THE ART OF FORMULA 1
Studying the evolution of artistic style in its adjacent contemporary context can often form an interesting pictorial history; such is it that a fascinating insight into the antecedent Monaco Grand Prix’ can be explored by a study of the promotional posters. Created every year since the inaugural race of 1930 – each seemingly reflective of the contemporaneous artistic style – these posters capture the very essence of the sport in each subsequent era, as well as offering a captivating evolution of race car design.
The precedent of the Monaco Grand Prix poster design was set by French artist Robert Falcucci, the simple arrangement of a prominent car against a symbolic and schematic backdrop of the Principality, as well as the now evocative “Monaco” font. All three of his posters, designed for the 1930 – 1932 races, channel a certain spirit of the Futurist artistic movement that originated just a decade or so before; the emphasis on speed and dynamism, as well as the simplified blocks of colour, are all reminiscent of this striking style, and fit perfectly with the poster’s intention.
The mantle was passed to French illustrator, and car enthusiast, Georges Hamel [Geo Ham] in 1933, the first year that the starting grid of the race was decided by qualifying times. This new era of the race is somewhat marked by Hamel’s first poster design, of a car emerging from the darkness of a tunnel and into the bright sunshine of Monaco.
Known as the “Prince of Motion” from his expressive sketches of motor car races, as well as his caricatures of the drivers, Hamel stayed on a similar track as Falcucci in the general arrangement of the poster, but there is more of an Art Deco feel to his design; originating in Paris from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, the popularity of the style increased during the 1930s where it was considered to represent luxury and glamour, the combination of various artistic styles united by the want of appearing modern – everything that the Monaco Grand Prix was.
The 1930s was also an era of engineering innovation, and nationalistic rivalry between car manufacturers was at an all-time high, intensified by the increasingly dangerous disposition sweeping through Europe at the time. The international racing colours of Blue (France), Green (Britain), Red (Italy), and Yellow (Belgium) helped to intensify this on the track, creating an easy visual of who was in the lead. The dominance of red cars on the posters, in fact throughout the history of Grand Prix posters, however, is sometimes misappropriated for the supremacy of the Italian-made cars (indeed, the races of the 1930s were dominated by Bugatti and Maserati). Yet the choice is somewhat more obvious, the use of red to reflect the Monegasque flag.
These races fell at the beginning of a great political and economic upheaval in Europe, with each of the World Wars obviously affecting Monaco’s ability to host such an opulent event, the only race of the 40s being held in 1948. There is a gap, therefore, of nearly twenty years between the posters of George Hamel and those of Bernard Minne in the 1950s. This allows for a fascinating comparison between the posters, which beautifully highlight the progression in the design of the cars.
The depression of the 1930s led to a car design that had to remain relatively simple, reflected by the uncomplicated body, separate chassis frame, and characteristic chrome radiator. One of the most popular car designs of the time was the Bugatti Type 55 (produced 1932-1935), with 38 being produced during this period. Reaching speeds of up to 120mph in stripped racing guise, this 2.3 litre engine Roadster could be argued as being the poster car of the 1930s, being similar in design to the cars depicted on the Grand Prix posters of the 30s.
Fast forward to 1952; the Art Deco lettering and colouring has been simplified and subdued, and there is a distinct difference in the appearance of the car. This was the golden age of motorsport, the days of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, where the linking of several national Formula One races created the World Championship as we now know it (the Constructor’s Championship was established in 1958). The after-effects of the two world wars can still be seen on the 1952 poster, however, as the residual economic restraints led to many of that year’s races being mostly completed by Formula 2 cars.
Only Ferrari could fund a Formula 1 car for Monaco – indeed, it is the stunning Ferrari 225S with its innovative V12 engine depicted on the poster - in comparison to Alfa Romeo having to withdraw completely. This lack of available Formula 1 cars to race at Monaco therefore discounted the race from counting towards the final World Championship standings. The contrasts of colours on the poster, between the bright yellow, blue, and red, however, give off a certain sense of an increase in avant-garde optimism.
The first major change in Monaco Grand Prix poster design came in 1959, the Pop Art works of Andy Warhol clearly proving an influence, the inverted white/red colours of the two cars cleverly forming the Monegasque flag. This year also marked a major change in car construction with a complete change in the car’s basic layout, which remains to this day; the prior successes of the compact four-cylinder engine led to BRM, Vanwell, Lotus, Ferrari, and Cooper all moving their engines behind the driver to mark a new era of rear-engine race cars.
