Showing posts with label Formula One. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Formula One. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
James Hunt : Personal life and later career
Personal life and later career
Hunt was notorious for his unconventional behaviour on and off the track. Having been part of Formula One when the series was consolidating, and when it was conquering the attention of the motor sport press, Hunt became the epitome of unruly, playboy drivers and was celebrated for his English eccentricity (which included dining with his Alsatian, Oscar, at expensive Mayfair restaurants).Early in their careers Hunt and Lauda shared a one-bedroom flat in London, and were close friends off the track. Lauda, in his autobiography To Hell and Back, described Hunt as an "open, honest to God pal." Whilst living in Spain as a tax exile, Hunt was neighbours with Jody Scheckter, and they also came to be very good friends, with Hunt giving Scheckter the nickname Fletcher after the crash prone bird in the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Another close friend was Ronnie Peterson. Peterson was a quiet and shy man, whilst Hunt was exactly the opposite, but their contrasting personalities made them very close off the track. It was Hunt who discovered the brilliant Gilles Villeneuve, whom he met after being soundly beaten by him in a Formula Atlantic race in 1976. Hunt then arranged for the young Canadian to make his Grand Prix debut with McLaren in 1977. Villeneuve came to rely on Hunt for advice and support during his career and Hunt was particularly upset after Villeneuve's death in 1982.
Hunt's lifestyle was as controversial as some of the events on track: he was associated with a succession of beautiful women; he preferred to turn up to formal functions in bare feet and jeans; he was an extensive user of alcohol, and also cocaine and marijuana; and he lived an informal life near the beach in Marbella. He was regularly seen attending nightclubs and discos, and was generally the life and soul of the party. Hunt was an expert ball game player, and regularly played squash and tennis. He also played on the F1 drivers' cricket and football teams and appeared on the BBC's Superstars more than once. He was also musically inclined, being able to play the trumpet and piano well. It was often assumed that he did not take racing seriously enough, yet through 1976 and 1977 the results continued to come. He famously wore a tee shirt under his racing overalls that read Sex - Breakfast of Champions.
He was married twice: first, to model Suzy Millar, who left him for Richard Burton. His second marriage, to Sarah, resulted in two children.
Soon after retirement, Hunt became an outspoken and entertaining television commentator for the BBC, alongside Murray Walker. Viewers were regularly exposed to his knowledge, insights and dry sense of humour during broadcasts, bringing him a whole new fanbase. He was famous for 'rubbishing' drivers he didn't think were trying hard enough, and although harsh-sounding, his comments were usually in good humour – he once described René Arnoux's comments that non-turbo cars didn't suit the Frenchman's driving skills as "bullshit", while live on the BBC. He was also skilled at reading a race and predicting outcomes to situations on-track. He also had a reputation for speaking out against back-markers who held up race leaders (especially ones of experience, most of them being French, most specifically Jean-Pierre Jarier and Philippe Alliot) and not holding back on any of his commentaries- in sharp contrast to the gentlemanly Walker.
Transcript from his commentary of the 1990 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim:
Walker: Senna's going to have interference in the form of Philippe Alliot, as he comes into the stadium, which of course is the slowest part of the track- and Senna's going to try and take Alliot- no he doesn't succeed, as they are now into the stadium section, with about 100,000 Germans watching in these enormous grandstands- Alliot slows down, lets Senna through, now Berger, but what about the Ferraris? And Senna's pulling away, making the most of his opportunity.
Hunt: Well, that was some spectacularly stupid driving by Alliot, because he's got no one else to race against, why he didn't just stop and let the leading 4 pass, instead of interfering with their race, because he's got nothing to do with them, and he ain't racing against anyone else."
He briefly considered making a comeback to F1 in the mid-1980s, and even tested privately for Williams setting competitive lap times, but eventually changed his mind.
Hunt fought depression and alcoholism and despite severe financial setbacks in his business life, approaching his mid-40s it seemed that he had overcome many of his demons (particularly alcohol and tobacco) and had finally achieved happiness. Happiness to Hunt included his new partner Helen, his clean health, his bicycle, his casual approach to dress, his two sons and his Austin A35 van. In an unlikely twist Hunt became a champion breeder of budgerigars and parrots. One of his parrots, Humbert, was cast as Captain Hook's bird in a West End production of Peter Pan, but was returned to Hunt because of the bird's intolerance to the actor playing Captain Hook.
