³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Thanks Andrew,

Unless I'm being daft, I can't see any info for when the Classic GER races are being shown on either freeview or digital satellite red button?


As for Hungary, I think it has to be 1990

True it was a bit of a precession behind non=-stopping Boutsen, but we had some good battles in the massive train behind him, with Senna nerfing Nanninni off the track, then Berger doing the same to Mansell! then Senna hounding the Williams Renault to the finish line!

as a Williams fan, I'm biased, but I'm happy that the majority of the winning classic choices are Williams victories lately - just wish I could see Williams win 114 and beyond!

Delighted that the full highlights show for 1986 will be shown despite it's underwhelming vote but am unsure what to go for in Hungary - so I'll plump for the oldest - 1990 please.

1990 please - nothing beats a bit of Senna aggression!

Hungary 1990 on Freeview please.
Thanks for getting Germany 1986 as the full highlights package as it was a far better race than 1994. I couldn't believe 1994 got so many votes.

Got to be 1992 to see Mansell clinch his championship. A championship he should have one more than once. If not then 2007 but there needs to be qualy in the highlights! Just the thought of that makes me want to shout and scream at me tv just like I did in 2007!

If we could have in on freeview during the day would be great? :)

It has to be 1992, this was a brilliant race as Mansell fought his way through the field.

1990 please.

Would have chosen 1998, but as it's an ITV race and we'll only get the 10 minutes anyway there's no point - unless there's a change of heart on the commentary/editing issue. (Maybe next year we can get some longer edits of "ITV" races.)

1990 Please Andrew, I personally think it was of the best races of the season and would be great to see Thierry Boutsen get a fantastic win as I personally think he was one of F1's most underrated drivers and sometimes never got the credit he deserved.

@ 6 - Agree, 1994 is mostly remembered for the Jos Verstappen fire in the pit-lane, people don't remember how boring a race it actually was!

@ 10 - I don't think the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ have the time, resources or budget to cut together ITV races, or to dub a commentary over them either.

As for Hungry, I'd like to see 1992, just for the fact it'll bring back some great memories. That was the first season of F1 I ever watched, I was on holiday that year and watched the race in this tiny cottage up in the Lake District, I was only 7 at the time!

Was never a Schumacher fan, but remember 1998 being pretty special.

@ 12 - Without going into too much detail (it's been done on here before) the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ currently use resources dubbing 5 live commentary on "ITV" races and sometimes re-records reportage-style voice-over from Jonathan Legard onto edits of races which inlude the live comments from Martin Brundle. The time, resources and budgets are there, they just need to be allocated differently. They say they do it this way to exclude "non-³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ commentators", which only seems to cover one person!

Brilliant! Two Berger victories and one almost victory. From a guy that used to have posters of him and his McLarens & Ferraris plastered on my bedroom wall as a kid, thanks Andrew!

'07 out of that lot.

1997 isn't on the list. Should be that without a doubt.

92 or 07 for me.

Not the best selection for the Hungary Classic races.

I suppose 1998 would be worth watching in full. But as ITV had the F1 rights in 1998 I can't see that being granted an extended play.

2009 would only really be worth watching for the Alonso/Renault wheel issue. Other than that it was pretty run of the mill. Not to mention Ferrari only had one driver on the grid that afternoon after Massa's very unfortrunate accident on Saturday. A very poor choice of 'classic' GPs if you ask me.

And as for 2007 - surely the main action took place off the track that year and on a Saturday. Please, please don't show this race as an extended classic. As a race it was a boring procession. A even worse choice of 'classic' GPs than 2009.

That leaves just 1990 and 1992. I guess my vote for the extended classic will have to go for 1990 then.

2009 please andrew and keep up the good work

HUNGARY 1997???!!
Can't believe that you've not included the 1997 Hungarian GP in your list for next week! Damon Hill's 'almost' victory in the shoddy Arrows was one of the most amazing upsets of recent times. His overtake of Schumacher at turn 1 was a classic and only a 50 pence part failure on the last few laps prevented a fairy tail result!

