Here's an onboard lap from Ronnie Peterson around Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp, the year is 1972 and the car is the March 721. So far this is the only full onboard lap I've ever managed to find from Peterson, so enjoy!
Good lap by Peterson even tho he has lots of oversteer in the corners he keeps it in the racing line with Speed. Now that is talent there. Ronnie would fit the aggressive style driver category.
Ronnie is often forgotten amongst the Hunts, Sennas e t c but he was real fast, as you said. I think his disadvantage sometimes was that the car often broke down for him since he pushed it a bit hard. Like we can see in this clip he was a power slide master. Goddamn.. every corner. Love it.
Ronnie was a driver who, when the car was good, was untouchable!A huge shame he was cut down in his prime at Monza..His driving style was similar to that of Jochen Rindt who was also killed at Monza..Ronnie would have gone on to win the world championship without a doubt..Why the fuck was Andretti number one driver in 1978?! I've got Andretti's autograph but it doesn't mean much compared to Peterson's..He WAS the man!!Rest in peace Superswede!!
@Waitingforriki ronnie was the man! but andretti was a master at set up/testing, which suited the colin chapman/lotus mindset. ronnies skill and natural talent far surpassed that of most drivers of the 70's, but skill alone does not win chapionships. it was said that peterson would drive to suit the car, instead of creating a car to suit his driving. with his skill he would simply drive around a problem rather than fix it.
It seemed that Ronnie is a "traditional" late braker/powerslider type (i.e. he prefers the car to be stable upon braking, and control the direction of the nose coming out of the corner through a powerslide) However as seen in this footage, early mid engine F1 cars have a tendency for the rear to snap upon braking, which is why he can be seen modulating the brakes and steering wheel at times to stabilize the car before he hit the throttle to exit the corner. It would be a lot better if Ronnie were to be borned 15 years later and join F1 in the mid 80s where his driving style will be the default style to go fast
@@AbcdEfgh-sq2tf True. But I feel maybe his style would’ve been stifled somewhat by the high downforce / stiff suspension-Prost had the smooth precise style best suited to 80’s I think. Bland but effective
@@hutuguru81 it wouldn't be as bad as you say. Drivers like Senna, Mansell, Berger, Hamilton and Lecler to a certain extent would much rather have a stable rear when turning than a livelier one
da ultima vez q n usamos nenhuma tecnologia quase perdemos o rubinho nos perdemos o ratzenberger e o senna e bom ter um pouvo por segurança mais n exagerar
@djh29971 That is if he even stayed with McLaren for 1980. Who knows, maybe Williams would sign him alongside Jones? Also, let's assume he stayed in McLaren all the way to 1982 (Heck Jacques Laffite was older than him and he still raced in 1986), and had the car John Watson nearly won the title with (I consider Peterson better than Watson). A driver of his talent could probably be driving for Brabham, Williams or even Ferrari in 1980-1982. Watson got his McLaren seat, imagine Peterson there..
It's doubtful if he would have. He signed to drive for McLaren in 1979, but they were in shambles at that point, after the successful years with Fittipaldi and Hunt. The '79 car was horrible and they didn't recuperate until 1982, when Ron Dennis had taken complete control of the team. I'd reckon Ronnie would've retired by then.
@krotma Wow.. I never knew things were so bad between Chapman & Ronnie !! Thanx for the info there my friend.. I shall look into that more in the coming weeks.. I was stunned he wasn't given the number 1 seat in Lotus..particularly as Ronnie had already been a Lotus driver 'and' had won Grand Prix races for them.. sounds like Chapman treated him pretty bad.. I think he was pretty mercenary with his drivers except for maybe Jim Clark.. who ironically died behind the wheel of a Lotus!! RX
@Nereofrariz21 You would be amazed at what British F1 teams have done in the past to try for world championships.. or F1 teams who were based in Britain for that matter.. Let's just say that driver safety was not on the list of priories.. not by a long way.. It is better today but still is ruthlessly competitive.. just read the Nelson Piquet debacle at Renault !! Rx
its nice to see these videos, i wish i was born to watch these guys race cause theyre the real deal, formula one form the start till Senna's years were all about skill, from then on its all about technology, which is probably why i dont watch F! nowadays
@Waitingforriki it's a shame he didn't win any word championship, but the monza accident would stop his carrer anyway, no pilot can be a winner with an half leg...R.I.P Ronnie
No doubt Ronnie was super-fast and Andretti was very often slower. Nonetheless we all know to win a WC takes quite a lot more than to be the fastest. One also has to be able to develop his car and bring it to the top. Andretti remained in Lotus throu a poor 76 and a finally good 77 fully developing the wing-car (wind-tunnel tests started in fall 1975) while Ronnie left for March and Tyrrell. I've always felt Ronnie was often faster, nonetheless Andretti title was well deserved IMHO Cheers
That car needs to be snugged up some, it's way too loose for my taste. People say loose is fast, well watch their hands today, they ain't driving loose if they can help it. It's nice to see the suspension working too, I swear they look today as if they are running solid struts in stead of suspension. It's nice to watch Ronnie drive, he was good, shame he died so young.
@Waitingforriki : cause andretti developped the 79 project ! & he was more reliable and ronnie not good at setting up a car. his driving style wasn't adapted to wingcars neither. It's as simple as that.
Che lo stile di guida di Ronnie non si adattasse alle wincar è una stronzata galattica. Nel 78 Ronnie vince due gare, sud Africa e Austria quando Andretti è fuori gara e lui libero di vincere. Solo in pochissime gare Andretti in quella stagione è stato realmente più veloce di Peterson. Ma gli ordini di scuderia erano quelli. La Lotus non aveva bisogno di un gran pilota in quella stagione, aveva già un Mario Andretti in squadra che aveva sviluppato l effetto suplo dal anno precedente.....