Hunt made a brief appearance in the 1979 British silent slapstick comedy "The Plank." He also made an appearance on ITV's Police, Camera, Action! special Crash Test Racers in 2000; this was one of many interviews to be aired posthumously.
Hunt died in 1993 at the age of 45, of a heart attack at his home in Wimbledon, only hours after proposing marriage to Helen. He was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium.
Hunt's son Freddie Hunt competed in his first car race on 29 October 2006, and finished fourth overall. It is said he used the race to evaluate if he wished to become a racing driver professionally.After competing in the ADAC Formel Masters series in Germany in 2009, Freddie decided to retire from motor racing. Hunt's younger brother, David, also pursued a racing career, competing in British Formula Three and International Formula 3000 in the 1980s.
In early 2007, Formula One driver Kimi Räikkönen entered and won a snowmobile race in his native Finland under the name James Hunt. Räikkönen has openly admired the lifestyles of 1970s race car drivers such as Hunt.
James Hunt : Formula One career
Formula One career
Beginnings with Hesketh
Hesketh purchased a March 731 chassis, and it was developed by Harvey Postlethwaite. The team was initially not taken seriously by rivals, who saw the Hesketh team as a party goers enjoying the glamour of Formula One. The Hesketh March proved much more competitive than the works March cars, and their best result was second place at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. For the 1974 season Hesketh Racing built a car, inspired by the March, called the Hesketh 308, but an accompanying V12 engine never materialised. The Hesketh team captured the public imagination as a car without sponsors' markings, a teddy-bear badge and a devil-may-care team ethos, which belied the fact that their engineers were highly competent. Hunt's season highlight was a victory at the BRDC International Trophy non-Championship race at Silverstone, against the majority of the regular F1 field.
Hunt's first World Championship win came in the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. He finished fourth in the Championship that year, but Lord Hesketh had run out of funds and could not find a sponsor for his team. With little time left before the 1976 season, Hunt was desperately looking for a drive until Emerson Fittipaldi left McLaren and joined his brother's Copersucar-Fittipaldi outfit. With no other top drivers available, the team management signed Hunt to McLaren for the next season – he was one of the cheapest World Champions ever (Keke Rosberg in 1982 similarly found a drive at the last minute). Hunt immediately caused a stir by refusing to sign a clause in his contract which stipulated he wore suits to sponsor functions. Hunt wore t-shirt and jeans and was often barefoot for sponsor-led functions with world leaders, chairmen of businesses and media moguls.
World Championship year
1976 was Hunt's best year. He drove the McLaren M23 to six Grands Prix wins. He was disqualified and later reinstated as the winner of the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix for driving a car adjudged to be 1.8 cm too wide. Victory at the British Grand Prix was disallowed after an accident at the first corner that Hunt was involved in. At the Italian Grand Prix, the Texaco fuel that McLaren used was tested and although apparently legal, the Penske cars, running the same fuel, had a much higher octane level than allowed and subsequently both teams were forced to start from the rear of the grid.Niki Lauda's near-fatal accident in Germany, which caused him to miss the following two races, allowed Hunt to close the gap to the Austrian. As they went to the final round in Japan Hunt was just three points behind. The Japanese Grand Prix was torrentially wet, and Lauda retired early on in the race, unable to blink because of facial burns from his accident in Germany. After leading most of the race Hunt suffered a puncture, then had a delayed pitstop and finally received mixed pit signals from his team. But he managed to finish in third place, scoring four points, enough for him to win the World Championship by one point.
Decline and retirement
The 1977 Formula One season did not start well for Hunt. The McLaren M26 was problematic in the early part of the season, during which Niki Lauda and Mario Andretti took a considerable lead in the Drivers' Championship. Towards the end of the year Hunt and the McLaren M26 were quicker than any rival combination other than Mario Andretti and the Lotus 78, and Hunt won in Watkins Glen and Fuji. He finished fifth in the World Drivers'Championship.
In the 1978 season Hunt scored only eight world championship points. Lotus had developed effective ground effect aerodynamics with their Lotus 79 car, and McLaren were slow to respond. The M26 was revised as a ground effect car midway through the season but it did not work, and without a test driver to solve the car's problems, Hunt's motivation was low. His inexperienced new team-mate Patrick Tambay even outqualified Hunt at one race.
