RM salutes British Grand Prix greats on commemorative stamps

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Royal Mail salutes British Grand Prix greats on commemorative sheet of stamps

From Jenson Button to Mike Hawthorn - Royal Mail celebrates over half a century of British Formula 1 success by featuring all ten British grand prix world champions on a special commemorative sheet of stamps.

Issued on 8 July, ahead of the British Grand Prix, British World Champion Grand Prix Drivers features ten patriotic 1st Class Union Flag stamps with adjoining labels of the ten homegrown heroes of the track.

The list starts with Mike Hawthorn, who drove to victory in 1958, and runs through iconic champions including Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell and 2008’s winner, Lewis Hamilton. Fittingly, it is the current champion, Jenson Button, who completes the illustrious line-up.

The Commemorative Sheet also includes another legendary motorsport figure Murray Walker, who in a revealing interview, offers his own unique insight into the drivers and also looks at key milestones in the sport.

Philip Parker, Royal Mail Stamps spokesperson said: "When we issue Commemorative Sheets it has to mark a significant achievement. When Jenson Button became the tenth British Formula 1 World Champion, we wanted to celebrate the success of all ten drivers on one sheet.

"We hope that this will be a popular way to honour these hugely talented individuals and the part they have played in making motorsport history."
Ends
Issued by Aawaz Communications on behalf of Royal Mail
Tel 020 7404 6064
Email: khollingsworth@aawazltd.com

NOTES TO EDITORS
For images of the British World Champion Grand Prix Drivers Commemorative Sheet call Kathryn Hollingsworth at Aawaz Communications on 0207 404 6064 or e-mail khollingsworth@aawazltd.com

The British World Champion Grand Prix Drivers Commemorative Sheet is available online at http://www.royalmail.com/stamps" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , the Royal Mail eBay shop: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Royal-Mail-Stamp-Collections" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, and from Royal Mail Tallents House (tel. 08457 641 641), Royal Mail Tallents House, 21 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB.

British World Champion Grand Prix Drivers Commemorative Sheet driver details

Mike Hawthorn, Ferrari [1958]
Hawthorn’s reputation as the golden boy of British motorsport was based on his looks as well as his ability, but the big, blond Yorkshire-born driver was a brave and tenacious racer. Devastated by the death of his friend and Ferrari teammate Peter Collins in a crash on the notorious Nürburgring circuit in Germany, Hawthorn retired immediately after winning the world title by a single point from the great Stirling Moss.

Graham Hill, BRM [1962/1968]
The only driver ever to win what is sometimes referred to as ‘The Triple Crown of Motorsport’ - the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans 24 Hours and Indianapolis 500 - Hill outwardly lived up to the image of an Englishman abroad, with his clipped accent, neat moustache and ready wisecracks. He was also tough, determined and immensely hard-working.

Jim Clark, Lotus Climax [1963/1965]
Born into a Scottish farming family, Clark was probably the greatest natural talent to get behind the wheel of a race car. He simply got into whatever car was put in front of him, usually a Lotus designed by Colin Chapman, and drove it like a dream.

John Surtees, Ferrari [1964]
The only man to have been a motorsport world champion on both two wheels and four, Surtees began his career in motorbikes, winning seven world titles before beating Graham Hill and Jim Clark to the 1964 title. After his championship victory with Ferrari, ‘Big John’ moved to Honda and later formed his own racing team.

Jackie Stewart, Matra-Ford and Tyrrell-Ford [1969/1971/1973]
Stewart was an all-round perfectionist. His calm brilliance behind the wheel was all the more admirable for his courage in an era when the frequency of motor-racing fatalities had reached an all-time high. Britain’s only three-time world champion, Stewart was responsible for many of the sport’s improvements in safety which, while unpopular with some at the time, undoubtedly saved lives before he retired at the top.

James Hunt, McLaren-Ford [1976]
One of motor racing’s genuine playboys, Hunt was intelligent and determined behind the wheel. He caught the motor-racing bug aged 18, and set himself the challenge of becoming world champion. Ultimately, his world-title victory in 1976 was the climax to one of the most exciting seasons in Formula One history.

Nigel Mansell, Williams-Renault [1992]
Admired for his showy readiness to give everything in the cockpit, Mansell made it the hard way. Having driven for Ferrari before taking the world title in an utterly dominant Williams, he left for the United States where he won the IndyCar championship, the only driver to win motor racing’s two leading open-wheel titles back-to-back.

Damon Hill, Williams-Renault [1996]
Intelligent, articulate and tenacious, Hill took the fight to Michael Schumacher in 1996, and two seasons after the German Benetton driver denied him the title by a single point, went on to beat him while racing for Williams. He retired shortly after bringing the Jordan team its first win, and is now President of the British Racing Drivers Club.

Lewis Hamilton, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes [2008]
Hamilton exploded into the sport in spectacular fashion in 2007, and came tantalisingly close to winning the championship in his maiden season, missing out by a single point. The following year he fulfilled his early potential by becoming the youngest Formula One world champion. Many experts believe that this exciting and determined driver could become one of the sport’s all-time greats.

Jenson Button, Brawn-Mercedes [2009]
Long acknowledged to be one of the smoothest drivers of his era, Formula One’s most recent world champion grew up with a fascination for motorsport, starting out with karting and progressing to Formula Super A racing. The Somerset-born racer began his Formula One career at the age of 20, signing up with Williams in 2000 and enjoying a productive debut season before moving on loan to Benetton, which became Renault. After two years with the French team he moved to BAR and finished third in the 2004 drivers’ world championship, staying with the team after it was taken over by Honda to record his first Grand Prix win in Hungary in 2006. Following Honda’s withdrawal in 2009, Ross Brawn led a management buyout to form Brawn GP which proved a turning point for Button, and resulted in his winning six of the first seven races of 2009. Thereafter he drove sensibly, making no mistakes and picking up enough points to win the championship in the penultimate race of the season. The manner in which he attacked the Brazilian Grand Prix to seal the title confirmed Button to be a worthy champion. In November 2009, Button signed for McLaren, making them the first team to start a season with the two most recent world champions as their drivers. Button and Hamilton will also be the first pairing of two British world champions since Graham Hill joined Jim Clark at Lotus in 1968.