F1 Legends

1 July - 4 September 2022

We stepped into the history of the Zandvoort Grand Prix during the unique F1 Legends exhibition at the Louwman Museum. Eight F1 cars driven by legendary racers who took part in the Zandvoort Grand Prix between 1948 and 1970 were on display.

F1 Legends Ascari, Fangio and Clark

The highlights of the retrospective exhibition were undoubtedly the winning Ferrari 500 F2 (1952/53) of Alberto Ascari, the winning Mercedes-Benz W196 (1955) of Juan Manuel Fangio, and the winning Lotus 33 (1965) of Jim Clark.

In 1952 and 1953, Ascari became F1 world champion in his Ferrari 500 F2, thanks in part to his victories at Zandvoort in both years. In the 1953 season he achieved no fewer than seven wins in a row, a record that stood until 2013. Alberto Ascari was the first world champion for Ferrari.

In 1954 and 1955 Juan Manuel Fangio became F1 world champion. In 1955 Fangio achieved, with his Mercedes-Benz W196, the only victory for Mercedes-Benz at Zandvoort so far. Juan Manuel Fangio is regarded as the best driver of the 1950s. His record of five world titles in Formula 1 stood for 46 years.

In 1963 and 1965 Jim Clark became F1 world champion. With his Lotus 33, equipped with the Coventry Climax V8 engine, he took victory at Zandvoort in 1965. With four wins at Zandvoort, Clark holds the record there and is regarded as the best racing driver of the 1960s.

More F1 Legends

The Talbot Lago T26C (1950/51) of French driver Louis Rosier, the BRM P25 (1959) of Swede Jo Bonnier and the Lotus 49 of Graham Hill, which all managed to win the Zandvoort Grand Prix, were also part of the exhibition. Louis Rosier triumphed at Zandvoort in 1950 and 1951, when the Grand Prix did not yet officially count toward the F1 World Championship. Jo Bonnier took his only F1 victory of his career in 1959 during the Dutch Grand Prix.

F1 Legend Graham Hill

The Lotus 49 of two time F1 world champion Graham Hill was also present. It was not Graham Hill but Jim Clark who crowned this cars debut in 1967 with a victory at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort. The Lotus 49 was a revolutionary design. The new Ford DVF Cosworth V8 engine formed part of the chassis, something that had rarely been seen before. From 1967 through 1983 no fewer than 155 Grands Prix were won by a car with a DFV Cosworth V8.

Dutch F1 Legends

The HWM - ALTA (1952) of Dries van der Lof and the Porsche 718 (1960) of Carel Godin de Beaufort completed the grid. Dries van der Lof was, together with Jan Flinterman, the first Dutchman to start in an F1 race. With his HWM - ALTA he took part in the 1952 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort but did not complete enough laps to be classified.

In 1962, Carel Godin de Beaufort took sixth place at Zandvoort, scoring his first World Championship point.

Technology

The exhibition F1 Legends offered a wonderful overview of the technical development within Formula 1 in the period 1948-1970. Changes to the regulations also at that time affected, among other things, the maximum engine capacity and whether or not a supercharger was allowed. The evolution can be seen from a conventional tubular frame to a so-called monocoque chassis, which was much stiffer and in which the engine was mounted at the rear instead of at the front.