Ronnie Peterson on-board Monza 1973

[@Xscapeplan01]

The black lotus was a beautiful car and watching Ronnie drive it is even more special, RIP Ronnie.

[@azynkron]

The master of driving the cars of that era on the edge.

[@matvt.2451]

RiFF black lotus was very fragil

[@protalukoriginal4560]

@@matvt.2451 I think all f1 cars where fragile , not like now, heavier and less fragile

[@klauskarnath8233]

Ronnie was the best Driver ever.

[@beagle7622]

@@klauskarnath8233 Probably close, it is so subjective but he was the quickest at the time for sure. I look at the cars then with spindly suspension arms & am surprised.

[@ErikGPL]

One of the best looking machines ever built, what a beauty was that car.

[@carloalessandrorossin208]

I WAS THERE. GREAT CHAMPIONS, GRAT SUPER SWEDE. RIP, RONNIE.

[@kzbxvz]

Ronnie Peterson will always be loved in Italy for his extreme aggressive driving style, and he won 3 GP's at the Monza circuit, 1976 in a shitty car, just amazing!

[@jamesshunt5123]

Lotus team principal Colin Chapman once said he has never seen anybody being able to coax speed from utterly hopeless cars like Ronnie Peterson. Once they were driving home to the Lotus team base from the airport and Chapman got to ride in one light sports car driven by Jacky Ickx whereas Peterson was told to drive the Ford Granada heavy saloon car with three other Lotus people as passengers. Chapman told Ickx to drive as fast as he could home on the country roads, small town roads, intersections and roundabouts. Peterson was told to follow them if he could... Even though Ickx pushed with the light sports car through the tight curves of the small country roads he could not lose the heavy Ford Granada driven by Peterson. Chapman looked at Peterson driving the Granada through tight corners and roundabouts at speeds he believed were "unbelievable" and "impossible". When they finally reached the Lotus headquarters Peterson was still right behind them. Chapman could hardly believe what he had seen because there simply was no way a heavy family car with four people in it could follow a light sport car through tight corners and small country roads. It was as if the laws of physics didn't affect Peterson. HOW did Peterson do it? Peterson replied:"I don't know, I just go as fast as I feel it's possible to go and push as hard as I can." Chapman then told his friends:"He really did NOT know. He just drove naturally from his heart and soul and didn't analyze or understand why he was as fast as he was." When Peterson was driving with Lauda at team March in 1972 Peterson scored 14 points with the March 721X which Lauda later called "The worst car I ever drove" whereas Lauda score no points. When Lauda complained to the team the car wasn't any good he got the reply:"Peterson never complains about it and he got 3rd with it at the Nurburgring." What the team didn't know was that Peterson basically dealt with bad cars by simply "driving around their flaws" and had never driven any good cars so he had nothing to compare them to and just shup up and drove fast. Lauda's philosophy at March was:"This is a bad car, I hate driving it, I need something better." Peterson's philosophy at March was:"This car may be bad but what shall I do about it? I'll just drive as fast as I believe is possible and push as hard as I can. I'll drive fast and hope they make it better for the next race." And this is why people LOVED watch Peterson race in F1. He just pushed the car beyond what people believed were their limits.

[@Anonymous-gl6ot]

@@jamesshunt5123 What an awesome story, so tragic how soon he left us..would've easily been a multi championship winner.

[@lotus72e]

@@jamesshunt5123 Very good description of Ronnie and I totally agree. Another interesting fact is when Daniele Audetto wanted Ronnie as Laudas replacement at Ferrari. Lauda vetoed hard against it and ended up calling Giovanni Agnelli at Fiat who had a major stake at Ferrari convinced Enzo Ferrari to take Reutemann instead. The reason was that Niki knew how fast Ronnie was, he feared he would be left in the shadows at Ferrari if Ronnie took over as team leader. You can hear the story in the Beyond the grid podcast of Tom Clarkson from july this year. Audetto was not pleased!

