10 iconic quotes from the history of Formula 1
Enzo Ferrari: “Aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines.” The founder of the most successful team in Formula 1 history is said to have uttered this immortal line in 1960 when asked about the ungainly windscreen attached to his Ferrari 250TR for the Le Mans.
Stirling Moss
“To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble in the boundary of disaster.”
- Moss retired from Formula 1 after winning 16 races and finishing runner up in the standings four times, but only after a serious accident that left him partially paralysed for six months.
- Unlike many heroic Formula 1 drivers, Moss lived to tell the tale.
Murray Walker
The voice of Formula 1 for more than 20 years, Murray Walker was loved by fans around the world for his excitable delivery and amusing verbal gaffes.
Bruce McLaren
“To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.”
- McLaren, the founder of McLaren, who took four F1 victories and established an eponymous racing team that would go on to become one of the most successful in the history of motorsport
Lewis Hamilton: “We win and lose together.”
The seven-time F1 World Champion has always taken a positive attitude to setbacks during his career.
- Daniel Ricciardo: “Sometimes you’ve just got to lick the stamp and send it.”
- The laidback Aussie doesn’t take life too seriously off the track, but when he’s behind the wheel he takes no prisoners.
Graham Hill
“I am an artist. The track is my canvas and my car is my brush.”
- This beautifully evocative quote is credited to Graham Hill, the ‘gentleman racer’ whose artistic skills behind the wheel were best exemplified by his performances on the canvas known as the Circuit de Monaco, where he won five times in the 1960s and earned the moniker ‘Mr Monaco.’
Kimi Räikkönen: “Just leave me alone, I know what to do.”
The infamous quote came during the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Kimi angrily told his race engineer to stop providing too many updates
Ayrton Senna
“If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you’re no longer a racing driver.”
- Senna’s famous quote came during a tense interview with Jackie Stewart
- During the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, Senna refused to yield the first corner to his bitter rival Alain Prost and the pair collided, handing the title to the Brazilian.
Michael Schumacher
“I’ve always believed that you should never, ever give up and you should always keep fighting even when there’s only a slightest chance.”