquet ran fourth but soon spun off and so Lauda took the position although he quickly fell behind Arnoux and Villeneuve who had stormed through from the midfield. He was followed by Scheckter. Jabouille's challenge faded with his tires and on lap 17 Regazzoni moved to second place and Jabouille then headed for the pits. The stop went wrong he had to pit again and then his engine overheated. This elevated Arnoux to third place with Scheckter fourth and Villeneuve fifth. Jones remained in the lead until lap 39 when he retired with an overheating engine. Regazzoni went into the lead and won to give Frank Williams his first Grand Prix victory. Arnoux finished second with Jean-Pierre Jarier (Tyrrell) climbing through the leaders in the closing stages to take third place, ahead of Watson, the fading Scheckter and Ickx after Laffite and Villeneuve both went out with mechanical troubles.

Race 10: Germany
In the race Jones took the lead at the start with Jabouille second, Laffite third, Scheckter fourth and Regazzoni fifth. Jones held off intense pressure from Jabouille in the early stages of the race, until the latter tried too hard and spun off giving second to Laffite and third to Regazzoni. Regazzoni was soon past Laffite, and the two Williams cars dominated the rest of race, with Jones getting his first win of the season and Regazzoni completing the 1–2 leaving Laffite to take the final spot on the podium. Regazzoni then closed up on Laffite and went into second place on lap 13. The Williams 1-2 lasted all the way to the finish with Laffite third and Scheckter fourth. For much of the race fifth place belonged to Villeneuve but he had to pit to have a rear wing adjusted and that gave Lauda the position for a brief moment before he suffered engine failure. Piquet then took the place but he too suffered engine failure and so the position went to John Watson (McLaren) with Jochen Mass of Arrows in sixth place, just ahead of Lees.

Race 11: Austria
Villeneuve made a sensational start to take the lead from Jones, Lauda and Arnoux, who made a bad start. Jabouille lost his clutch at the start and dropped to ninth but quickly caught up. Villeneuve stayed ahead until the third lap when Jones breezed ahead, while Arnoux quickly dispensed with Lauda. On lap 11 Arnoux moved to second place but he was then overtaken by Jabouille. The Renault team leader lasted only a couple of laps before the clutch finally stopped him and so Arnoux settled into second place with Villeneuve third, Scheckter fourth, Regazzoni fifth and Laffite sixth. Lauda and Piquet raced behind but yet again the Alfa Romeo engines on both Brabhams failed. Laffite soon moved ahead of Regazzoni and the order then stayed unchanged up front until the closing laps when Arnoux began to have fuel pickup problems in the final laps and had to pit. He dropped to sixth place. On the last lap Laffite overtook Scheckter to grab third place behind Jones and Villeneuve. Scheckter added to his World Championship total with fourth place and the final points went to Regazzoni and Arnoux. Villeneuve led for three laps before Jones passed him, and Arnoux was up to third after passing Lauda. Arnoux then took Villeneuve for second, before Jabouille set off on a charge and took second himself. The two Renaults set off after Jones, but Jabouille's gearbox failed. Arnoux continued to chase down Jones until he suffered fuel pressure problems and dropped down to sixth place, and handing second back to Villeneuve. With the Renault challenge finished, Jones was able to cruise to victory with Villeneuve second and Laffite completing the podium.

Race 12: Holland
At the start Jones took the lead but Arnoux found himself in a sandwich with Regazzoni on the inside and Jabouille and Villeneuve on the outside. Arnoux thus collided with Regazzoni (the Williams losing its left front wheel) and Arnoux damaging his rear suspension. Thus Jones was followed into the first corner by Villeneuve, Jabouille and Pironi. Scheckter was left behind and started at the very back of the field. Lauda did not last long as he had hurt his wrist in a Procar accident and he was forced to withdraw. While Scheckter charged up through the midfield, the order remained stable at the front although fifth-placed Laffite dropped away early on because of a misfire. Rosberg took over. On lap 11 Villeneuve overtook Jones on the outside at Tarzan Corner to grab the lead and on the next lap Rosberg moved the Wolf ahead of Pironi's Tyrrell in fourth place. Pironi later drifted behind Scheckter who then caught and passed Rosberg and profited from Jabouille's retirement with a clutch failure.

