Nigel Mansell - Williams Renault Artwork & Automobilia

 

  Every 80s/90s Formula 1 fan remember very well when Nigel Mansell suddenly became a taxi driver... not in London, after he retired from racing, but when he picked up his rival Ayrton Senna after winning the 1991 british Grand Prix...

These images have suddenly become very popular, due to the historical context of Mansell's 4th home victory, and above all have inspired so many motorsport artists and model car manufacturers...

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   Nigel Mansell helmet design has always been one of the most recognizable, elegant and iconic helmets designs in Formula One History.

 

Nigel Mansell Helmet - Williams FW14B 1992 F1  

Helmet Sticker Left Side

by ScuderiaGP 

Available here on GPBox

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  This Adrian Newey Wiliams-Renault FW14B chassis is undoubtedly one of the most technologically sophisticated cars to have competed in Formula One world championship. By 1992 the FW14B featured a semi-automated manual transmission, active suspension, traction control and, for a brief period, anti-lock brakes. The ultimate weapon.

 After many unsuccessful attempts Nigel Mansell finally became world champion in the most dominant way.

 

 Williams FW14B FW15C F1 

 Rear Wing Endplate Display Piece Mansell Prost

by ScuderiaGP

Available here on GPBox

 

 

 Our NIGEL – Pop Art Style Print

by SmartArt Digital Prints

Available here on GPBox

Lauda Vs Hunt - RUSH

   Cinema and motorsport have not often mixed well, the few times they have had to. Films that have dealt with motor racing without having sunk into caricature or pathetic ridicule can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

 In the lead comes undoubtedly, in the opinion of most petrolheads, "Le Mans" and "Grand Prix". But since the last of these two films, a lot of time has passed, and too few attempts have been made. Only "Days of Thunder" managed to get its head a little out of the water while remaining faithful to the Hollywood codes and the film genre, thanks to an efficient Tony Scott, who avoided falling too much into the trap of clichés. 

Then came Ron Howrd, another Hollywood star that decided to tackle the subject, but this time, and for the first time, through a biopic, a true story, but  not any story. The one that lends itself most to cinematographic dramatization, the epic rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt, and the incredible return of the miraculous Austrian champion after his terrible accident at the Nürburgring, all during the heroic age of Formula 1 when an average of one or two racing drivers were lost per year. 

 The level of authenticity of "RUSH" compared to reality was praised by the 1st concerned, Lauda himself (James Hunt not being there for a long time to be able to give us his opinion), and the cinematic quality, the acting, notably Daniel Brühl performance, who played the role of the Austrian champion, the music ... in fact a whole bunch of qualities allowed RUSH to be nominated for the Oscars. 

On the motorsport movies podium, RUSH certainly occupies a 3rd place which has remained vacant for too long.

 

 Set of 2: Vintage Niki Lauda Ferrari & James Hunt McLaren F1 Mugs

 

by Legacy Legends

Available here on GPBox

  

 

 

 

 

 Two legends, Niki Lauda and James Hunt

 

by F1 art by Maria H

 

 Available here on GPBox

 

 

 

 

 

Books:

 

Tyrrell 012 Boomerang

    The stealthy and mysterious Boomerang shaped rear wing of the 1983 Tyrrell 012 was not the brainchild of a hypothetical Australian engineer, but rather the attempt of an English designer, Maurice Philippe, to circumvent the regulations limiting the area of ​​the rear wings on F1 cars. 

The idea which seemed brilliant at the base, namely to maximize the surface of the rear wing while remaining within the regulatory dimensions just to keep the turbo cars pace unfortunately did not give any significant result on track.

 

 

 

 The car received its first racing baptism in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix on the Zeltweg roller coaster, but was immediately abandoned.

 

There was a time when original ideas had only real life tracks to show if they were on the right path, and all journalists and spectators could be astonished witnesses of weird engineers imagination. Today most of the revolutionary inventions in F1 are unfortunately simulated on a computer, then tested in wind tunnels before being put into practice, which erases a good part of the audacity and  originality of the initial ideas . The charm of artisanal F1 has gone with technological development, just as other areas of our daily lives ...