James Hunt was greatly affected by Ronnie Peterson's fatal crash in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix. At the start of the race there was a huge accident going into the first corner. Ronnie Peterson's Lotus was pushed into the barriers and burst into flames. Hunt, together with Patrick Depailler and Clay Regazzoni, rescued Peterson from the car, but Peterson died one day later. Hunt took his friend's death particularly hard and for years afterwards blamed Riccardo Patrese for the accident. Video evidence of the crash has since shown that Patrese did not touch Hunt or Peterson's cars, nor did he cause any other car to do so. Hunt believed, however, that it was Patrese's muscling past that caused the McLaren and Lotus to touch, but Patrese argues that he was already well ahead of the pair before the accident took place.
For 1979 Hunt moved to the initially very successful Walter Wolf Racing team for what would be his last, brief, Formula One season. The team's ground effect car was uncompetitive and Hunt soon lost any enthusiasm for racing. His private life was also becoming increasingly turbulent. After failing to finish the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix, the race where six years previously he had made his debut, Hunt made a statement to the press announcing his immediate retirement and walked away from F1 competition
James Hunt : Early career
Early career
The son of a successful stockbroker, James Hunt was born in Belmont, Sutton, Surrey and educated firstly at Westerleigh School in Hastings, East Sussex and later Wellington College in Crowthorne, Berkshire, and originally studied to be a doctor. But just before his 18th birthday he was taken by a friend to see a motor race and Hunt was instantly hooked.Hunt's own racing career started off in a racing Mini, before graduating to Formula Ford and Formula Three. Hunt was noticed as a fast driver with an aggressive, tail-happy driving style, but one prone to spectacular accidents, hence his well-earned nickname of Hunt The Shunt. Hunt was involved in a controversial incident with Dave Morgan during a battle for second position in the Formula Three Daily Express Trophy race at Crystal Palace on 3 October 1970. Having banged wheels earlier in a very closely fought race, Morgan attempted to pass Hunt on the outside of South Tower Corner on the final lap, but instead the cars collided and crashed out of the race. Hunt's car came to rest in the middle of the track, minus two wheels. Hunt got out, ran over to Morgan and furiously pushed him to the ground, which earned him severe official disapproval.
Hunt's career continued in the works March team, but in May 1972 it was announced by the team that he had been dropped from the STP-March Formula 3 team and replaced by Jochen Mass. This followed a period characterized by a series of mechanical failures, and which culminated in a decision by Hunt, against the express instructions of March director Max Mosley, to race at Monaco in a March from a different team, unexpectedly vacated by driver Jean-Claude Alzerat, after Hunt's own March had first broken down and then been hit by another competitor in a practice lap.
After the termination of his racing relationship with STP-March, Hunt joined the Hesketh team, where he was seen as a kindred spirit. The team initially entered Hunt in Formula Two with little success but Lord Hesketh announced that they might as well fail in F1 as in F2, as it wasn't significantly more expensive.
James Simon Wallis Hunt : Introduction
James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in 1976. After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman.
Beginning his racing career in touring car racing, Hunt progressed into Formula Three where he attracted the attention of the Hesketh Racing team and was soon taken under their wing. Hunt entered Formula One in 1973, driving a March 731 entered by the Hesketh Racing team. He went on to win for Hesketh, driving their own Hesketh 308 car, in both World Championship and non-Championship races, before joining the McLaren team at the end of 1975. In his first year with McLaren, Hunt won the World Drivers' Championship, and he remained with the team for a further two years, although with less success, before moving to the Wolf team in early 1979. However, following a string of races in which he failed to finish, Hunt retired from driving half way through the 1979 season.
Hunt's self-effacing charm endeared him to the British public and his success hugely increased interest in Formula One in Great Britain. He remains one of the few drivers of the era to be widely remembered in part due to his commentary career for the BBC, which he took up following his retirement and maintained until his death in 1993.
