Name: Fernando Alonso
Born: July 29, 1981 in Oviedo, Spain
Team: Renault
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hobbies: Soccer, Training, Cycling, Magic
Previous F1 Teams:
* 2001 Minardi
* 2003 - 2006 Renault
* 2007 McLaren
* 2008 Renault
Victories: 21
Background:
Fernando, like most of the other Formula 1 drivers, began racing go karts while still a child. In fact, his first race was at age 3. He won several national and local Spanish championships and in 1996 he won the world junior karting championship. He began racing cars at 18, winning his first championship, the Euro-Open Nissan series, where he won six races. He joined the Formula 3000 series in 2000, where he finished fourth, winning at Spa-Francorchamps.
His Career Thus Far:
With only two seasons of car racing behind him before he joined Formula 1 in 2001 at the age of 19, Fernando had shown very little reason to outsiders to merit the praise of his manager, Flavio Briatore, the man who had hired Michael Schumacher at Benetton in 1991 when he was an unknown. Early on, Briatore would compare Fernando to the German driver.
After a year learning the ropes at Minardi, Fernando joined Renault in 2002 for a sabbatical from racing as a test driver. During this year he developed his technical knowledge and his rapport with the team. The result was that in 2003 when he became a full-time driver at Renault, he was a fully-fledged and experienced F1 racer. At the Hungarian Grand Prix in August he won his first race, becoming the youngest ever Formula 1 race winner at 22 years and 27 days old.
Fernando finished the series in sixth position in 2003, in fourth position in 2004, and then won it the following two years, becoming the sport's youngest world champion in 2005. After that first title, he announced he would join McLaren in 2007. McLaren finished second in the series in 2005. But in 2006 McLaren failed to win a single race for the first time since 1996.
Driving Style:
Fernando has a smooth driving style marked by the intelligence of both his technical approach and in dealing with traffic and other competitors. On the track he keeps his head under pressure, rarely cracking or making a mistake when it is vital to hold position.
Character:
When he moved to the McLaren team in 2007, Fernando exposed another side to his character. He found himself racing against the greatest rookie driver in F1 history: Lewis Hamilton. The two drivers were involved in controversies as the season unfolded. At the Hungarian Grand Prix Fernando blocked Lewis during qualifying, causing the British driver to lose his last qualifying lap and pole position. Fernando was then penalized for this, and Lewis was awarded pole. Fernando was then involved in presenting emails he had received related to the summer long spy scandal, which eventually resulted in McLaren being eliminated from the championship. Although the Spanish fans remained loyal to their driver, many other fans considered that Fernando had shown previously unsuspected weaknesses in his character. Fernando left McLaren and rejoined Renault for 2008, where he amazed even himself by winning two races, and set the stage for a comeback in 2009.
Senin, 10 Agustus 2009
Kamis, 23 Juli 2009
profile Rubens Barrichello
Name:
Rubens Barrichello
Born:
May 23, 1972 Sao Paulo, Brazil
Team:
Honda
Height:
5'6"
Weight:
157 lbs.
Hobbies:
Karting, Golf, Bowling
Previous F1 Teams:
* 1993 - 1996 Jordan
* 1997 - 1999 Stewart
* 2000 - 2005 Ferrari
* 2006 - 2008 Honda
Victories:
9
Background:
Racing was a part of Rubens' life since he was born, as he grew up beside the Interlagos race track, where the Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo takes place. As a child he would sneak in through the fence to watch the races. He began go-karting at age 6, and became Brazilian champion. But like just about all of the South American drivers who had ambitions to go into F1, as a teenager he went to live and race in Europe. In 1990 he won the European Formula Opel series, and the following year he won the British Formula 3 title. In 1992 he finished third in Formula 3000.
His Career Thus Far:
When started in Formula 1, Rubens was only 20 years old. By only his third race he was seen as a future star. It was the European Grand Prix at Donington, England. Five laps from the end he was third, when a fuel pressure problem forced him to retire. His mentor, friend and countryman, Ayrton Senna, won the race in one of his greatest drives in the wet.
The following year, Rubens also played a minor role on a weekend that would be remembered for Senna, this time as a tragedy. During Friday practice at the San Marino Grand Prix, Barrichello had a wild crash and injured his arm. The next day, Roland Ratzenberg was killed in an accident. During the race on the Sunday, Senna crashed into a wall and also died.
Suddenly, the youngster carried all the weight of Brazil's hopes for a new star. It took years for him to absorb the shock of Senna's death and the responsibility to his country.
He would not win his first race until the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in 2000. On the victory podium, Barrichello cried, looked into the sky and thought of Senna.
Driving Style:
Barrichello is one of the smoothest, fastest and most incisive of drivers. Although it looked when arriving at Honda in 2006 as if he might be overshadowed by his new younger teammate, Jenson Button, the Brazilian worked closely with the engineers to resolve his problems with the car. He was soon in excellent form and giving Button a hard time.
Character:
Starting as young as he did, Barrichello's early years would forever be marked by the shadow of Senna, and many people wondered if he would ever come into his own. After leaving Jordan and joining the Stewart team in 1997, he did just that.
Joining Ferrari as Michael Schumacher's teammate in 2000, he finally had a car capable of winning. Unfortunately, Schumacher was Ferrari's No. 1 driver. As a result, Barrichello often came under public criticism for being too soft, and allowing Schumacher to win races that Rubens should have won. Yet at the Austrian Grand Prix of 2002, Rubens protested a team demand that he hand Schumacher the lead for the victory. He waited until the last yards of the last lap before slowing down to hand victory to Schumacher, and it caused worldwide scorn.
Rubens later said that he was happy to stay at a team where he could win races occasionally, even if it meant serving his teammate at other times.
Rubens Barrichello
Born:
May 23, 1972 Sao Paulo, Brazil
Team:
Honda
Height:
5'6"
Weight:
157 lbs.
Hobbies:
Karting, Golf, Bowling
Previous F1 Teams:
* 1993 - 1996 Jordan
* 1997 - 1999 Stewart
* 2000 - 2005 Ferrari
* 2006 - 2008 Honda
Victories:
9
Background:
Racing was a part of Rubens' life since he was born, as he grew up beside the Interlagos race track, where the Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo takes place. As a child he would sneak in through the fence to watch the races. He began go-karting at age 6, and became Brazilian champion. But like just about all of the South American drivers who had ambitions to go into F1, as a teenager he went to live and race in Europe. In 1990 he won the European Formula Opel series, and the following year he won the British Formula 3 title. In 1992 he finished third in Formula 3000.
