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George

@f1buff

F1 History Bloke. Ferodo DS11 Stan Replist: Williams F1 | Elio de Angelis | Keke Rosberg | John Watson Check out my F1 history articles on my Medium! https://medium.com/@F1Buff

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13.11.2024
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Latest posts by George @f1buff

Absolutely dire direction in the F2 to cut to replays right when everyone is crossing the line on their final qualifying laps

06.03.2026 04:39 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

My next article is well underway and should be out reasonably soonℒ️

10.02.2026 21:41 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
F1Buff's Substack | Substack My personal Substack. Click to read F1Buff's Substack, a Substack publication. Launched a minute ago.

Think I'm gonna try publishing my articles on both Medium and Substack going forward so people can use whichever platform they prefer

My Medium is linked in my profile as usual, and my new Substack is available here (there's nothing on it yet though)

f1buff.substack.com?r=7ivweu&utm...

10.02.2026 21:41 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

On the topic of cursed car-tyre pairings, here's the 1977 Renault...

03.02.2026 14:51 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Not too bad, although the Barclays on the sidepod was clearly a late addition. I like that there's more white, although I do think it could have been applied better

The permanent roulette wheel wheel covers are tacky as hell though. Not a fan of those

03.02.2026 14:03 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

A mix of undergrad (English) and postgrad (History):

1. The Language of the Media
2. Discourse in a Social Context
3. War, Culture & Conflict
4. History Beyond the Nation State
5. Public History: Historians & The Public Sphere

31.01.2026 02:51 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Dennis was doing the least saving of anyone IIRC which makes it even more incredible

While I was rooting for Dennis to win, it was one of those moves where I can't really do anything but doff my cap to a brilliant piece of opportunism

10.01.2026 21:05 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This race also further confirmed my feelings that Rowland, Cassidy and Dennis are the clear top three drivers in FE currently

10.01.2026 21:01 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Fucking hell what a battle in the FE

How on earth Rowland repassed Dennis with no attack mode I have no idea

10.01.2026 20:56 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I think it sometimes has the subtitle "Life on the Limit", which can help a bit

28.12.2025 00:14 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Seems a very strong broadcast team. George Henneberry doing this presumably in addition to Indycar is interesting. I presume she'll be doing the same pitlane reporter job she does there.

03.12.2025 21:09 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Mel Kenyon in his 1972 AAR Eagle 72 at the 1974 Indianapolis 500, sporting a steel roll cage over the cockpit

Mel Kenyon in his 1972 AAR Eagle 72 at the 1974 Indianapolis 500, sporting a steel roll cage over the cockpit

Mel Kenyon in his 1972 AAR Eagle 72 at the 1974 Indianapolis 500, sporting a steel roll cage over the cockpit

Mel Kenyon in his 1972 AAR Eagle 72 at the 1974 Indianapolis 500, sporting a steel roll cage over the cockpit

TIL F1 proposed introducing a cockpit roll cage very similar in function to the Halo all the way back in 1977

Mel Kenyon also fitted a similar such contraption on his Eagle 72 at the 1974 Indy 500

02.12.2025 16:37 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Lovely work from the Williams crew there to get Sainz out ahead of Antonelli

Now a net second

30.11.2025 16:19 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I actually started work on this a fair bit before Peter Wright passed away, so hopefully I've done his role in its story justice

I'd also intended for this to cover the entire history of active suspension including its downfall in 1993/94, but that would have been far too long

27.11.2025 13:07 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Active Suspensionβ€Šβ€”β€ŠA Decade-Long Journey from Gimmick to Game-Changer Active suspension is one of F1’s most revered and dominant technologies. However, few are aware of the technology’s inauspicious origins…

Took a fair old while, but my latest F1 history article is out now!

It chronicles the rise of active suspension, and its journey from an overlooked fringe technology, to perhaps the defining innovation of the early 1990s

medium.com/formula-one-...

27.11.2025 13:07 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Ahh that explains Larsen's crash a bit more. It's still on her due to tapping the wall, but much more understandable than losing it so dramatically at a seemingly innocuous corner

22.11.2025 02:40 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah this has uhhh, not been the best advertisement for F1A driving standards

22.11.2025 02:38 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Man I was just writing a comment about how Larsen was living up to the Nordic driver tradition of being dynamite in mixed/wet conditions when that happened

22.11.2025 02:36 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Have to feel for Weug. What a horrid way for it all to come to an end

Rather reminiscent of Mugello 2020 I'd say

22.11.2025 02:25 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This is missing Alain Prost's McLaren titles isn't it? (with the caveat like Hill and Andretti that it wasn't his first stint with them)

11.11.2025 16:38 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

IMO it was the perfecting of carbon brakes in the mid 80s that really killed F1 around places like Monaco

IK FE is pivoting away from street tracks, but I'm sure we'll still be visiting some, and hopefully the longer braking distances brought about by LiCo will prevent true F1-style processions

05.11.2025 14:18 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I share your concerns over the impact of the new car on racing, but my hope is that with lift and coast being an integral part of FE, the braking distances will remain long enough to still allow for some solid overtaking

