When I was young and my father wanted to keep the kids quiet (most of the time), he would have quizzes to keep us all amused. So, as it is a quiet time in F1, and some of you are getting a bit fractious and argumentative, I thought I might try a nice easy quiz for F1 fans out there. There is no prize, except pride at having answered them all correctly.
Which Grand Prix driver flew an aeroplane under a bridge, was a member of the Spanish Olympic bobsleigh team and rode in Britain’s most famous steeplechase, the Grand National?
What was Tony Vandervell’s real name?
Which Grand Prix driver was a prisoner of war in the famous Colditz Castle in World War II but went on to win the Le Mans 24 Hours?
What was unusual about Pedro Rodriguez’s Ferrari in the final three races of 1969?
Who was the driver for World Wide Racing at the Italian GP at Monza in 1972?
What is Herbie Blash’s real name?
Which Formula 1 World Champion was a twin?
Which Formula 1 team boss worked on the design of the Concorde supersonic aircraft and went on to own the Oxford United soccer club?
In Austria in 1975 Jean-Pierre Jarier drove a Shadow. What was unusual about the car?
Who raced the Automobiles Martini Formula 1 car?
Philippe Streiff finished third in his Ligier at the 1985 Australian Grand Prix. What was remarkable about this?
What did Frank Williams get in exchange for releasing Jean Alesi from his Williams contract in 1991?
John Colum Crichton-Stuart, now the Marquis of Bute, raced in F1 under what name?
What was the unusual reason for practice at the 1978 Austrian Grand Prix to be stopped mid-session?
Why did Sandro Nannini’s Formula 1 career come to an end?
Who drove the Lowenbrau McLarens? Where and when?
Why was the first official session at the first French GP at Magny-Cours delayed?
When Andrea de Cesaris was pushing his car across the finishing line in Mexico City in 1991 he was interrupted by someone. Who was it?
At the 1980 Italian Grand Prix the Alfa Romeo team had a bad time. A helicopter carrying members of the team crashed and injured several mechanics. The rest of the team decided that they would have to drive to the track. What happened?
After Alan Jones left Williams, which was the next Formula 1 team for which he raced?
joeblogsf1 
This is an education Joe, not a quiz. I wasn’t even a glint in my farther’s eye for most of this. How about chucking in a few questions for the “kids”?
I just checked on Google to see if there was the answer to the parachute question, which is probably the hardest one of all… It’s there. You just have to find it. Besides I don’t believe in lowering educational standards to make kids feel good. I think they should stretch themselves and feel better knowing that it is the real thing!
I’m pulling your leg Joe as I’m sad that I call myself an F1 fan but couldn’t answer a single question using my head (bad form to use Google in a quiz).
I’d never advocate lowering the difficulty of the questions, but a few more from the last 20 years would be nice. As I believe you’ve alluded to before, F1 should not isolate the youth.
Its quite worn me out just reading the questions.
I stand (well sit actually) in awe of your width and depth of knowledge and look forward hopefully to your writing at least a paragraph on each.
If only my “GP encyclopedia by J Saward” had not been nicked in the post!
I have a re-make of Colditz still to watch on my PVR maybe that will give me a clue. Was he a home runner?
And congrats on the progress with Saboteurs.
Alfonso de Portago
Guy Anthony
Tony Rolt
Blue?
Emerson Fittipaldi
Michael
Lauda
Robin Herd
Matra engine.
Rene Arnoux
3 wheels on his wagon.
A Ferrari F1 car
Johnny Dumfries
Deer on track?
Hand severed in helicopter crash
Tambay and Hunt 1978 at the three North American races
Fog?
Italian TV commentator
They got nicked?
Arrows at Long Beach in 83
Nice try. 16/20
that was without Google Joe, the ones with ? were real stabs in the dark.
So much for me doing any work this afternoon.
do we get the answers before the end of the season?
You get the answers when someone gets all 20 right!
Without looking up anything, I got one out of 20 — and even then I mixed up Johnny Dumfries and Johnny Herbert. So 1/2 out of 20, humiliation in the form room, must do better, &c.
Herbie Blash is a brilliant name. Strike any previous from the record!
It comes from the English expression: “He’s a right little Herbert!”
herbert noun
a mischievous child or youth. Quite often heard as ‘little herbert’
Without Google, guys, let me give it a try:
– de Portago
– van der Velsen?
– wasn’t that ‘Williams’ (but what was his real name…) or was he pre-war?
– it was blue and white (due to a conflict Mr. Ferrari had with the US?), instead of red
– Rolf Stommelen (wild guess)
– some Eastern European name, can’t recall
– Mario Andretti, I believe his twin was called Aldo, who had a career ending crash early in his racing career
– Tony Southgate?
– It’s gas pedal didn’t brake? (Jarier was known for his heavy right foot)
– René Arnoux
– He was flown in as a last minute replacement
– A Ferrari F1 car, as raced by Nigel Mansell?