[@benzflynn]

​@@lotus72e The story about Lauda vetoing Peterson is doubtful. Reutemann was drafted in 1976 while Lauda was in hospital. I don't think he was consultable then, let alone consulted. Lauda was probably less fearful of Peterson than other drivers as he drove beside him at March in 1972 and saw his woeful limitations as a development driver. Besides, Lauda could assert #1 status just like Andretti later did at Lotus. Ferrari were never big spenders for drivers, however exceptional. Peterson was on about $250,000 a year and getting space on his overalls still more. Having an expensive and strong #2 made little financial sense then.

[@terrystevens5261]

@@jamesshunt5123 Peterson was spectacular to watch, and i did many times. i once saw him coming through the old Woodcote corner at Silverstone in a BMW 3 litre csl in fith gear and getting wheelspin with full opposite lock. Lauda was right about the 721X though, it was a dog.

[@christos___5581]

Ronnie Peterson Forever Champion... ❤RIP From Greece!

[@sgtmiklin]

Ronnie sera toujours un pilote emblématique des 70'S...

[@zeppelin2690]

It's part of the movie "If you're not winning... you're not trying", which is uploaded in parts on YT.

[@mercoid]

I just wish we could’ve seen the entire lap

[@kzbxvz]

He was the shy swede but the fastest F1 driver in his time & won at Monza 3 times 1973, 74, 76.

[@RickyJr46]

What a fantastic circuit, inside a large city park. I visited Monza for the World Superbike weekend in May 2013. Sneaking onto sections of the old banked oval was fun, it was tough to stay on my feet even at the centerline stripe!

[@DSG568]

what a beauty of F1 car!

[@prophetascending9021]

Chapman was a great British hero who, is as typical in my country, receives little to no fanfare or recognition despite his immense contribution to motorsport. He just went about his business in a quiet, dignified way and did it for the love of competition.

[@chicobicalho5621]

You are completely wrong. Chapman got plenty of recognition, and no, he didn't go about his business "quietly" he was a master of self promotion and marketing. Even his trademark of tossing his bonnet in the air at the finish line was a contrived piece of self promotion. He was the least "quiet" of all team owners by a vast margin.

[@prophetascending9021]

@@chicobicalho5621 You can be a master of promotion and still be quiet and low key away from the business. One does not have to guarantee the other.

[@pellenyberg]

Ronnie is stil no 1. Reg from Sweden.

[@Salpeteroxid]

What a car, What a Driver!

[@玉山航輝-h2i]

＃？

[@lloydwalden4053]

Sound of that,😊unlike todays electric rubbish. 😢❤

[@johnfrench9608]

First guy I ever remember dying RIP. What a fantastic looking thing that car is.

[@thethirdman225]

John French God I remember it. I can’t believe it’s more than 40 years ago. First one I remember is Jim Clark but I was just a kid.

[@Caroni100]

"Tengo dos remedios para los virajes y los derrapes: el volante y el pedal del acelerador" Ronnie Peterson (1944 - 1978) Piloto sueco de Fórmula 1

[@beagle7622]

Regarded by many off his peers as 1 of the very best drivers ever Road & Track did a story about cornering speeds at Kylami, he was the fastest breaking 1g when that was the limit repeatedly.

[@gseric4721]

Yikes, that's pretty awesome

[@FranciscoSantanaFilhooficial]

This machine is splendid is a used in Monza GP after Roger Williamson's Death on zandvoort GP 1973

[@magnusmoldmaker]

When F1 was F1. Not the joke we have today (2020) beginning in 2014.

[@藤田清之]

スゲー❗コウリンチャプマンですよね。この頃のLOTUSは、黒に金色のロゴマークですよね。最高に格好いい‼️車でしたよね。

[@robertstanfordcam2649]

So sad..he died there...5 years later

[@beagle7622]

Road & Track ran a story about cornering speeds back then when they were pulling about 1.1g in the corners . Petersen was the quickest they measured . I wish I still had that magazine.