For Hungary, I'd like to vote/recommend 1992 - the main reason being there hasn't been an extended highlights from that year featured yet, and I'd love to see Mansell clinch his championship again!

For the Hungarian GP I gonna vote for 1992.

1990 please

AJG07,

1997 was one of last years selection. Can't find the link for it but i'm sure a helpful contributor can point you in the right direction.

Am I the only one who's a little cheesed off by the German GP choice? Despite the majority of people picking 1994, we end up with full highlights for 86!

Now, from a purist perspective, 86 was a better race than 94. And I am aware Mr Benson has said in the past that this is not a 'vote' per se. But is it not a little bit of a smack in the face to the majority of voters? The title of this blog is "YOUR Classic Grand Prix". I didn't actually think "your" meant "Andrew Benson's"! If the choice ultimately boils down to Mr Benson's preference then fine but it would have been nice to extend some courtesy to those who bothered to comment on this feature and offer full highlights of "our" (the viewers) choice too.

I know some people will read this and think i'm a [insert expletive here] but i've previously come out in defence of this feature whenever people criticised it for whatever reason. I'm just really disappointed with the fact that i've appeared to completely waste my time participating in this feature.

My Hungarian choice? Seems a bit pointless as the 'winning' choice has probably already been made...

1990

I'd vote, but apparantely that wont make any difference - so whats the point?

Wisely over-ruled Andrew! Great to see those Williams-McLaren battles; for me '86 is one of the greatest seasons ever. The best car didn't win the drivers' title, Senna was pulling some slightly wild heroics in the Lotus, and whilst Rosberg was usually having a dismal time of it, there was the odd occasion he showed his billiance.

When are we going to see Williams back at the top? On that note, I'll go for 1990 this time. Many thanks again for this superb series.

RE: Post 29

"The lady doth protest too much, me thinks."

The good news for me though is that based on the provided defence, voting for 2009 is a bit pointless. So hopefully it is simply between 1990 and 1992.

Obviously 2006 for Jenson's first win. USE ITV comentary no the awfull five live stuff. P.s please make sure jonathon legard is replaced for next year he is awfull!

Thanks for uploading the races Andrew, however when I am watching the clips there is an echo on the sound, is it OK if you can correct it?

Andrew,

Fair point. And thanks for responding!

(Still don't agree entirely with the decision but suppose I'll just move on and forget about it!)

Swrcsky

Hungary 1990 please Andrew, and good call on Germany 86 over 94.

Please give us Turbos (either on the brink of detonation or running out of fuel) and a top 6 with Senna, Prost, Mansell, Piquet and Rosberg included EVERY time, over Comas, Bernard, Morbidelli and Panis...

I agree with Andrew on this one, yes the majority voted for 94 , but it was fairly processional ,so it warrants only the 10 minutes highlights.Out of the selection available 86 has the most overtaking , and of course the drama at the end where poor Murray bless him , nearly dies of a heart attack !! Well done for having the balls to defend your decision making Mr .Benson.Oh and Hungary 1990 it has to be !

Hi all, if this were a vote I would have got annoyed about '86 winning, but reading about '94 largely being boring I think it was a good call to use your power of veto. I must admit the reason I '94 clinched my 'vote' was THAT horrific fire (which I was relieved at the time to find Jos and the pit crew got away with relatively lightly) as it was one of the most memorable F1 moments ever. But yes, 10 minutes highlights will encapsulate the exciting stuff easily and I must admit '86 was about the time I got into F1 in a big way starting to watch more races live, probably due to the Nige effect! So no surprise I'd like to see '92 extended highlights, please, but I'm surprised Murray didn't get all that emotional when Nige passed the finish line just a simple "...and Mansell wins the World Championship!" as opposed to his reaction to Hills victory "...and I've got a lump in my throat...". From what I gather it was because Murray was a big fan of Graham Hill, but I'm going off topic, now. However '90 appeals being a BIG Senna fan as well, also I'd highly recommend this Sundays Top Gear featuring a tribute to the F1 legend (an often over-used word, but in this case, it's richly deserved). Finally, a shame '98 is an ITV-era race as, yes you guessed it, I'm a Schuey fan as well!