James Hunt : Legent
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
2010 FIA Formula One World Championship
Grand Prix Date Winning Driver Team Time
Bahrain 14/03/2010 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:39:20.396
Australia 28/03/2010 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:33:36.531
Malaysia 04/04/2010 Sebastian Vettez RBR-Renault 1:33:48.412
China 18/04/2010 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:46:42.163
Spain 09/05/2010 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:35:44.101
Monaco 16/05/2010 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:50:13.355
Turkey 30/05/2010 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:28:47.620
Canada 13/06/2010 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:33:53.456
Europe 27/06/2010 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:40:29.571
GreatBritain 11/07/2010 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:24:38.200
Germany 25/07/2010 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:27:38.864
Hungary 01/08/2010 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:41:05.571
Belgium 29/08/2010 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:29:04.268
Italy 12/09/2010 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:16:24.572
Singapore 26/09/2010 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:57:53.579
Japan 10/10/2010 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:30:27.323
Korea 24/10/2010 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2:48:20.810
Brazil 07/11/2010 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:33:11.803
Abu Dhabi 14/11/2010 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:39:36.83
Monday, November 15, 2010
Formula 1 :Future , Revenue and profits
Revenue and profits
The cost of building a brand new permanent circuit like that in Shanghai, China can be up to hundreds of millions of dollars, while the cost of converting a public road, such as Albert Park, into a temporary circuit is much less. Permanent circuits, however, can generate revenue all year round from leasing the track for private races and other races, such as MotoGP. The Shanghai circuit cost over $300 million. The owners are hoping to break-even by 2014. The Istanbul Park circuit cost $150 million to build.
Not all circuits make profits—Albert Park, for example, lost $32 million in 2007.
In March 2007, F1 Racing published its annual estimates of spending by Formula One teams. The total spending of all eleven teams in 2006 was estimated at $2.9 billion US. This was broken down as follows; Toyota $418.5 million, Ferrari $406.5 m, McLaren $402 m, Honda $380.5 m, BMW Sauber $355 m, Renault $324 m, Red Bull $252 m, Williams $195.5 m, Midland F1/Spyker-MF1 $120 m, Toro Rosso $75 m, and Super Aguri $57 million.
Costs vary greatly from team to team. Honda, Toyota, McLaren-Mercedes, and Ferrari are estimated to have spent approximately $200 million on engines in 2006, Renault spent approximately $125 million and Cosworth's 2006 V8 was developed for $15 million. In contrast to the 2006 season on which these figures are based, the 2007 sporting regulations ban all performance related engine development.
Future
Formula One went through a difficult period in the early 2000s. Viewing figures dropped, and fans expressed their loss of interest due to the dominance of Michael Schumacher and Scuderia Ferrari. Viewing figures are seeing some signs of recovery due to the varied seasons since 2005. Ferrari's and Schumacher's 5 year domination ended in 2005 as Renault became the top team in Formula One, with Fernando Alonso becoming the new (and youngest ever at the time) World Champion. There has since been a resurgence of interest in the sport, especially in Alonso's home country of Spain, and Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button's home country of the United Kingdom. In 2006, twenty-two teams applied for the final twelfth team spot available for the 2008 season. The spot was eventually awarded to former B.A.R. and Benetton team principal David Richards' Prodrive organisation, but the team pulled out of the 2008 season in November 2007.
In the interest of making the sport truer to its role as a World Championship, FOM president Bernie Ecclestone has initiated and organised a number of Grands Prix in new countries and continues to discuss new future races. Confirmation for the 2011 Indian Grand Prix is only subject to the homologation of the circuit. The United States Grand Prix will celebrate its return onto the F1 circuit in 2012. In October 2010, Russian prime minster Vladimir Putin signed an agreement with Ecclestone establishing the Russian Grand Prix in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi from 2014, with the circuit to be run in and around the site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Park. Formula 1 is also exploring the potential for a revival of the South African Grand Prix The sport's rapid expansion into new areas of the globe also leaves some question as to which races will be cut.
Formula 1 : Cars and Technology
Cars and Technology
The cornering speed of Formula One cars is largely determined by the aerodynamic downforce that they generate, which pushes the car down onto the track. This is provided by "wings" mounted at the front and rear of the vehicle, and by ground effect created by low pressure air under the flat bottom of the car. The aerodynamic design of the cars is very heavily constrained to limit performance and the current generation of cars sport a large number of small winglets, "barge boards" and turning vanes designed to closely control the flow of the air over, under and around the car.