[@yuripaganucci4324]

Ciao dolce e grandissimo pilot!. Ciao Ronnie! Sarai sempre nel mio cuore!

[@beagle7622]

Wrote this somewhere else Road & Track did a story about lateral forces the cars and drivers were generating at South Africa and Petersen was getting the highest readings I never saw him drive but feel that he may have been close to dominating the sport. Motor racing was very dangerous then and still is!!

[@MoRoarSport-VintageRacing1]

From the film "If you're not winning you're not trying". A tribute to his Monza win : www.teepublic.com/fr/t-shirt/13332830-jps-lotus-72d-ronnie-peterson-monza-1973?store_id=165554 Ronnie won 3 GPs at Monza, but lost his life there...

[@simonthompson251]

Bloody brilliant .

[@DonAmos_stories]

I wanna have this in my house so I can sleep next to it, what a car!

[@azynkron]

Sleep next to it? I would have my way with it passionately every night.. and sometimes in the morning as well.

[@smogdanoff7053]

Building a replica of one is quite feasable, might be hard but definitely possible

[@terrystevens5261]

@@smogdanoff7053 Why build one when the actual car still exists ? classic Lotus run by Colins son takes it to Goodwood and other classic events.

[@PMcKay00]

Somebody has probably already written it - but the sound is not matched to the footage unfortunately. Makes a big difference once you realise.

[@THOMASSU63]

This was the car included in my Scalextric set I had as a child. I didn't know that John Player Special was a cigarette brand then. BTW, Ronnie didn't smoke. I thought everybody smoked back then.

[@CarsandCats]

I built a model of that car when I was 12. Really cool to see a video of the real thing now!

[@terrystevens5261]

Me too, Tamiya with Fittipaldi at the wheel.

[@INDIGOBLUE555]

May be I'm wrong as well,as it's possible that some previous onboard camera videos are stored somewhere. I guess that Fangio had already tested a camera car on his F1.

[@INDIGOBLUE555]

He deserved the WCT title....

[@williamcap2236]

I had a remote control car attached to a cord around 79 or 80 that was the Johnny player special i played with it until i burnt the motor out i used it so much

[@FrapsYou]

WAT A BEAST. My respect for those who tamed them.

[@FOH3663]

Damn! Love this era! Check out the hip dude crewmember... on driver's right. Big head of curly hair, porn mustache, big lapel shirt unbuttoned and tied into a knot, polyester double knit bell bottoms... classic! Been an open wheel fan since the late 60s, but love this era depicted. Yeah ... post-hippie, pre-disco, visually just hilarious in retrospect. However the greatest time in music, no question. That open shirt crewmember and his braless girlfriend, listening to freshly released on the radio; Steely Dan's debut Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Superfly, Curtis Mayfield Brandy (you're a fine girl), Looking Glass Use Me, Bill Withers Frankenstein, Edgar Winter I Shot the Sheriff, Bob Marley Superstition, Stevie Wonder Live and Let Die, Paul McCartney Let's Get it On, Marvin Gaye On and on and on..... sorry, a bit self indulgent

[@ThePontiacgto65]

I remember the superb Lotus ESSEX F1

[@prophetascending9021]

Chapman was typical of the eccentric Englishmen building race cars in their shed.

[@psk1w1]

Chapman was a trained engineer (de Havilland aircraft) who began making race cars in a shed during the Hornsey years- in the '50s. He had a proper workshop with large professional staff through the '60s and '70s as here. Chapman was noted for his ability to choose really good people to work for him, before their talent was known

[@wilsondasilva1378]

Todos que passaram do limite morreram.

[@MassiveEct]

Looks like a batmobile! Fantastic

[@nigelwilliams9307]

Real men.

[@taotoo2]

'Just fuel! Just fuel!', then out with the watering can and funnel. Love it.

