With the end of Jordan, RTE's decision to stop broadcasting it, and the increasing number of Premier League games on a Sunday, Formula One doesn't have the lustre it once had. It is probably true it never quite recovered from that period when Michael Schumacher had the championship won before it began.
Not even exciting seasons in recent years (2010) could revive it in the eyes of the Irish public. In our absence, strange things have begun to happen. Someone told me recently that McLaren are useless now. What in the name of God is happening? Here are a few names to remind you of the time you thought about getting up in the middle of the night to watch the Australian Grand Prix.
See also: 16 Classic Traits Of A Sports Fan Who Grew Up In The 1990s
Johnny Herbert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWoYoxea0nU
Career:
1989-2000: Drove for various teams, most notably Lotus and Bennetton. He helped the latter to the 1995 Constructors Championship though that was mainly down to Michael Schumacher.
How fun his name is to say: Classic British driver name. There's something about his name that screams Formula One.
Heinz-Harold Frentzen
Career:
1994 - 2003: Most famous for taking Jordan as close to the World Drivers Championship as they would ever get in 1999. He accounted two of the team's three race wins, both in that year of 1999, at the French and Italian Grand Prix
How fun his name is to say: Not as fun as some of the South Americans. Sounds like a German fridge magnate.
Bertrand Gachot
Career:
1989-95: He amassed a total of five Formula One points in six seasons (he didn't drive in 1993), earning four of them with Jordan in 1991.
How fun his name is to say: Incredibly. His wonderfully French sounding name complete with silent -t may be his greatest contribution to posterity.
Mika Salo
Career:
1994-2002: Salo is best remembered for substituting for Michael Schumacher at Ferrari during the 1999 season after the German broke his leg in a crash. He was thereafter charged with helping Eddie Irvine in his quest to become World Champion.
How fun his name is to say: Terrific fun to say. Brisk and exotic.
Takuma Sato
Career:
2002-08: A man associated by many casual Formula One fans from the 90s with the beginning of the end of their interest in the sport. This is a big weight to carry. Sato signed for Jordan for the 2002 season and proceeded to pick up two points. He had one reasonable season with BAR in 2004 but other than that he is remembered principally for being crap.
How fun his name is to say: His name may be the one good thing about him. He sounds a specific branch of the martial arts.
Jos Verstappen
Career:
1994-2003: A man who forever paddled around the lower regions of the Formula One table, Verstappen racked up a total of 17 points in eight seasons.
How fun his name is to say: A bit clunky and northern European.
Jarno Trulli
Career:
1997-2011: Still plugging away in Formula One until a couple of years ago, he is best remembered by Irish fans for being a gamey if not entirely successful driver with Jordan, where he was cursed with bad luck and overshadowed by Giancarlo Fisachella.
How fun his name is to say: Delightful - verb on the end of both names.
Martin Brundle
Career:
1984-87, 1992-96: Commentator supreme with ITV in the 2000s, he was a reliable middle ranking driver who never threatened the championship but enjoyed some good seasons, notably in 1992 when he won 38 points.
How fun his name is to say: If a writer for a kids TV programme was tasked with coming up with a name for a racing driver, this would be the name he'd come up with.
Mark Blundell
Career:
1991-95: Easily confused with Martin Brundle. Both of them were British drivers and both rarely threatened a podium place. Blundell drove for McLaren during a prior barren phase for the team back in the mid 1990s.
How fun his name is to say: You have to stress the last syllable of his surname principally as a means of differentiating him for Martin Brundle.
Olivier Panis
Career:
1994-2005: Mainly remembered for winning the Monaco Grand Prix in 1996 on a brilliantly rainy day when only four cars finished the race. During his peak, he was capable of finishing mid-table with Ligier.
How fun his name is to say: Not as much fun as other French names. The p- sound is a bit harsh and interrupts the flow of the name.
