RIP Jean-Pierre Jabouille...

The fact that these things used basically rocket fuel and were ticking time bombs just shows that the 80's were a time of eccess and finesse.

This era is so special. The mid to late 80s were NUTS in the F1 world. Go back and watch some highlights on F1 TV if you can. I recommend the 1987 French Grand Prix. There is a stationary camera set up on the backstretch, and it's the best angle I've seen that displays the immense straight line speed these cars had. Its truly unbelievable

It's insane compared to todays rules that teams used to just turn up the engines to 11 for qualifying and then just throw the engine away afterwards

I think Walter Rohrl said it best, "In 1971 I did the Monte Carlo rally with 150 horse brakes, and in 1986 with 550 horse brakes, and with the same tree, in the same place, with the same rock and the same ditch."

Turbo era in nutshell: Alain Prost in his Renault takes the lead! *literally 10 seconds later* And Prost is retiring from the race after another engine malfunction!

The Ferrari's main problem was as the teams started using toluene based fuels the rise in power became too much for their aluminum engine blocks. The engine started developing core shift as hp numbers crossed 800, the misaligned bearing surfaces over heated and broke down the oil leading to failure, their only choice was to run at power levels lower than the competition. They had a cast iron block under development but chose to back the turbo ban instead.

Ah yes, the time when F1 engines barely lasted longer than top fuel dragsters

I started watching F1 with the June 1986 Detroit GP. The description of the cats so blew me away I was an instant Formula One fan, to the point that not only did I get up early on Sunday mornings in the Central Time zone U.S., but I taped every race after that on my Sony Betamax so I could rewatch during the week, twice before the next race sometimes. I remember an interior with Eddie Cheever, who was driving the Arrows BMW them, that he got wheelspin in 5th gear (when they only had 5 gears with clutch pedals and gearshift knobs on a lever sticking up from the floor). Those cars took balls to drive on the limit because they lacked the safety of today’s F1 cars. Especially the car Nigel Mansell won the championship with, the 1992 Williams with active suspension. He talked about it in an interview a couple of years ago. Prost drive that car for a season but didn’t like it because the only way to be really fast in it was to trust the system and drive it to the edge of car control without the ability to feel how close to the edge. Mansell had guts most drivers never know. He was one of the very few really courageous really exciting drivers in the history of the sport. That’s why he was “the Lion.” Always a thrill. He fought some famous battles. Probably the ones with Senna are best remembered. A fantastic era with multiple world champions who battled like horsemen with spears. Not many years have that yelling at the television set kind of excitement. We’ve had some in the 21st century of course. But there’s been nothing like that era of cars that had so much power for the weight and chassis sophistication they could barely go straight just like top fuel dragsters. Cats on the ragged edge with drivers whose personalities were unapologetic and pushed their fragile machines to and beyond their limits. This is one of my favorite videos in a long time. Well researched and a real gem about the history of the sport. I always like it best when F1 is the nuttiest. I hope the 2026 engine rules are good for excitement. Nothing is worse for the sport than blandness. Where it’s headed eventually may not be so much fun. Check back about the time NASA puts a crew down on Mars. Like Nikki Lauda, I’m in favor of F1 cars being so powerful they scare the bejesus out of someone who first moves up to F1. It should be that much of a test of the best

Fun fact: the Renault RS01 may have been the first turbocharged Formula 1 car, but it wasn't actually the first turbocharged car in the World Championship. The 1952 Indy 500 (which then was part of the world championship) had a Cummins turbodiesel-powered car on pole, which then led most of the race but retired 9 laps from the finish with a steering linkage failure.

One thing that has not changed ... 6 bar (90lbs) of boost can still cause reliability issues.

I'm 55 and have been to over 80 GP in my life. The first one I went to was the Detroit Grand Prix in 1982. The very first car I ever saw live was Michele Alboreto in the Tyrrell 011. What a noise it made. I was hooked instantly. That year half the field ran normally asperated engines and the other half turbos. The next 2 years my dad took me to Canada and the field was all turbos in 84, pretty much. I asked my dad, what happened to the noise. He said "Turbo's Chris". We never went to another GP until 1989. In Canada in 1995. We had front row seats, 3rd on the grid. Jean Alesi was right in front of us. It was his birthday. I started a chant of singing "Happy Birthday" and the entire section chimed in. Jean threw his gloves over the fence to me. The Ferrari 412 T2 Made such a noise, that you could feel it coming up the strait (Via Your Asshole) after exiting the "Wall of Champions". Not an exaggeration. We went to a ton of F1 races during the 90's and 2000's. As soon as the turbos came back. We stopped going again. The turbos may be quicker, but they are less awesome to watch live.

The fact that one of the designers of the car drove the first Renault in 77 it's like a dream came true 😅

Getting 1500bhp out of 1.5L straight four, toluene or not is an absolutely ludicrous amount of grunt from something that small. All with a factory cast iron block as well…

Awesome video on what is arguably the absolute best era of Formula 1 ever.

