Formula 1 in the 1980s was wild. Commercially it exploded, and the cars were faster, louder and more difficult to drive than ever before. The races were jam-packed with hopeful teams and drivers, and the cars looked absolutely epic too. Seeing a grid of 1980s F1 machines dart around the tight confines of Monaco, then, is a real dream.
Gallery: Retro '80s F1 cars battle at Monaco
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We’re here once again at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, and while there are sportscars and early pre-war racers, the focus has to be drawn by the F1 heroes from the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. To watch a Williams FW07B fly through Casino Square is wild, as is seeing a Lotus 91, the very car that won the Austrian GP at the hands of Elio de Angelis in 1982, swoop through La Rascasse. Then there’s the Lotus 88B, a car than never raced, this weekend at the hands of Goodwood hero Nick Padmore.
Winding the clocks back to the 1980s is epic. If Monaco could run races every weekend, with the exception of Goodwood events, of course, that would be superb.
Photography by Pete Summers and Ben Miles.
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