05.11.2025 14:15 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
A 1974 JPS Lotus 72E, as driven by Ronnie Peterson

A 1974 JPS Lotus 72E, as driven by Ronnie Peterson

Racing helmets of Jackie Stewart and Jody Scheckter

Racing helmets of Jackie Stewart and Jody Scheckter

Alain Prost's 1993 race helmet

Alain Prost's 1993 race helmet

Rear wing endplate of Nigel Mansell's 1992 Williams FW14B

Rear wing endplate of Nigel Mansell's 1992 Williams FW14B

Finally paid a visit to the Silverstone museum

02.11.2025 15:09 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Listing on Oxfam.com for the Autocourse 1987-1988 Annual. In the "You may also like" section there is a listing for "The Illustrated Book of Sapphic Sex".

Listing on Oxfam.com for the Autocourse 1987-1988 Annual. In the "You may also like" section there is a listing for "The Illustrated Book of Sapphic Sex".

Ok folks, own up

Which one of you has been looking at the Autocourse annuals on Oxfam to get this in the recommended section for it?

30.10.2025 00:08 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

We know the Honda F2 engine also mentioned was real, and began racing in 1980, and from what this brief article says it sounds like the Toyota F1 engine was even further along in development

I haven't been able to find anything else about it though

Do chime in with info if you have any!

12.10.2025 20:15 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Extract from Autosport, 12th April 1979:

Headline: "Toyota F1 Turbo?"

Body Text: There are some interesting rumours circulating in the Far East at the moment which would suggest that two major Japanese manufacturers are seriously contemplating full works involvement in a single seater engine programmes. Toyota, we hear, already have a Formula 1 turbocharged engine running in test conditions in Japan, while Honda are due to be building a Formula 2 engine, which should be seen testing in Europe before very long."

Extract from Autosport, 12th April 1979: Headline: "Toyota F1 Turbo?" Body Text: There are some interesting rumours circulating in the Far East at the moment which would suggest that two major Japanese manufacturers are seriously contemplating full works involvement in a single seater engine programmes. Toyota, we hear, already have a Formula 1 turbocharged engine running in test conditions in Japan, while Honda are due to be building a Formula 2 engine, which should be seen testing in Europe before very long."

This sure would have been interesting (this is from early 1979 for context, so around about the time Ferrari first started working on their turbo)

I wonder what became of the rumoured Toyota engine prototypeπŸ€”

12.10.2025 20:15 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

That change effectively stood until 2014 when the MGU-K once again enabled drivers to restart their engines from inside the cockpit (I don't believe the OG KERS could be used to restart the engine, though I could be misremembering)

08.10.2025 11:17 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Article 8 Subsection 1 of the 1982 Formula 1 Technical Regulations, stipulating that "A starter and source of energy capable of starting the engine at least twice and operable by the driver when seated normally in the car must carried aboard the car throughout the event." 

Document Available From: https://historicdb.fia.com/sites/default/files/regulations/1728482072/formula_one_techical_regulations_1982.pdf

Article 8 Subsection 1 of the 1982 Formula 1 Technical Regulations, stipulating that "A starter and source of energy capable of starting the engine at least twice and operable by the driver when seated normally in the car must carried aboard the car throughout the event." Document Available From: https://historicdb.fia.com/sites/default/files/regulations/1728482072/formula_one_techical_regulations_1982.pdf

Article 8 of the 1983 Formula 1 Technical Regulations. The stipulation for an onboard starter has been removed, with the clause now simply stating that "A supplementary device temporarily connected to the car may be used to start the
engine both on the grid and in the pits."

Document Available From: https://historicdb.fia.com/sites/default/files/regulations/1728482560/formula_one_techical_regulations_1983.pdf

Article 8 of the 1983 Formula 1 Technical Regulations. The stipulation for an onboard starter has been removed, with the clause now simply stating that "A supplementary device temporarily connected to the car may be used to start the engine both on the grid and in the pits." Document Available From: https://historicdb.fia.com/sites/default/files/regulations/1728482560/formula_one_techical_regulations_1983.pdf

One of the lesser-known elements of the 1983 F1 rule changes was that they made it legal for an F1 car to not have any way of restarting the engine onboard for the first time since 1961 (when they'd been made mandatory).

Most teams ditched them quite quickly to save weight

08.10.2025 11:17 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
John Watson in the new Penske PC4 at the car's launch

John Watson in the new Penske PC4 at the car's launch

John Watson driving the new Penske PC4 at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix

John Watson driving the new Penske PC4 at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix

The Penske PC4 in the pits at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix

The Penske PC4 in the pits at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix

The Penske PC4 at its first public testing appearance at Silverstone, April 1976

The Penske PC4 at its first public testing appearance at Silverstone, April 1976

I find the launch-spec Penske PC4 quite interesting

The full-width Ferrari style front wing and flick-ups ahead of the rear wheels were both ditched after the car's debut at Anderstorp, and the wheelbase was also lengthened by 7 inches before its second outing in France

06.10.2025 11:24 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Nato's been re-signed for another season by Nissan, hasn't he?

24.09.2025 13:41 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0