The Gurgler’s F1 team have a new feature to share – F1 Explained, a deeper dive into the history, personalities or technicalities of F1 from our usual pre and post race abuse of Lance Stroll. This time it is about 1980’s F1 Drivers Careers highlighting some of the more notable or noteworthy, with an eye firmly on the more obscure end.
This A-to-Z list covers 1980s drivers (or close approximations for tough letters and double-ups to include drivers/team who demanded inclusion) with verbs that capture how their actions or circumstances drained the fun from F1, through domination, crashes, obscurity, or unfulfilled potential. Or how they overperformed and delighted the fans of the time and the new fans who have found 1980’s F1 gold through YouTube.
A to Z of 1980’s F1 Drivers Careers Explained
A – Alliot’d:
To annoy fellow drivers with appalling track manners.
E.g., “He really Alliot’d the leaders there as they tried to lap him.”
(Few doubted the speed of Philippe Alliot, but he was ultimately known more for getting in the way whilst being lapped or crashing than his 100+ GPs and seven points)
B – Boutsenized:
To deliver steady results but lack the charisma or many wins to keep fans excited, making races feel routine.
E.g., “She Boutsenized the championship, always finishing but never thrilling.”
(Thierry Boutsen’s 1980s consistency with Arrows and Benetton, like his 1989–1990 wins with Williams, often lacked the spark of top stars, despite his overall likeability.)
C – Cheevered:
To achieve mediocre results with midfield car, turning your races into a joyless grind for spectators after lower than expected qualifying positions.
E.g., “He Cheevered through 1985, stuck in a slow Alfa Romeo, hoping the expected unreliability would be a mercy.”
(Eddie Cheever’s 1980s stints with underperforming teams like Alfa Romeo and Ligier, rarely contending for points but was also good for an occasional podium.)
D – De Cesaris’ed:
To show enormous speed but always operating on a knife’s edge that a mistake which usually turns into a huge accident was never far away.
E.g., “He De Cesaris’ed the race, flying for the first ten laps before a predictable self-imposed exit”
(Andrea de Cesaris’s 1980s runs with Alfa Romeo and Ligier marked by high qualifying and frequent crashes and retirements. De Cesaris raced for 10 teams over 208 starts for 5 podiums. His stint at McLaren in 1981 saw him earn the nickname Andrea De-Crash-eris, which legend has that the McLaren team boss was so unimpressed he would never hire an Italian for McLaren again. He didn’t btw.)
E – Eurobrunned
To be so out of your depth that people often forget you exist.
E.g., “They Eurobrunned the season, with a full house of DNQs.”
(Eurobrun existed in F1 between 1988 and 1990. Their 1988 car was described as an overturned bathtub, but at least they qualified in the first half of the season. 1989 saw them attack the season with one car instead of two, and that one car never made it into the race. with a best result of Did Not Qualify (1) vs 15 Did Not Pre-Qualify.)
F – Fabied:
To qualify impressively but fail to deliver in races, frustrating fans expecting more.
E.g., “He Fabied the weekend, fastest in practice but nowhere in the race.”
(Teo Fabi’s 1980s stints with Toleman, Brabham and Benetton, where strong qualifying often led to race-day disappointments.)
G – Ghinzanied:
To languish at the back with a minnow team, making your races a forgettable slog, if you managed to qualify.
E.g., “They Ghinzanied the season, never qualifying, which was no fun to watch.”
(Piercarlo Ghinzani’s 1980s runs with Osella and Ligier, often stuck in uncompetitive cars. He entered 111 races, started 74 and scored two points. He did survive one of F1’s fastest crashes in 1984).
H – Huubed:
To be so ordinary that not even the money can save your drive.
E.g., “After having the first half of their season Huubed, the team decided to look at other options for the following season.”
(Huub Rothengather drove for two teams in this list – Osella and Zakspeed. His best result was 7th place at the Australian Grand Prix where he was four laps down.)
I – Ivanned:
To have served a long apprenticeship in midfield teams, deservedly got a call up to a big team, only to severely underperform and ultimately get sacked.
E.g., “After years of trying, he Ivanned his one shot at a race win.”
(Ivan Capelli shot to F1 fame in the Leyton House March from 1987 to 1991, where in 1990 he led the majority of the race before being caught with two laps to go by Alain Prost’s Ferrari. He replaced Prost at Ferrari in 1992 and it proved a disaster and was dropped before the end of the season.)
J – Johanssoned:
To grind through seasons with semi-regular points, occasional podium but no real spark, boring spectators.
E.g., “They Johanssoned the year, always mid-pack and uninspiring.”
(Stefan Johansson’s 1980s runs with Ferrari and McLaren, often finishing but rarely shining, like his 1985–1987 seasons. His career slowly petered out, but did pull a podium out for the obscure Onyx team in 1989. Now is an F1 artist, and very good.)
K – Keke’d:
To drive on the edge for most of the race, entertaining fans with the ultimate in daring F1 mastery, which sadly led to car failures and low fuel more often than not.
E.g., “He Keke’d the race, providing much excitement, but ultimately led to no points.
(Keke Rosberg’s was always spectacular in all of his teams, with the exception of McLaren where the car called for professor-like finesse compared to Rosberg’s rock guitar solos style. Won races when most others could barely keep a car on track. Won 1982 Championship winning one race in a massively inferior car. Famed for breaking the then overall lap record speed by stubbing out a cigarette and jumping into the car, smashing the lap, dusting hands.)
L – Laffited:
To power on through the advancing years with a steady hand.
E.g., “He Laffited through the ‘80s, often outpacing drivers half his age.
(Jacques Laffite was in his forties and still driving as good as ever in 1986 when an accident broke his leg and ended his F1 career.)
