I’ve been going to Formula 1 races since I was in the womb, and here’s why: its drivers are exceptional. As a display of talent, lap after lap, they’re some of the most formidable athletes on the planet. So why are they paid to drive cars that make it look like they’re filing taxes at 200 mph?
Mercedes-Benz recently showed that with a small collection of classic racing cars and some rain, three of the world’s best drivers, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg, and Pascal Wehrlein, were able to put their talent on display for all to see at Germany’s Hockenheimring.
Rosberg was given the ex-Mika Hakkinen Championship-winning 1998 McLaren MP4/13, Hulkenberg had use of a 1934 W25, and Wehrlein drove a 1954 W196R—all three gave an impressive show, especially once warmed up.
What I wonder, however, is why classic car owners don’t lend their prized cars to drivers in each top series: Formula 1, the World Rally Championship, the FIA GT Championship, Nascar, Grand-Am, IndyCar, etc. I haven’t forgotten about historic racing, of course, but active top-flight drivers are few and far between on those grids.
Even just to complete “exhibition runs,” a stopwatch and a few GoPros would be all that’s needed to give fans a front row seat to the best drivers driving the best machines quickly…and no doubt tastefully.
Which of these drivers do you think mastered their classic machine the best?
H/T to Mercedes-Benz via Jalopnik