His Career Thus Far:
When started in Formula 1, Rubens was only 20 years old. By only his third race he was seen as a future star. It was the European Grand Prix at Donington, England. Five laps from the end he was third, when a fuel pressure problem forced him to retire. His mentor, friend and countryman, Ayrton Senna, won the race in one of his greatest drives in the wet.
The following year, Rubens also played a minor role on a weekend that would be remembered for Senna, this time as a tragedy. During Friday practice at the San Marino Grand Prix, Barrichello had a wild crash and injured his arm. The next day, Roland Ratzenberg was killed in an accident. During the race on the Sunday, Senna crashed into a wall and also died.
Suddenly, the youngster carried all the weight of Brazil's hopes for a new star. It took years for him to absorb the shock of Senna's death and the responsibility to his country.
He would not win his first race until the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in 2000. On the victory podium, Barrichello cried, looked into the sky and thought of Senna.
Driving Style:
Barrichello is one of the smoothest, fastest and most incisive of drivers. Although it looked when arriving at Honda in 2006 as if he might be overshadowed by his new younger teammate, Jenson Button, the Brazilian worked closely with the engineers to resolve his problems with the car. He was soon in excellent form and giving Button a hard time.
Character:
Starting as young as he did, Barrichello's early years would forever be marked by the shadow of Senna, and many people wondered if he would ever come into his own. After leaving Jordan and joining the Stewart team in 1997, he did just that.
Joining Ferrari as Michael Schumacher's teammate in 2000, he finally had a car capable of winning. Unfortunately, Schumacher was Ferrari's No. 1 driver. As a result, Barrichello often came under public criticism for being too soft, and allowing Schumacher to win races that Rubens should have won. Yet at the Austrian Grand Prix of 2002, Rubens protested a team demand that he hand Schumacher the lead for the victory. He waited until the last yards of the last lap before slowing down to hand victory to Schumacher, and it caused worldwide scorn.
Rubens later said that he was happy to stay at a team where he could win races occasionally, even if it meant serving his teammate at other times.
Rabu, 22 Juli 2009
Timo Glock Profile
Timo Glock is staying on in 2009 after impressing his Toyota bosses - and a number of F1 pundits - during his first season with the team.
Glock first entered Formula One in 2004 when he tested for the Jordan outfit. As the team's official third and reserve driver, he was handed the opportunity to race at the Canadian GP as Giorgio Pantano's replacement.
The German clinched 11th place in the grand prix but was later promoted to P7 when both the Toyotas and Williams were disqualified. That resulted earned Glock and Jordan two World Championship points.
He was again called up to compete in the final three races of the season, although failed to score another World Championship point, finishing all three events P15.
In 2005, Glock shifted his racing career to the United States, racing in the Champ Car World Series with Rocketsports team. His best finish of the year was a second place finish at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. He went on to finish 8th in the final season points standings and win Champ Car World Series Rookie of the Year honors.
The following year Timo moved to the GP2 series. He started the series with the midfield BCN Competicion team, gaining average results. However, a mid-season move to the front-running iSport team proved conducive and after a series of impressive results he finished 4th in the final classification.
Staying with iSport in 2007, Glock clinched the title after winning one feature and four sprint races.
The German's performances earned him a three-year contract with Toyota, which started in 2008 when he partnered Jarno Trulli. And although his team-mate got the better of him at the start of the campaign, so much so that there were questions hanging over Glock's future, the German soon came to the fore, even bagging a second-placed finish at his home race.
His good run continued through to the end of the season with him collecting four points finishes in the final seven races, which resulted in Toyota confirming him for the 2009 campaign.
Glock first entered Formula One in 2004 when he tested for the Jordan outfit. As the team's official third and reserve driver, he was handed the opportunity to race at the Canadian GP as Giorgio Pantano's replacement.
The German clinched 11th place in the grand prix but was later promoted to P7 when both the Toyotas and Williams were disqualified. That resulted earned Glock and Jordan two World Championship points.
He was again called up to compete in the final three races of the season, although failed to score another World Championship point, finishing all three events P15.
In 2005, Glock shifted his racing career to the United States, racing in the Champ Car World Series with Rocketsports team. His best finish of the year was a second place finish at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. He went on to finish 8th in the final season points standings and win Champ Car World Series Rookie of the Year honors.
The following year Timo moved to the GP2 series. He started the series with the midfield BCN Competicion team, gaining average results. However, a mid-season move to the front-running iSport team proved conducive and after a series of impressive results he finished 4th in the final classification.
Staying with iSport in 2007, Glock clinched the title after winning one feature and four sprint races.
The German's performances earned him a three-year contract with Toyota, which started in 2008 when he partnered Jarno Trulli. And although his team-mate got the better of him at the start of the campaign, so much so that there were questions hanging over Glock's future, the German soon came to the fore, even bagging a second-placed finish at his home race.
His good run continued through to the end of the season with him collecting four points finishes in the final seven races, which resulted in Toyota confirming him for the 2009 campaign.
Senin, 20 Juli 2009
Jenson Button: A British Driver Makes Good at Honda Formula 1 Team
Name: Jenson Button
Born: January 19, 1980 in Frome, England
Team: Honda
Height: 6'
Weight: 151 lbs.
Hobbies: Water sports, cycling, cars, music and skiing
Previous F1 Teams:
* 2000 Williams
* 2001 Benetton
* 2002 Renault
* 2003 - 2005 BAR Honda
* 2006 - 2008 Honda
Victories: 1
Background:
Jenson started go-karting at age eight and won several British national and international championships. He moved to cars at 18 and won the British Formula Ford series and the Formula Ford Festival, in his first year. In 1999 he raced in British Formula 3 and took third place, and was the rookie of the year.
His Career Thus Far:
Jenson was such a sensation in both karts and cars, that at 20 years old he was signed up for a season at the Williams team in Formula 1, then one of the top teams in the sport. He was the youngest British driver ever to race in F1. In only his second race, he finished sixth, at the Brazilian Grand Prix, to become the youngest driver ever to score a point. He finished the season in eighth position in the drivers' series.
After a year at Williams, Jenson joined the Benetton team in 2001 and stayed there for two seasons. Unfortunately, the team was in transition after being bought out by Renault, which it would be called in 2002, and Jenson scored only two points in his first season there. He then joined BAR Honda, with Jacques Villeneuve, the former world champion, as a teammate. In 2004 Jenson finally found his stride, as did the BAR team, and he scored 11 podiums and finished third in the championship. But his first victory still eluded him.
The Williams Scandal:
During the summer of that same 2004 season Jenson stunned his BAR Honda team by announcing that he would rejoin the Williams team for the following two years. A long battle ensued with first BAR and then Jenson deciding he would not join Williams. That led to a battle between Jenson and Williams. In the end, Jenson said he would buy himself out of the contract to Williams, and he paid the team an estimated $50 million. Jenson also signed a four year deal to race for Honda at $45 million per year.
