Video: Riding on the nose of a Simtek F1 car
When you think of the 1995 F1 season it'll likely be Michael Schumacher who springs to mind, winning his second Formula 1 title on the bounce for Benetton. The battles between Schumacher and Williams driver Damon Hill might come to you too, or maybe Johnny Herbert's victory at the British Grand Prix. What you're less likely to think of is the car you see here, flying around Dijon-Prenois, the Simtek S951.
The S951 was not a very good car. Simtek, an F1 research and development company, decided to enter the sport in 1994 with the S941, and not only did it tragically lose Roland Ratzenberger at Imola but its second car, driven by David Brabham, retired in 10 out of 16 races. Fast forward to 1995 and the S951, driven by Jos Verstappen and Domenico Schiattarella, was similarly unreliable, but the team had less money to do anything about it. By round five, Monaco, the team didn't start, and by the following round in Canada the team had gone bust. Terrible though it might have been, though, it is still a 1990s F1 car, and whether it's static, gently pootling around a track or absolutely flying, we can all appreciate an old F1 machine.
This short video was captured at the Peter Auto Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or at the challenging Dijon-Prenois circuit in Eastern France, and gives us a very good idea of what it's like to be an F1 front wing. Yes, the car's Cosworth V8 engine is running quite an aggressive limiter, and yes, the gearbox's capabilities appear to have been reined in, too. But it's still cool being this close to the ground on a track like Dijon-Prenois, gracefully running through some fast, flowing corners, rising up and down through some delightful elevation changes.
Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a mid-morning helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day. Watch the last video: Ford GT GT1 racer roars around Mugello
Image courtesy of Motorsport Images.
Elevenses
Video
Onboard
Simtek
Formula 1
F1 1995
Dijon-Prenois
