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8 classic cars that should be in F1 2017
We'd love to drive these iconic F1 cars in Codemasters' new game.
The most exciting thing about the F1 2017 announcement was the revelation that classic cars are on their way back to the game. Not since 2013, when fans were able to relive the glory years of the 1980s by speeding around Brands Hatch in Alan Jones’ Williams FW07B, have we been able to drive old Formula One cars in Codemasters’ official game.
This year, however, you’ll be able to get behind the wheel of Nigel Mansell’s 1992 Championship-winning Williams FW14B, Aytron Senna and Alain Prost’s McLaren MP4/4 that won all but one race in the 1988 season, and the F2002 Ferrari which Michael Schumacher drove to a then-record 11 Grand Prix victories in 2002. Codemasters have also revealed Reanult's R26 which Fernando Alonso took to the drivers' title in 2006 and Red Bull Racing's 2010 model, the RB6.
But F1 fans will want to go further back than the 1990s and 1980s. Just as FIFA Ultimate Team enables us to play as stars of the 1950s (well, Pele), we want to drive the classy racing cars of the 1950s and 1960s as well as some modern classics, Here, then, in chronological order, are the classic cars that should be in F1 2017.
1. Maserati 250F (1958)
Maserati 250
© Lothar Spurzem
For retro style, there isn’t a cooler looking F1 car than the Maserati 250F. But its inclusion isn’t just about aesthetics – many F1 cars looked like the this in the 1950s, but Stirling Moss, who drove 250Fs to victory in the 1956 Monaco and Italian Grands Prix, called it the best front-engined F1 car ever.
Its finest moment, however, came in the legendary 1957 German Grand Prix, when, after a disastrous pit stop, Juan Manuel Fangio recovered from a 48-second deficit to overtake Mike Hawthorne on the final lap. His Maserati broke the Nürburgring lap record nine times in what is regarded to be one of the best races of all time. Following his victory, Fangio said: "I have never driven that quickly before in my life and I don't think I will ever be able to do it again."
2. Ferrari 158 (1964)
If the 1957 German Grand Prix was one of the best races in Formula One history, 1964’s Mexican Grand Prix was arguably the most exciting finish to a season, as three British drivers were in with a chance of winning the title. Racing a Ferrari 158, John Surtees was five points behind 1962 world champion Graham Hill and four points ahead of the 1963 champion, Jim Clark.
Surtees had to finish second or third to win his first title, but it looked like Clark was set to retain the championship when – with Hill losing power following an earlier collision with Lorenzo Bandini – the Scottish driver entered the penultimate lap in the lead. However, Clark’s engine seized, and with Surtees in third, Ferrari ordered Bandini to let his teammate past, enabling the Englishman to win his first and only championship by one point over Hill. What a race, what a car.
3. McLaren M7A (1968)
McLaren M7A at the 1968 US Grand Prix
© Wikimedia Commons
Most F1 fans remember McLaren as the dominant force of the 1980s, when Nikka Lauda, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna won five Driver’s championships. Lewis Hamilton also made his F1 debut in a McLaren, winning the last of the team's championships in 2008, 34 years after Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi won their first.
However, the team’s first Grand Prix victory was at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1968 – and it was won by the team’s founder Bruce McLaren from behind the wheel of the M7A, a car designed by McLaren himself, with initial help from Robin Herd who worked on the Concorde. It’s fitting, then, that this was McLaren’s first F1 car to use wings, which have become synonymous with F1 cars.
4. Lotus 72D (1972)
The Lotus 72D at the 1972 Austrian Grand Prix
© Wikimedia Commons
The Lotus 72D dominated Formula One in the early 1970s, but it was the black and gold JPS-liveried model which made its debut in 1972 that’s the most iconic. It’s the car that Emerson Fittipaldi drove to five race wins, including the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, to become the youngest world champion at the age of 25 (he is currently the fourth, behind Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso).
5. Tyrrell 006 (1973)
Tyrrell 006
© Wikimedia Commons
The Tyrrell 006 is the car that legendary racer Jackie Stewart drove to his third and final championship, before retiring at the end of the season. The Flying Scot secured the title after an astonishing race in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where he recovered from a puncture early in the race, climbing 16 places from 20th to 4th to earn the points he needed to secure the Driver’s Championship. The British-based team may have also won the Constructor’s Championship, too, but following the death of François Cevert in practice for the US Grand Prix, Tyrrell pulled out of the final race of the season, handing victory to Lotus. A tragic end for a classic car.
6. McLaren M23 (1973)
Emerson Fittipaldi driving a McLaren M23 in 1974
© Gerald Swan
Between 1973 and 1976, the McLaren M23 had an eventful run. With rookie Jody Scheckter behind the wheel during its debut season, it caused one of the biggest crashes in F1 history when it span at the beginning of the British Grand Prix, taking out 11 cars in the process. A year later, Emerson Fittipaldi delivered McLaren its first Driver’s and Constructor's Championship in an M23, while James Hunt, in an M23D, beat Nikki Lauda to the 1976 title by one point. In total, it was driven to 16 Grand Prix victories – not bad for a car that was never the fastest.
7. McLaren MP4/13 (1998)
David Coulthard racing the McLaren MP4/13
© Rick Dikeman
It was obvious that the McLaren MP4/13 was the best car of the 1998 Formula 1 season right from the very first Grand Prix of the season. Powered by a Mercedes engine, the MP14/13 dominated as race winner Mika Häkkinen, together with teammate David Coulthard, finished at least a lap ahead of their rivals on the Melbourne Circuit.
Their dominance continued throughout the season, with Häkkinen adding a further seven victories on the way to his first World Championship. Coulthard also won the Canadian Grand Prix, and recorded the highest speed of the season when he hit 219mph at Hockenheim.
However, the car that helped McLaren win their first Constructor's Championship since Ayrton Senna's 1991 triumph wasn't all about the speed. Thanks to Adrian Newey's aerodynamic design, it was also the most efficient. Nine years later, Newey would join Red Bull Racing. Talking of which...
8. Red Bull Racing RB9 (2013)
Vettel wins the 2013 German Grand Prix
© Lars Baron/Getty Images
This was the car in which Sebastien Vettel won his fourth world championship, making him the joint third most successful Formula One driver of all time alongside Alain Prost. The fact that it was four titles in four seasons made his achievement even better, a record that has only been bettered by Michael Schumacher. You only need to check the stats to see how dominant this car was – it was on pole position 11 times, recorded the fastest lap on 12 occasions and won 13 of the 19 races that year, including nine straight victories at the end of the season.
