A few weeks ago we looked at the Cooper T51 Climax that won the Formula 1 World Championship exactly 50 years ago. Today it is time to highlight the World Champions from 40 and 30 years ago.
In 1969 the man to beat was Scotsman Jackie Stewart, who piloted the Matra MS80 Cosworth to five victories in his chase for the championship. Vital in the success was team-manager Ken Tyrrell who brought together Matra, Cosworth, Dunlop and Stewart to form the winning package. In this form, under the Matra International banner, the team existed for only two years, resulting in a total of nine Grand Prix wins. For 1970 Tyrrell and Stewart switched to a March 701 Cosworth and subsequently to the purpose built Tyrrell. Quite in contrast with Matra's further success, Stewart and Tyrrell won two additional championships. Our article is illustrated with 18 shots both MS80s used in period as well as the third spare tub that was built into a complete car in recent years.
A lot changed in ten years time but what remained was the dominance of the Ford Cosworth DFV engine. The only real challenger was the Ferrari team and their exquisite flat-12 engine. It powered the scarlet machines to three Drivers' World Championships; in 1975, 1977 and 1979. The last champion was the 312 T4, which combined the 12 cylinder engine with advanced ground-effects aerodynamics. The T4 was very quick and unlike the rest of the front runners boasted rock-solid reliability. Drivers Gilles Villeneuve and Jody Scheckter each won three Grands Prix and at the end of the season Scheckter had amassed enough points to be crowned World Champion. It would be Ferrari's last until Michael Schumacher's win in 2000. Five examples were built and our in-depth feature has 18 shots of two of these.

Enjoy the links:

1979 Ferrari 312 T4 - Images, Specifications and Information

1969 Matra MS80 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information