Old Magazines

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donald29
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Old Magazines

Post by donald29 » 10 Oct 2012, 22:02

I have a large collection of F1 Racing magazines back at home, every issue since December 2000, and enjoy flicking back through them and seeing what perspectives were on things in the past and compare with how we view them now. I was reading an issue of AUTOSPORT I've kept from 2001 that said Ralf Schumacher was 'perhaps the only driver capable of beating his brother.' Compare to the view of Ralf now...

Looking at old editions of AUTOSPORT on Ebay there was a headline from pre-season 1996 that made me laugh, 'Coulthard: I Can Sort McLaren Out.' Also from 1993, Michael Schumacher F1's next great star (solid prediction!) and F1 News from August 1995. 'F1's Silly Season Starts Here' speculating Schumacher was going to join Ferrari...

There's an AUTOSPORT from 1991 with the headline on the front page 'F1: Is it going broke?' Would be interesting to read what that was about, don't want to spend £5.99 on it though. :p Am very tempted by the one with the Barcelona 96 race review though!

F1 Racing's 100 Greatest Drivers from 1997 is also fascinating, another back issue I'm tempted to buy... A friend tells me Senna was only #4, whereas today it's rare that he doesn't top a list. It seems even in 1997 his legacy quite wasn't what it is now. When they re-did that feature a few years ago Senna was up to #1. Schumacher was already voted #5 in 97, a few years before he won five of his world titles. A reminder that his greatness and reputation was not just built on what happened in the 2000s. Even by 97 he was being included high up in an all time greats list.

Of course, there are some headlines that a few years down the line could not have been more wrong... 'JAGUAR IS BACK, WHY NEW FORMULA 1 DREAM TEAM CAN WIN FOR BRITAIN.'

Anyone else have any old back issues of magazines that offer interesting perspectives or remind us of forgotten stories?

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Re: Old Magazines

Post by phil1993 » 11 Oct 2012, 06:18

Perhaps the most famous story was when Autosport ran with the front page in mid-1996 saying Damon Hill was going to be replaced at Williams. Bear in mind at that point he was the championship leader. Andrew Benson ran the story (now at the BBC) and was pretty much vilified in the paddock as being a s***-stirrer. Then a few weeks later, the truth came out. Pretty big scoop.

Of course, I don't remember that issue. I stumbled across it in the Autosport archives.

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Re: Old Magazines

Post by donald29 » 11 Oct 2012, 08:27

Yeah that was a great scoop.

I remember reading a funny story from his time at AUTOSPORT by Joe Saward. It was when McLaren tested a Lamborghini engine at Silverstone in the early 90s. They had really tight security, they wanted no one to see. They let no press or photographers into the circuit.

Joe and some others took a guess that they were running a plain white livery (which they were) so modified an image (some manual method, no photoshop back then!) of a McLaren at Silverstone so it was plain white. They stuck it in the magazine along with the story and McLaren were completely stumped as to how they managed to get the photo not realising what they'd actually done. :p

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Re: Old Magazines

Post by iceman1 » 11 Oct 2012, 09:05

Unfortunately I got my first F1 Racing magazine in 2010. It wasn't available in my country so I had to subscribe for 1 year.

As we are talking about magazines, GP International launches its first issue today. The editor is Hans Seeberg (ex F1 Racing editor) no idea why he left. Is it any good?

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Re: Old Magazines

Post by donald29 » 11 Oct 2012, 09:22

Pfft, try subscribing for 12 years. :p Since I was 9. :blush:

Will buy the first issue and have a flick through it. See if it's any good. Or maybe not buy it but read it in the shop. :p

Will be interesting to see if they can make it work. Surprised they feel there is a gap in the market. They emphasise 'quality' (as everyone seems to), perhaps they feel F1 Racing lacks quality and they can nab their readers?

Magazines have come and gone in the past, remember Bernie's F1 Magazine? You have AUTOSPORT and Motorsport that have been around for decades, and F1 Racing which was launched in 96 and has lasted. Can't think of an F1 magazine that was established in recent years and lasted.

I also see GP Week is going paid. I never really read it, but again interesting they think they can get people to pay for it. Is there a big demand for paid e-magazines? That puts them in competition with AUTOSPORT's digital edition and Joe Saward's e-magazine but he seems to have an established following judging from the amount of comments on his blog. He is a long established journalist.

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Re: Old Magazines

Post by donald29 » 11 Oct 2012, 14:22

Off-topic but seeing as you asked Khodr. :p
Off-Topic: show
Bought the first issue of GP International. Havn't read it yet (bar the introduction from the editor), but first impression is what's the point? Very similar to F1 Racing in terms of broad content. Starts with some photos, then a couple of columnists, the articles, then race reviews / previews. Only different bit is a small section on 'gadgets', but AUTOSPORT has something similar at the back each week. It's not trying to be anything wildly different. Editor says there hasn't been another 'stand-alone F1 magazine' since 2004 and they're offering fans a choice.

They're obviously selling it on it's quality not anything new it features. Describes itself as 'upmarket' and 'makes no apologies for being at the high-end'. Will read later to see what the qualty's like. They're obviously aiming at serious F1 fans so I'm hopeful of some excellent articles. :)

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Re: Old Magazines

Post by phil1993 » 11 Oct 2012, 19:08

I thought GP International was much better than F1 Racing has been lately. Quite enjoyed it, it has quality.

Saward's GP+ isn't very good in all honesty.

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Re: Old Magazines

Post by iceman1 » 11 Oct 2012, 19:58

Thanks James. I checked the price and it's £29.70 for 12 issues. Much cheaper than F1 Racing :D

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Re: Old Magazines

Post by donald29 » 11 Oct 2012, 22:47

phil1993 wrote:I thought GP International was much better than F1 Racing has been lately. Quite enjoyed it, it has quality.

Saward's GP+ isn't very good in all honesty.
Have never read it. Don't plan on it. :p

And yeah, you can get a very cheap initial subscription for GPI. Like I say, will judge it once I've read the articles which won't be until tomorrow now. :p

Will be interested to read Buxton's articles. I like him, and he makes some good posts. But he can also get things very wrong like dismissing Perez to McLaren the day before it announced and the strange COTA garage story. And sometimes he just holds some outright strange views. Hope his contribution to this magazine is the former.

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Re: Old Magazines

Post by phil1993 » 12 Oct 2012, 12:57

And everything is MEGA. And every article has to feature a sentence. Like. This.

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