The other major factor controlling the cornering speed of the cars is the design of the tyres. From 1998 to 2008, the tyres in Formula One were not "slicks" (tyres with no tread pattern) as in most other circuit racing series. Instead, each tyre had four large circumferential grooves on its surface designed to limit the cornering speed of the cars. Slick tyres returned to Formula One in the 2009 season. Suspension is double wishbone or multilink all round with pushrod operated springs and dampers on the chassis. The only exception being on that of the 2009 specification Red Bull Racing car (RB5) which uses pullrod suspension at the rear, the first car in over 20 years to do so.
Carbon-Carbon disc brakes are used for reduced weight and increased frictional performance. These provide a very high level of braking performance and are usually the element which provokes the greatest reaction from drivers new to the formula.
A wide variety of technologies—including active suspension, ground effect, and turbochargers—are banned under the current regulations. Despite this the current generation of cars can reach speeds up to 350 km/h (220 mph) at some circuits.The highest straight line speed recorded during a Grand Prix was 356.5 km/h (221.5 mph), set by David Coulthard during the 1998 German Grand Prix. A Honda Formula One car, running with minimum downforce on a runway in the Mojave desert achieved a top speed of 415 km/h (258 mph) in 2006. According to Honda, the car fully met the FIA Formula One regulations. Even with the limitations on aerodynamics, at 160 km/h (99 mph) aerodynamically generated downforce is equal to the weight of the car, and the oft-repeated claim that Formula One cars create enough downforce to "drive on the ceiling", while possible in principle, has never been put to the test. Downforce of 2.5 times the car's weight can be achieved at full speed. The downforce means that the cars can achieve a lateral force with a magnitude of up to 3.5 times that of the force of gravity (3.5g) in cornering. Consequently, the driver's head is pulled sideways with a force equivalent to the weight of 20 kg in corners. Such high lateral forces are enough to make breathing difficult and the drivers need supreme concentration and fitness to maintain their focus for the one to two hours that it takes to complete the race. A high-performance road car like the Ferrari Enzo only achieves around 1g.
As of 2010 each team may have no more than two cars available for use at any time. Each driver can use no more than eight engines during a season; if more are used, he drops ten places on the starting grid of the event at which an additional engine is used. Each driver may use no more than one gearbox for four consecutive events; every unscheduled gearbox change requires the driver to drop five places on the grid unless he failed to finish the previous race due to reasons beyond the team's control.
Formula 1 : Grands Prix AND Circuits
Grands Prix
Six of the original seven races took place in Europe; the only non-European race that counted towards the World Championship in 1950 was the Indianapolis 500, which, due to lack of participation by F1 teams, since it required cars with different specifications from the other races, was later replaced by the United States Grand Prix. The F1 championship gradually expanded to other non-European countries as well. Argentina hosted the first South American grand prix in 1953, and Morocco hosted the first African World Championship race in 1958. Asia (Japan in 1976) and Oceania (Australia in 1985) followed. The nineteen races are spread over the continents of Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America and South America.
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The Grands Prix, some of which have a history that pre-dates the Formula One World Championship, are not always held on the same circuit every year. The British Grand Prix, for example, though held every year since 1950, alternated between Brands Hatch and Silverstone from 1963 to 1986. The only other race to have been included in every season is the Italian Grand Prix. The World Championship event has taken place exclusively at Monza with just one exception: in 1980, it was held at Imola, host to the San Marino Grand Prix until 2006.
One of the newer races on the Grand Prix calendar, held in Bahrain, represents Formula One's first foray into the Middle East with a high-tech purpose-built desert track. The Bahrain Grand Prix, and other new races in China and Turkey, present new opportunities for the growth and evolution of the Formula One Grand Prix franchise while new facilities also raise the bar for other Formula One racing venues around the world. In order to make room on the schedule for the newer races, older or less successful events in Europe and the Americas have been dropped from the calendar, such as these in Argentina, Austria, Mexico, France, San Marino, and the United States.
