"It gave notice that we weren't complete idiots"
Classic & Sports Car|July 2023
Hesketh Racing lit up the Formula One scene 50 years ago, but there was depth to the team's talents beyond its playboy image
JAMES PAGE
"It gave notice that we weren't complete idiots"

The New Year celebrations had barely faded when the great and the good of the Formula One Constructors' Association gathered at Olympia in London. They were there to give their side of the story in a dispute with race organisers, who had recently formed their own 'union' Grand Prix International. With less than a month to go before the start of the 1973 World Championship, battle lines had been drawn and it all boiled down to one thing: money.

The Constructors' Association included all of the top teams and, in effect, offered the organisers a 'package deal': we'll come to your race if you pay us a certain amount. If you don't, you get none of us. With costs going up, it said its members needed much more start and prize money to survive, and Grand Prix International said it couldn't afford it. Its argument was that much-needed improvements to both safety and spectator facilities at its circuits simply didn't leave enough in the pot.

Over the winter of 1972-'73, it seemed that the situation had reached an impasse. It was typical of a turbulent decade in which the sport moved away from old-style Grand Prix racing towards the modern, trademarked entity. known as Formula One. Great road circuits were being replaced by sterile autodromes, and financial necessity dictated that famous team names were now officially prefaced by those of their sponsors - John Player Team Lotus, Yardley McLaren and Marlboro BRM.

Into the middle of it all came Hesketh Racing, a team with zero commercial backing but money seemingly to burn, a confidently stated ambition to make James Hunt World Champion, an unashamed desire to enjoy themselves in the process, and a car that would take on a grid full of mobile billboards finished in nothing more than virginal white with patriotic flashes of red and blue.

Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA CLASSIC & SPORTS CARSe alt
Mick WALSH
Classic & Sports Car

Mick WALSH

'Had someone said that this worn-looking titan would win the most famous old-car event, we would have laughed'

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QF
Classic & Sports Car

ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QF

Rewriting the rulebook on what an SUV can do, and how it can make you feel

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
FLOATING INTO THE FUTURE
Classic & Sports Car

FLOATING INTO THE FUTURE

Citroën's DS-replacing CX was at a cutting edge so sharp it still looks fresh today, and it had the drive to match - as five superb survivors reveal

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
"It's a car for posing in really"
Classic & Sports Car

"It's a car for posing in really"

Broadcaster Michael Buerk reflects on more than three decades with his beloved Jaguar E-type S1 3.8 fixed-head coupé

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
HONDAS DECK THE HALL
Classic & Sports Car

HONDAS DECK THE HALL

The Japanese firm's Los Angeles collection is now on public display for the first time in two decades

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
ABSOLUTELY buzzing
Classic & Sports Car

ABSOLUTELY buzzing

Honda's Si Civics brought agile, cheap fun to motorists long before the Type R name got anywhere near a hatchback

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2024
THE FEMININE TOUCH
Classic & Sports Car

THE FEMININE TOUCH

In 1955, General Motors styling guru Harley Earl brought 11 talented women into the male-dominated world of automotive design. What was their lasting impact?

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2024
Out on a limb
Classic & Sports Car

Out on a limb

Panther's innovative Solo 2 was something completely different, both for its maker and the sports car market

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2024
Restyles with substance
Classic & Sports Car

Restyles with substance

Panther Westwinds blended a passion for pre-war designs with modern-era mechanical usability and remarkably fine coachbuilding

time-read
10 mins  |
November 2024
Dead ringers
Classic & Sports Car

Dead ringers

The Maserati Kyalami and De Tomaso Longchamp share much, having emerged from the same stable, but are poles apart at heart

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024