Ahead of the prestigious race weekend in Monaco, a POV video provided by Louis Delétraz from last year’s edition of the Monaco Historique Grand Prix gives an insight of how tight the famous street circuit actually is. What makes this footage particularly good is that it is behind the wheel of James Hunt’s F1 Hesketh from the 1974 season. Despite nearing a half century old, the 3-litre Cosworth V8 propels the Swiss motorsport driver and the iconic 70s machine through the streets of Monaco at breakneck speeds.
It may be approaching veteran status but the 589 kg 1974 Hesketh 308 provided a maximum power output of 362 kW @ 10 600 rpm which made it nimble but equally difficult to drive. Of course, James Hunt was an expert at the helm of any four wheeled machine he piloted and managed to take a win with the model at the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix in the 308/2.
The same can be said for Delétraz, reigning European Champion for the FIA World Endurance Championship, International Motor Sports Association and the European Le Mans Series. The 25 year old competitively makes his way around the 12 turn, 1,765 km Monaco circuit while duking it out with other period correct machinery of the era. This was all before steering wheel mounted paddle shifters which means the lightweight F1 Hesketh would occasionally have to be wrestled one handed.
This weekend won’t feature the deafening sound of 1970’s V8’s however since the Formula 1 paddock will be challenging for supremacy in the principality in their 2022-spec ground-effect machinery.
Incredible onboard with my father at the Monaco Historic GP. Driving the legendary 1974 Hesketh of James Hunt 😍 #GPXHistoric #CamBoxMeca @F1 pic.twitter.com/ekG51OjUvO
— Louis Delétraz (@LouisDeletraz) April 27, 2021