Cheers

Given I moved to Hungary in 2007 and have been to Mogyoród every year since (not a huge tally so far I know, but you have to start somewhere!), it's personally great to see 2 choices from the races I experienced live, and both of them wins for Lewis Hamilton.

For me, during the 00s, I was seriously losing interest in Formula 1 - maybe due to the dominance of Herr Schumacher, maybe due to the poor coverage given by the other channel, or maybe just due to the retirement of Murray - and then along comes a young, exciting, British RACER mixing it at the front in his rookie season. Suddenly all good again. So the 2007 and 2009 races get my vote.

2007 - first race, glitz glamour and excitement and Lewis overcoming all the controversy to win, holding off a very determined Kimi

2009 - on a run of 5 races without scoring a point, and in car that was far from performing as a McLaren should, Lewis secured his best qualifying position of the season so far and then goes on to win, and cue the start of a tremendous comeback for the second half of the season.

07 please

I am a young viewer of formula one and so wasnt born for the 1990 race and was only 1 for the 1992 race so either of these would be good to watch as i love watching and comparing the racing and cars from back then to now.

Andrew - please don't waste my time or that of others by asking for our opinions again.

Why cant you put up the highlights from the last GP at Hockenheim??

Surely its would make good sense to show the last race from Hockenheim so that we can remind ourselves of the track characteristics on GP day. i.e. What side of the track gives a better start, parts of the track where there were moments of collisions etc. It would just give an idea on how this track can behave during a GP.

The choice race highlights are pointless and have no relevance. The old Hockenheim track, as much as it was great, has no relevance to compare how this one is.

Also you guys should make an archive of all past race highlights to be available for us permanantly. What good are these videos if they are being locked away?

Hi Andrew,
I'm happy with the German '86 choice, it's a better race full stop.
This time I would like (not vote for) 1998.
Also any chance that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ will release race highlights it has the rights to, on DVD?

Andrew, thanks for the responses to everyones comments so far. If you are correct in that the 94 race is encapsulated in ten minutes then give the bigger time feed to the one with highliughts thats harder to cut.

@ 42 SupaSix-1 I like you would like this, HOWEVER I know that being a degenerate, I'd spend a week watching the archive non stop during December when there's no GPs, and then have nothing to fill my Thursday evening with for the rest of the season! So I prefer it this way...even if it has been noted that it isn't a perfect democracy!

Andrew, I would like to see 2007 win it however it is an ITV race if I remember correctly? So therefore pointless, and would then go for 1990.

Thanks for reposting the 1997 race link back upn (any chance of getting the 2006 one dug up too? As someone else has also asked for it?. I loved the 97 GP all for the 2 fingered salute to Frank for dropping a far better driver with so much more dignity and a humbled approach to being world champion to the driver who can't find a drive back in F1 without setting up his own team with the backing of Libyan officials! The arrogant purple haired ****. Rant about JV over!

Thanks again Andrew!

@ 42 SupaSix-1 :

Be thankful for me ;-)



All the highlights of the 2009 races are available here



And finally, if you look hard enough in Google for 'Classic GP [insert country] bbc', you should come up with good results of classic GPs.

OR, just do the very simple thing and look back in Andrew's blog. They are all there on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ website if you want to find them.