Character:
Although Jenson gives off the impression of having a cool, laid back attitude to life and racing, the incident with Williams showed not only his level of ruthlessness to achieve what he wants, but also a certain acumen. Aside from the financial return, the choice to stay at Honda paid off, after Williams went downhill and Honda improved: Jenson won his first race with the team at the Hungarian Grand Prix last season.
Born: January 19, 1980 in Frome, England
Team: Honda
Height: 6'
Weight: 151 lbs.
Hobbies: Water sports, cycling, cars, music and skiing
Previous F1 Teams:
* 2000 Williams
* 2001 Benetton
* 2002 Renault
* 2003 - 2005 BAR Honda
* 2006 - 2008 Honda
Victories: 1
Background:
Jenson started go-karting at age eight and won several British national and international championships. He moved to cars at 18 and won the British Formula Ford series and the Formula Ford Festival, in his first year. In 1999 he raced in British Formula 3 and took third place, and was the rookie of the year.
His Career Thus Far:
Jenson was such a sensation in both karts and cars, that at 20 years old he was signed up for a season at the Williams team in Formula 1, then one of the top teams in the sport. He was the youngest British driver ever to race in F1. In only his second race, he finished sixth, at the Brazilian Grand Prix, to become the youngest driver ever to score a point. He finished the season in eighth position in the drivers' series.
After a year at Williams, Jenson joined the Benetton team in 2001 and stayed there for two seasons. Unfortunately, the team was in transition after being bought out by Renault, which it would be called in 2002, and Jenson scored only two points in his first season there. He then joined BAR Honda, with Jacques Villeneuve, the former world champion, as a teammate. In 2004 Jenson finally found his stride, as did the BAR team, and he scored 11 podiums and finished third in the championship. But his first victory still eluded him.
The Williams Scandal:
During the summer of that same 2004 season Jenson stunned his BAR Honda team by announcing that he would rejoin the Williams team for the following two years. A long battle ensued with first BAR and then Jenson deciding he would not join Williams. That led to a battle between Jenson and Williams. In the end, Jenson said he would buy himself out of the contract to Williams, and he paid the team an estimated $50 million. Jenson also signed a four year deal to race for Honda at $45 million per year.
Character:
Although Jenson gives off the impression of having a cool, laid back attitude to life and racing, the incident with Williams showed not only his level of ruthlessness to achieve what he wants, but also a certain acumen. Aside from the financial return, the choice to stay at Honda paid off, after Williams went downhill and Honda improved: Jenson won his first race with the team at the Hungarian Grand Prix last season.
Lewis Hamilton: World's Youngest World Champion Driver at McLaren-Mercedes
Name:
Lewis Hamilton
Born:
January 7, 1985 in Stevenage, England
Team:
McLaren Mercedes
Height:
5'7"
Weight:
150 lbs.
Hobbies:
Guitar, Music, Training
Previous F1 Teams: 2007 - 2009 McLaren
Victories: 9
Background:
Lewis's climb to Formula 1 was fairy-tale like. From a modest family in England, with a white mother and a black father, Lewis began racing go-karts at age 8. He won the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future series and at age 10 he met Ron Dennis, the owner and director of the McLaren Formula 1 team and told him he wanted to race in F1. At 13 years old McLaren signed Lewis up with the McLaren young driver program and the team supported his career through karting and car racing, taking him on as a full-time F1 driver starting with the 2007 season.
His Career Thus Far:
Lewis's pre-F1 career was one of the most convincing of the recent crop of young drivers. He won several karting series, including the European Formula A championship in 2000. After a year of learning in Formula Renault, he won the 2003 British Formula Renault championship with 10 victories and 11 pole positions. After a year of learning in the F3 Euroseries, he won that series in 2005 with 15 victories and 13 pole positions. In 2006 he did not even need a year of learning to win the title in his rookie year in the GP2 series, an F1 support race series.
Hamilton: The F1 Rookie Phenomenon:
Lewis did not disappoint in his first year in F1 either. In fact, he finished third in his first race and then proceeded to smash the 40-year-old rookie record of two consecutive podiums at the start of a season. Lewis scored nine podiums in his first nine races and he won two of those races. In total, he won four races in 2007 and he finished the championship in second place, one point behind Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. Lewis's first year was the best by any rookie in the sport, and it was not until errors in his last two races that cost him the title that he finally looked human after all.
Driving Style:
During his GP2 season, F1 people first saw the best of Lewis's driving style as he proved to be not only lightning fast, but also a gutsy driver of the old fashioned style. His passing move driving around the outside of two other drivers during the second race at Silverstone in England was a breathtaking maneuver that no one who saw will forget. He started eighth and won the race. This style was to continue in his first F1 season.
Character:
Lewis is a personable, level-headed driver who has shown in apprenticeship years that he can stand up to the toughest situations both on track and off without losing his head. Yet before he joined F1 in 2007 as teammate to the double world champion, Fernando Alonso, specialists were divided as to whether his character would stand up to the job of racing with the greatest young driver in F1. In the end, the drivers finished level on points.
In his first year in the sport, Lewis proved that had the necessary strength of character up to a point. After squandering a 17-point lead in the series two races before the end, he still had to prove he could go all the way in F1. But in 2008, he proved that by becoming the youngest ever world champion and winning that title in the last race of the season.
Lewis Hamilton
Born:
January 7, 1985 in Stevenage, England
Team:
McLaren Mercedes
Height:
5'7"
Weight:
150 lbs.
Hobbies:
Guitar, Music, Training
Previous F1 Teams: 2007 - 2009 McLaren
Victories: 9
Background:
Lewis's climb to Formula 1 was fairy-tale like. From a modest family in England, with a white mother and a black father, Lewis began racing go-karts at age 8. He won the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future series and at age 10 he met Ron Dennis, the owner and director of the McLaren Formula 1 team and told him he wanted to race in F1. At 13 years old McLaren signed Lewis up with the McLaren young driver program and the team supported his career through karting and car racing, taking him on as a full-time F1 driver starting with the 2007 season.
His Career Thus Far:
Lewis's pre-F1 career was one of the most convincing of the recent crop of young drivers. He won several karting series, including the European Formula A championship in 2000. After a year of learning in Formula Renault, he won the 2003 British Formula Renault championship with 10 victories and 11 pole positions. After a year of learning in the F3 Euroseries, he won that series in 2005 with 15 victories and 13 pole positions. In 2006 he did not even need a year of learning to win the title in his rookie year in the GP2 series, an F1 support race series.
