F1
Red Bull Media House photographer Jiří Šimeček’s TIME LAP project saw him bring together racing machines from different eras. The result was truly special.
The two racing cars were built 60 years apart. Despite this, they are connected by high performance, a growling sound from the engine and both occupy a special place in the history of motorsport. 1951’s Tatra 607 and 2011’s RB7 finally met when they were brought together for TIME LAP, a unique photographic project.
In 1951 Czechoslovakia was on the brink of having its very own Formula One challenger. It was obvious to anyone who saw the Tatra 607 race that this was a car that could run with the fastest in the world. However, it would take 70 years until the Tatra machine was tested against a Formula One car, the legendary RB7. The same RB7 that started on pole 18 times in the 2011 season and helped Sebastian Vettel win his second F1 title.
Bringing together the Tatra 607 and the RB7 was the brainchild of Red Bull Media House photographer Jiří Šimeček. While working with David Coulthard on the From Castle To Castle project, an idea formed in Šimeček’s mind. When researching his native Czech Republic’s connections with Formula One he discovered the Tatra 607. Šimeček had known about Tatra’s Dakar Rally winning trucks, but was finding out about their Formula One ambitions for the first time.
Šimeček even managed to track down an authentic Russian-made 1950s Zorki analogue camera for the shoot. “It’s a camera which was used by photographers back then to capture images from races,” said Šimeček. “It was possibly even used to photograph the Tatra 607.”
“I chose the pictures so I could show the huge progress of technology both in photography and racing since the 1950s,” said Šimeček, who shot the RB7 using a modern mirrorless Nikon Z6II. “The viewer gets to see exactly the same composition, but 70 years apart.”
See David Coulthard take to the roads of the Czech Republic in the video below:
“The Tarta 607 still runs smoothly and the brakes are fit,” said Miroslav Krejsa, the driver of the vintage race car. “While accelerating out of a curve it reacts very well. But you really have to grip the wheel all the time, the car needs your complete attention even while driving on a straight street. However, that’s all part of the charm!”