The DFV winning 7 consecutive championships from 68-74 is pretty impressive. But I think what's even more impressive is the fact it won _12 out of 16_ WDC titles between 68-83, when it was still in use. Aside from the utter dominance, the fact it was still getting championships 15 years after being introduced is stunning

You don’t realize how great a decade like the 80’s was until you have time to reflect like in this video. Great music, great F1 cars. Great road cars too.

My favourite F1 era, you had the speed, the power, the technology, the drama, the competition, the strategy, the manual gear box combined with modern downforce. The only drawback is that these don't sound as good as the naturally aspirated V12s and V10s of the 90s and 2000s. These cars embody everything that Formula 1 Stands for to me. The fact that manufacturers didn't want Turbo engines because they are scared of being seen as unreliable just shows to me they don't understand the fans.

6 Bar of boost is 87psi ?? Incredible!! Yes, that period of motorsports was nuts. Even in Nascar the fastest speeds were in that period before safety become paramount. I remember watching qualifying in the turbo era and the cars emitted black smoke from the obviously rich air fuel ratios with boost wound up to levels which could destroy the engine in little over 2 laps.

These cars were absolute monsters. That BMW engine that powered the Benettons in 1986 got nicknamed the grenade for a reason. 1450hp in quali trim!?! Thats just swivel eyed madness

This era made me a fan. Prost vs Senna was my favorite Sunday morning entertainment in 1988 and the MP4/4 was the stuff of legends.

I am JUST old enough to remember this era in racing, and it was glorious. Though, the scream of the later high powered 1990's NA machines.....I still get goosebumps.....

It's insane to learn that Renault's Achilles Heel was reliability even back in the 80s... Alpine (Nando) would have done a monstrous job in 2022 if if not for their reliability

Don't forget the radioactive engine parts that some were using during all of this. It truly was the wild West

Of all the fatalities in Formula one,only two were in turbo cars and both occurred in qualifying/testing. Not overly dangerous as they seem.

Great video about the greatest part of F1 racing. Good knowledge and info on teams,drivers,cars,engines and stuff. You even put in a part of the clip when that commentator explaines that they will use this engine and drivetrain in qualifying and this in the race. Well done. For an F1 and MotoGP nerd like me,it's my cup of tea definitely so- do another one! Cheers!!

Very well put vid. It’s a time that I lament as I didn’t get in to F1 until the late 90’s, was always a rally fan and other off-road racing. Missed some good racing from back then.

Nice video. Enjoyed this! I was at the 1982 Detroit GP and my house was only 2 miles away, so I could hear the cars throughout that week. One point: you repeatedly mentioned Switzerland during the 1982 season. Switzerland banned circuit racing in 1955, after the Le Mans disaster. There hasn't been a Swiss GP in Switzerland since then. The 1975 and 1982 Swiss GPs were held across the border at France's Dijon-Prenois circuit.

Just found you. Really enjoyed this video thanks for that and your hard work. Very well done 👏. 👌

Loved the video mate great job as always

Peter I’m sure you get this often but I’ve been here since the beginning and these videos never fail to amaze and entertain me. Keep it up. Love the vids

This is such an amazing video just subscribed keep it up !

That was properly thorough work, congratulations and thanks for that!

Your level of presentation is seriously and objectively impressive (I'm not just saying this because I'm subbed to you).

As a new subscriber, this video is a fantastic short-form synopsis! Thank you for putting it together as it's a great overview that's not too long for the younger viewers of today with short attention spans. You're a great orator as well!! I was lucky enough to attend several races in the '80s when it was at it's peak (like WRC Group B) and it was a sight to see!!! I still wonder what kind of 'fuel' was being pumped through those M12/13s as it smelled distinctly different from the other engines...but we'll probably never know. While it's great that America is the largest growing market for F1, I find it sad that it's primarily coming from the carefully constructed and edited "soap opera" on Netflix.

great video as always. time flies when i watch your videos. there is something so calming yet captivating about your presentation style. keep it up!

As an eleven year old boy I read an article in the Dutch pop-sci magazine 'Kijk' about the upcoming debut of the Renault turbo engine at the British Grand Prix in 1977. It was enough for me to start watching F1. I still do and look back at the first turbo-era with a big smile, despite the lack of succes for the French turbo pioneers.