Hamilton: The F1 Rookie Phenomenon:
Lewis did not disappoint in his first year in F1 either. In fact, he finished third in his first race and then proceeded to smash the 40-year-old rookie record of two consecutive podiums at the start of a season. Lewis scored nine podiums in his first nine races and he won two of those races. In total, he won four races in 2007 and he finished the championship in second place, one point behind Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. Lewis's first year was the best by any rookie in the sport, and it was not until errors in his last two races that cost him the title that he finally looked human after all.
Driving Style:
During his GP2 season, F1 people first saw the best of Lewis's driving style as he proved to be not only lightning fast, but also a gutsy driver of the old fashioned style. His passing move driving around the outside of two other drivers during the second race at Silverstone in England was a breathtaking maneuver that no one who saw will forget. He started eighth and won the race. This style was to continue in his first F1 season.
Character:
Lewis is a personable, level-headed driver who has shown in apprenticeship years that he can stand up to the toughest situations both on track and off without losing his head. Yet before he joined F1 in 2007 as teammate to the double world champion, Fernando Alonso, specialists were divided as to whether his character would stand up to the job of racing with the greatest young driver in F1. In the end, the drivers finished level on points.
In his first year in the sport, Lewis proved that had the necessary strength of character up to a point. After squandering a 17-point lead in the series two races before the end, he still had to prove he could go all the way in F1. But in 2008, he proved that by becoming the youngest ever world champion and winning that title in the last race of the season.
Minggu, 19 Juli 2009
Kimi Raikkonen: The Iceman From Finland, a Cool Ferrari Driver
Ferrari
Name:
Kimi Raikkonen
Born:
October 17, 1979 in Espoo, Finland
Team:
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen
Height:
5'7"
Weight:
138 lbs.
Hobbies:
Snowboarding, jogging, going to the gym, MotoX, ice hockey
Previous F1 Teams:
* 2001 Sauber
* 2002 - 2006 McLaren
* 2007 - 2008 Ferrari
Victories: 18
Background:
When Kimi joined the Sauber Formula 1 team in 2001 he was only 21 and had raced in only 23 car races in his life. But he had won more than half of them. He raced go-karts until age 19, and was Finnish champion and he also did well in the international series. He began car racing in 1999, and in 2000 he won the British Formula Renault series. He also raced in three races in European Formula Renault, winning two of them. Michael Schumacher saw him testing in the Sauber in 2000 and said that he had a bright future in Formula 1.
His Career Thus Far:
In his first year in Formula 1 Kimi proved that he had his place in the sport despite having so little experience racing cars. Even so, he finished the championship in ninth position with nine points. But his teammate, Nick Heidfeld, finished in seventh position, with 13 points.
McLaren-Mercedes nevertheless decided that Kimi was a driver for the future, and signed him up for the following year. (This was a blow to Heidfeld, who had been nurtured as a Mercedes driver for years.) In his first year at McLaren, Kimi finished sixth in the series with 24 points, compared to his teammate David Coulthard's fifth place finish in the series and 41 points. That was, however, the last time his teammate would do better than him. Raikkonen won his first race in 2003 and finished second in the championship, missing the title by two points to Schumacher. He won seven races in 2005 and again finished second in the series, but this time to Fernando Alonso. He joined Ferrari in 2007 hoping he would finally win the title at the sport's most successful team.
Raikkonen the World Champion:
The 2007 season was a four-way battle for the drivers' title between the two drivers of the McLaren Mercedes team and the two drivers of the Ferrari team. But from early in the season to the very last race, Lewis Hamilton, the rookie driver at McLaren, created the show. Kimi fell behind his teammate, Felipe Massa, for several races and looked out of the running. With two races left, Lewis spoiled his 17-point lead to score only two points, while Kimi won the two races for a perfect score, to win the drivers' title in the last race. In 2008 he won only twice.
Driving Style:
Although Kimi lost the title mostly because of the unreliability of his car in 2005, he has been publicly accused of driving his cars hard. In fact, Kimi's style is marked by such an apparently superhuman and cool, incisive approach that he developed the nickname of Iceman. He is very fast on a single lap, but is also a master of fighting his way up the pack.
Character:
His cool character, light complexion and icy blue eyes also contributed to his nickname, but Kimi remains the coolest of drivers. Whether he wins a race or his car breaks down and robs him of certain victory, the Finn stays cool and detached, showing little emotion of any kind. That he is in fact human is clear in his private life from his occasional, highly-publicized blowouts at parties.
Name:
Kimi Raikkonen
Born:
October 17, 1979 in Espoo, Finland
Team:
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen
Height:
5'7"
Weight:
138 lbs.
Hobbies:
Snowboarding, jogging, going to the gym, MotoX, ice hockey
Previous F1 Teams:
* 2001 Sauber
* 2002 - 2006 McLaren
* 2007 - 2008 Ferrari
Victories: 18
Background:
When Kimi joined the Sauber Formula 1 team in 2001 he was only 21 and had raced in only 23 car races in his life. But he had won more than half of them. He raced go-karts until age 19, and was Finnish champion and he also did well in the international series. He began car racing in 1999, and in 2000 he won the British Formula Renault series. He also raced in three races in European Formula Renault, winning two of them. Michael Schumacher saw him testing in the Sauber in 2000 and said that he had a bright future in Formula 1.
His Career Thus Far:
In his first year in Formula 1 Kimi proved that he had his place in the sport despite having so little experience racing cars. Even so, he finished the championship in ninth position with nine points. But his teammate, Nick Heidfeld, finished in seventh position, with 13 points.
McLaren-Mercedes nevertheless decided that Kimi was a driver for the future, and signed him up for the following year. (This was a blow to Heidfeld, who had been nurtured as a Mercedes driver for years.) In his first year at McLaren, Kimi finished sixth in the series with 24 points, compared to his teammate David Coulthard's fifth place finish in the series and 41 points. That was, however, the last time his teammate would do better than him. Raikkonen won his first race in 2003 and finished second in the championship, missing the title by two points to Schumacher. He won seven races in 2005 and again finished second in the series, but this time to Fernando Alonso. He joined Ferrari in 2007 hoping he would finally win the title at the sport's most successful team.
Raikkonen the World Champion:
The 2007 season was a four-way battle for the drivers' title between the two drivers of the McLaren Mercedes team and the two drivers of the Ferrari team. But from early in the season to the very last race, Lewis Hamilton, the rookie driver at McLaren, created the show. Kimi fell behind his teammate, Felipe Massa, for several races and looked out of the running. With two races left, Lewis spoiled his 17-point lead to score only two points, while Kimi won the two races for a perfect score, to win the drivers' title in the last race. In 2008 he won only twice.
