Beauty contest

Sir,

How about a new appendix to your monthly Letter to Readers column, devoted to the three ugliest and the three prettiest GP Formula 1 cars of the modern era?

Perhaps I can start the ball rolling. My three ugliest? The Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler wouldn’t look out of place, with ‘tracks’ fitted, on an MOD Training Grand. The 1972 JPS Lotus all angles and sharp edges plus the exposed engine, ugh! The March 711 with its ridiculous tea-tray front wing.

For my three prettiest I chose the Alfa Romeo 158 – 55 years old and still the ‘Belle of the Ball’. This is closely followed by the classic 1957 Vanwall, an enduring beauty even today. Finally, 1961’s shark nosed V6 Ferrari was the prettiest by far of the compact early 1.5-litre rear-engined racers.

Colin Rantin, Beltinge, Kent.