[@tmotchy93]

5年後、ここで帰らぬ人になってしまうとは...。

[@กิตติศักดิ์แก้ววินิจ]

2019 Love

[@alastairfaulds8184]

Iconic car.

[@Ahtriuz]

Great stuff!

[@joaoigayara6034]

Great driver!

[@TheMeltedEntree]

welcome to the 1970s onboard footage store 'yes i will have one lesmo and one parabolica thanks'

[@INDIGOBLUE555]

As far as I could watch at,there are camera car's footages since the early 50es.

[@NMAV111]

I think it was on this GP, that Fittipaldi felt angry with Chapman, and choose to move on to Mclaren!!

[@Themayseffect]

lovely wing!

[@T0BBi94]

That car looks like a hot-wheel, just because of its radical looks! :P

[@klauskarnath8233]

Is this before the Death of Cevert?

[@sergiofumagalli8125]

Yes, it was about one month before the death of Cevert

[@tiadaid]

Colin Chapman & Lotus didn't have the luck at Monza. First Rindt, then Peterson

[@JohnTocky]

6 people are GoPro users :)

[@didierf102]

1967-1990 The best F1 Years ,without electronic supplies camera car are used since 80's in race.

[@azynkron]

Not quite true.. Lotus had an early active suspension back in 1987. Wasn't reliable as I understand it so they dropped it again.

[@matvt.2451]

didierf102 when f1 was fatal every week end for the drivers..

[@dariocp87]

beautiful times for formula 1..

[@protalukoriginal4560]

They were beautiful and impresionant but sadder than now because of deaths

[@tagirov82]

WOW

[@paulgore1237]

I have a 1: 18 model of that car in my cabinet, all time favourite F1 car.

[@jettrink7510]

I was disappointed because he was gonna drive for McLaren in 79

[@CrAsHBaNdIcOoT01]

Yet you still watched it :) When has Monaco ever had as much overtaking as other tracks like Monza or Silverstone? The rookies yes i agree with you, but that's not their fault, that's the no testing rule. So you prefer racing where the fastest car wins all the time? That's not racing that's just a 60 lap time trail.

[@ThePerpetualStudent]

Is this from a documentary???

[@hibye9936]

Title says 1973;the tops say 1972

[@giveall9695]

What is the white dust on the track?

[@pellenyberg]

Chalk to dry up oil spil.

[@terrystevens5261]

Cement to absorb oil spills.

[@terrystevens5261]

@@pellenyberg Cement.

[@pellenyberg]

@@terrystevens5261 Ok, my wrong, i was sure it was chalk. Thanks for correkt me. Have a nice day. Regards from Sweden.

[@terrystevens5261]

@@pellenyberg No problem. you may well be correct, but in the UK they use cement dust.

[@edescastro2066]

Quê Lotus linda...linda.

[@protalukoriginal4560]

What is that white thing they spray to track

[@pellenyberg]

Chalk to dry up oil spil.

[@protalukoriginal4560]

​@@pellenyberg makes sense

[@terrystevens5261]

@@protalukoriginal4560 It is Cement, widely used for oil spills.

[@manuelgearbox7309]

Who's the man walking next to Colin at the beginning?

[@noveltybobel]

That is Peter Warr. He was Colin Chapmans right hand man in those days. He took command of the team after Chapman died

[@MikeVrh]

Peter Warr

[@taillandierjp1468]

ronnie ta femme superbe comme une exquise à lah vie

[@artzreal]

the year I was born eheh. and just look at that car. modern F1 cars suck the big one.

[@Catinkontti]

rip

[@anidiotinaracingcar]

Damn, the sound is out of sync

[@CrAsHBaNdIcOoT01]

Where did I say I thought that? All i meant by "New > Old" was that the racing is better today, by that I mean it is more competitive, closer and more exciting for the fans to watch.

