• The Story of Formula One British Grand Prix 1964

Experience the life a Formula One driver on and off the track in two remarkable 1964 films from the BP archive.

We begin with Time Between, an extraordinary glimpse into the lives of four of the greatest racers of their generation away from the track. The fly-on-the-wall documentary follows Graham Hill, Bruce McLaren, Innes Ireland and Mike Hailwood for 13 days from the end of the 1964 French Grand Prix at Rouen to the start of the British GP at Brands Hatch. Rare black-and-white footage shows these four greats away from the track, attending business meetings, pursuing their own interests and even filling the downtime between races with some more racing!

McLaren works on his cars, Ireland tours the highlands in an off-road vehicle, Hill travels back to France for a hair-raising GT race while Mike ‘The Bike’ goes back to his first love and competes at the Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix – and wins! The incredible on-board footage of Hailwood riding the MV Agusta is simply stunning.

In European Grand Prix 1964 we are treated to all the action from the fabulous July race meeting at the Brands Hatch circuit. Although designated the European GP, this was also the British Grand Prix, and exceptional colour footage brings us action from practice and the thrilling race itself.

The line-up of drivers reads like a who’s who of Grand Prix legends - Jim Clark, Graham Hill, John Surtees, Jack Brabham, Dan Gurney and more. Wonderful camerawork shows the close dices throughout the field and the tremendous battle between Clark’s Lotus-Climax and the BRM of Hill for victory. In addition, Hill gives us a fascinating insight into the preparations of driver and team as we eavesdrop on a briefing between he and BRM’s Tony Rudd.

• The Birth of Formula One

On May 13^th, 1950, 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 – this was the Birth of Formula One.

Bookcases are heaving with dusty volumes recalling the advent of modern F1 and numerous dry 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 dollar F1 of the 21^st century.

Utilising rarely-seen black and white footage from the archive of BP, we are treated to the glorious sights and sounds of the first modern Formula One race, the 1950 British GP, 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, in colour, three amazing GPs 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 ‘Ring 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 established 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 – this is The Birth of Formula One.

• Grand Prix the Past Comes Alive

You may think the sights and sounds of the great Grand Prix cars of the past have been consigned to history – but nothing could be further from the truth. Today, dedicated enthusiasts maintain the most import F1 machines and turn at out legendary circuits to let them return to action. This magnificent DVD truly lets the past come alive as our cameras travel to Historic Grand Prix Cars Association and FIA Historic Formula One Championship events in 2010 to watch these icons back where they belong. 

They may be some of the most valuable machines in the world, but these events are no parade laps, this is real racing, with real cars on real circuits. We travel to Monaco, Silverstone, Monza and Dijon to watch race and championship-winning cars from BRM, Ferrari, Maserati, Lotus, McLaren, Williams and more once again going wheel-to-wheel. We hear from the enthusiasts who keep these machines alive – including Clive Chapman, son of the great Colin and the man behind Classic Team Lotus. 

There’s also a chance to see some of the great museum collections, including Galleria Ferrari, and archive footage to show what these mighty machines looked like in their heyday. But it is the modern footage of these classic machines returning to the track which truly allow Formula One’s past to come alive.