Sweden Once Hosted The Most Insane Grand Prix We’ve Ever Seen
On Monday, I asked, “Do you like driving in the snow?” and the responses have been entertaining. One, though, made my jaw drop: “I never get tired of watching the 1933 Swedish Grand Prix,” Paul Thompson noted. Swedish Grand Prix?
“Well, there’s no way anyone would be crazy enough to race Grand Prix cars in the snow and ice,” I thought to myself. I was wrong, very wrong. From 1931, the world’s most brave drivers lined up to take the start at a circuit some 28 miles long, with lap times standing at 35 minutes long for the faster machines. Held near Lake Rämen, the course is difficult to imagine…unless, of course, there’s video.
Thanks to Thompson, we have this embed featuring reporting from the 1933 race, which was won by Per-Viktor Widengren in an Alfa Romeo “Monza” monoposto—the Grand Prix car to have in that era. 100,000 spectators are said to have turned up, and the ones near the start would have been amazed by the starting procedure that featured a huge ball dropping!
But after eight laps, approximately 216 miles, and nearly four and a half hours of racing, Windengren crossed the line about four minutes ahead of second place. Is this a Grand Prix you would have attended in person?
Image sources: massingnickel.se, motorsportmagazine.com