I really appreciate and enjoy the quality of the work you do that’s unique among Formula One lovers on UKposts. I do like, share with friends, and write long comments to promote what you do. This is a particular favorite because it centers around the era in which I became captivated, became an instant fan when I knew no other race fans of any kind, when I walked into my mothers house on a hot humid Mississippi Coast afternoon in the summer of 1986 to take a break while mowing the grass in her large (3/4 acre) lawn to see if there was anything good to watch on TV for awhile. I flipped the dial (when there were dials) to CBS, and there it was - the lead. up to a form of racing I knew nothing about, but I was already a fan of open wheel racing, in those days CART in the United States. F1 so blew away CART for me I didn’t return to mowing grass until the sun had traveled to a much more westerly part of the sky. Come the British Gran Prix next I was already a confirmed serious fan. Thanks for bringing back some great memories from almost 37 years ago (😱 time …!)

Definitely appreciate the time and effort put into this video.

@PeterBrookF1 This video is really excellent mate. This era of F1 was truly spectacular, the drivers and cars. Just a couple of quick corrections: Prost did not win at Interlagos in 1982, he won at Jacarepagua. 14:35 Kyalami was Prost's first win of 1982. 14:48. Still an excellent video, though.

Such a great video. Didn't know the 80s were such a crazy time in f1

thank you so much for this. This era was when I first started watching F1 as a teenager.

Renault and Reliability, a tale as old as time

Great narration and coverage! Subbed 😊😊

Man I love the 80's, F1's turbo era, Group B in rallye, Group C in sports car and Heavy Metal

That was a really inspiring . I want to start getting into f1 again. As last year I only watched the first few races then lost intrest. The early 80s cars are the best looking I think

The turbochargers were amazing. Higher speeds, excellent overtakes, massive attrition, and great maneuvering.

Good vid, and thanks for the good subtitles.

Quality content!

This is a great review of the turbo era and Formula 1.

Awesome video documentary ❤

great job peter brook puting this together

"Farrari built a glass cannon" - best metaphor ever

Great video Peter!

Great video 😊

GOOD VIDEO THX

I remember watching the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix and hearing Jackie Stewart, doing colour commentary, explain that Piquet and Patrese had two different engines and then went on to explain the difference between the Cosworth, turbos and superchargers as well as mentioning ground effects...that's a lot to explain....and I got a lot of it mixed up....what I heard was that turbos are faster and lighter than the Cosworth and a supercharger is heavier still, but it had some trick to make it stick to the track better....I was 11 by the way....and I think he may have been talking about the Brabham fan car when I heard him say that superchargers stuck to the ground better...

Those are some great film photographs!

Extremely well researched 👍

The original turbo era was all about speed and power. Those were some exciting times, the best times.

A great vid! Fact-laden, great footage, concise. Easy sub, for me!

Nice touch at 0:30, using the 037 that was a supercharged inline four

Great 👍 video I loved this Era Thx

Excellent work

The DFV is truly an epic engine. Props for spelling 'gases' right instead of 'gasses' in the subtitles.

Great video

An excellent review. Thank you.

great vid thanks!

dude i need more of this in my life

Speaking of turbo era, I always found Gilles Monaco P2 qualifying lap incredible, despite awful car aerodynamically, with engine that was awful for Monaco, he managed to barely miss out on pole.

Imagine winning your home race in a car from your country yet for once all anyone remembers is who finished 2nd, meanwhile Tyrrell were DQ'd for one thing and one thing only, to get them out the picture to get whatever the turbo teams wanted

Thank you. I have been watching F1 since 1984 religiously. I watched Monaco every year before that with my dad after the Indy 500 on ABC. The first turbo was thrilling. 🔪🎸

Talk about excess: 6bar is 87psi! Your stock turbocharged car has 5 to 15psi and it feels pretty good when you floor it :)

Lotus ran in traditional colours at South Africa 1968 (being a long haul race with everything shipped down to South Africa, on New Year's Day, the equipment used had more to do with 1967 than 1968), their final world championship grand prix without a sponsor livery, the Gold Leaf livery debuting in an F1 World Championship Grand Prix at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1968.

Splendid video Mr.Brock.

The turbo era captured the true essence of F1. Everything was on the ragged edge!

Yes, PGMI fuel injection and variable Venturi turbo technology came from this era. The RA186 Honda turbo engine found in the FW11 made more hp than Hindas dyno could measure as it stopped at 1350hp but there was 1500rpm left on the quali engine. The inline 4 BMW 1500 turno was measured at over 1500 horse power in the BT186 as driven by Gerhardt Berger. No electronic aids, a Hewland manual box, huge slick tires, and aero that wouldn’t even rival a modern F1 car without its wings.

Awesome, and well informed video brother. God bless.

1400 horsepower 😵‍💫

that 1983 Brabham was not only successful, it was imho the best and fastest looking F1 car ever. a piece of art...

