Fascinating video of 1955 Belgian Grand Prix

Thanks to a tip from Nigel Roebuck at Motorsport Magazine, race fans are discovering a fascinating 30-minute documentary on the 1955 Belgian Grand Prix that takes viewers back to a much simpler time when speed and safety were completely different goals. 

You'll want to watch the entire clip -- which Shell funded at great expense given the number of cameramen and crew -- to see legends like Fangio and Moss muscle their way around the grandest of racing circuits, Spa Francochamps. It's scary to see how close cars at high speed get to nonchalant pit crews and observers.  

'Grand Prix: The Killer Years'

A BBC documentary titled "Grand Prix: The Killer Years" is both fascinating and gut-wrenching in documenting the horrific period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when Formula 1 drivers were perishing right and left. 

The archival footage is remarkably illuminating in capturing the dangers of driving a race car in those days. But it's the effective use of interviews with former drivers, mechanics, journalists and widows that pulls the story together and makes the hourlong documentary fly by. 

The documentary ends with a particularly tragic scene -- but one that encapsulates the theme and reminds us that racing is a much better industry thanks to brave souls like Jackie Stewart and David Purley who refused to simply accept common belief that death was simply something at which to shrug your shoulders.  

'Chalk Talk' demystifies F1 science

Formula 1 describes itself as "the pinnacle of motorsport" for good reason: top teams have budgets of $400 million a year and build cars that delivery mind-boggling performance. 

A closeup of the Red Bull F1 car shows 31 pitot tubes used to measure air flow toward the rear of the car during race testing.The engineering behind such machines is staggering, and Speed TV's Steve Matchett is among the geeks who marvel at the technical details that deliver the 10ths of a second that separate winning cars from backmarkers. 

Before each F1 race, Matchett records "Chalk Talk," a SpeedTV.com web series that delves deep into racecar engineering. This most recent "Chalk Talk" episode is among Matchett's best, and describes how one minor bit of craftsmanship in an aerodynamic device can be the difference in a legal racecar (Ferrari) and illegal (Red Bull). 

If it sounds geeky, it is. But hardcore F1 fans will find it fun viewing.