Even more recent additions to the calendar include the Valencia Street Circuit, which became the host of the European Grand Prix in 2008, giving Spain two Grands Prix. In September 2008, the Singapore Grand Prix, hosted the first night race ever held in Formula One, in order to be held at a time better suited to the sport's core European audience. The most recent addition to the calendar is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which hosted the final race of the 2009 season, becoming the first day-to-night race. New events scheduled to join the calendar in the near future include the Korean Grand Prix, which will be held for the first time in October 2010, and the Indian Grand Prix which will be held in Delhi, India in October 2011. The United States Grand Prix will be hosted in Austin, Texas from 2012–2021.
Circuits
Most of the circuits currently in use are specially constructed for competition. The current street circuits are Monaco, Melbourne, Valencia, and Singapore, although races in other urban locations come and go (Las Vegas and Detroit, for example) and proposals for such races are often discussed–most recently London and Paris. Several other circuits are also completely or partially laid out on public roads, such as Spa-Francorchamps. The glamour and history of the Monaco race are the primary reasons why the circuit is still in use, since it is thought not to meet the strict safety requirements imposed on other tracks. Three-time World champion Nelson Piquet famously described racing in Monaco as "like riding a bicycle around your living room"
Circuit design to protect the safety of drivers is becoming increasingly sophisticated, as exemplified by the new Bahrain International Circuit, added in 2004 and designed—like most of F1's new circuits—by Hermann Tilke. Several of the new circuits in F1, especially those designed by Tilke, have been criticised as lacking the "flow" of such classics as Spa-Francorchamps and Imola. His redesign of the Hockenheim circuit in Germany for example, while providing more capacity for grandstands and eliminating extremely long and dangerous straights, has been frowned upon by many who argue that part of the character of the Hockenheim circuits was the long and blinding straights into dark forest sections. These newer circuits, however, are generally agreed to meet the safety standards of modern Formula One better than the older ones.
The most recent additions to the F1 calendar are Valencia, Singapore and Abu Dhabi A Formula One Grand Prix will be held in India for the first time in 2011. Tilke is designing the India circuit while Design Cell, a reputed landscape architectural firm based in India and US are designing the landscape for all the areas.
A single race requires hotel rooms to accommodate at least 5000 visitors.
Formula 1 : Drivers
Drivers
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Each driver is assigned a number. The previous season's champion is designated number 1, with his team-mate given number 2. Numbers are then assigned in order according to each team's position in the previous season's constructors' championship. The number 13 is not used.
There have been exceptions to this rule, such as in 1993 and 1994, when the current World Drivers' Champion (Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost, respectively) was no longer competing in Formula One. In this case the drivers for the team of the previous year's champion are given numbers 0 (Damon Hill, on both occasions) and 2 (Prost himself and Ayrton Senna—replaced after his death by David Coulthard and occasionally Nigel Mansell–respectively). The number 13 has not been used since 1976, before which it was occasionally assigned at the discretion of individual race organisers. Before 1996, only the world championship winning driver and his team generally swapped numbers with the previous champion–the remainder held their numbers from prior years, as they had been originally set at the start of the 1974 season. For many years, for example, Ferrari held numbers 27 and 28, regardless of their finishing position in the world championship.
Jochen Rindt is the only posthumous World Champion after his points total was not overhauled despite his fatal accident at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher holds the record for having won the most Drivers' Championships, with seven.
Feeder series
American Championship Car Racing has also contributed to the Formula One grid with mixed results. CART Champions Mario Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve became F1 World Champions, while Juan Pablo Montoya won seven races in F1. Other CART or ChampCar Champions, like Michael Andretti and Alessandro Zanardi won no races in F1. Other drivers have taken different paths to F1; Damon Hill raced motorbikes, and Michael Schumacher raced in sports cars, albeit after climbing through the junior single seater ranks. To race, however, the driver must hold an FIA Super Licence–ensuring that the driver has the requisite skills, and will not therefore be a danger to others. Some drivers have not had the license when first signed to a F1 team; Räikkönen received the license despite having only 23 car races to his credit.