@ 37 - Red Five 1992, I suspect the lack of evident emotion from Murray was largely due to the fact that Mansell's championship victory was only a matter of time. If not Hungary it would have been clinched in the following race at Spa, or if circumstances really did go against Mansell and Williams there were still four races after Belgium. Hill won his title in what was effectively a last-race showdown in Japan, far more worthy of a lump in the throat! And dare I suggest Damon was a far more well-rounded man that Nigel, abdomen aside? It is always sweeter when the nice guy wins.

Is anyone else getting funny sound on the Classic 86 GP now on Freeview?

especially on interviews on start, the audio seems to carry on into a longer interview, but the footage has changed?

in the race now and again, keep getting a weird overlap of sound?

1990 or 1992 would be nice to see, thanks.

Andrew...brilliant play there...by wisely making 1986 the feature race instead of 1994. Has my backing. 1986 was a brilliant race...the only shame is we couldnt see this race in full from start to finish! And without trying to sound too big for my own shoes, it certainly seems the average age of the voters does appear to be quite young and they seem to be voting for things that are more familiar as the main criteria. 1986 was without question a much better race than any of ther options. Fact.

As for Hungary, im not too bothered which one is given the full treatment..any would be welcome as I dont think there is a great difference in entertainment.

I'll take this opportunity to ask again...do you know if the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ have coverage of the 1985 British GP qualifying session? (The Keke wonder lap) And how about rebroadcasting Brundles duel wit Senna during the 1983 F3 championship? The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ broadcasted at the time...and it would be a great way to honour the best colour commentator since James Hunt. It could bring some insight for the viewers that this man really does know what he is talking about. That championship is as legendary in motor racing circles as the classic GP's themselves. Please give feeback!

Wouldn`t mind if i cashed in on 07 but for me 09 races are to recent and the only one i would vote for would probably be brazil 09 or australia 09

I miss the old Hockenheim circuit, although the modern one (despite not being highlighted this year round), offers some excellent overtaking opportunities.

My favourite German Grands Prix were 1996 and 1997 - fantastic races.

If you're thinking of great Hungarian races, 1997 stands out, and infact, despite a poor reputation for lack of overtaking on this circuit, every race since 2005 has been great there.

Berger was handy round Hockenheim, wasn't he? Brilliant. Featured in pretty much every race up here (except 2009, obviously). And not a Schumacher victory in sight. Aaahhhh.

Hungary 1992 please, I've never seen it

Sadly I wasn't able to contribute to the pre-German discussion, but pleased to see that 1997 was shown, albeit in abridged form, as I've a personal affection for that race.

My partner and I had a great time there, having fun with German fans in the tribune opposite the pits, with a mock rivalry you just wouldn't get in a football stadium. What with a group of Dutch Johnny Herbert fans in the mix as well, there was a great international feel that warmed the cockles. We were gutted by Fisico's woes, but delighted by Berger's win after Flavio had made disparaging comments about Gerhard in the run up to the race.

About a year later at the Autosport show, my partner bought the original Jim Bamber cartoon covering the race, tippex and all, showing the Austrian sticking two fingers up to Briatore as he drives by the Benetton 'Prat Perch'. She still has it, framed with our race tickets! Happy days...

As for Hungary, 1990 would be fine. 1992 is a bit obvious, really, and the later races at the Hungaroring have tended to be snoozefests; like Barcelona the races can have incident, but not a lot of what you'd call actual racing.

Freeview Tx times: According to my EPG now, I've got 10:35-12:55 on Friday, but the first time I checked the Classics were also to be shown on Saturday after FP3 but that's since disappeared. (sigh)

Hi Andrew,

Please can you show 1990.

Thanks
Lordwoz

Very close thing between the first three, but I'll go for a recent one for a change - 1998 please!

Hungary 1997. Damon Hill's best drive of his career, in the struggling Arrows, passing Michael Schumacher for the lead of the race, only to suffer technical problems and finish second. For a track that is famous for producing processional races, 1997 was in the words of Murray Walker "faaaaaanntastic!!"

1998, always great to see Schumacher proving why he is considered one of the greatest drivers ever.

