When Men Were Men

[Steeler]

With all the chat about whether todays F1 drivers are more or less "manly" than previous generations I present the real era of "when men were men"

Different racing series but dangerous none the less.

Monocoque weighed approx 40kg. Approx 1580HP and a hulking great flat12 right behind your head.

[ntg44]

I suppose there are less entertaining ways to kill yourself than this.

[yco]

this era at least feels more dangerous to me.. bicycle tires and almost up until knees drivers exposed moreover no rollcage'ish thing.. not even a glimpse of it..

some part of this era cars produced over 300hp and they could reach 300kmh.. i dont know their weight but how heavy they can be..

[..Rush..]

Men are always men.
It's just times have changed.
Cavemen are men lol

[DrFerry]

For those too young to remember, I can recommend this movie.

https://www.amazon.com/Formula-One-D.../dp/B074XL2484

And teaser...

[DrFerry]

Once upon a time there were no driver aids. No ABS. No Traction Control. BIAS Ply Tires. Manual gear boxes, and no under body venturis providing massive negative lift. Sideways through the Eau Rouge uphill, and sideways through the high speed sweepers. It was glorious. Take a look at the bias ply tires working in these photos (especially the rears) and the large slip angles of yore..

[Jbrown7403]

Agreed that The Quick and the Dead is very good ..... but I’m particularly fond of 1! Absolutely riveting !!

[David70]

I read a book about F1 doctor Sid Watkins and find the "manly" thing interesting. Men in the past were encouraged and applauded for doing a sport that could kill or maim them and now we say the current ones are less manly because we figured out how they can do their sport and the chances of it killing them are very small.

Also makes me wonder if the current F1 driver is less manly than the ones of the past where it puts me on the "manly" ranking as I work at my computer in my office.

[garyfried]

BIG BALLS are BIG BALLS. It does not matter the era of death defying machine that they are in. Fortunately technology has helped the drivers to avoid ending their careers sooner than they elect to. I propose that any modern F-1 driver would have no problem getting into any other proper F-1 car and thrash it no matter the age of the car.