Beyond F1
Formula 1 : Constructors
Constructors
Since 1981, Formula One teams have been required to build the chassis in which they compete, and consequently the terms "team" and "constructor" became more or less interchangeable. This requirement distinguishes the sport from series such as the IndyCar Series which allows teams to purchase chassis, and "spec series" such as GP2, which require all cars be kept to an identical specification. It also effectively prohibits privateers, which were common even in Formula One well into the 1970s.
contender in the present day
Early manufacturer involvement came in the form of a "factory team" or "works team" (that is, one owned and staffed by a major car company), such as those of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, or Renault. After having virtually disappeared by the early 1980s, factory teams made a comeback in the 1990s and 2000s and formed up to half the grid with Ferrari, Jaguar BMW, Renault, Toyota, and Honda either setting up their own teams or buying out existing ones. Mercedes-Benz owned 40% of the McLaren team and manufactures the team's engines. Factory teams make up the top competitive teams; in 2008 wholly owned factory teams took four of the top five positions in the Constructors' Championship, and McLaren the other. Ferrari holds the record for having won the most Constructors' Championships (fifteen). However by the end of the 2000s factory teams were once again on the decline with only Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Renault lodging entries to the 2010 championship
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In the 2007 season, for the first time since the 1984 rule, two teams used chassis built by other teams. Super Aguri started the season using a modified Honda Racing RA106 chassis (used by Honda in the 2006 season), while Scuderia Toro Rosso used a modified Red Bull Racing RB3 chassis (same as the one used by Red Bull in the 2007 season). This decision did not come as a surprise as costs are increasing, Super Aguri is partially owned by Honda, and Toro Rosso half-owned by Red Bull. Formula One team Spyker raised a complaint against this decision, and other teams such as McLaren and Ferrari have officially confirmed they support the campaign. Because of this use of other teams' chassis, the 2006 season could have been the last one in which the terms "team" and "constructor" were truly interchangeable. This attracted the Prodrive team to F1 to the 2008 season, where it intended to run a customer car. After not being able to secure a package from McLaren, Prodrive's intention to enter the 2008 season was dropped after Williams threatened legal action against them. Now, it seems customer cars will be formally banned in 2010.
Although teams rarely disclose information about their budgets, it is estimated they range from US$66 million to US$400 million each.
Entering a new team in the Formula One World Championship requires a £25 million (about US$47 million) up-front payment to the FIA, which is then repaid to the team over the course of the season. As a consequence, constructors desiring to enter Formula One often prefer to buy an existing team: B.A.R.'s purchase of Tyrrell and Midland's purchase of Jordan allowed both of these teams to sidestep the large deposit and secure the benefits the team already had, such as TV revenue.
Formula 1 : Points system
Points system
| Position | Points |
|---|---|
| 1st | 25 |
| 2nd | 18 |
| 3rd | 15 |
| 4th | 12 |
| 5th | 10 |
| 6th | 8 |
| 7th | 6 |
| 8th | 4 |
| 9th | 2 |
| 10th | 1 |
To receive points, a driver must be Classified. Strictly speaking in order to be Classified a driver need not finish the race, but complete at least 90% of the winner's race distance. Therefore, it is possible for a driver to receive some points even though he retired before the end of the race.
In the event that less than 75% of the race laps are completed, only half points are awarded to the drivers and constructors. This has happened on only five occasions in the history of the championship, and it has decided the championship winner on one occasion. The last occurrence was at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix when the race was called off after 31 laps due to torrential rain. This was the first time half points were awarded since the 1991 Australian Grand Prix.
A driver can switch teams during the season and keep any points gained at the previous team.
In 2010 Formula One modified its points system, giving points to the first ten drivers instead of eight or six in previous years.
Formula 1 : Racing and strategy
Racing and strategy
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Qualifying
The current qualifying system was adopted for the 2006 season. Known as "knock-out" qualifying, it is split into three periods (or rounds). In each period, drivers run qualifying laps to attempt to advance to the next period, running as many laps as they wish, with the slowest drivers being "knocked out" at the end of the period and their grid positions set, based on their best lap times. Cars are eliminated in this manner until 10 cars remain eligible to attempt to qualify for pole position in the third and final period. For each period, all previous times are reset, and only a driver's fastest lap in that period (barring infractions) counts. For all periods, any timed lap started before the chequered flag falls signalling the end of that period may be completed, and will count toward that driver's placement, even if they cross the finish line after the period has ended. In the first two periods, cars may run any tyre compound they wish, and drivers eliminated in these periods are allowed to change their choice of tyres prior to the race. Cars taking part in the final period, however, must start the race with the tyres used during their fastest lap (exactly the same tyres, not just the same compound), barring changes in weather that require usage of wet-weather tyres. With refuelling not allowed during races from 2010, the final session is run with low-fuel configuration and the cars are refuelled after qualifying.
