Emerson Fittpaldi in a Lotus 72D

Emerson Fittpaldi in a Lotus 72D

Primacolor pencils on yellow archival stock 12"x 9"
© Paul Chenard 2008

Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1972 F1 Driver's World Championship driving Colin Chapman's Lotus 72D John Player Special. At the age of 25, he was then the youngest driver to win the title. Two years later, Fittipaldi won the Championship again, driving an M23 for Team McLaren.

He left Formula 1 for the American CART series driving for Patrick Racing, taking the Championship in 1989. He won the Indianapolis 500 in his Championship year, and again in 1993 driving for Penske Racing.

Vanwall: The Seeds of an Industry

1/18 diecast Mettoy Vanwall made for Marks & Spencer (missing windshield, and possibly driver), England, circa 1959

The Vanwall was a British race car that got it's name from the combination of the team-owner Anthony (Tony) Vandervell’s name and that of his company's patented “Thinwall” bearings.

The first cars raced in 1954 with Peter Collins at the wheel, but without much success. By the end of 1955, Vandervell hired young Colin Chapman to redesign the chassis, with Frank Costin redesigning the body. The racer showed more potential through 1956, with a win at Silverstone in the hands of Sir Stirling Moss.

Frank Cooper Ltd. marmalade pot, England, 1959

Moss decided to join the team for 1957, along with Tony Brooks and Stewart Lewis-Evans, and as the season unfolded, the Vanwalls became faster and more reliable with wins at the British, Italian and Pescara Grand Prix.

In 1958, Vanwall won Grand Prix's in Holland, Portugal and Morocco (Moss) and in Belgium, Germany and Italy (Brooks), thus winning the Constructor's Championship.

After the death of Lewis-Evans in Morocco in 1958, the team continued half-heartedly until 1961 when it closed all together.


Corgi #150 Vanwall Formula 1 Grand Prix, England, 1957

The international motorsport industry developed from the seeds sown by companies like Vanwall, BRM, Lotus, Cosworth and many others in Britain is such that there are now as many as 4000 companies involved in motorsport manufacturing in the U.K.

In Formula 1, 7 teams competing in the 2008 season are based there: McLaren, Williams, Renault, Super Aguri, Red Bull Racing,Force India and Honda.

Pencil and Prismacolor pencil on coloured archival paper 12"x 9" © Paul Chenard 2008

Available as limited edition premium archival Giclee prints (part of a series), 14.5''x 11'' (image size 12''x 9''),signed and numbered to a limit of 125 of each. The suggested retail price is $100 CDN each plus shipping/handling, or all 4 from the series for $325 CDN plus shipping/handling.

Rate This:

2.85

TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2008

Sir Stirling Moss, driving for Mercedes, won his first GP in Aintree, England 1955

Pencil on paper © Paul Chenard 2007