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christiangeistdorfer · 19 hours

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teammates DIDIER PIRONI & GILLES VILLENEUVE at the 1981 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX

#do u just ever think abt these two and just explode?#because i do . probably too often.#just seeing the way didier looks at gilles in awe. he admired him so much. im s h a k i n g.#classic f1 #f1 #formula 1 #1980s #didier pironi #gilles villeneuve

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didierpironi · 3 months

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I wish I could make it more than a minute, but the audio length says no

#my edits #part 2 incoming (?)#classic f1 #alain prost #gilles villeneuve #ayrton senna #elio de angelis #nigel mansell #riccardo patrese #keke rosberg

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eliotheeangelis · 2 months

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favourite season openers: 1982 south african grand prix

niki lauda came back from retirement to lead a strike against new superlicence regulations. the drivers took a chartered coach to the sunnyside park hotel instead of taking part in practice sessions. ferrari's didier pironi stayed behind at the track to negotiate with jean-marie balestre and the team owners.

at the hotel, when it became clear they would have to sleep over, the drivers barricaded themselves in the ballroom and slept on shared mattresses. gilles villeneuve and elio de angelis played piano to keep everyone entertained; bruno giacomelli drew diagrams of machine guns, and everyone made lewd jokes about sleeping together.

the strike eventually ended the following day with an uneasy compromise between the drivers and the racing authorities, and the grand prix went ahead.

in the race, rene arnoux started on pole, but was beaten to victory by his renault teammate alain prost, who recovered from a mid-race puncture to take the win. carlos reutemann finished second, his final podium before retiring.

#happy race week!!!!#f1 #classic f1 #formula 1 #f1 1980s #alain prost #elio de angelis #gilles villeneuve #didier pironi #niki lauda #carlos reutemann #nigel mansell #1982 drivers strike

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feuerspirit · 2 months

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if you say that Lewis destroys the formula with his style what do you know about the formula at all?

#f1 #jackie stewart #ronnie peterson #mika hakkinen #francois cevert #fernando alonso #michael schumacher #gilles villeneuve #james hunt #lewis hamilton

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yyenky · 1 month

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anyways sorry for spamming so much lol

#ayrton senna #mika häkkinen #michael schumacher #jim clark #gerhard berger #gilles villeneuve #didier pironi #f1 #classic f1 #formula 1 #f1 memes

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eliorosb3rg · 4 months

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i love shots of the helmets like this like yes let me a) appriaciate the cool helmets and b) look at your pretty eyes

#formula 1 #im a sucker for cool helmets #and pretty men #classic f1 #in order:#ayrton senna #niki lauda #fernando alonso #jacques villeneuve #gilles villeneuve #mika hakkinen

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hottestdriverspoll · 21 days

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#oh m y god im so sorry i had to do this poll again. yes i am killing myself.#what a duo!#rip gerhard & jody #classic f1 #f1 #formula one #retro f1 #formula 1 #gilles villeneuve #michael schumacher

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cazzyf1 · 16 days

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pls tell me everything you know about the 1982 drivers strike i think about it often

Right I about to go into as much detail as possible about the driver's strike while hopefully keeping it comprehensible.

*cracks knuckles*

Let's go.

So to give some overall context to the situation, Bernie Ecclestone was doing some meddling. He had control over the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) which meant he could negotiate contracts between teams, track owners, television rights, etc. Realising the sort of power Bernie Ecclestone was getting, the Federation Internationale de I'Automobile (FIA) put Jean-Marie Balestre in charge. There was a big power struggle between these two however both Ecclestone and Balestre united against the drivers in 1982.

At the start of the 1982 season, a new license called a 'super license' was put forward for the drivers to sign. This license was based on other sports, like football's transfer systems, meaning the drivers had fewer rights - their team owners essentially owned them. For example, the super licence meant a team could keep drivers to one team for up to three years, even if the drivers wanted to leave. This happened after, in 1981, Alain Prost was racing for McLaren, and he became convinced that the car wasn't safe. He refused to drive for the team, though he had a contract. He said if necessary, he would walk away from the sport altogether. Then Renault approached Alain Prost, and he joined them. A new license was created to prevent this situation from happening again.

1982 was also the season that (at the time) 2x World Champion Niki Lauda decided to come out of retirement. In 1979 he had been racing for Bernie Ecclestone's team 'Brabham', but halfway through the season, he walked away, finding no more interest in the sport. Eventually Ron Dennis, who ran the team 'Mclaren' tempted Niki back into the sport.

Niki was sent the super license a few days before the start of the season to sign, and being a stickler for detail he made sure to read through all of it. In reading it, Niki realised the control the team owners would have over the drivers and did not approve of it. Quickly, he rang up Didier Pironi who was head of the drivers association, to talk him through what he had found. Didier agreed that these licenses were bad and then called all the other drivers, telling them not to sign the licence. They had been late though, as 24 had technically already signed as they hadn't properly read the licence. The only ones that hadn't were Lauda, Pironi, Villeneuve who had seen something similar in ice hockey and didn't like it, Arnoux, Giacomelli and de Cesaris.