– nope, sorry
– didn’t someone run into a deer?
– a helicopter crash which severed his arm with the rotor
– lack of croissants? no idea, sorry
– his mother in law? again, no idea
– their bus crashed as well
– Arrows in 1983, only one or two races, before he went to Haas-Lola (another Haas than the current team)
So, how did my memory score?
8/20, but you got some that have not been answered yet
Thanks for this piece. It’s been an education. I googled every answer except Johnnie Dumfries so I’ve cheated but very informative nonetheless.
Crikey. I look forward to finding out the answers from people smarter than I!
AJ went to Beatrice Racing, didn’t he?
After Arrows…
Even with help from Google this was quite a task. 🙂
1. Alfonso de Portago
2. Guy Anthony Vandervell
3. Tony Rolt
4. He was listed driving for the North American Racing Team
5. Emerson Fittipaldi
6. Michael Blash
7. Mario Andretti (Finally, no Google needed, his brother is called Aldo)
8. Robin Herd
9. It had a Matra V12 engine instead of the Cosworth DFV
10. René Arnoux
11. He collided with Laffite and finished with a broken front left suspension with the wheel suprisingly still in place.
12. 4 million dollars
13. Johnny Dumfries
14. There were parachutists dropping towards the circuit
15. He was in a helicopter crash that injured one of his hands (Finally, no Google again)
16. John Watson and Patrick Tambay
17. No clue.
18. No one?
19. No clue.
20. Arrows
Can’t wait to find out what the answers are for questions 17/19!
16/20, but a different 16 to the last…
I only knew Nannini lost his lower arm/hand in a helicopter crash and guess that the alfa team crash their bus/truck.
Love this though await your answers…. come one people much more versed in F1 than me… this has ‘wasted’ my lunch hour – the wife will kill me for not having booked the car in for an mot or the kids in for their dentist appointment. I’m sure Joe’s quiz will wash as an excuse.
The earliest race I watched live was Mansell winning in Hungary so a lot of this is pre my time. Thanks for making me feel very young again :).
The Red Bull F1 trucks were out on the M25 yesterday, got me excited for the season ahead…
I don’t know about Magny Cours ’91 but I’m confident on the rest!
1- Alfonso de Portago
2- Guy Anthony Vandervell
3- Tony Rolt
4- He drove for North American Racing Team (NART)
5- Emerson Fittipaldi
6- Michael Blash
7- Mario Andretti
8- Robin Herd
9- Matra V12 engine
10- René Arnoux
11- First points, only time he stood on an F1 podium… on three wheels.
12- A 1990 Ferrari F1 car.
13- Johnny Dumfries
14- Unexpected parachute display going on at the same time as the F1 practice.
15- Helicopter accident. Severed (and reattached) arm.
16- James Hunt and Patrick Tambay, both US GP’s 1978 (Long Beach and Watkins Glen). John Watson and Patrick Tambay, West US GP 1979 (Long Beach).
17- ????
18- Ezio Zermiani
19- They had annother accident with a truck
20- Arrows
19/20. The only answer we don’t know therefore is 17…
Q 11: He also collided with his own team-mate!
This was a fantastic mental exercise, Joe. Thank you for that!!
17. The weather was too hot?
17. Maybe the weather was too hot?
Sorry if double-posting.
Nope
Ferrari did public official gala presentation of 643?
What was the unusual reason for practice at the 1978 Austrian Grand Prix to be stopped mid-session?
Correct me if I’m wrong Joe, but I think you mean the Austrian Grand Prix of 1987. Stefan Johansson hit a dear with his McLaren.
I will correct you. I mean exactly what was written. It is not the deer I am talking about…
Oke, 1978 was the year Niki Lauda won in Gordon Murray’s fan car, so I thought you’re confused with the years. I have to look further.
Lauda won in Sweden with the fan car. Austria was Ronnie Peterson’s last win and Gilles Villeneuve’s first podium. Interestingly, the other man on the podium was Patrick Depailler. They would be the next three drivers to be killed in Grand Prix racing, in succession, within less than four years.
Interesting to see the new answers that are right Joe. I could Google but its interesting learning new things. Are my wrong answers the ones with question marks?
Ah, you have to find that out. Look at other results and it will become clear
Why did I write Lauda when I mean Mario? Of course Aldo is his brother.
I love that the only reference to the cause of the stoppage of the 1978 Austrian GP practice session was an article written by you back in 2002! You really are the fount of all F1 knowledge!! 🙂
No, I think Jenks mention it…
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/september-1978/21/austrian-grand-prix
“As the final hour of practice approached there was no air of expectancy, for nobody was convinced they could catch the Lotuses and added to the gloom was the speed of the turbocharged Renault. However, more important was impending rain from over the mountains, for the cloud base was ominously low. A projected parachute drop to amuse the crowd was cancelled because of the low cloud, and at ten minutes past 1p.m. the last hour of practice began. Barely had the cars left the pits than parachutists appeared through the clouds, dropping towards the circuit! Somebody had not told them their stunt had been cancelled. Practice was stopped instantly.”
