It doesn’t matter an ounce that Fangio’s Alfetta doesn’t move an inch from it’s starting position for the first minute in this clip of Monza from Hugh Hudson’s film, Fangio.

Want the complete film? Make yourself a snack; strap on your cotton helmet; and enjoy.

You can almost see Senna’s passion and drive through his helmet—and his years.

Flickr user Biczzz has created this astoundingly nuanced sculpture of Ginther’s 1965 Honda RA272 from simple Lego. The level of detail Biczzz has managed to achieve here is really incredible. Sure, I’ve made my share of blocky Lego cars, but these gentle curves, the suspension bits, the windscreen! I’ve seen die-cast models with less detail.

Maybe with some practice, I could make a generic 60s F1 car from Lego. But this isn’t a generic 60s F1 car. You can plainly recognize it as the car that took Honda’s first victory in Mexico. Overcoming the constraints inherent in sculpting from Lego and still managing such a finely crafted result is absolutely fantastic!

Previously: Flying Bricks

(Rudolf Caracciola in his Mercedes-Benz 1.5 liter W 165. Tripoli Grand Prix, May 7, 1939)

This eclectic mix of cars from El Meastro’s past, however, reminded me of something vitally important, and something I so love about the era: Variety. Just look at this mix of machines; and this is by no means a complete collection of Fangio’s racers. There’s everything here: from the Grand Prix cars for which he’s most known, to the Carrera Panamericana and Mille Miglia machines, to smaller voiturette racers. Almost more amazing than Fangio’s five Formula 1 World Championships is that while he was winning them, he was also competing in anything else he could find.

Just look at the buzz that gets generated today when Montoya moved to NASCAR, or Raikkonen hit the rally course (or NASCAR, himself). I applaud these drivers for attempting to take on the variety of racing opportunities available to these top-tier drivers. But that excitement wanes when I consider that this is newsworthy at all. Of course Kimi should want to rally! Of course JPM should want to turn left for two hours! These cravings for new races and racing cars still exist in every driver; it’s just a shame that contemporary racing teams seem to frown on these “unnecessary extra-curriculars”.

Not so in Fangio’s day. Thank you Goodwood for reminding us. Thank you Luc for sending along these images so we could all see.

More of Luc’s Goodwood Fangio Tribute and Revival photos at his (gigantic) gallery of racing photos.

This video promoting the new F1 circuit in Austin Texas starts off expectedly enough: Shots of Texas; DC at the wheel of a Red Bull spinning around Austin’s empty city streets. Just as I was beginning to tire of it, Coulthard pulls off the road and onto a very under-construction track. Turns out contemporary F1 cars are tougher than I thought.

Well done, Red Bull.

This image of José Froilán González ahead of Ascari in their Ferraris though, smacked me upside the head with what we’ve lost by hiding the drivers. José and Alberto here could be a couple of kids in their go karts or BMX bikes. They look determined; but they also look like they’re having a hell of a good time. Even though their faces are obscured by shadow and photographic noise, their body language: leaning, elbows out, face poking around the windscreen. They really look like their minds, their hearts, their souls are out there on the race track. They look like they’re having an absolute blast.

The fact that Silverstone of 1951, in this photo anyway, looks like you could have assembled this course in a parking lot with some cones. It just accentuates the fact that this marvelous sport was once just a bunch of guys wanting to find out how fast she’ll go and got together to put on a race.

Let’s not forget to have fun out there, people.