VARIETY IS THE SPICE GRAND PRIX LIFE

OF Hamilton broke a new record this season for the number of venues won at. By Matt James

Although he might have missed out on the F1 title this term, Lewis Hamilton was able to place another feather in his cap when he crossed the line in Brazil.

It marked the 24th different F1 venue where the Briton had prevailed, which is a record. Of course, the modern F1 driver has many more opportunities to demonstrate his prowess in different parts of the globe than older drivers did in the 1950s or 1960s.

Nevertheless, Hamilton’s record is remarkable, in that he has won only just over half as many races as benchmark Michael Schumacher, but he has done it at more venues than the German. Here, we delve down into the statistics. It seems remarkable that Lewis Hamilton’s win at Interlagos this season was his first at Sao Paulo. It was his 10th attempt at winning the race, and it was a venue that had brought him his first world championship back in 2008.

Brazil can be regarded as one of the iconic F1 venues, and Hamilton has a pretty strong checklist when it comes to the races that stand proud in the calendar.

Hamilton has ticked off Monaco, Silverstone, Monza, the Nurburgring and Spa among his hit list. While nobody has yet come near Schumacher in terms of race victories, his spread of victories is just as impressive.

Look at his mastery of the French Grand Prix at Magny-cours. The German won a remarkable eight times at the track, including a victory at the end of July in 2002. That was his eighth victory of the year and he wrapped up the crown at the circuit with six races remaining.

Imola, Montreal, Spa, Barcelona and Suzuka were also happy hunting grounds for Schumacher. He has also ticked off all of the classics, including five victories at Monaco. The Professor used a measured approach to his sport and that helped him to a haul of 51 victories taken across 22 circuits.

His career spanned 13 years including a final championship flourish in 1993. By that time, the championship roster was using a number of different circuits from the ones used during the early stages of his career.

It is interesting to note that Prost, always considered to be a more cerebral driver, has multiple wins at Monza, Silverstone and the Osterreichring, all of which are considered to be tracks that require bravery.

TRACK

Rio, Brazil Silverstone, Britain Paul Ricard, France Monaco Monza, Italy Osterreichring, Austria Imola, San Marino Estoril, Portugal Zandvoort, Holland Kyalami, South Africa Spa, Belgium Hockenheim, Germany Adelaide, Australia Mexico City, Mexico Jerez, Spain Dijon, France Nurburgring, Germany Phoenix, USA Interlagos, Brazil Barcelona, Spain Montreal, Canada Magny-cours, France

TRACK YEARS

Monaco 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 Spa, Belgium

TRACK YEARS

Zandvoort, Holland 1974, 1977, 1985 Kyalami, South Africa 1976, 1977, 1984 Brands Hatch, Britain 1976, 1982, 1984 Monaco 1975, 1976 Zolder, Belgium 1975, 1976 Anderstorp, Sweden 1975, 1978 Monza, Italy 1978, 1984 Jarama, Spain 1974 Paul Ricard, France 1975 Watkins Glen, USA 1975 Interlagos, Brazil 1976 Hockenheim, Germany 1977 Long Beach, USA 1982 Dijon, France 1984 Osterreichring, Austria 1984

TRACK YEARS

Spa, Belgium 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 Zandvoort, Holland 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967 Watkins Glen, USA 1962, 1966, 1967 Silverstone, Britain 1963, 1965, 1967 Mexico City, Mexico 1963, 1967 Kyalami, South Africa 1965, 1968 Aintree, Britain 1962 Reims, France 1963 Monza, Italy 1963 East London, South Africa 1963 Brands Hatch, Britain 1964 Charade, France 1965 Nurburgring, Germany 1965

While the 74th Goodwood Members’ Meeting will be remembered for two frightening accidents, the weekend’s Gerry Marshall Trophy races were as good as ever as big names from past and present of touring car racing battled it out.

The Marshall Trophy has been a key part of the three Members’ Meetings run to date and has turned the spotlight on an era of touring car racing that had previously been rather neglected; the Group 1 cars from 1970 to 1982.

In 2016, the quality field was a throwback to the late 1970s when Ford Capris took on Rovers and Camaros and Dolomite Sprints, Alfa Romeos and Minis headed the smaller classes. Cars in period liveries, and even some period drivers, have quickly made this a real crowd-favourite at the early season Goodwood event.

In an absorbing two-parter, the newlyrestored Camaro of Oli and Grahame Bryant took victory despite the heroic efforts of Chris Ward and Gordon Shedden in the JD Classics Rover SD1. Add stars like Emanuele Pirro, Gerhard Berger, Steve Soper, Tiff Needell and Tim Harvey and it’s a winning recipe.