Andrew, I'd just like to ask, would it not have made sense to have the popular choice of 1994 and your choice of 1986 as full highlight reels rather than overrule? This would be a better use of the resources on this occasion rather than giving the full highlights of 2009 which, to my recollection, very few people wanted. As much as you dislike the GP, the Verstappen pit fire is one of the most iconic moments of F1 showing how far driver protection had come despite the Imola GP. Giving 45 seconds of coverage for such a landmark moment for me undermines the hard work of all the people involved in developing the racing suits by seemingly dismissing it as a trivial pursuit despite it possibly saving Verstappen's life and Berger's before that.

I'd say 1998 but it will be short highlights, So maybe 1992. Yeah, no, 1992...

Can I just ask, although ITV was in control of the 1998 broadcast rights, why can it not be shown in full highlights if the commentators were Martin and Murray? Neither of them are signed by ITV now. I was under the impression it couldn't be shown because of the commentators...

Anyway
I want 1998 if it's possible to do full highlights.
1992 if not possible (and if possible, it's the second choice), with 1990 being the second choice if it's not possible to show 1998 in full.

Thanks :)

1990 please, just for the fact it was won by Thierry Boutsen (and i'll settle for '92 if my first choice isnt chosen). And for the Korean GP what about showing classic GP's that were on new circuits (as in the first race on a new circuit).

Hi Andrew
Just a comment regarding not putting up the Hungarian 97 race because it was up last year.... It didn't win last year so shouldn't it be in the mix again this year? Otherwise we're loosing the chance of seeing 4 great races each year.... this feature won't last much longer if 4 races are knocked out of contention each year. On the same note, Hungary 06 for Buttons win should be there too....(I know this was up last year but again it did not win).

I am also getting overlap on the commentary for '86. Almost makes it unwatchable. Great choice though other than that.

Andrew thanks for the feedback, re post 61 this is a good point, and one that you made yourself before that if a race doesn't win then it can be included in the next year. Would really like to see this happen. As for the 'resources' for editing...If you like I'm sure there are a few buffs like ourselves who would happily volunteer to help edit the world feeds you have?

I have to agree with a lot of the others on the blog; the 1986 race was much better than the 94 race, therefore I am pleased you used your veto Andrew! Poor old Prost on the last corner; I loved it how he bobbed up and down to try to keep the car moving, and then how he jumped out to push. Do you think Kimi Raikonen would have ever done that?!?!

Yeah, if you could fix the audio on the 86 race that would be great as it was a little weird to watch.

As for Hungary it has to be one of my favourite sporting (and childhood) memories - Nigel Mansell clinching the 1992 World Championship! I can remember how we had my Aunties, Uncles and cousins over for Sunday tea and I was watching the F1 in our front room. It's amazing how I can forget something the Mrs says 10-15 minutes ago but how I can remember in detail how I watched with delight as Mansell came in to finish 2nd, a full 18 years ago!!! The way he climbed up through the field, picking off one driver after another at the end of the main straight, was great to watch and were greated with cheers in our household. I also remember how Schumi had a scary moment when his rear wing fell off going down the straight.

Mansell did have the best car in 92 but he totally deserved his title after the near misses of 86, 87 and 91. I know I am biased but I really hope that this race is chosen.

On a Mansell related side note Andrew; do you have the "end-of-season" review he did with Murray in 1992 from his home on the Isle of Man? It would be great if these extra F1 programmes produced by the Beeb were put on the website at some point; I can remember it being pretty good.

Sorry for going on; that's my Mansell related post for the week, I'll keep quiet now ;)

Alot of talk about Hungary here. For me, it can only be 1997, how Hill managed to do such a great job with what quite frankly, was a rubbish car i dont know!

Murray on Brundle: - "He's got a bald patch - he won't be too happy with that!"
Good old Murray! :-)

Yes, I too experienced problems with some decidedly dodgy editing on the '86 highlights and missing end credits (you can't have too much of 'The Chain'!), will check it out again tonight.