Regarding 1987: the picture of the Ligier is of the JS29B with the unique and unraced Alfa Romeo 415T twin turbo inline four fitted. Rene Arnoux badmouthed it after a test, giving new parent company Fiat the excuse to pull Alfa Romeo out of F1 to prioritize Ferrari. Ligier then bought Megatron-BMW engines from Arrows, which had bought the upright M12/13s. Brabham was forced to make do with the leftover sideways 1986 engines as BMW left the sport.

the late 70s to early 90s were absolutely bonkers in motorsports in general, just look wherever. there's insane cars in every discipline and country. rally cars were bombs on gravel, f1 cars were bombs on tarmac fueled with toluene, group C was a thing and they were hitting close to 360km/h and peugeot hit 408km/h on the mulsanne straight just for the hell of it, group 5 had the zakspeed capri which had a tiny engine revving to the moon with double turbos and double intercoolers. simply fascinating

fun fact, we're at that powerlevels (4 digit teen-hundreds) with Formula Drift now, it's not WRC/F1 where youre going as fast as possible, but still interesting to compare it output-to-output as cars.

1st-3rd in these gearboxes was quite short as they experimented with spread out gears to try and harness the boost vs traction ratio but decided on short ratios til 4th as wheel spin was unavoidable even in race trim. Once in 4th there was almost no wheel spin in race settings, however Berger would go in to say he couldn’t go flat out til 5th or 6th at over 170mph in the B186 BMW.

another brook hey o/ loved this video

Another top quality video, good job as usual 👍

Excellent 👍 Thanks.

Would love for you to cover the early day of F1 pre war to GP era

Didier Pironi and his magical scarlet car were my hero when I was growing up.

00:02 🏎 Turbo Era Overview Overview of Formula 1's turbo era, emphasizing the transition from 2014. Introduction to hybrid turbo engines and historical context with Group B and C. 00:54 🔧 Engine Regulations Evolution (1950s - 1967) Exploration of early F1 engine regulations in the 1950s. Transition to specific displacement limits and impact on mid-engined cars. 03:17 🚗 Compressed vs. Naturally Aspirated Engines Explanation of compressed engines, covering superchargers and turbochargers. Insight into the advantages and disadvantages of both. 06:32 ⚙ Turbo Era Expansion (1981) Turbo power expansion with Ferrari and Toleman joining in 1981. Impact on Constructors' Championship and challenges faced. 11:43 🏆 Three-Way Dominance Battle (1982) Three-way dominance battle between Brabham, Ferrari, and Renault. Technical details of Brabham's BT52, Renault's RE40, and Ferrari's package. 17:48 🔧 Performance and Challenges (1983) Performance and challenges of Brabham's BT52, Renault's RE40, and Ferrari's package. Nelson Piquet's consistent podium finishes and second Drivers' title. 21:54 🚗 McLaren's Dominance in 1984 McLaren's partnership with Porsche, producing a competitive car with 800 hp. Lauda and Prost winning 12 races, securing both Drivers' and Constructors' titles. 26:31 🌬 Challenges with BMW's Power in 1985 BMW's M12 engine reaching 1,400 hp but facing efficiency issues. Turbo lag, Pirelli tire challenges, and understeer affecting performance. 29:21 🏎 Williams' Dominance in 1986 Williams securing Constructors' title with a robust car and Honda engine. McLaren facing challenges, and Prost defending Drivers' title with race setups. 34:23 ⚡ McLaren's 1988 Triumph McLaren's Honda-powered car dominating with 15 wins. Senna and Prost showcasing superior performance despite power restrictions. 36:42 🏁 Turbo Era's End in 1989 Turbocharged engines outright banned, marking the end of an era. McLaren's Honda V10 facing power limitations, paving the way for a new F1 era.

…the BMW turbo from Austria was rumored to be a “seasoned” 1600cc block from a road car that was left outside through the winter and destroked then treated to the pistons, heads, and turbos and gameboy caliber air fuel metering of the day. TAG (Porsche) had so much experience with their Lemans turbo 956 engines and dominated for 84-85, 86 being a bit of a fluke as piquet and mansell welchec on the deal in Adelaide. For 86: the Honda had finally packaged their “black boxes” into 1 programmed fuel injection computer to optimize turbo boost vs af rario on the fly by drivers. by 87, Honda was so impressed by Senna at lotus that they practically donated the RA187 found in the Williams to the 99t Lotus of Ayrton Senna, whos Decourage bodied Lotus could not consistently match the Patrick had penned Williams for aerodynamic efficiency. Even with active suspension Senna could not consistently out. perform the Williams with the same engine

The 80s was the best decade,,not just for F1 , what a great video

I love the thumbnail, i want it as wallpaper❤️❤️

My Local Adelaide Australian Grand Prix in the 80s was always awesome with the turbo's down Brabham straight.

Well done.

This is just an incredible video. These turbo F1 cars are the most beautiful race machines ever created the likes of which will never be replaced

That was interesting... thanks man...✌️

Very good 👍

Twas the sound that most of us miss...up close when engine running gave you thumps in the chest...

So many variables seems to have made F1 very interesting. I love how some cars dominated certain circuits but were hopeless at others