For example, for a 20-car grid, all 20 cars are permitted to take part in the first period. At the end of the period, the slowest five cars are eliminated and take up the last five grid positions (16 to 20). In the second period, the remaining fifteen cars take part, with five more cars eliminated at the end, taking the next five lowest grid positions (11 to 15). In the third and final period, the remaining 10 cars compete for pole position, and fill grid positions 1 through 10.
The knock-out format has received minor updates since its inception, such as adjustments to the number of drivers eliminated in each period as the total number of cars entered has changed (from 20 drivers in 2009 to 24 in 2010).
The race
The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking (although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground provided he has not fallen to the back of the field). The warm-up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car, gives the tyres a chance to get some heat in them to get some much-needed traction, and gives the pit crews time to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid.Once all the cars have formed on the grid, a light system above the track indicates the start of the race: five red lights are illuminated at intervals of one second; they are all then extinguished simultaneously after an unspecified time (typically less than 3 seconds) to signal the start of the race. The start procedure may be abandoned if a driver stalls on the grid, signalled by raising his arm. If this happens the procedure restarts: a new formation lap begins with the offending car removed from the grid. The race may also be restarted in the event of a serious accident or dangerous conditions, with the original start voided. The race may be started from behind the Safety Car if officials feel a racing start would be excessively dangerous, such as extremely heavy rainfall. There is no formation lap when races start behind the Safety Car.
Under normal circumstances the winner of the race is the first driver to cross the finish line having completed a set number of laps, which added together should give a distance of approximately 305 km (190 mi) (260 km (160 mi) for Monaco). Race officials may end the race early (putting out a red flag) due to unsafe conditions such as extreme rainfall, and it must finish within two hours, although races are only likely to last this long in the case of extreme weather. Drivers may overtake one another for position over the course of the race and are 'Classified' in the order they finished the race. If a leader comes across a back marker (slower car) who has completed fewer laps, the back marker is shown a blue flag telling him he is obliged to allow the leader to overtake him. The slower car is said to be 'lapped' and, once the leader finishes the race, is classified as finishing the race 'one lap down'. A driver can be lapped numerous times, by any car in front of him. A driver who fails to finish a race, through mechanical problems, accident, or any other reason is said to have retired from the race and is 'Not Classified' in the results. However, if driver has completed more than 90% of the race distance, he will be classified.
- Race director
- As of 2010 the race director in Formula One is Charlie Whiting. This role involves him generally managing the logistics of each F1 Grand Prix, inspecting cars in Parc fermé before a race, enforcing FIA rules and controlling the lights which start each race. As the head of the race officials he also plays a large role in sorting disputes amongst teams and drivers. Penalties, such as drive-through penalties (and stop-and-go penalties), demotions on a pre-race start grid, race disqualifications, and fines can all be handed out should parties break regulations.
- Safety car
- In the event of an incident that risks the safety of competitors or trackside race marshals, race officials may choose to deploy the safety car. This in effect suspends the race, with drivers following the safety car around the track at its speed in race order, with overtaking not permitted. The safety car circulates until the danger is cleared; after it comes in the race restarts with a 'rolling start'. Pit stops are permitted under the safety car. Mercedes-Benz supplies Mercedes-AMG models to Formula One to use as the safety cars. Since 2000, the main safety car driver has been German ex-racing driver Bernd Mayländer. On the lap in which the safety car returns back into the pits the leading car takes over the role of the safety car until the first safety car line, which is usually a white line after the pit lane entrance. After crossing this line drivers are allowed to start racing for track position once more.
- Red flag
- In the event of a major incident or unsafe weather conditions, the race may be red-flagged. Then:
- If under 3 laps have been completed when the red flag is displayed, the race is restarted from original grid positions. All drivers may restart, provided their car is in a fit state to do so.
- If between 3 laps and 75% of the race distance have been completed, the race may be restarted once it is safe to do so, maintaining the race order at the time of the red flag. The two-hour time limit still applies and the clock does not stop.
- If more than 75% of the race distance has been completed then the race is terminated and the race result counted back to the second last completed lap before the red flag.
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