1

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( Spectators cheering )

( Engine roaring )

( Heartbeat )

( Heartbeat slows )

( Engines roaring )

( Low, steady heartbeat )

( Sirens approaching )

Martin brundle:
Everybody

thought I was dead.

I didn't have a bruise

on my body.

I didn't have anything at all.

I looked up,

and I saw a red flag.

That's lucky--

they've stopped the race.

Back then, we had

the restarts, and...

Also we had spare cars,

so your mind goes,

"get in the spare car."

And new ear plugs!

Man:
Yes, okay.

And new gl--

and new gloves!

Martin brundle:
And so, you can't start

until you've seen Professor Watkins.

"Where's sid?

Anybody know where sid is?"

I ran towards him like crazy.

I got there, and he said,

"I can see you're okay.

I've just watched you run

300 meters. What's the date?"

I said, "it's the 10th

of march."

He said, "yeah, then

you're fine. Get in the car."

Martin brundle:

There is no doubt about it--

a few years before,

I would have been a dead man.

Martin brundle:
We want

to see something exceptional,

breathtaking, that we

think we can't do.

We want to see gladiators,

warriors.

And let's face it, we do like

to see a bit of a shunt.

But we don't

want to see deaths.

Man:
Miracle of miracles!

This is well nigh unbelievable!

Martin brundle

gets out of the car,

and he's seemingly

all right.

Martin brundle:
It is

incredible how this changed,

and how suddenly it became unacceptable

to die in the name of sport.

Man:
Grand prix is like

the Olympics of motor sports,

with the cars in

all national colors:

Blue for the French,

green for the British,

red for Italy,

and white for the Germans,

until Mercedes stopped using

paint on those silver arrows...

Man:
Michael schumacher wins,

and becomes the most successful

grand prix driver of all time!

Man:
...The silver cars that

are the pride of Hitler Germany.

Man:
Alfa Romeo wins,

driven by the fabulous nouvalri.

Man:
What a feeling

for Fernando Alonzo.

He wins the Italian

grand prix at monza.

Man:
As the French announce

their search for the fastest man

in a new world championship

series to be entitled formula 1,

with the inaugural race

to be held at silverstone.

Man:
Enzo Ferrari for one

is not impressed

with the new wave

of British motor racers.

Il commendatore has labeled

the new independent designers

garagistes, the men

who cannot build engines.

Man:
Fangio is beaten

in buenos aires

by former teammate

and fastest rival stirling moss,

in a Cooper funny car,

no less.

Man:
What courage

by these men,

to push these cars

and themselves

to their very limits.

But that is formula 1.

Narrator:
Formula 1

was born in a bygone time...

When boys' heroes

reigned in the sky.

Nigel mansell:
When you're young,

you wanted to be a formula 1 driver.

You wanted to be an astronaut,

you wanted to be

a fighter pilot.

Damon hill:

After the second world war,

the mindset of going off

and doing something

courageous in a vehicle,

this just naturally flowed

into what became formula 1.

Martin brundle:
When you see photographs

and film of that era,

the seriousness of them

is awe inspiring.

I grew up in that world.

My dad was world champion '62,

and I was 2.

They all had this

genuineness about them.

They all

were the real article.

John Watson:
I certainly had respect

to those that went before me.

Some of them

were my contemporaries.

I met one time probably

in my view

the greatest

grand prix driver ever,

and that includes people

like Michael schumacher and ayrton senna.

Fangio.

Fangio.

Fangio.

Fangio.

Fangio.

Juan Manuel fangio.

Narrator:
The first big name

in formula one

may have been

the best driver ever.

Fangio would win

five world titles,

a record that stood

for 40 years,

surpassed only

by Michael schumacher.

Whenever you drive those cars

that fangio had to race in,

it's very scary.

You have to hold yourself

on the steering wheel.

No safety belts.

The helmet was

just like a hat.

Goggles. And you

had to be brave.

Narrator:
The most celebrated

driver in a dangerous time

survived.

The year fangio retired,

1958, the formula changed.

The sport's governing body

announced from Paris

that formula one would crown

two world champions each season--

one title for

the fastest driver,

and another for the manufacturer

of the fastest machine.

Mario andretti:
This was

the evolution, you know?

Each team

has to take engines,

take chassis and technology

to the absolute limit.

Narrator:
In this

new competition,

the British began to challenge

the old world continental powers.

John barnard:
All the English

teams were considered to be

the garagistby... by Ferrari

and the other racing teams.

One englishman would set

the pace of progress,

in racing and the entire

automotive world.

Colin Chapman:
We basically

go racing 'cause I like it.

I like the competitiveness

of it,

I like the comradeship of it.

And I also like the technical

fallout that comes from it.

John surtees:
Colin Chapman

was a great character,

if at times a bit cavalier.

(Laughing softly)

Oh, I don't know about that.

Colin Chapman was

an engineer who learned to fly,

an entrepreneur who made

lightweight sports cars for the public,

as well as for grand prix,

under the name lotus.

In those days, lotus was

an out-and-out racing car.

My father, he was

always pushing the envelope.

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