Dirty Side Deckchair

Max's secret identity revealed Anyone who watched the Brazil GP last weekend, and maybe some that didn't, will have seen two main stories taking up the column inches.  First up was the superb showing for Mercedes and specifically George Russell as he secured his first victory in Formula 1. Secondly was the murkier side of F1 as we heard Max refuse to follow team orders and give up his place for Checo. For those not familiar with the history of team orders, and maybe for those who want a stroll down memory lane, we have compiled a quick overview of team orders in F1 and also picked out some memorable ones. So, what are team orders? We need to remember that while each driver is trying to win for themselves, they are part of a team and the team wants to maximize it's points total for the constructors championship.   In addition, there are also times when the team might be trying to ensure maximum points for one of the drivers, especially if only one of them is in contention ...

This week we saw the sad news that Mauro Forghieri had passed away at age 87. For many he is a well known super-power of automobile design, especially in F1 circles.  For others they perhaps saw the news and were not sure who this man was. Here at the Dirty Side we wanted to take a look at the career of someone regarded as one of Formula 1's greatest engineering geniuses. He was unique insofar as he designed not only engines but also the chassis and gearboxes.   Many designers focus on one discipline but Mauro was a unique individual with a head full of ideas. The story starts back in the late 1950s where a 24 year old Mauro took a role in Ferrari. He had done an internship in 1957 but had really been wanting to pursue a career in aviation.  In fact he had considered moving to California to pursue a role for a company making aircraft turbine engines. The story goes that Enzo himself played a part in persuading Mauro to move to Ferrari and, regardless of whether ...