50 YEARS OF THE 1976 FORMULA ONE SEASON - RACE 8: GREAT BRITAIN
At Brands Hatch, Niki Lauda took pole position in front of home hero James Hunt, and Mario Andretti in third, showing off Lotus' improving pace. At the start however, it was Lauda's teammate Clay Regazzoni took off like a rocket and soon up to second place. Regazzoni spun after briefly touching Lauda, being hit by Hunt and Jacques Laffite while the rest of the field got away safely. Due to debris on track from this crash, the race was restarted. Lauda led from Hunt and Regazzoni into the first corner, and this lineup remained unchanged until Regazzoni had gearbox issues, boosting Jody Scheckter to third place. Lauda led the race until Lap 45 where he too suffered gearbox issues leading to Hunt to pass him and hold the lead until the end, much to the delight of the home crowd.
However there was controversy after the race. Ferrari, Tyrrell and the Fittipaldi went to the stewards to appealed against Hunt winning due to him taking the restart with a new car. Ferrari went so far as to involve the FIA and two month after the race, Hunt was disqualified and Lauda was given the win.
The main article of Auto-Hebdo issue 139, from November 16th, 1978, named "The Seven Mercenaries". You'll never guess who was really happy about how many French drivers there were in F1 back then.
I don't know where to begin for a summary of its contents. Every single interview has a lot to teach you about the driver it's about. It goes over their seasons, the cars, how they perceived it, etc. Patrick Depailler gets the most screentime because he had won the Monaco GP that year, the only win from a French driver that year... or maybe it's Didier Pironi, who gets a surprisingly long section compared to his fellow countrymen (and they didn't even mention him winning Le Mans earlier than year! It's all F1-related).
The one thing that surprised me the most in there was Patrick Depailler speaking about how heavy the bias in Tyrrell was in 1978 between the two drivers, because while we know it existed, even Patrick himself was surprised by it - and you can guess it, it's how the part on Didier starts.
The least surprising thing was Jacques Laffite outright saying he didn't want his future teammate Patrick Depailler to be treated on equal footing with him. Yeah Jacques I could've guessed from the absolute shitshow that was being Ligier's second driver lmao, but thanks for the transparency! (He says Guy Ligier and Gérard Ducarouge made a "small mistake" there, because Jacques has been here for longer and thinks he deserves the slight advantage).
Me and my friends on the Classic F1 Chaos Discord Server hit a goldmine after initially thinking about Didier Pironi in a maid outfit (big thanks to @stroyent for kicing off this one) and thus it spiraled into this controlled chaos
The French Maid Cafe + a Belgian Maid
François Cevert - The current head maid and does the delegating and the face of the cafe. Sneaks out on smoke breaks to share a ciggie or two with Jackie, one of the older maids at the English maid cafe. Also is the tailor that mends and adjusts the maid outfits to be bespoke for every employee. Got the job due to his brother-in-law's connections with the cafe *cough* cough*.
The Three J.Ps (Jarier, Jabouille and Beltoise)- Customers can pick one of the J.Ps out of a hat or go for all three in the so called J.P Package with a three course fixed menu.
René Arnoux- One of the maids that Alain works with, his country accent unexpectedly draws a lot of attention from the ladies to him. Was the considered the newbie maid before Alain.
Jacques Lafitte- Another one of the maids that Alains works with.
Didier Pironi- The unofficial security guard/bouncer of the cafe, be unruly and expected to be tossed out into the street (the Didi punishment). Maid uniform can barely contain his muscles and the bakery that is his ass and François has to adjust it constantly since he constantly gains more bulk. Gilles Villeneuve with his two kids requests him the most often and in turn he tests new recipes for drinks and dishes for the cafe with . Just don't ask him to make any drinks for you unless you have a high alcohol tolerance.
Alain Prost- The most newly hired maid at the French cafe, wears a little maid cap with hairnet to keep his permed hair in place. Sometimes wears reading glasses and nicknamed "Professor Maid" for his ideas for events. A certain Brazilian man is his most devoted customer while the other Brazilian man luckily has been blacklisted and will receive a Didi punishment if he ever show back up.
The Two Patricks (Depailler and Tambay)- As @flymula1 neatly put it during the discussions, "There's the one all the ladies fawn over and who takes 5 cigarette breaks per half-day worked and there's the one all the ladies fawn over but doesn't smoke."
Jean Behra- The first Head Maid, often argued with Stirling Moss during the early days of the cafe's operations.
Jacky Ickx- The sole Belgian maid and has a one-sided relationship with Jochen Rindt rivalling that of Reutemann and Jones. The French maids also have placed bets on the visit outcomes, most of them ending with a cold stare and no tip.
But they might have some competition when a rival maid cafe opened at the same time right across the street from them...
The English Maid Cafe (with a few Scottish and Irish Maids also Kiwi and Australian Maids)
Jackie Stewart- One of the former Head Maids who does his best with the coffee orders (a certain French head maid certainly does help). Sneaks out during smoke breaks to share a ciggy or two with François, often gossiping about the shenanigans that the maids under them get up too.
Graham Hill- Mentored Jackie to be the next Head Maid while helping with Jim's retire to be a farmer. Sometimes he uses the cafe as a free babysitting much to Jim's dismay for Damon when he was younger.
Jim Clark- The next Head Maid after Mike retired with Peter from the cafe. Has sheep motifs all over the cafe and occasionally has a therapy sheep from his farm to visit the cafe for the staff and customers.
Alan Jones- Has a hate/love relationship with Carlos Reutemann. The other maids have bets on whether every visit ends with a giant tip or no tip.
James Hunt- Good Lord how does he keep pushing and bending the rules for the uniform standards. The sheer amount of alcohol and drugs might be helping him with that. A certain burnt Austrian man who always orders the yogurt parfait requests him the most.
Nigel Mansell- The Clumsy Boyfailure Maid. Elio who often comes into the cafe for inspiration for writing his piano music is down bad for him, even ordering the cafe's horrible coffee day after day just to see him. Constantly worries for Elio's health and constantly recommends teas instead. Somehow manages to bang his head on the table trying to do the bend and snap.
Mike Hawthorn- The first Head Maid appointed by Sterling to imitate the French Maid Cafe. Peter and Louise often swing by the cafe during his smoking break to chat.
Stirling Moss- The maid who got into arguments with Jean Behra. Juan Manuel Fangio request his services the most.
Peter Collins- Met his wife Louise when she heard from friends about the English Maid Cafe. Kicks off the bend and snap move for more tips with much approval from Head Maid Hawthorn and his wife Louise.
Damon Hill- When he was young, Graham brought him to the cafe as a form of free babysitting. As he got older, he starts working first as a cashier before taking over as a maid since his dad retired from the cafe. Jacques Villeneuve requests him the most but Michael Schumacher might be able to match him...
Jack Brabham- The legendary mechanic that fixes the machines of the Maid Cafe. Has to be talked out of modifying the boiler and heating by Bruce. Times his breaks with Bruce to help him with his legs.
Bruce McLaren- Has a kiwibird stress toy named Russell and signature umbrella for good luck. Takes breaks often to make sure that his legs don't get too stressed and Jack Brabham times his breaks as much as possible to be with him.
Denny Hulme- Nicknamed "The Ghost Bear" for his very rare appearances outside of the kitchen. Would rather make food than interact with the customers. Hangs out with Bruce as fellow Kiwi on his breaks if Jack Brabham is busy working.
Chris Amon- The Kiwi maid that works with Jackie to make the coffee somewhat tolerable for human taste. Often privy to Jackie sneaking off to see François but keeps it to himself.