Driving Style:
Although Kimi lost the title mostly because of the unreliability of his car in 2005, he has been publicly accused of driving his cars hard. In fact, Kimi's style is marked by such an apparently superhuman and cool, incisive approach that he developed the nickname of Iceman. He is very fast on a single lap, but is also a master of fighting his way up the pack.
Character:
His cool character, light complexion and icy blue eyes also contributed to his nickname, but Kimi remains the coolest of drivers. Whether he wins a race or his car breaks down and robs him of certain victory, the Finn stays cool and detached, showing little emotion of any kind. That he is in fact human is clear in his private life from his occasional, highly-publicized blowouts at parties.
Sabtu, 18 Juli 2009
Todt confirms FIA intentions
Former Ferrari Chief Jean Todt, who played a major role in helping the Italian team secure multiple world championships together with Ross Brawn and the legendary Michael Schumacher, has now confirmed his desire to run for FIA President.
The man currently in the top job at the FIA, Max Mosley, gave his 100% support of Todt’s application when he confirmed recently that he would not be running for re-election in October of this year. At that stage, Todt’s intentions were only speculated but now confirmation has arrived...
"Following the decision of Max Mosley not to seek re-election and his unequivocal support of my candidature I've written to the members of the FIA to inform them that I wish to run for the presidency. It is my intention to continue and expand the outstanding work of President Mosley,'' he said.
There has been some voiced opposition to Todt’s decision with the majority wanting former Rally champion Ari Vatanen in the role instead, believing that he would give the FIA a fresh outlook when Todt would not.
The man currently in the top job at the FIA, Max Mosley, gave his 100% support of Todt’s application when he confirmed recently that he would not be running for re-election in October of this year. At that stage, Todt’s intentions were only speculated but now confirmation has arrived...
"Following the decision of Max Mosley not to seek re-election and his unequivocal support of my candidature I've written to the members of the FIA to inform them that I wish to run for the presidency. It is my intention to continue and expand the outstanding work of President Mosley,'' he said.
There has been some voiced opposition to Todt’s decision with the majority wanting former Rally champion Ari Vatanen in the role instead, believing that he would give the FIA a fresh outlook when Todt would not.
2009 FIA Formula One World Championship Race Calendar
Jumat, 17 Juli 2009
Sponsorship arrives
The Lotus 49 at a demonstration run in 2005. The 49 was the first F1 car to appear in a sponsor's livery.
In 1968 Lotus lost its exclusive right to use the DFV. McLaren built a DFV-powered car and a new force appeared on the scene when Ken Tyrrell entered his team using Cosworth-powered French Matra chassis driven by ex-BRM Jackie Stewart as lead driver. Clark took his last win at the 1968 season opening South African Grand Prix. On 7 April 1968 the double champion was killed at Hockenheim in a non-championship Formula Two event. The year saw two significant innovations. The first was the arrival of unrestricted sponsorship, which the FIA decided to permit after the withdrawal of support from automobile related firms. In May the Lotus Formula One team appeared at Jarama in the red, gold and white colors of Imperial Tobacco's Gold Leaf brand. The second innovation was the introduction of wings as seen previously on the Chaparral CanAm and endurance cars. Colin Chapman started the arms race with modest front wings and a spoiler on Graham Hill's Lotus 49B at Monaco. Brabham and Ferrari went one better at the Belgian Grand Prix with full width wings mounted on struts high above the driver. Lotus replied with a full width wing directly connected to the rear suspension.[12] Brabham and Matra then produced a high mounted front wing connected to the front suspension. At the end of the season most cars were using mobile wings with various control systems. There was several case of wings, struts, or even suspension collapsing. Lotus won both titles in 1968 with Graham Hill with Stewart second.
The 1968 Matras most innovative feature was the use of aviation-inspired structural fuel tanks but the FIA decided to ban the technology for 1970.[13] For 1969 Matra made the radical decision to withdraw its works team and build a new car using structural tanks for the Tyrrell team, even though it would be eligible for only a single season. The 1969 season started with cars using larger and more sophisticated wings than the previous year. When both Lotus cars broke their wings' struts and crashed at the Spanish Grand Prix, the FIA banned wings for the next race at Monaco. They were reintroduced later in the season but were to be restricted in size and height, and attached directly to the chassis in a fixed position.
Safety became a major issue in Formula One and the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa did not take place as the drivers boycotted the circuit after safety upgrades were not installed as demanded. Stewart won the 1969 title easily with the new Matra MS80, a spectacular achievement from a constructor and a team that had only entered Formula One the previous year. It remains the only title won by a chassis built in France. 1969 also saw a brief resurgence of interest in four wheel drive with a record of four such cars on field at the British Grand Prix. Johnny Servoz-Gavin became the one and only driver to score a point with a 4WD, finishing sixth with the Matra MS84 at the Canadian Grand Prix, although the front wheel transmission was actually disconnected.[14] Wide tyres and downforce had proved to be better means of increasing grip, and the technology was largely abandoned. Jacky Ickx finished second in the championship for Brabham, competitive again after dropping its Repco engines in favour of the DFV.
For 1970 Tyrrell were asked by Matra to use their V12, but decided to retain the Cosworth instead.[15] As Matra was now a Chrysler affiliate and Tyrrell derived much of its income from Ford and Elf (associated with Renault) the partnership ended. Ken Tyrrell bought March 701 chassis as an interim solution while developing his own car for the next season. The new wedge-shaped Lotus 72 was a very innovative car featuring variable flexibility torsion bar suspension, hip-mounted radiators, inboard front brakes and an overhanging rear wing. The 72 originally had suspension problems, but once resolved the car quickly showed its superiority and Lotus' new leader, the Austrian Jochen Rindt, dominated the championship until he was killed at Monza when a brake shaft broke. He took the 1970 title posthumously for Lotus. 1970 saw the introduction of slick tyres by Goodyear.
After Rindt's death the Lotus team had a desultory 1971 season with its two new and inexperienced drivers - Emerson Fittipaldi and Reine Wisell. The team spent a lot of time experimenting with a gas turbine powered car, and with four wheel drive again. After Jack Brabham's retirement, his old team went into a steep decline. Using their own chassis heavily inspired by the Matra MS80 but with conventional tanks, Tyrrell and Stewart easily took success in 1971.
Focussing again on the type 72 chassis, now fielded in John Player Special's black and gold livery, Lotus took the 1972 championship by surprise with 25-year old Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi becoming the then youngest world champion. Stewart came second, his performance compromised by a stomach ulcer.