M – Manselled:
To give 100% and drive aggressively doing what most other drivers can’t, but to always end in some kind of drama.
E.g., “He Manselled the Grand Prix, pushing hard, pulling off an unbelievable overtake, but spinning out, limping after the spin.”
(Nigel Mansell’s Grand wins to Championships is unfair, often unlucky, always drama. He’s famously radioed after a crash once “I think I’m knocked out”.)
N – Nanninied:
To have a promising run cut short by an abrupt, tragic event, robbing the sport of excitement.
E.g., “They Nanninied the championship, sidelined by disaster, leaving fans deflated.”
(Alessandro Nannini’s 1990 helicopter crash that ended his rising F1 career after a 1989 win.)
N – Nakajima’d:
To be in F1 only through connections.
E.g., “Lance Stroll Nakajima’d his way through the 2024 season.”
(Satoru Nakajima arrived in F1 in 1987 at the request of Honda who were supplying engines to Ayrton Senna’s Lotus. Despite having the best engine on the grid, the one where McLaren won 15/16 races in 1988, Nakajima was shown to be out of his depth.)
http://gty.im/2067297191
O – Osellaed:
To toil with a perpetually underfunded team, making every race a joyless struggle.
E.g., “She Osellaed through 1988, always at the back, draining the energy.”
(Named after the Osella team’s drivers like Nicola Larini or Gabriele Tarquini, who fought with uncompetitive cars in the 1980s. Their peak was 1989 when Larini ran in the top three during a wet Canadian Grand Prix. They scored no points that season. Amusingly, their 1988 car designation code was FA1L, and fa1l it did. Zero points, only driver Nicola Larini qualified for 10/16 races, finished three, with a highest finish of 9th of 10 finishers at Monaco – 3 laps adrift).
P – Prosted:
To dominate with such clinical precision that races feel predictable and less thrilling.
E.g., “He Prosted the season, winning easily but boring the crowd.”
(Alain Prost’s methodical 1985–1989 dominance, often criticized for lacking the flair of Senna or Piquet.)
R – Reutemanned:
To lead a championship but choke under pressure, turning a thrilling season into a letdown. To also act as a poisoned chalice of moving to a Championship team after they win the Championship.
E.g., “She Reutemanned the title, qualifying on pole, then failing to score a point to lose the Championship at the last race.”
(Carlos Reutemann’s 1981 season, led the Championship going into the last race, then qualified on pole. Come race day he dropped through the field to 8th while Nelson Piquet finished 5th and stole the title. Reutemann’s moves to Ferrari, Lotus, Williams always seemed to be a year late, and displaced a far more popular driver.)
S – Surered:
To be so underrated that even the good performances are forgotten.
E.g., “He somehow Surered his way to 9th from 18th on the grid, but the performance was unnoticed due to drama further up the grid.”
(Mark Surer drove for a handful of midfield teams in the 1980’s scoring occasional points when that was only down the sixth and cars finished every second race.)
T – Tambayized:
To join a top team but underdeliver, making races feel flat compared to expectations.
E.g., “They Tambayized at Ferrari, decent but never electrifying.”
(Patrick Tambay’s 1982–1983 Ferrari stint, where he won in tribute to the Ferrari driver but couldn’t match Gilles Villeneuve’s flair. Subsequent Renault and Haas-Lola stint continued the decline)
V – Villeneuved
To strive to be the fastest every second of every lap of every race.
E.g., “He Villeneuved that qualifying lap”
(A one-of-kind driver who had the speed to be World Champion but died during qualifying in 1982 when finally equipped with a Championship winning car. Some of his driving moments went down in F1 folklore.)
W – Warwicked:
To forge on heroically in midfield cars.
E.g., “He Warwicked the uncompetitive car into the points before it expired at half way.””
(Derek Warwick was often admired but never quite got the top line chance. Well he sort-of did in 1986 when Lotus wanted to sign him, but incumbent Ayrton Senna overruled that decision as he thought Lotus were good enough to make two fast cars. He was probably right.)
X – ArnouXed:
To show flashes of brilliance but ultimately get overshadowed by a teammate, making your efforts feel futile and less engaging.
E.g., “He Arnouxed the season, occasionally outpacing his teammate but most often not, when his car was working, which dulled the races.”
(René Arnoux’s 1980s stints were often full of pole positions and some front running, but poor reliability and racecraft often saw him go missing. A seemingly polarising figure, he was mysteriously fired from Ferrari after one race in 1985. He also caused Alfa Romeo to quit supplying engines to Ligier just before the first race in 1987. His latter seasons were spent getting in the way of front runners in mid to lower midfield cars.)
Y – Yannicked:
To essentially sit out an entire season despite entering every race.
E.g. “He Yannicked the entire season, making a brief cameo before remaining onthe sidelines.”
(The above is based on the 1989 season which is a bit unfair on Yannick Dalmas. He was reasonably reliable in 1987 and 1988 but he missed races in 1988 through Legionellosis and was never quite the same. In saying that, 1989 was terrible as he qualified for 1/6 races for Lola-Lamboghini for a best finish of DNF. After being dropped for France he turned up at AGS where he failed to pre-qualify for the remaining nine races.)
Z – Zakspeed’d:
To set lofty, ambitious goals like building your own car and turbo engine and fail despite high levels of competence outside of F1.
E.g. “They Zakspeed’d their chances after blowing an engine on the out lap.”
(Zakspeed ran their own Car and Turbo engine from 1985, continuing until 1988 even though turbos were being phased out. Their last hurrah was taking on the new Yamaha engine, which was slightly less hopeless than their 1989 driver pairing. Bernd Schneider qualified for 2/16 races, retiring from both. Aguri Suzuki failed to Pre-Qualify for all 16 races.)
