Tag Archives: Ayrton Senna


Lotus 49


Kimi Raikkonen’s win at the Australian GP yesterday got me thinking about the last win for Lotus in an F1 race. I was reminded about a victory in 2012. But before that you have to go back to 1987 and Ayrton Senna at Detroit. Nice to see this team with a competitive car again. I couldn’t resist going through my archives to find these images of a Lotus 49…the car driven by both Jim Clark and Graham Hill. This particular car was driven by Hill. They are stills from a Top Gear shoot in 1997, with Tiff Needell at Snetterton.

Graham Hill's Lotus 49, driven at Snetterton by Tiff Needell

The 1985 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch


I had a crack at sorting out my office pinboard today. After peeling away layers of post it notes with computer passwords, obsolete account details and phone numbers, the tidy-up revealed a Grand Prix pass from 1985. Scarily, this may well have been there for 26 years. Not sure if it’s a record, but it’s surely worth a shout. The 1985 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch was the first race I attended, and, from memory, was my first freelance car shoot. And as the rooky snapper, I was told to stand at the end of the main straight to […]

Ayrton Senna, European Grand Prix, 1985