From Niki Lauda’s championship winning Ferrari 312, to action shots through Eau Rouge, David Mingay’s collection of Formula 1 imagery has a bit of everything.
A passionate, lifelong fan of open-wheeler competition, he’s spent the last 20 years putting together a selection of images to adorn his wall.
Now, it’s time for a change, and the entire collection is up for sale.
“I don’t tend to hang on to too many things all that long and dwell on the past,” he explained.
“I think they’d been here long enough, and it’s just time for a change.”
Having watched the likes of Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, and a host of other luminaries compete in the Tasman Series in the 1960s, Mingay’s passion was sparked.
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During the 1970s he travelled overseas, taking in key events and experiences money could no longer buy. He also raced himself for a time.
He watched the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix from the hotel room of a young Formula 3 driver he befriended and has taken in a host of events since – including the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The photos in his collection represent much of that period, with more than 20 images ranging from Lauda at the wheel of his 312 to Carlos Pace in a Brabham, and more contemporary shots of Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber.
“They all have to be, in my opinion, great shots,” Mingay said of his selection criteria.
“There’s a couple of Eau Rouge at Spa, very different eras, I can see that because of the types of cars, but that’s just such a brilliant corner that it had to be part of this.
“There’s a Mark Webber shot, I’m a big fan of him, so he has to be in there.
“I particularly like the flat-12 Ferrari, the 312 that Niki’s in. That looks a lot like the entry into the Parabolica at Monza.
“The biggest one of the lot is Senna in the Camel sponsored Lotus; that would be nearly a metre and a half long and about 80 centimetres high.
“Then there’s this portrait centre, which would be just about the same size, but it’s in portrait rather than landscape.
“Some of them are really quite big, but the average size is probably something like about 80 by 75 centimetres.”
The images offer a time capsule into the sport, and a ready-made gallery detailing some of the key cars and drivers from the past 40 years.
For Mingay, they were an extension of a passion that started at Warwick Farm in the 1960s and while his love of Formula 1 has not diminished, it’s time for someone else to enjoy the images as he has over the last decade.
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