Quality Over Quantity, 19 Dec 2004

In summary, the programme contains rides with:
Juan Manuel Fangio testing at the Modena Autodrome (B/W)
Stirling Moss testing at Goodwood (B/W)
Stirling Moss at the Nurburgring (B/W)
Jackie Stewart following another car around the Nurburgring
Jackie Stewart commentating a demo lap at Brands Hatch
A 'bird's eye' view of Patrick Depailler in the 6-Wheel Tyrrell at Monaco
Patrick Depailler at Long Beach, CA
Jacques Laffite in practice at Monza
Ayrton Senna on a qualifying lap round Suzuka
Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher at the start of the Monaco GP
Mika Hakkinen catching and passing Schumacher at Spa
Schumacher at Monza
And a chronological compilation of clips of each World Champion in action

An optional commentary track features comments from Moss, Stewart and Mario Andretti.

Perhaps the best thing about the footage is that it's clearly been put together with plenty of thought. There's film of testing, qualifying and racing. The drivers are all World Champions or GP winners. The disparity between today's F1 and the past is subtly highlighted. For example Monza is seen now and in 1978 form, in 1989 Senna is still shifting his gears with a lever, and the angles that Depailler chucks his car around Long Beach at would be unthinkable today.
All in all this is a fantastic selection that shows properly why F1 drivers are a special, if slightly mad, breed.

However, this DVD does have a couple of problems. Firstly all of the footage from the seventies that appears here, as well as loads that doesn't, has been available for years on a double-VHS called 'Lap of the Gods' - which is far longer and has an excellent narration by legendary commentator Murray Walker.
F1 Onboard, excellent though it is, doesn't have fifty years worth of footage. And considering that F1 bosses are the only people who can (legally) make 'F1 Onboard Part 2', one does have to wonder if that's accidental or not...

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