Finally, all this talk of F1 specials like #66 Tim_1985, how about showing some archive F1 specials during the off-season on the red button?

hi andrew im new on here love the classic f1 been watching since it started last year thanx for fixin the 86 video audio as for hungary il choose 1990 please.

1990 please! Great defending from Boutsen.

Cheers for those links Kobayashi.
Goodluck for the race!

1992.

Expect 1990 to get the final pop though.

Hungary 1990 please, I've never seen any of Boutsen's victories.

I haven't watched the hockenheim races yet but they look like a great selection.

1992 please

The bad thing about selecting for this race is that it is the Hungaroring! Lovely country, lovely people, dire track. Why is there a Hungarian Grand Prix when F1 would be far better served by a trip up the road to the Czech Republic and the awesome Brno? The one Grand Prix of the year I am always happy to miss. But the year when Senna showed his true self, along with Berger, when they drove their rivals off the track a la banger racing was the best.

Germany: 86: I'm pretty sure this is the first time the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ have picked back to back "classic" races that came immediately after each other first chronologically.

If so, it was certainly an interesting call. The race itself had its moments even if most of those were in the final lap. How come the enbedded footage of the Grand Prix highlights shpw cut out after Mansell's interview?

HOCKENHEIM * We see politics won over FAIR PLAY, what with Alonso having gotten 1. place by Massa letting him pass. Ferrari may have its reason but to the fan, it SMELLS. Sooner or later, Ferrari will find out what the real cost of that decision will be. It's been awhile that we are out of the middle ages. Alfred D. K.

Oh, that is a very hard choice between 1992 and 1990, I remember watching 1992 live, Mansell's charge back to second was so tense, sounds silly given how far ahead he was in the championship, but my goodness you wanted him to get it done and dusted! Now 1990 I have only seen on a season review, but my goddness it seems even more tense with Boutsen heading the train. So with respect to 1992 I will have to plump for 1990, thanks!

Quite happy to see any of these races. I'm voting for 1990.

I would quite like to see 1990, as Formula One was at it's peak at that time. To see greats like Senna, Prost, Mansell and Piquet battling is fantastic. However, like this year Formula One has a few excellent drivers, and then a fair number of drivers just behind them. Boutsen, who I believe won that race, was one of those drivers.

PLEASE ENSURE THAT CHOICES ARE AIRED ON FREEVIEW, AT SOME TIME OR ANOTHER.

FIRST CHOICE;
1990 - I cannot believe that Senna could not pass Boutsen, even in Hungary.
HUN has same characteristics as MON, but without the glamour.
Would be interesting to watch full highlights as I have never seen...

...same scenario two years later at MON '92 when Mighty Mansell could not pass Super Senna - place the car in the middle of the track and you have a 10 foot wide racing car...

SECOND CHOICE:
Mansell clinching the championship.
Probably the best 2nd place finish he ever enjoyed. Came with a free '92 Drivers World Championship, LOL.

75. At 9:05pm on 23 Jul 2010, bearhands

Hungary GP is OK to watch,

Better than dire French GP at Magny Cour - like watching paint dry.
In fact, when it was last held I was painting a room when it was on TV as it was sooo boring so didn't bother to sit down and watch.
(Apart from '99 when Frentzen won for Jordan in a heavy downpour)

Hi Andrew...

Saw the Senna feature on Topgear...im sur you are aware the feeddback has been very positive..Would be great if the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ F1 team could create more...

Question....we saw coverage of Senna and Brundle in F3...I believe the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ could do a 50 minute program on the 1983 F3 season with insights from Brundle...that stuff is just legendary...

Also, the clips we saw of Senna qualifying his turbo Honda McLaren of 1988 around Monaco...I would absolutley love it (in the words of Keven Keegan) if we could see the lap as a whole...have never seen it before.

1998
2007