By 1979, Autosport was well into its now traditional practice of producing a double issue over Christmas, which doubled as a look back at the year that was.
But there was room for a guest column or two for you to enjoy in front of the roaring fire and the twinkling Christmas lights, most notably one penned by James Hunt who had some fruity observations on the F1 drivers from that year.
“Gilles Villeneuve, to me, is enigmatic. At first glance, he is an outstanding talent, probably faster and more gifted than any driver since Jackie Stewart. The trouble is, it all goes wrong in the car…His driving this year has been almost as if he was trying not to win the championship.
“A lot has been written by the so-called ‘expert’ press on the subject of Jody Scheckter’s skilful ‘nursing’ of his cars as his basic tactic. This is romantic rubbish.”
Spades continued to be called spades in Hunt’s column here.