Rear-engine design has its origins in the early C20th, the most successful being the 1923 “tear-drop” Benz, however it was only in 1957 that the rear-engine car design started to truly gain traction due to a change in Formula 1 regulations, with the Cooper factory leading the engineering innovation – leading a very frustrated Ferrarri to refer to them as “Garage-owners”. Indeed, it was the Cooper Climax which raced to victory in 1959, and whose design - albeit simplified with some artistic license from designer Charles Leuenberger - features on the poster of the same year. This evolution in design, and the race successes of Cooper, led to rate of acceleration becoming more important than top race speed.
With a greater focus on torque output and range - the design of the engines somewhat limiting the ability to achieve faster speeds - an importance was placed on chassis and suspension design. There was a growing trend towards independent rear-suspension, as seen on the 1965 poster showcasing the wide base-bottom wishbone wheel suspension, making the body of the car appear to be almost floating above the road. This allowed for a more controlled handling of the car, needed especially for the tight turns on the Monaco track, although this did not help Paul Hawkins who, on lap 79, plunged into the Port just as his predecessor Alberto Ascari had done in 1955. It has yet to happen since.
The J. Ramel design of the poster is the first to offer a near-realistic rendering of the race, clearing depicting the buildings of Monaco, the Port, and even the Ferrari logo on the bonnet of the car. The emphasis has changed from showing the speed of the car - from the rather dominating effect of motion blur on previous posters - to showing the car mid-race, as if a film-still. Indeed, this move towards a pseudo-photo realism is similar to movie posters of the time, as well as echoing the images from the televised races, now much more accessible.
During the late 60s / early 1970s, the advent of video games brought about a massive cultural phenomena. 1969 saw the release of Kasco’s “Indy 500” and, more importantly, Sega’s “Grand Prix”, bringing with it that famous pixelated and linear artistic style. The 1973 Monaco Grand Prix poster – another superb design by J. Ramel - released at the same time as Taito’s “Speed Race”, can be said to follow this style, the depiction of four cropped racers reminiscent of an opening sequence of a racing video game.
It is here for the first time that we notice the car design becoming more similar to those which we now see race around the Principality. The Formula 1 car design of the 1970s has been argued as reaching a peak in aerodynamic design. Lotus introduced ground-effect aerodynamics, the downforce effect on the car (up to five times’ the weight of the car) allowing for greater corner-handling capabilities at high speeds. The smooth roundness of the previous cars was therefore replaced with sleek racing lines, and the wheels were fixed to an extremely stiff spring for a virtually solid suspension to cope with the pressure and maintain a constant ride height.
Another obvious change in design as shown on the posters are the changes in wing design. Following the various dangers of high-mounted wings during the late 1960s, they were banned and mounted behind the rear axle in 1973 to assist also with an increased downforce. The new rules also stipulated mandatory deformable structures to be built on the sides of the cars, as well as larger bodywork. The Lotus 72 proved to be the most successful in implementing these new regulations, becoming the most aerodynamic car of its day and setting the standard for every Formula 1 car to follow.
Further wing evolution can be seen on the 1980 poster, designed by Frenchman Jacques Grognet, with an enhanced front wing, again, to assist with the handling of the car against the various downforces exerted on the car. There was a ban, however, on ground-effect aerodynamics in 1983, although these were no longer required with the onset of the turbocharged engine. There is even more of an obvious videogame / cartoon influence here, with the mixture of bright colours and semi-realistic rendering of the car. Even more cartoon-like is the 1988 poster by Grognet, a much more simplistic approach, following also the contemporaneous neo-expressionist style of the 1980s.
Influenced by the vast increase in advertising and sales-focused media of the 1980s, a new generation of artists sprung up in reaction and rejected the traditional standards of previous movements. Becoming more ambivalent in their design, with a lack of concern for pictorial idealization and composition, the Neo-Expressionists concerned themselves with vivid colour and a playful, primitive, depiction of objects.
It is unfortunate, then, that the subsequent posters from the early 1990s up to today have become more commercial in appearance, taking on their own generic formula, no longer being considered as works of art in their own right. Tweaks to the car design become less obvious, although nonetheless increasingly impressive.
The 75th Monaco Grand Prix takes place this year on Sunday 28th May, where the world’s greatest drivers will tackle 78 laps of one of the most challenging and exciting Formula 1 tracks, whose striking setting and tight turns have made this race the Championship favourite.
By Alice Gardner