RACERS

This is not the best of pictures technically but it is a personal favourite .It shows two great racers , Frank Williams and Alan Jones, just minutes after the prizegiving at the 1981 Austrian Grand Prix where Alan Jones , the 1980 F1 World Champion had finished second in his Williams Cosworth to Rene Arnoux in a Renault .Frank Williams ran a superb team with competitive cars and Alan Jones(AJ) was a tough Aussie charger . They were a brilliant combination and the empathy between them shows in this photo .For over 30 years Williams were in the top echelon of F1 teams alongside Ferrari and McLaren and have collected 113 victories although their fortunes have waned in recent years.
It would not be possible to replicate this photo today .Now as soon as the drivers leave the podium from the prizegiving minders take the trophies and the drivers are whisked off to a totally inane televised media conference where they asked tame and banal questions and which they answer with po faces through clenched teeth without any apparent sign of enthusiasm for life or delight in their recent performance .Mind you if I'd had to drive round the Bahrain GP circuit for two hours I'd have a po face -winner or not .