A The oldest was Louis Chiron of Monte Carlo, who drove for the last time in his home grand prix in 1955 at the age of 55 years and eight months. He finished sixth, driving a Lancia. The youngest was Mike Thackwell of New Zealand, who was 19 years and six months when he drove in the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix. His Candy Tyrell was involved in a multiple collision soon after the start, and the race was restarted without him. Thackwell’s Formula One career was shortlived: he started in only two races and failed to finish either. Renault driver Fernando Alonso became the youngest winner in August last year when he led from start to finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Spaniard Alonso was 22 years and 26 days old when he made the perfect start from pole position, and was never troubled. The youngest driver to claim an F1 world championship point is Britain’s Jenson Button, who was 20 years and 67 days old when he finished sixth in the Brazilian Grand Prix on March 26, 2000. Driving for the Williams team in his first season in F1, Button originally finished seventh, but McLaren driver David Coulthard was later disqualified from his second-place finish and Button was promoted to a pointscoring position. The oldest F1 world champion was Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio. He won his last title in Germany on August 4, 1957, aged 46 years and 41 days. Fangio was born in Balcarce, Argentina, on June 24, 1911. He started his career in the long-distance events that were common in South America at the time. It was not until 1951 that the 38-year-old Fangio won the first of his five world titles. In total, he won 24 races from just 51 starts. He died on July 17, 1995.
— M Kearns, St Etienne du Bois, France
Q Have any Irishmen played Test cricket for England? — Mike Cronin, Croydon
A There have been nine Irish-born Test cricketers to date, five of whom played for England and two each for Australia and South Africa. The England players were Frederick L Fane (born in Kildare), Leland P Hone (Dublin), Martin J McCague (Larne), J E P McMaster (Banbridge) and Sir Timothy Carew O’Brien (Dublin, below). McCague was the last Irish-born cricketer to play a Test, in 1994, having controversially made his debut against Australia, where he was brought up. The other Irish Test cricketers were Thomas P Horan and T J D Kelly (both Australia), and C L Johnson and R M Poore (both South Africa). Only Hone, O’Brien and Johnson were also capped by Ireland. M V N Rao and Raman Lamba both played Tests for India before settling in Northern Ireland and gaining Irish caps. In recent years five other foreign-born Test stars have played for Ireland as professionals — Steve and Mark Waugh of Australia, Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes of South Africa and Zimbabwe’s Neil Johnston. Finally, London-born Frank Hearne, who played a single match for Ireland in 1883, was capped at Test level by both England and South Africa. At Cape Town, in March 1892, he made his debut for South Africa (having already played for England) in a one-off Test in which his brothers Alec and George made their only appearances in an England Test team. Their cousin, Jack Hearne, also played in that match for England.
— Andrew Kane, Co Antrim
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Q Which football stadium is situated at the highest altitude? — David Porter, Chepstow
A The Hernando Siles stadium, in La Paz, Bolivia, can claim that distinction. Built in 1938, it stands 3,600 metres above sea level. Home to the Bolivar club side, it also hosts international matches, although none of the British national sides has played there. It has a capacity of 45,000 and is not a popular venue for visiting teams because of the extra effort required by the reduced oxygen levels at such high altitude. Interestingly, many golfers do enjoy visiting La Paz, as the nearby Mallasa course, said to be the highest in the world, can offer interesting opportunities for lowering your score. Because of the thin air, the ball tends to sail considerably farther than at sea level.
— Scott Crawford, Edinburgh
Q Which Scottish club won the first Treble of League, cup and League Cup? — Charles Rice, Falkirk
A Rangers were the first to achieve the Scottish Treble, winning the League, Scottish Cup and League Cup in the 1948-49 season. Readers may have assumed that, given the long history of football in Scotland, the feat would have been achieved earlier. However, the League Cup competition was only introduced after the second world war — although the Scottish Cup had been contested since 1874, and a League championship since 1891. In 1948-49, Rangers clinched the 30-game Division ‘A’ title by a single point from Dundee. In the Scottish Cup, they received a bye in the third round, and then defeated Partick Thistle (4-0) and East Fife (3-0) to reach the final at Hampden Park. They easily overcame Clyde 4-1 in the final, their opponents having reached Hampden despite finishing third-bottom of the 16-team League. In the League Cup final, also at Hampden, Rangers beat Raith Rovers 2-0. Although the side contained talented forwards such as Willie Waddell, inset, and Willie Thornton, the basis of the triumph was the strength of Rangers’s defence. The ‘Iron Curtain’, as it was known conceded the fewest League goals of any team, and was based on the performances of George Brown, George Young, Jock Shaw, Ian McColl, Willie Woodburn and Sammy Cox.
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— Michael Cockayne, Altrincham, Cheshire
Q Is it true that before Test matches were limited to five days, one match lasted 25?
— Will Copeland, Norwich
A The longest match was the fifth and final Test between South Africa and England at Durban in 1938-39. It started on March 3 and ended 12 days later, still undecided. Play had taken place on nine days, one day was lost to the weather, and there were two rest days, on Sundays. England, who had been set 696 to win, were 654 for five at tea on March 14 when rain during the interval caused the match to be abandoned, as the tourists had to begin their two-day journey back to their ship at Cape Town the next day. — J Hugh Thomas, Llandover
Send questions or answers to Peter Boyle, Q & A, The Sunday Times sport, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST, or e-mail peter.boyle@sunday-times.co.uk
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Any answers?
Q Is is true that in the 1960s one season saw both English and Scottish football titles decided by goal average?
— Chris Baillie, Ayr
Q Can anybody tell me which cricket teams contested ‘the Lamplight Match’?
— Harry Jones, Tewkesbury
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Q Who was the first English player to be sent off with a red card? — Simon Heath, Crewe
Q Who contested Wimbledon’s longest singles match? — Victoria Lynn, Hull
Q Are there any plans to include surfing in a future Olympic Games? — Maria Mossop, Bodmin