Go Go Go : F1’s most famous voice

He has become synonymous with F1 and rightly so, the passionate, break neck speed commentary of Murray Walker, along with his infamous “Murrayisms”, is a main reason why millions of people were glued to their TV screen every other weekend.

Murrray Walker at Autosport International 2009 : image Matthew Spencer

Murray personified the excitement, tension and sheer thrills that were happening on the track and calmly( or not so calmly most of the time) beamed it into our living rooms.An all-round inspiration, it was a sad day for F1 when he retired in 2001, after over 50 years in the job.

Born in Enfield, he  served in the  Royal Scots Greys between 1944 and 47, doing his first  commentary on Motersport in 1949,  his first radio commentary was the 1949 British Grand Prix.

Partnered with Martin Brundle, as I was growing up, his excitable tone brought home the thrills and spills of F1.

There is not enough time or words to do Murray’s story justice here, suffice to say if you want to know more about his incredible journey from Dunlop Ad man to F1’s top talker ( and you should ) you can buy his autobiography from Amazon here .

For now though I’m going to focus on those famous slips of the tongue that came to be known as Murrayisms.

In his autobiography he says “I was told time after time to engage brain before operating mouth but I was often too fired up for that  to happen. What I said came from the heart even though it was sometimes flawed.”

Here is a video of some of the more famous  Murrayisms 

 Some of my favourite Murrayisms

“I don’t make mistakes I make prophecies that immediately turn out to be wrong”

“Unless I’m very much mistaken  I am very much mistaken”

“I imagine the conditions in those cars are totally unimaginable”

“With half the race gone there is half  the race still to go”

“There’s nothing wrong with the car except it’s on fire”

“It’s raining and the track is wet”

“We’re now on the 73^rd lap and the next one will be the 74^th”

“Only ten of the drivers who started  this race are left, I make no apoligies for their absence I’m sorry they’re not here”

“The first four cars are both on the same tyres”

“Here’s Giacomelli driving like the veteran he is not”

Interviewing Bernie Ecclestone – It’s some 17 years since you bought Mclaren you’ve had some good times and some bad times, what do you remember best”

Bernie Ecclestone: I don’t remember buying Mclaren (it was Brabham)

Proof  of the existence  commentators curse : here comes the gallant little Frenchman Alain Prost almost home for his 6^th Grand Prix win, nothing can stop him now  ( he  then hit a wet patch, spun into the barrier lost a wheel and retired.)

“The young  Ralf Schumacher has been upstaged by teenager Jenson Button who is 20”

His famous  preclude to an F1 race-  “it’s go go go”

“And now excuse me while I interrupt myself”

All quotes are taken from Murray Walkers Autobiography : Unless I’m very much mistaken – something I wholeheartedly urge all F1 fans to read .

I’d like to finish with a quote from Michael Schumacher- “ Murray’s enthusiasm and breathless energy are an inspiration to us all”

If you’ve got a Favourite Murraysim that i’ve missed out on please feel free to comment or drop me an email and I’ll add it in.

Nelson Piquet: The Champion Who Played Mind Games

As a triple World Champion, it goes without saying that Nelson Piquet was quick, however unlike his rivals it was his cunning and guile that won him races, the ability to sense out an opponent’s psychological weaknesses and exploit them.

A model of Nelson Piquet’s Williams – image Ben Sutherland

I think the image I’ve used is particularly appropriate, as there are similarities between Piquet and a Scarletrix car. Although he was a model for everyone, there was  always a chance of him making a silly mistake, like taking a corner too fast, or in Piquet’s case losing his head and punching another driver.

Piquet punching Elioseo Salzar at Hockeneheim 1982  

Piquet won 3 world titles ( 1981 83 87)  and did sometimes drive like he was on rails but his tendancy to do almost  anything for the win, meant his popularity was never particularly high, He always played second fiddle to Senna in the hearts of the Brazilian people.

Entering F1 in 1978, the Brazilian joined Brabham in 1979, where he stayed for six years and won 2 World Titles his boss at Brabham was a certain Bernie Ecclestone.

Piquet was a womaniser, not to the standard of  James Hunt perhaps, but a womaniser none the less.

Away from races he would spent time in his boat conducting numerous sexual flings on-board.

He owned a private jet and fathered several children to various women; he also kept a constantly staffed yacht in Monaco and loved cruising  the Mediterranean when he wasn’t racing.

He was a promising tennis player in his youth, his  parents encouraged this and sent him to University  in California,where he dropped out after a year to pursue his racing career.He entered Formula 3 and worked his way through the ranks, much  like his idol Emerson Fittapaldi.

Watch Murray Walkers tribute to Piquet leaving F1 here  

When things weren’t going his way he could be  nasty, the guile and cunning that he had in spades, turning into downright unpleasantness.

He famously  described  Ayrton Senna as “the Sao Paulo Taxi driver” and  insulted both Nigel Mansell and his Wife.

Mansell and Piquet famously hated each other so much that in 1986 their personal battles where so intense that Alain Prost snuck in and took the World Title.

Piquet joined Williams for the season of 1986  after falling out with Brabham over money ( he wanted double the £1m retainer fee that the team were offering, Brabham refused and Frank Williams stepped in.)

He  offered Nelson another million on top and the Brazilian departed to Grove where he would win his 3^rd and final World Title.

Rather than riding out in a blaze of glory Piquet quietly slipped away from the sport he loved in 1991.

Whatever the criticism of Piquet’s style, it certainly got results and that in Formula 1 is the only thing that really matters.

Summing him up perfectly was his own description, after being described as an unsatisfactory World Champion. “I don’t want to make friends with anybody. I don’t give a shit for fame. I just want to win.”

Jim Clark : The Great Natural Talent

A Scottish farmer’s boy pushed into racing by enthusiastic friends against his family’s wishes, he was taken by the sport at just 32.

Jim’s first race wasn’t until he was 17, he entered his Talbot Sunbeam in a local rally, soon afterwards he began entering and winning club races and was funded by rich friends who convinced him to take his hobby further.

Image: Historic Motor Racing News

In 1958 he was given a Lotus Elise to race at Brands Hatch, he impressed the winner, a certain Colin Chapman, who was driving an identical car, afterwards he was invited to race at Team Lotus.

Spa Francorchamps may be one of the greatest race tracks in the world, but Jim Clark hated it with a passion (despite the fact he won four times there.)

The reason for this deep seated antipathy was a severe one; he watched 22-year-old Chris Bristow lose his life in a Mini Cooper at circuit in 1960 and just moments after narrowly avoided crashing into his mangled body.

Clark also saw his lotus team mate, Alan Stacey, lose his life that very same weekend, an incident that scarred him for life.

Between 1962 -65 Clark’s form was imperious but he was let down mechanically. He won his first title at a canter in 1963 and raced to victory again in 1965, but he lost 2 championships in 1962 and 1964 on the final day of the season suffering an oil leak on both occasions.

If he had been in a more reliable car there is every possibility Jim Clark could have been a Quadruple World Champion.

Tragically, He was Killed on 7th April 1968 after his Lotus suffered a tyre failure at while racing at Hockenheim.

Watch Murray Walker’s tribute to Jim here: