1982: The Inside Story of the Sensational Grand Prix Season

Christopher Hilton's books get better and better. This is well written account of a season of grand prix racing that saw 11 different winners in the 16 races, nobody winning more than twice and the world championship just once, the deaths of Gilles Villeneuve (I was there at Zolder that sad day) and novice Riccardo Paletti, and also the innovative Lotus designer Colin Chapman on the verge of being ensnared by the de Lorean scandal, a driver's strike and a team boycott, a serious injury to Pironi, Andretti living the dream with pole for Ferrari, at Monza, a silly dispute over water as ballast and much more. If you have any interest in grand prix racing in the 1980s this is the book for you, all that is missing is Murray Walker and James Hunt providing the commentary.

1982 - Afterwards was never the same....... (8/8 people found this helpful)

1982 is a particularly poignant year for me, and no doubt thousands of other F1 fans. On May 8th 1982 we lost my childhood hero, Gilles Villeneuve in a qualifying accident for the Belgian GP at Zolder.

1982 also stands out for many other reasons - it hailed the advent of the turbocharged F1 engine finally coming to the fore (Renault had first experimented with them though in 1977, and took the first win for a turbo car at Dijon Prenois in 1979), F1 cars were also well into the ground effect era pioneered by Lotus' Colin Chapman, but now running with minimal suspension - which was physically very tough on the drivers.

Then we had the FISA/FOCA battles, the drivers strike at Kyalami, the plethora of politics - the normally aspirated cars running "cooling devices" in the sidepods and the subsequent seemingly illogical disqualifications for such infringements of Piquet and Rosberg at Rio, where the former collapsed on the podium due to heat exhaustion! As well as disqualifying Ferrari's "double wing" at Long Beach only AFTER both drivers had risked their lives completing the street circuit race in the cars. This book also finally explained why Patrese spun coming down to the Loews hairpin in the lead in the closing laps of that momentous Monaco GP! Not to mention just why Derek Warwick's Toleman was so stupendously quick at Brands Hatch - and even overtook Pironi's Ferrari!!!

It was certainly quite a season - the quality of drivers on the grid that year also was probably the best at any time and included such legends as Prost, Lauda, Watson, Piquet, Villeneuve, Andretti, Pironi, Laffite, Reutemann, Rosberg, Alboreto, Mansell, Arnoux, etc.

Over 16 rounds there were 11 different victors. We had 2 fatalities that year (Villeneuve at Zolder and Paletti at Montreal). From seeming retirement there were comeback drives from Lauda, Andretti and Tambay.

All this and more are documented in this excellent book - it includes grid line-ups and results for every race, driver interviews (a lot of which I had never read elsewhere before), and press cuttings - all lavished with plenty of wonderful and nostalgic colour photos.

I cannot recommend it highly enough for F1 fans of this amazing, but personally sad era. To me, without Gilles, F1 was never the same again....

1982: The Inside Story of the Sensational Grand Prix Season

Christopher Hilton

Reader Reviews:

A very eventful year (5/5 people found this helpful)

1982 - Afterwards was never the same....... (8/8 people found this helpful)

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