In 1973, Lotus teammates Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson raced each other while Stewart was supported by François Cevert at Tyrrell. Stewart took the Driver's title, but then at the final race of the season, the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Cevert crashed during Saturday practice in the notorious esses and was killed instantly. Stewart and Tyrrell withdrew from the race effectively handing the Constructor's title to Lotus. At the end of the season Stewart made public his decision to retire, a decision that was already made before the US Grand Prix.
McLaren, having fully recovered from the death of his founder, ended the 1973 season with three wins and several poles. The new M23, an updated interpretation of the Lotus 72 concept, appeared to many as the best design on the field. Fittipaldi made the choice to leave Lotus for McLaren that offered him true lead driver status that Chapman refused to him.
Technology emerges
In 1962, the Lotus team ran the Lotus 25 powered by the new Coventry-Climax FWMV V8 engine. The car had an aluminium sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional spaceframe design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars, but the Lotus was unreliable at first. Jim Clark finished second that year leaving the title to Graham Hill and his new V8 powered BRM.
As soon as the car and the engine became reliable, the era of the Lotus and of Jim Clark began. Clark won the title twice in three years, 1963 and 1965, the latter being the only occasion to date of a driver winning both the Championship and the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race in the same year. For 1964 Lotus introduced the new Lotus 33 and Ferrari made considerable technological and financial effort to win the title. Ferrari used no less than three different engines in the season—the existing V6, a V8 and a flat-12, while Lotus was struggling with the teething troubles of a new car. The title went to John Surtees and Ferrari. Surtees' title was especially notable, as he became the only driver ever to win the World Championship for both cars and motorcycles. The 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, the last race of the 1.5 litres Formula One, saw Richie Ginther giving Honda its first victory at the end of a season that was otherwise disappointing for the Japanese newcomer. This was first victory by a Japanese car and, as of today, the only one by a car powered by a transverse engine.
1966 saw a 'Return to Power' as Formula One changed the engine rules once again, allowing engines of 3.0 litre normally aspirated, or 1.5 litre supercharged capacity. 1966 was a transitional year for most teams, however, the year did see the first use of a technology which would later go on to revolutionise the sport: composite materials. The McLaren M2B, designed by Robin Herd, used an aluminium-wood laminate known as Mallite for much of its monocoque, although the car's design did not make best use of the new material.
Ferrari was the great favorite with a 3 litre version of his well tested sports car V12 design, but the engines were underpowered and the cars were heavy; an enlarged V6 held some promise but Surtees left mid-season after a dispute with team manager Dragoni. Coventry-Climax, formerly supplier to much of the field, pulled out of the sport leaving teams like Lotus to struggle with enlarged versions of obsolete Climax engines. Cooper turned to a development of an otherwise obsolete Maserati V12 that was originally designed for the Maserati 250 F in the late 1950s while BRM made the choice to design an incredibly heavy and complex H-16. The big winner was Jack Brabham, whose eponymous racing team took victory two years with a compact spaceframe chassis powered by the aluminium-block stock-derived Repco V8 unit. With SOHC heads and no more than 330 bhp,[9] the Repco was by far the least powerful of the new 3 litre engines but unlike the others it was light, reliable and available right from the start of the new rules. 1966 was Jack's year, while 1967 went to his teammate, New Zealander Denny Hulme, as Jack tried new parts on his car.
In 1967 Lotus introduced the Lotus 49, powered by the Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 engine that was to dominate Formula One for the next decade. Like the Repco the Cosworth was light and compact but it was a real racing engine using 4-valve DOHC heads and delivering much more power - Cosworth had aimed for 400 bhp (300 kW) and exceeded this when the engine first ran. The DFV was designed to be fully stressed (an idea pioneered by the Lancia D50).[10] This allowed Chapman to design a monocoque that ended just after the driver's seat while the Brabham were still using a very classic tubular frame that supported the engine, the gearbox and the rear suspension wishbones. The newborn DFV suffered from frequent failures due to excessive vibration from the flat-plane crank, forcing Keith Duckworth to redesign several parts and allowing Hulme to win the World Driver's Crown on reliability.
1967 also saw a remarkable result by Rhodesian driver John Love with a 2.7 litre four-cylinder Cooper-Climax; Love, who was in his forties and although seen as one of the finest drivers in Southern Africa was not a major star, led and finished second in that year's South African Grand Prix. Love's Cooper was originally designed for the short races of the Tasman Series; to run a full Grand Prix Love added two auxiliary gas tanks. Unfortunately the auxiliary tanks fuel pump failure forced him to refuel after having led most of the race.[11]
Love was the king of South Africa's flourishing domestic Formula One championship, which was run from 1960 through to 1975, winning the drivers championship six times in the 1960s. The frontrunning cars in the series were recently retired from the world championship although there was also a healthy selection of locally built or modified machines. Frontrunning drivers from the series usually contested their local World Championship Grand Prix, as well as occasional European events, although they had little success at that level.
By the late 1960s, 'overseas' races outside Europe like the South African Grand Prix formed about a third of the championship in any year. The core of the season remained the European season run over the Northern Hemisphere summer, with overseas races usually falling at the start or end of the season, a pattern which has continued to this day. There were also a number of non-championship races run outside Europe – the South African Grand Prix was occasionally one of these.
The mid engine revolution
Although the basic formula remained unchanged in 1958, races were shortened from around 500 km/300miles to 300 km/200 miles and cars had to use Avgas instead of various fuel mixtures using methanol as the primary component.
With Fangio retired, Mike Hawthorn in a Ferrari took the 1958 driver's championship – becoming the first English driver to earn a title. The British Vanwall team took the maiden constructors championship that season, but ruined their driver's championship aspirations by taking points off one another. Stirling Moss, despite having many more wins than Hawthorn, lost the title by one point. This season saw a woman driving in Formula One for the first time with Maria Teresa de Filippis racing a private Maserati at the Belgian Grand Prix[5].
1958 was a watershed in another crucial way for Formula One. Against a small field of Ferraris and Maseratis (BRM and Vanwall were still working to convert their engines to Avgas), Stirling Moss won the Argentine Grand Prix driving a mid-engined Cooper entered by the private team of Rob Walker, and powered by a 2 litre Coventry-Climax Straight-4. This was the first victory for a car with the engine mounted behind the driver in Formula One.[6] The next Grand Prix in Monaco was also won by that Cooper, this time driven by Maurice Trintignant and facing a more substantial opposition. Powered by undersized engines, the Coopers remained outsiders in 1958 but as soon as the new 2.5 litre Coventry-Climax engine was available, the little British cars went on to dominate Formula One. The 1959 season saw fierce competition between the works Cooper of Australian Jack Brabham and Moss in the Walker team's Cooper. As the use of a modified Citroën Traction Avant transaxle was Achilles heel of the Coopers, Walker switched to a home design. Unfortunately the special transmission turned out to be more unreliable that the standard part and Brabham took the title with Moss second.
