Profiles
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.
Pedro de la Rosa: BMW Sauber Driver Resurrects Career
After spending most of the first decade of the 21st century as a test and reserve driver at the McLaren Mercedes F1 team, Pedro de la Rosa, who raced in F1 from 1999 to 2002, restarted his career as a full time driver at the BMW Sauber team, and at the age of 39.
Bruno Senna: Another Senna at the Pinnacle of Motor Racing
Bruno Senna, the nephew of Ayrton Senna, the former world champion, joined Formula 1 in 2010 at the new Campos team. After his uncle died in a racing accident in 1994 Bruno quit go-kart racing at his mother's insistence. He returned as an adult and began a lightning career in the lower categories that finally saw the arrival of the Senna name back at the pinnacle.
Luca Badoer: The Ferrari Test Driver Returns to Race
Luca Badoer had been a test driver for Ferrari when he was suddenly called in to race again to replace the injured Felipe Massa. Massa had been involved in an accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2009. Badoer, at 38, was called upon to replace the Brazilian at the next race, the European Grand Prix at Valencia.
Sébastien Buemi: Young Swiss F1 Driver
Sébastien Buemi joins the Toro Rosso team as Formula 1's youngest driver in 2009. At 20 years old, Buemi, a Swiss, comes to the sport after winning multiple go-karting titles as a child, but never having won a championship in car racing after five seasons racing. The Red Bull supported driver did, however, finish second on several occasions.
Nelson Piquet Jr.: Son of Triple World Champion Gets His Break
Nelson Piquet Jr. is the latest in a string of sons of former world champion Formula 1 drivers to follow in his father's footsteps, his father having won the title three times in the 1980s. And Nelsinho, as he is also known, while having help from his father since the beginning, also proved that he merits chance in his rookie season in 2008 at the Renault team.
Kazuki Nakajima: Japanese Son Takes Quiet Road to F1
Kazuki Nakajima is the son of Satoru Nakajima, who was the first Japanese driver to land a full time race seat in Formula 1. Kazuki rose up the categories from karting to F1 by way of the Toyota young driver program to land his own full time drive in the sport in 2008 at the Williams team.
Timo Glock: An F1 Driver Finds His Second Chance
Timo Glock came to Formula 1 racing full time rather late and after a great resuscitation in his career. After a short stint at the Jordan team in 2004, the German returned to race at Toyota full-time four years later. A rare feat for an F1 driver.
Sébastien Bourdais: A Four-Time Champion at Toro Rosso
It took Sébastien Bourdais five years and four drivers' titles in the Champ Car series to return to his native Europe at the pinnacle, in Formula 1. After winning the Formula 3000 title in 2002, Bourdais went to race in Champ Car in the United States. But his goal was always to race in F1, and he finally achieved this by joining the Toro Rosso team.
Sakon Yamamoto: Next Generation Japanese Formula 1 Driver
Sakon Yamamoto has had a short and noticeable career in Formula 1. In 2006 the Japanese driver was hired by the new Super Aguri team to replace Franck Montagny, who was in turn replacing yuji Ide. Yamamoto failed to finish his first four races, but then finished his last three. In the Spyker team hired him to replace Christijan Albers.
When Sebastian Vettel was called in to replace Robert Kubica at the U.S....
When Sebastian Vettel was called in to replace Robert Kubica at the U.S. Grand Prix in 2007 and finished eighth in the race he became the youngest driver to score a point in Formula 1. Vettel was the third driver at the BMW Sauber team, but he was also a Red Bull development driver. So when Scott Speed was kicked out of the Toro Rosso team,...
Christijan Albers: Serious, Solid Dutchman in Search of F1 Results
Christijan Albers enters his third year in Formula 1 at the Spyker team. After two seasons at inferior teams - Minardi and Midland (Spyker's predecessor) - his biggest challenge of the season will be to prove himself against his strong new rookie team mate, Adrian Sutil.
Adrian Sutil: Precocious Pianist Quits Concert Hall for Formula 1
Adrian Sutil joined the Spyker F1 team after a distinguished career in the lower formulas and go-karting. Yet even before he discovered racing he had a career as a child concert pianist. It was not until he was 14 that he discovered go-karting, and decided to change careers.
Anthony Davidson: British F1 Driver Comes Into His Own at Super Aguri
Anthony Davidson spent six years as a Formula 1 test driver at the BAR Honda and Honda teams before joining the Super Aguri team in the 2007 season as a full time F1 racer. After having raced in only three Grand Prix races prior to the 2007 season, and failing to finish at all of them, the British driver has finally finished races in 2007.
