Articles Index
Lotus: The Definitive Revival of the Old Name
After a long battle with the revived Lotus team based in Malaysia, the Renault team officially became the Lotus team and in 2011 the great name was back in the sport for a second revival. Now led by Eric Boullier, the team was built on the strong base of the Enstone team that had won so many world titles with Benetton and Renault, and which was now turning back to its own history and adding the "new" Lotus name to that. Going from strength to strength.
Kimi Raikkonen: The Iceman From Finland, a Cool Ferrari Driver
After twice finishing second in the Formula 1 drivers' title series at McLaren, Kimi Raikkonen joined Ferrari in 2007. At the dominant team of the last decade, in 2007 the Finnish driver finally broke the jinx and took his first championship crown.
Renault: Formula 1 World Champions Against the Odds
Although the Renault car manufacturer was long one of the most successful engine builders in Formula 1, it was not until 2005 that Renault managed to win a world constructors' title as both engine and chassis builder. It also won the drivers' title that year with Fernando Alonso, and then won both titles again in 2006. The team lost Alonso for 2007, dropped in the standings, but rehired the Spaniard for 2008 and won two races.
Lotus: the Historic Return to F1 of a Great Name and Team
The new Lotus Racing team was born in a revival of the old Lotus racing team in 2010, with the backing of Clive Chapman, the son of the founder, Colin Chapman, who died in 1982. After his death, the team continued with different directors before finally closing down after the 1994 season. The last race victory had come in 1987 at the United States Grand Prix East, in Detroit, with Ayrton Senna driving. The new team was revived by a Malaysian owner.
Sauber: The Strong Independent F1 Team
The Formula 1 Sauber team was always a top one in style. But it never found the size of budget necessary to graduate to the next level. When BMW bought the Swiss team based in Hinwil, it invested in the factory and staff in a way that Sauber was never able to do, and as of 2012 the results began to show consistently.
Sebastian Vettel: Formula 1's Youngest Double World Champion
When Sebastian Vettel was called in to replace Robert Kubica at the U.S. Grand Prix in 2007 and finished eighth he became the youngest driver to score a point in Formula 1. Vettel was the test driver at the BMW Sauber team, but he was also part of the Red Bull Energy drink's driver development program. So when Scott Speed was kicked out of the Toro Rosso team before the Hungarian Grand Prix that same year, Vettel was hired to replace him. He moved to Red Bull the following year. Now, Vettel is the youngest double world champion.
Circuit of the German Grand Prix
Built in 1932 in the countryside near Heidelberg, in southern Germany, the Hockenheim circuit is one of the oldest and most historic racetracks in Europe. It has been hosting Formula 1 races only since 1970, however, and for the past few years it has alternated hosting the German Grand Prix every other year with the Nürburgring.
BMW Sauber: A Team to Challenge the Old Guard
Although the BMW Sauber team is in only its second year as a full car manufacturer team, it was built on the solid basis of the team founded by Peter Sauber. The Sauber team was always a top team in style, although it never found the budget necessary to graduate to the next level. Since BMW bought the Swiss team based in Hinwil, it has invested in the factory and staff in a way that Sauber was never able to do.
Fernando Alonso: The Youngest Double World Champion in History
In 2006 Fernando Alonso became the youngest double world champion in Formula 1 history, and the youngest to win consecutive drivers' titles. In fact, at 25, but with five seasons of F1 racing behind him, the Spaniard had a series of "youngest" records to his name. He then joined McLaren-Mercedes for 2007, just missed on the title, and rejoined Renault for 2008.
Ferrari: Formula 1's Most Successful Team Enters a New Era
Ferrari is the only Formula 1 team to have raced in the series since the championship was founded in 1950. It is also the most successful team in F1 history. After dominating for the last decade and breaking F1 team records with Michael Schumacher driving, Ferrari now enters a new era after the German's retirement.
