The Site for F1 Aficionados

Formula One Art & Genius is one of the pioneering non-commercial Web sites devoted to Grand Prix motor racing. First launched for the 1996 F1 season — with more than 410,000 visitors in its initial six years — this enthusiast-designed site is still the work of just one passionate F1 aficionado. Currently undergoing extensive renovations, F1A&G is an historical tribute to the passion, heroism, glory and tragedy that for six decades have made Formula One racing the world's greatest stage for drivers, their machines and the people who admire both.

Overview

Formula One Art & Genius is this enthusiast’s celebration of the timeless qualities that have made F1 Grand Prix motor racing the sporting world’s most exciting spectacle for six decades. F1A&G does not focus on the breaking news stories of today, but rather on the ebbs and flows of personalities, teams and technology over the years that epitomize the F1 saga. With an eye towards history — against which all current F1 drivers must be measured — and with a keen appreciation for the legends of the sport, F1A&G offers a glimpse inside the power and glory of Formula One.

The story of F1 is a saga of men striving for perfection in controlling a car at speed, in skating on the edge of adhesion and becoming one with their machines. The selected quotes below capture for me what is the true spirit of Formula One, about men and their sophisticated machines, about conquering the inner demons that separate champions from back-markers, and about the human struggle to overcome the inevitable tragedies of motor racing — where all but one driver always lose every race. Sample the photos, profiles, statistics, commentary and videos available on this site, and please take a moment to check out what once was, before the time of Google and Wikipedia, perhaps the definitive history of Formula One available on the Internet. Whatever, F1A&G remains a timeless tribute to the remarkable racing series that is Formula One.

Formula One is a saga of ecstacy and agony — of the absolute joy of winning, and of tragedy, fury, crushing disappointment. It includes the heroic losers as well as those who achieved motorsport’s premier accolade. From the forceful driving of Farina to the sheer determination of Senna, all the greats are here — including Fangio; Clark; Stewart; Lauda; Hunt; Piquet and Prost.

Grand Prix Showdown, Christopher Hilton (1992)

British GP 67

These are stories of classic drives, not classic cars, of races won by drivers on rare talent alone, not by men in superior cars, but by men against superior cars which made their task look impossible.

Ayrton Senna — A Tribute, Ivan Rendall (1994)

Panis 98

Like painters, we racing drivers have an artistic inclination and are individualists. Our task is to have a free head, come to the race and do more than normal people can manage.

Niki Lauda (1978)

Senna eyes

You need to know Spa to savour Senna, the steepness of the descent to Eau Rouge, the strange ferocity of the left-right kink at the bottom; you need to know that Eau Rouge is to be taken at high speed, balls to the wall.

Ayrton Senna — The Hard Edge of Genius, Christopher Hilton (1994)

Schummi

Michael Schumacher is a racer and it’s a pity we’ve not got more like him. Like guys such as Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, he’s prepared to take a few risks. F1 doesn’t need drivers who pussyfoot around; we want them racing.

Bernie Ecclestone (1998)

Senna/Monaco

Grand Prix motor racing can never be safe. It has survived great change, feasts and famine, with admirable versatility. It has had many contemporary caretakers over the years, but the sport is still here to tell its tale and will be for the foreseeable future. Long live Grand Prix motor racing!

Jackie Stewart (1994)

Jacques