That one didn’t crop up in my searches but, by correcting me you’ve further proved my point!
Was the first session of the first GP at Magny Cours delayed because half the drivers were stuck in traffic? I know the lack of hotels nearby caused some issues with getting to the track.
No, that was not the reason.
Alfonso de Portago
Guy Anthony
Tony Rolt
Blue Ferrari
Emerson Fittipaldi. Chapman still avoiding an Italian lawsuit in the aftermath of Rindt’s accident
Michael
Mario Andretti (brother to Aldo the former NASCAR driver)
Robin Herd
Jarier didn’t have a reason to complain about it?
Rene Arnoux, in 78
He tangled with his teammate, Jacques Laffite, who wasn’t amused…
They got a Ferrari 641 for studying. Afterwards Patrick head said that the study was a waste of time
dunno…. Charlie Crighton stuart?
Farmers protesting the European agriculture politics?
Severed arm in helicopter crash
Hunt, Tambay, Long beach 1978
Everyone was still stuck in a traffic jam at the RN7
My first memory says it was Ron Dennis and since first memories are seldom wrong…
Truck broke down?
Arrows, trying to get some sponsorship
13/20 Some of the others half correct. Lowenbrau required another driver, for example. Yes, Streiff did tangle with Laffite, but getting on the podium with a three-wheeler is probably a more important explanation.
Slightly off subject…………..
Is it true that a team once introduced “water cooled brakes” (which was obviously a big stripey lie)? They carried a tank of water to “cool” the brakes – but at the first corner, the driver promptly dumped all the water on the track, meaning they are then significantly lighter than the starting weight and all the other cars, meaning they could pass them with ease?
Is this true, and if it is, which team attempted this and when?
Motor racing is filled with such stories.
Brazil 1982, leading to the DSQ of both Brabhams and Williamses?
1984 Tyrrell. That’s why you don’t find Stefan Bellof’s third place in Monaco in the record books.
Taki Inoue and the great medical car incident for all questions.
Taki Inoue and his great medical car incident answers any F1 question, ever.
17: The doctors were having lunch and reached the track at their convenience.
Nice try, but no
Oh, the hard ones first eh! I thought i was reasonably clued up but I scored only 2. Most of the others i could not have even had a close guess! Thanks for the entertainment though!
As per Alex Garcia above, plus …. Magny Cours delay was due to a marshal’s strike!
*marshals’ – presumably, there was more than one!
What was the strike about?
Something to do with food … ? They hadn’t been given lunch …. ? Something like that. Tres Francais!
Yes. It’s official Jerry wins the quiz!!!!!
Someone forgot to feed the medical staff and so they refused to work until they had had lunch! Eh bah!
17: Was it because the medical staff were on strike?
Why were they on strike?
Joe, trying to pick at bits of internet info here… were they on strike because there was a crowd overflow and as a result some spectators had to be installed in areas deemed unsafe by the marshals?
Nope
Why was the first official session at the first French GP at Magny-Cours delayed?
I have guess….. they had to wait for an important official (FIA President?) to be there and he/she was delayed.
No
17: The strike was caused when security officials would not allow a deliveryman in who was bringing food for the medics and marshals–and they struck for lunch.
had to google and couldn’t find it without all the previous hints.
Yes.
17. Traffic jam? If I recall correctly, the local area couldn’t even hold all of the teams. This meant that they spent a lot of time travelling to and from the circuit.
Nope
Well, for anyone who suspects I’m an ignoramus, this quiz proves the point… I knew the answers to a measly 5 of them…
Wonderful idea though… and great implementation of it… kudos…
I used to think I knew a bit about F1. I appear to know diddly squat. I shall now slink away with my tail between my legs…
You just have to be interested and knowledge will come
Who’s the boss? Jean-Marie Balestre is president of FIA, international motor racing’s ruling body, and FFSA, France’s racing authority.
At the recent French Grand Prix, Balestre became infuriated when the medical staff and marshals at the race delayed practice when they went on a brief strike. As FIA president, he levied a fine of $20,000 on his own FFSA. The strike was caused when security officials would not allow a deliveryman in who was bringing food for the medics and marshals–and they struck for lunch.
The confusion occurred because Balestre’s two organizations issued conflicting sets of credentials.
Oh it’s my era and I should have known answers to about 18 of these questions and yet I was only close on about 4 …… I’m somewhat ashamed and while you say Joe “You just have to be interested and knowledge will come” , either that or the brain cells used for Motor Racing trivia have now been re-used for Information Technology trivia or Movie trivia or Family trivia or dog trivia or doughnut trivia or Conspiracy Theory trivia or Space and the Universe trivia. ………..or it’s just age – Yip a poor excuse !
Belestre
WoW ……. Ik denk dat ik er maar vier weet !!! Jawadde
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