On lap 47 Villeneuve spun and Jones went back into the lead (despite having gearbox trouble) and four laps later Villeneuve's left rear tire exploded and he spun again. He rejoined and drove an entire lap on three wheels. When he got to the pits the suspension was too badly damaged to continue. So Jones won again for Williams while Scheckter finished second and after Pironi went out with a suspension failure third place went to Laffite with Piquet fourth, Jacky Ickx fifth for Ligier and Jochen Mass sixth in his Arrows.

Race 13: Italy
As usual the Renaults were slow off the line and so Scheckter grabbed the lead from Arnoux. Behind then Villeneuve grabbed third while Laffite made a good start to get into fourth place. Jones dropped to the back of the field. On the second lap Arnoux was able to pass Scheckter to take the lead and for the next few laps the five front-runners were nose-to-tail, while Regazzoni ran in a lonely sixth position. On Lap 2 Piquet tangled with Regazzoni and had a huge accident at Curva Grande that tore off the back half of the Brabham. Arnoux's lead lasted until lap 13 when Arnoux's car began to misfire and he dropped away leaving Scheckter, Villeneuve, Laffite and Jabouille by themselves. Later in the race Jabouille dropped away with engine trouble and Laffite stopped with a similar problem and so third place went to Regazzoni with Lauda, Andretti and Jarier picking up the other points.

This proved to be a memorable day for Ferrari- as Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve made it a Ferrari 1–2 and with this victory, Scheckter won the Drivers' Championship and Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship with a car that proved to have a 100% reliability record thus far – an incredible achievement in 1979. Clay Regazzoni finished 3rd, ahead of Lauda, Andretti and Jarier.

Race 14: Canada
In the race, which turned out to be a classic Villeneuve took the lead at the start with Jones and Regazzoni chasing him. Piquet ran fourth but then moved ahead of Regazzoni to take third. Jones shadowed Villeneuve for the early part of the race and eventually slipped ahead at the hairpin, the two cars banging wheels. Jones was then able to stay ahead and win but Villeneuve was only a second behind him at the finish- it was revealed later by Williams engineer Frank Dernie that Jones's car was on the verge of failing right at the end. Piquet ran third until the closing laps when he dropped behind Regazzoni again and retired soon afterwards with a gearbox problem. Scheckter finished fourth with Pironi fifth and John Watson (McLaren) sixth.

Race 15: United States (East)
The area was mostly soaked with rain, and this made conditions treacherous. On Saturday, during one of the periods when it stopped raining and the track dried out, Jones took pole again from Nelson Piquet in the new Brabham BT49 in his first ever visit to Watkins Glen. Come race day, it started to rain and become windy 20 minutes before the start of the race. At the start, Villeneuve, 3rd on the grid blasted through to take the lead at the first corner. Bruno Giacomelli crashed at Turn 9 and then Jacky Ickx, in his last F1 Grand Prix in a career stretching back to 1967 with 8 Grand Prix victories spun off on Lap 3 and his teammate Laffite compounded Ligier's misery by also spinning off on Lap 4 at the fast Turn 11. The race itself was another battle between Villeneuve and Jones, with the Canadian out in front. Once Jones came in to change to dry tires, Jones left the pit lane too fast before one of the mechanics had put the left rear tire on properly; he only made it between Turns 7 and 8 before the wheel came off and he had to retire. This left Villeneuve with no problems at all and he went on to win his 3rd GP of the year in front of Frenchmen Arnoux and Didier Pironi in a Tyrrell.


1956 - Fangio joined Ferrari after Mercedes-Benz, with whom he had won the 1954 and 1955 titles, withdrew from the sport. Ferrari acquired the folded Lancia team's D50 cars and put together a strong team containing Fangio, Eugenio Castellotti, Luigi Musso and Peter Collins. Fangio won the opening race after commandeering Musso's car after his own broke down. Collins and Fangio's teammate at Mercedes, Stirling Moss – now driving for Maserati provided the biggest challenge to his title defence, each winning two races. In an open season, the British Connaughts, Vanwalls and BRMs also showed some signs of promise.

Going into the final race of the season, Fangio had an eight-point lead over Collins and the consistent Jean Behra, driving for Maserati. The only way he could lose the title would be to score no points, with Collins winning and setting the fastest lap. (Because a driver could only count their best five scores, Behra could not win the title.) Fangio retired, and with Musso unwilling to share his car with Fangio, Collins had a great chance of winning his first title. In a remarkable act of sportsmanship, Collins instead chose to hand his car over to Fangio to allow the Argentine to finish second in the race and win his third title in a row.

[S griffin]

1979 was very open. Another really competitive season. As was 1956, but not to 79's extent