McLaren Mercedes: F1's Second Most Successful Team
McLaren Mercedes is the second most successful Formula 1 team, behind Ferrari. It has won races in five different decades of racing in the FIA Formula 1 world championship. From its earliest years, in the 1960s, it has been one of the top teams. It made a successful transition to new management in the early 1980s, when Ron Dennis took over running the team, and the period when Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna raced as team mates was one of the strongest in F1 history.
Red Bull Racing: The Fun Team With the Big Ambitions
The Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team joined the sport in 2005 after buying the Jaguar team. After a first promising season, it did less well in its second year. But by hiring one of the best technical directors in the sport, Adrian Newey, and changing to the world champion Renault engine, the 2007 season looks promising. The team is part of the marketing program of the Red Bull Austrian energy drink company. Red Bull is involved in many sports around the world.
Bruno Senna: Nephew of Ayrton, and Driver in His Own Right
Bruno Senna is the nephew of Ayrton Senna, one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time who was killed in a racing accident at Imola, Italy in 1994. After two seasons racing in Formula 1, Bruno joined the Williams team in 2012, the team where his uncle died.
Caterham: An Historic Name Enters F1 With a Young Team
The new Caterham team was born, fittingly, out of the old Team Lotus changed its name following a dispute over the Lotus name. But it is a fitting name for the team, given the Caterham car heritage and its Lotus 7 cars.
David Coulthard: Last of the Gentleman Drivers
David Coulthard race in Formula 1 from 1994 to 2008. He first joined the Williams team after the death of Ayrton Senna. The Scottish driver has won many races and always proved he was a good and sure value for any team. But he never won the drivers' title.
Marussia Virgin: The Experimental F1 Team With the Russian Roots
It was one of the three new teams in the 2010 season, and the Virgin team, like its majority owner, Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, entered the series with a plan to do things differently.
Hispania: The Spanish Formula 1 Team, Based in Germany
Started by the Spanish entrepreneur José Ramón Carabante, Hispania Racing makes do with a small staff and budget.
Shanghai International Circuit
The Shanghai International Circuit, where Formula One has been racing since 2004, is the biggest, most ambitious of any of the series venues. It is also the third circuit in the first four races this season that was designed by the Grand Prix racetrack architect Hermann Tilke. And for many people, it was the one that went a little too far.
Sepang International Circuit
Purpose-built for Formula One, the 3.4-mile, Sepang International Circuit has hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix since its inception in 1999. The track inspired a series of monumental circuits in other countries with little racing tradition — Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, China and Turkey — and designed by the series’s preferred track architect, Hermann Tilke.
Bahrain International Circuit
Clear skies, a piercingly hot sun and sand, sand, sand. These are the main physical characteristics of Formula 1's first circuit in the desert, site of the Bahrain Grand Prix outside Manama.
Circuit of the Australian Grand Prix
On a track located in a grassy park within commuting distance of the city center, the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne has always been a favorite for most of the Formula 1 teams, drivers and the thousands of people that follow around the world’s largest travelling circus. South of Melbourne, the circuit began hosting the Australian Grand Prix in 1996. With the many chicanes, abrupt corners and bumpy surface of this is a challenging street circuit, most of the races have been interesting.
Circuit of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The Abu Dhabi circuit, on Yas Island, in 2009 became the site of the first “twilight” Formula One race, beginning in daylight and ending in darkness.
Circuit of the Brazilian Grand Prix
The Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, in Interlagos, outside São Paulo is one of the most unusual of the Formula 1 season: It is the second shortest after Monaco’s, it runs counterclockwise, and at about 2,600 feet above sea level, it is the highest. It undulates around a dish-shaped landscape, where much of the track can be seen by spectators.
Mario Andretti:: The Great Andretti, Second American F1 World Champion
With more than 100 victories in several disciplines in six decades — including 52 victories and four drivers' titles in IndyCar, the World Championship drivers' title in Formula 1, and a victory at the Indianapolis 500 — Mario Andretti is one of the greatest racing drivers of all time.
Circuit of the Japanese Grand Prix
Beside an amusement park on undulating land near Nagoya, Japan’s fourth-largest city, the Suzuka circuit is like one of the neighboring roller coasters.