In South Africa, Kyalami the track was prepared for the drivers to start practising, and the drivers were arriving in their normal cars. But before they could get out on track, a bus pulled up with Niki Lauda and Pironi in it. Without their knowledge, Niki and Didier had managed to borrow a bus from Trevor Rowe and were ready to take the drivers back to their hotel at the Kyalami Ranch. They rounded up all the drivers and told them of their plans, and while they were hesitant, eventually, most of them were convinced to get onto the bus. Only two didn't. Jochen Mass, who was late (He's always late, someone said) and Jacky Ickx.

The team owner of March, John McDonald, caught wind of what was happening and tried to prevent the bus from leaving by parking a van in front of the bus. Jacques Laffite got out of the bus to move the van, accidentally stalled it, but eventually got it out of the way. The bus then set off, taking the scenic route back to the Sunnyside Park Hotel while every news van and car chased after the bus, getting clips of Niki Lauda looking out the back of the bus and waving at them.

Eventually, they arrived, and all of them strutted past the journalists and went into the hotel. Thus ensued a fun time for the drivers relaxing around by the pool for the day. However, things back at the track were not shaping up well.

Bernie Ecclestone and Jean-Marie Balestre were pissed. The race organisers threatened to impound the cars, Bernie Ecclestone threatened to sue the drivers, and Balestre announced if the drivers didn't come back, then they would all be fired. Bernie Ecclestone had already fired the drivers from his team, Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Patrese. The mechanics put signs out joking advertising for new drivers. Didier Pironi was doing the main negotiations for the drivers at the track and reporting back to Niki Lauda at the hotel on how it was progressing. During the evening, when dinner was being served, the driver's wives and girlfriends, who were still at the track, started throwing bread rolls at Balestre.

Didier Pironi arrived at the hotel and explained that if they didn't return and drive immediately, they risked life bans. Niki Lauda realised that this strike would last the night, and he knew that if all the drivers returned to their own rooms, the team principles would easily be able to convince them to abandon the strike. They needed to stay united, which meant literally sticking together. He arranged to take over the conference room in the hotel and have all the spare mattresses brought into the room.

All the drivers moved into this one big room, and soon, the entertainment started. Many of the younger drivers felt quite panicked about the whole situation, worried that they would be fired for going on strike, which would have ended any career in motorsports, so they went to the older drivers like Niki for reassurance. Niki tried to lighten up the atmosphere by telling dirty jokes. Bruno Giacomelli, who was quite passionate about machine guns, got his hands on a chart and gave a presentation on how to take a gun to bits. There was also a piano in the room, and driver Elio de Angelis, trained to play the piano, performed for all the drivers. Everyone there said it was the most beautiful playing they had ever heard. Gilles Villeneuve also had a go playing a few joyful pieces.

The team owners and journalists had by now discovered that all the drivers were hiding out in this one big room, and they were trying to get in. At first, Niki gave an interview by the door, but he ensured no one would leave the room. One of the team principles, Mo Nunn of Ensign, had brought the driver, Guerrero's girlfriend, along as a bargaining trip. Niki made sure to accompany Guerrero to see his girlfriend. He said that the situation could have brought a tear to your eye. Eventually, they got the girlfriend away from the team principal and into the room. Team principal Jean Sage of Renault tried to get to Prost and Arnoux but was beaten off.

At this point, the team principals grew frustrated and decided to break into the room, so the drivers had to use the piano to barricade the door.

Then night came, and it was time for the drivers to get even closer. There were not enough mattresses for one each, meaning all the drivers had to bunk up. Many funny photographs have come from this event. Alain Prost and Giles Villeneuve shared a mattress, which led to Patrick Tambay saying if a child came from this, all the others might as well give up.

There was a problem with the toilet as there was only one and it wasn't in the room. There was a key to the toilet and so the drivers agreed to leave it in the middle of the room so they would know if someone left to the toilet and didn't come back. One driver, Fabi, ended up going to the toilet but did not come back.

During the night, Carlos Reuntemann or Keke Rosberg snored so loudly that Gilles Villeneuve threw a blanket over them to cover the sound.

In the morning, all the drivers got up, trying hard not to sniff the odour of the room and got ready to head to the track as Didier Pironi had been able to successfully negotiate a licence they were happy with. No drivers were fired, Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Paterese were rehired, and the race was successful. There were fears that the drivers could be arrested at the airport, but thankfully, that didn't happen. Instead, they were fined for taking part in the strike, which, while it didn't affect some drivers who already had plenty of money, it wasn't ideal for the drivers who were just getting started.

This is as much as I am able to remember; if you know anything more or if there is something wrong in this let me know in the comments below! Hope you enjoyed the read :)

#classic f1 #f1 #formula one #formula 1 #vintage f1 #1982 drivers strike #niki lauda #alain prost #didier pironi #gilles villeneuve #elio de angelis

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anaid-arghem · 1 month

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