Since so many people love to moan about the blandness in modern Formula One, here’s a tasty clip that showcases just how wild turbocharged cars can be. The brutal, abrupt, lightswitch-power delivery of the Renault RE30B invites wheelspin in almost any gear, and wrangling that sort of grunt required some quick reactions, a lot of respect for the machinery and even more courage. One of the few men who could make the act of driving a turbo car look easy was France’s Rene Arnoux.

The paint scheme on Arnoux’s helmet was understated, but his driving was flamboyant.

Arnoux had all of the aforementioned qualities in abundance, and sticking out as far as he is from the car illustrates the bravery part. His shoulders protrude from the top of the cockpit, leaving his torso partially exposed. Safety standards were fairly basic in those days — after all, carbon monocoques were introduced only one year before this film was captured.

After Arnoux’s cautious first lap, his charge down the start-finish straight is slightly terrifying. Regardless of the gear, the monumental thrust is relentless, and somehow, the dulled engine note makes this shove even scarier, as if it still has some performance in reserve. Which it might, seeing as the boost pressure during these years was drastically different between practice, qualifying and the race. At its peak, the Renault engine would make somewhere around 1,100 horsepower when going after that illustrious pole position.

All this power, the spiky delivery and the huge amount of steering lock illustrate just how different these cars are from the user-friendly machines of today. With tracks much wider than those of today’s machines, one had to be extremely careful not to brush a barrier — a serious concern at a tight track like Monaco. The fact that Arnoux can manage the nuclear powerplant behind him on a narrow public road is one thing, but he doesn’t even seem intimidated. There’s no question, the boys back then were brave.