Formula 1 these days is the epitome of professionalism, with every i dotted, every t crossed, and every second of sleep and every calorie consumed scrupulously counted.
Back in the ‘60s, things were a little different, racers make the most of every moment in an age when there was every chance that, such were safety standards of the time, they didn’t know just how many moments the might gave left. As Graham Hill wrote so memorably – and prophetically as it turned out – in his autobiography, “Time is of the essence, and I’m running out of essence.”
In its retro pages in January 1998, Autosport took a look back to a point in the 1960s when the F1 season either saw the final chequered flag of the campaign in December – as it did in 1962 when Graham Hill beat Jim Clark to the title – or set the new one in motion at the start of January. Such timing meant that, as David Tremayne wrote, “It was where the racers wore party hats before a Grand Prix and blew toy whistles at each other while exchanging Christmas presents or New year pleasantries.”
Such timing was not always great for the families though, as Bette Hill, Graham’s wife, recalled. “Graham bought me a car, one of those Austin Mini Travellers, but gave it to someone else to give to me because he’d had to leave for South Africa on Christmas Day.
“The first time he went out there was when the race was in East London at the end of the year and, of course, he won it and with it the World Championship. But he and Innes Ireland got arrested and thrown into jail because they didn’t have the right innoculations. They spent New Year’s Day with three bottles of brandy in prison, at least happy they had something good to drink!”
You can read more missives from that disappearing world here.
