The Birth of Formula One (2010)
1h 3min
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- Synopsis:
On May 13th, 1950, Britain's Silverstone circuit hosted a race which would go down in history the very first Grand Prix of the modern Formula One era. The glamorous and exciting F1 of today traces its roots back to the 1950 British Grand Prix this was the Birth of Formula One. Bookcases are heaving with dusty volumes recalling the advent of modern F1 and numerous dry documentaries featuring the opinions of experts have been filmed, but this is no history lecture it is full-throttle, action-packed look at the races, the cars and the stars which brought us the multi-billion dollar F1 of the 21st century. Utilising rarely-seen black and white footage from the archive of BP, we are treated to the glorious sights and sounds of the first modern Formula One race, the 1950 British GP, also known as the Grand Prix d Europe. We see the Alfa Romeo 158s of Guiseppe Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell do battle on the converted airfield racetrack. Then we witness, in colour, three amazing GPs from 1951, when the supercharged Alfa 159Bs went head-to-head with the 4.5 litre Ferraris at Reims, Silverstone and the Nurburgring. Farina, Fangio and Parnell are joined by Jose Froilan Gonzales and Aberto Ascari as the peaceful summer days are shattered by the thundering engines, squealing tyres and cheers from packed grandstands. Our journey through the formative years of modern Formula One concludes with a return to the legendary Ring for the German Grands Prix of 1953 and 1954. British stars including Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn joined the ranks of the F1 legends, as Maserati, Mercedes and Cooper started to challenge the established order. Extraordinary black and white footage records two now legendary races around the daunting Nurburgring. These were the races which paved the way for the Grand Prix racing of today this is The Birth of Formula One. - Studio:
- Duke
- Genres:
- Documentary, Sports & Sport Films