For 1960 while Enzo Ferrari adopted a conservative attitude, claiming "the horses pull the car rather than push it",[7] Lotus and BRM introduced mid-engined machines. Walker's team switched to a Lotus 18 chassis. Moss gave Lotus its first Formula One victory at Monaco but his season was ruined by a crash and Brabham took a second title with his Cooper.
The mid-engined revolution rendered another potentially revolutionary car obsolete. The front-engined four-wheel drive Ferguson P99 raced in British Formula One races in 1961, winning the non-Championship Oulton Park International Gold Cup,[8] but was too heavy and complex compared to the new breed of mid-engined machines.
In 1961, in an attempt to curb speeds, Formula One was downgraded to 1.5 litre, non-supercharged engines (essentially the then-current Formula Two rules), a formula which would remain for the next five years. Ferrari could have used its already proven V6 powered mid-engined Formula 2 cars, but preferred to go one step beyond by designing a very sophisticated car powered by a 120° V6. This led to Ferrari dominance for the 1961 season as the British teams scrambled to come up with a suitable engine.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Formula One World Championship was merely the tip of the iceberg when it came to races run to Formula One regulations. The total number of races run to Formula One regulations remained about the same as it had been before the introduction of the World Championship. Many famous races, such as the Pau and Syracuse Grands Prix, the BRDC International Trophy, the Race of Champions and the Oulton Park Gold Cup, were not part of the World Championship, but nonetheless continued to draw the top drivers and teams to compete.
World Championship
- See 1950 season, 1951 season, 1952 season, 1953 season, 1954 season, 1955 season, 1956 season and 1957 season.
Juan Manuel Fangio drove this Alfa Romeo 159 to the title in 1951.
In 1950, as an answer to the Motorcycle World Championships introduced in 1949, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) organized the first ever official World Championship for Drivers using the Formula One rules. The organization of the championship, to be held across six of the 'major' Grands Prix of Europe, plus the Indianapolis 500, was a mere formalization of what had already been developing in Grand Prix racing during the previous years. It was the Italian teams of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Maserati which were best positioned to dominate the initial years of the championship. Other national manufacturers – such as the French manufacturer Talbot or the British effort BRM – competed, although less successfully. A number of private cars also took part in local races.
Alfa Romeo dominated all before them in the 1950 season, winning every race in the championship with the pre-war "Alfetta" 158s. The sole exception was the Indianapolis 500, which was part of the championship, although not run to Formula One regulations and rarely contested by the European teams. The race would never be important for Formula One and was no longer part of the championship after 1960. Nino Farina won the inaugural championship, Juan Manuel Fangio taking it in 1951 with the Alfa-Romeo 159, an evolution of the 158. The Alfetta's engines were extremely powerful for their capacity: In 1951 the 159 engine was producing around 420 bhp (310 kW) but this was at the price of a fuel consumption of 125 to 175 litres per 100 km (2.26 to 1.61 mpg imp/1.88 mpg to 1.34 mpg US).[2] Enzo Ferrari, who had raced the Alfettas before the war, was the first to understand that the 1.5 litre supercharged engine was a dead end: Any increase in power meant more fuel to carry or more time lost in the pits for refuelling, For the last races of 1950 Ferrari sent his 1.5 litre supercharged 125s to the museum, and fielded the new V12 4.5 litre normally aspirated 375s. With a fuel consumption of around 35 litres per 100 kilometres (8.1 mpg-imp; 6.7 mpg-US) the 375s offered fierce opposition to the Alfettas towards the end of the 1951 season. Alfa Romeo, a state-owned company, decided to withdraw after a refusal of the Italian government to fund the expensive design of a new car. Surprisingly, Alfa Romeo involvement in racing was made with a very thin budget, using mostly pre-war technology and material during the two seasons. For instance the team won two championships using only nine pre-war built engine blocks.
No Alfa Romeo, a supporting cast of privateer Lago-Talbot entries and an almost undriveable, unreliable BRM would make Ferrari effectively invincible. The FIA was in an embarrassing position as it had already announced that current Formula One regulations would last until 1954 before switching to 2.5-litre atmospheric engines. Major manufacturers were already working to develop cars for the future regulation and it was obvious that nobody would develop a new car for only two years. The promoters of the World Championship Grands Prix, mindful of the lack of serious competition for the Alfettas, eventually all adopted Formula Two regulations for two years. However, Ferrari's dominance went on with the light 4-cylinder powered 500s, bringing Italian legend Alberto Ascari his two championships in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Ferrari's Formula One cars continued to race very successfully in non-Championship Formula One and Formula Libre races through this period. Ironically, during this period the only World Championship race for which Formula One cars were eligible was the Indianapolis 500. In 1952 Ferrari entered four Formula One 375s with Alberto Ascari as lead driver, but with little success.
Discounting the Indianapolis 500, the World Championship was entirely based in Europe until 1953 when the season opened in Argentina. Since then there has always been at least one race outside Europe.
As planned, the World Championship races returned to Formula One regulations for the 1954 season, now based on 2.5-litre atmospheric engines. With them, Lancia and Mercedes-Benz came to the formula, hiring the best drivers of the era: Ascari for Lancia, Fangio for Mercedes. Featuring desmodromic valves, fuel injection, magnesium and exotic alloys parts, "streamlined" bodywork and other advanced features, the brand new Mercedes began the 1954 season with Fangio taking pole position at the "Grand Prix de l'ACF" at Reims-Gueux with the first lap over 200 km/h (124 mph) in Formula One before winning the race after a duel with other Mercedes driver Karl Kling, who finished second.
The Mercedes cars swept the next two seasons with Fangio winning all but three of the races. However, at the end of the 1955 season Mercedes vanished as swiftly as they had come. They had proven the superiority of their technology, but the crash of one of their sportscars that year at Le Mans, killing 83 people, was also a significant factor. The company would not return to Formula One for forty years.[3] After Le Mans, three of the year's remaining Grands Prix were cancelled.
The Monaco Grand Prix saw a spectacular incident when Ascari and his Lancia crashed into the harbour after missing a chicane. Ascari was pulled out of the water alive and apparently well. However, there was speculation over an undetected internal injury when four days later Ascari was killed at Monza while testing a sportscar. After Ascari's death, Lancia followed Mercedes out of the category, passing their engines, cars, information and technology to Ferrari.
