the birth of formula one DVD

On May 131950, Britain’s Silverstone circuit hosted a race which would go down in history – the very first Grand Prix of the modern Formula One era. The glamorous and exciting F1 of today traces its roots back to the 1950 British Grand Prix – the Birth of Formula One. Bookcases are heaving with dusty volumes recalling the advent of modern F1 and numerous documentaries featuring the opinions of 'experts' have been filmed, but this DVD is no history lecture – it is full-throttle, action-packed look at the races, the cars and the stars which brought us the multi-billion Formula One of the 21century. Utilising rarely-seen black and white footage from the archive of BP, we are treated to the glorious sounds and sights of the first modern Formula One race, the 1950 British Grand Prix, also known as the Grand Prix d’Europe. We see the Alfa Romeo 158s of Guiseppe Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell do battle on the converted airfield racetrack. Then we witness three amazing Grand Prixs from 1951, when the supercharged Alfa 159Bs went head-to-head with the 4.5 litre Ferraris at Reims, Silverstone and the Nurburgring. Farina, Fangio and Parnell are joined by Jose Froilan Gonzales and Aberto Ascari as the peaceful summer days are shattered by the thundering engines, squealing tyres and cheers from packed grandstands. Our journey through the formative years of modern Formula One concludes with a return to the legendary Nurburgring for the German Grands Prix of 1953 and 1954. British stars including Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn joined the ranks of the F1 legends, as Maserati, Mercedes and Cooper started to challenge the order. Extraordinary black and white footage records two now legendary races around the daunting Nurburgring. These were the races which paved the way for the Grand Prix racing of today – The Birth of Formula One. £12.99, available from Duke . Running time 63 minutes.Excellent and rare footage from the BP video archives, including the glorious Silver Arrows, shot in black and white and also colour. The release coincides with Formula One's 60th anniversary and also 25 years of the Nurburgring. Sit back and enjoy the very first championship race from Silverstone in 1950... Recommended.Tags: Classic Car DVD