[@russeller71]

It,s the quality of the overtakes that matter,not how many.DRS is a joke and artificially degrading tyres no better. I saw James Hunt take Ronnie Peterson into Woodcote at Silverstone,Nothing,but nothing today comes close to the challenge of that corner today.

[@samlancaster1277]

russeller71 I was there ! Hunt , Lauda and Peterson were the only ones able to take the old Woodcote flat. No lifting ! Looking down from the almost empty grandstand in April 1975 you could see their hands at work. Truly out of this world. But I was still only 23 then. God bless

[@terrystevens5261]

@@samlancaster1277 About 160 MPH flatout for F1 back then.

[@terrystevens5261]

Was that in the Formula 2 March with a DFV engine pre Hesketh 308 days?

[@samlancaster1277]

Hunt in the Hesketh. Ronnie in the final iteration of the Lotus 72. Nikki in the 312 - flat 12 I believe. Those 3 alone never lifted for the old Woodcote corner. The commentator said that they entered the bend at 165 mph ! Maximum speed then was approx 190. F2/2 litre sports cars like Chevron and Lola were geared to max at 170. Not slow and oh such a spectacle of sight, sound and smell.

[@terrystevens5261]

@@samlancaster1277 I was stood down at stowe that day. i remember Peterson going through Woodcote in a BMW csl getting wheelspin in fith gear full opposite lock at the TT. cant remember which year, i'll have to dig my old programs out of the shed lol.

[@CrAsHBaNdIcOoT01]

New > Old

[@valiant9472]

show me some all chicane

[@abcdecghijklmn]

💪💪💪💪💪

[@OficialMundoDaRisada]

BALLS

[@sousanascimento8886]

Legal

[@IEATBIEBERNOW]

Yeah totally, races in which there were actual fights instead of a KERS/DRS clown show were sooo boring. I don't see how 80 pitstops per race and the lamest possible speed due to saving tires is great, I agree with the teams complaining that they can't go to the limit because the tires blow up if they drive at more than 80%.

[@antonioaguileravalle7265]

Lotus siempre irá unido a Colin Chapman..

[@cristogarciagarcia5534]

lotus

[@PJMontoya]

Get that funnel ready for refuelling!

[@MrPEDROJOS]

Classy, but, more dangerous :/

[@Potog13]

R.I.P :c

[@stuartgledhill1641]

tm

[@IEATBIEBERNOW]

Yeah totally, just like the Monaco GP last weekend: Leading drivers driving at a turtle's speed to save tires and blocking the whole field, Rookies driving like morons and causing red flags, and the leading teams crying about how they're too incompetent to make the tires work.

[@CrAsHBaNdIcOoT01]

Actual fights? There have been over 300 overtakes this season so far, you where lucky if you got anywhere near that in an entire season 30/40 years ago. DRS and KERS has improved the racing and closed up the midfield to the front. Qualifying used to be 1st was about 3 seconds quicker than 2nd and they would stay like that for the whole grand prix. Thing is you've always had to conserve something in F1 while racing, now it's tyres, back then it was fuel and not trying to make more than one stop.

[@terrystevens5261]

You obviously were not there, fuel stops were not allowed back then. 10 years on but my post is still relevant.

[@TheSyd19]

shit there;s a lot of coke on the track and pits

[@Paulo_Henrique_da_Silva]

esses carros de f1 dos anos 70 parece aqueles carros rampa

[@IEATBIEBERNOW]

Red Bull Racing better than JPS Team Lotus ahahaha come back after getting sober

[@taillandierjp1468]

du marechal ferrand

[@seamusblack5876]

Slow down lap

[@Hezza141]

OH ITS WAS SO GREAT IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN PEOPLE DIED EVERY SEASON. IF PEOPLE ARENT DYING QUITE FRANKLY IM NOT INTERESTED.

[@psk1w1]

+Flame Resistant Troll Take out your dictionary and look up the word 'irony'.. Henry is not making a total analysis of the current state of F1, just ridiculing the fashionable nostalgia washing over this page