The 1956 season saw Fangio make good use of the Lancia-born Ferrari to win his fourth championship. Driving for Maserati, he took his fifth championship in the 1957 season, a record which would not be beaten for 46 years.[4]
The early years
Formula One was first defined in 1946 by the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) of the FIA, forerunner of FISA, as the premier single seater racing category in worldwide motorsport. It was initially known as Formula A, but the name Formula One was widely used early on and became official in 1950. [1]
In the beginning, the formula was largely based on pre-war regulations defined by engine capacity. The regulation expected to bring a new balance between supercharged and normally aspirated cars. Non supercharged 4.5 litres pre-war Grand Prix cars were allowed to race against the pre-war 1.5 litres supercharged 'voiturettes' while pre-war supercharged Grand Prix cars were banned. The first race under the new regulations was the 1946 Turin Grand Prix held on 1 September, the race being won by Achille Varzi in an Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta, although in reality the cars were no different to those that had raced earlier in the season. Indeed Varzi's car was built before the war. Championships for drivers or constructors were not re-introduced immediately. In the early years there were around 20 races held from late Spring to early Autumn (Fall) in Europe, although not all of these were considered significant. Most competitive cars came from Italy, particularly Alfa Romeo. Races saw pre-war heroes like Varzi, Jean-Pierre Wimille and Tazio Nuvolari end their careers, while drivers like Ascari and Fangio rose to the front.
In the beginning, the formula was largely based on pre-war regulations defined by engine capacity. The regulation expected to bring a new balance between supercharged and normally aspirated cars. Non supercharged 4.5 litres pre-war Grand Prix cars were allowed to race against the pre-war 1.5 litres supercharged 'voiturettes' while pre-war supercharged Grand Prix cars were banned. The first race under the new regulations was the 1946 Turin Grand Prix held on 1 September, the race being won by Achille Varzi in an Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta, although in reality the cars were no different to those that had raced earlier in the season. Indeed Varzi's car was built before the war. Championships for drivers or constructors were not re-introduced immediately. In the early years there were around 20 races held from late Spring to early Autumn (Fall) in Europe, although not all of these were considered significant. Most competitive cars came from Italy, particularly Alfa Romeo. Races saw pre-war heroes like Varzi, Jean-Pierre Wimille and Tazio Nuvolari end their careers, while drivers like Ascari and Fangio rose to the front.
History of Formula One
Formula One has its roots in the European Grand Prix motor racing (q.v. for pre-1947 history) of the 1920s and 1930s. However, the foundation of Formula One began in 1946 with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA's) standardisation of rules. A World Drivers' Championship followed in 1950. The sport's history necessarily parallels the history of its technical regulations; see Formula One regulations for a summary of the technical rule changes. Although the world championship has always been the main focus of the category, non-championship Formula One races were held for many years. Due to the rising cost of competition, the last of these occurred in 1983. National championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s.
Formula One History
The modern era of Formula One Grand Prix racing began in 1950, but the roots of F1 are far earlier, including such pre-World War II legends as Italian Tazio Nuvolari and the great German teams, Auto Union and Mercedes Benz.
The modern era of Formula One Grand Prix racing began in 1950, but the roots of F1 are far earlier, tracing to the pioneering road races in France in the 1890s, through the Edwardian years, the bleak twenties, the German domination of the 1930s and the early post-war years of Italian supremacy.
At the birth of racing, cars were upright and heavy, roads were tarred sand or wood, reliability was problematic, drivers were accompanied by mechanics, and races — usually on public roads from town to town — were impossibly long by modern standards. Regarded as the first motor race proper was a 1,200 km road race from Paris to Bordeaux and back in 1895, won by Émile Levassor with his Panhard et Levassor in 48 hours. One of the most successful drivers of the early years was Fernand Charron, who won the Paris-Bordeaux race in 1899, also in a Panhard, at the blazing average speed of 29.9 mph.
The first race using the appellation "Grand Prix" was 1901's French Grand Prix at Le Mans, won by Ferencz Szisz with a Renault, who covered the 700 miles at 63.0 mph. In 1908 the Targa Florio in Sicily saw the appearance of "pits," shallow emplacements dug by the side of the track where mechanics could labor with the detachable rims on early GP car tires — themselves a major technical improvement over the earlier technique of permanently attached wheels and spokes. But even so, racing cars of the early years were too heavy and fast for their tires; Christian Lauteschalnger's winning Mercedes shredded 10 tires in the 1908 French Grand Prix at Dieppe!
In 1914, the massive 4 1/2 litre Mercedes of Daimler-Benz dominated the French Grand Prix at Lyons — 20 laps of a 23.3 mile circuit — taking the first three places and introducing control of drivers by signal from the pits. During World War I, racing was halted in Europe, and many drivers participated in the U.S. Indianapolis 500. Enzo Ferrari — who's real fame was to follow as a team manager and manufacturer with Scuderia Ferrari, formed in 1929 to race Alfa Roméo P2s —- finished second in the 1920 Voiturette race at Le Mans, the first international road race in France in six years.
By tradition the Italian racing driver in action is an excitable character given to shouting, gesticulating, waving his fists, baring his teeth and in general giving way to his emotions. Tazio Nuvolari filled this role splendidly.
The Farmer's Son - Cyril Posthumus
The first (and, until Dan Gurney's Eagle-Weslake at Spa-Francorchamps in 1967, the only) Grand Prix victory by an American-built car was by Jimmy Murphy in the 1921 French Grand Prix at Le Mans, driving a Duesnberg. Among the best of the 1920s manufacturers were Bugatti, whose straight-eight Type 35Bs won the French and Spanish GPs in 1929 and the Monaco, French and Belgian GPs in 1930, and Fiat, which introduced the supercharger for the first time in 1923.
The Great Depression of the early 1930s led to a lack of money and interest in Grand Prix racing, but saw the emergence of the legendary Tazio Nuvolari, whose wins in the Alfa Romeo P3 "Monza" in the Mille Miglia, at Monaco and the Italian GP at Monza were stunning. His victory in the 1933 Monaco GP was the first in which staring grid positions were determined by qualifying times. But in 1934, the balance of power in racing would begin to shift from Italy to Germany, with the emergence of factory teams from Auto Union (now Audi) and Mercedes-Benz, behind massive financial support from the Third Reich government on orders from Adolph Hitler.
These powerful and beautiful German machines introduced aerodynamics into Grand Prix car design and ran on exotic, secret fuel brews. Driving the sleek, silver 3-litre V12 Auto Union in his trademark canary yellow jersey, Nuvolari achieved new greatness with these incredibly well-engineered automobiles — but nothing to top his 1935 German GP victory at the Nürburgring, where he defeated nine modern German cars in a four-year old Alfa Roméo.
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