Takuma Sato: Japan's Greatest Formula 1 Driver
Takuma Sato is the only Japanese driver now racing in Formula 1. He started at the Jordan team in 2002 after racing in the lower series in Europe. He was hired to race at the BAR-Honda team in 2003. There he scored points, and the highest qualifying position by a Japanese driver in Formula 1.
Vitantonio Liuzzi: Colorful Italian Formula 1 Driver Still to Prove His Worth
Vitantonio Liuzzi, also known as simply Tonio Liuzzi, was a great hope for Formula 1 when he started racing in the series at the Red Bull team in 2005. He had won the karting world championship and beaten Michael Schumacher at the same time, and then he won the Formula 3000 series with the record number of victories. He was supported by the Red Bull energy drink company. But in his first year he was forced to share the car with Austrian driver Christian Klien, then moved to Toro Rosso.
Scott Speed: American F1 Driver Who Overcame all of the Obs
In 2006 Scott Speed became the first American driver in Formula 1 since Michael Andretti in 1993. In a sport that has only two American world champion drivers - Phil Hill and Mario Andretti - and few other sucessful American drivers, Speed, as with any American driver, has a lot to prove.
Nico Rosberg: Formula 1 World Champion's Son Joins Dad's Ol
Son of the Formula 1 world champion Keke Rosberg, Nico Rosberg proved in his first season that he is capable of racing with the best F1 drivers. Nico scored two points in his first race in F1 and set the fastest lap. But the rest of his first season was less exemplary. He is using his time at Williams to develop his technical knowledge and racecraft, following in his father's footsteps.
Alexander Wurz: The Articulate, Technically Minded Formula 1 Driver
Alexander Wurz has had one of the most unusual careers in racing, starting as a child cycling star and then moving to Formula 1 in 1997 at the age of 23. After four seasons at Benetton he joined McLaren-Mercedes as a test driver, filling in during one race, in 2005, before joining Williams as a test driver the following year. He returned to full time racing in 2007.
Ralf Schumacher: Michael's Little Brother, Toyota Driver
When he joined F1 in 1997 at the Jordan team, many in the sport thought that Ralf Schumacher was nothing but the little brother of Michael Schumacher, he was a driver who got his seat because of his name. In fact, Ralf quickly proved his critics wrong, scored 13 points in his first season. But in recent years the early promise has faded.
Felipe Massa: Young Ferrari Driver Becomes F1 Title Favorite
Felipe Massa climbed steadily and quietly up the F1 ladder at Sauber until last year he had his big chance as a driver for Ferrari. As Michael Schumacher's teammate the Brazilian did not disappoint, winning the first two races of his career, the Turkish Grand Prix and the Brazilian Grand Prix. As teammate to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and 2008, Massa was a contender for the drivers' title.
Jenson Button: A British Driver Makes Good at Honda Formula 1 Team
After seven seasons in the sport, Jenson Button finally won his first Formula 1 race in 2006 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The victory justified one of the most difficult decisions in his career when in 2004 he broke a contract with the Williams team in order to stay with the Honda team, causing bitterness and criticism throughout the paddock.
Mark Webber: Australian Eternal Hopeful Taking (Red) Bull by the Horns
Australian driver Mark Webber enters a crucial year in his career as he joins the Red Bull team in 2007. After five years in F1, Webber, 30, will partner David Coulthard, one of the most victorious drivers still racing. Webber has outraced all of his teammates, but always seemed to be at the wrong team at the wrong time, or, as in the case of Williams, the right team at the wrong time.
Robert Kubica: A Pole Aiming for Pole Position
Robert Kubica was such a fast and dependable test driver for the BMW Sauber team in 2006 that before the season ended the team gave him the opportunity to replace Jacques Villeneuve as full time racer. Kubica became the first Polish driver in Formula 1 and took part in six races, finishing as high as third at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Nick Heidfeld: A Solid Racer Who Brings in the Points
Nick Heidfeld was one of the bright young hopes at the turn of the millennium in the lower levels of racing as a protégé of McLaren Mercedes. After joining Formula 1, however, he spent years at weaker teams while newer drivers came in above him. He eventually lost hope of going to the top team that had nurtured him. But in 2005 he began a relationship with BMW at the Williams team which was to pay off when the German car manufacturer started its own team in 2006 and took Heidfeld with it.
Heikki Kovalainen: A Personable, Articulate Finnish Wild Card
Following in the footsteps of two great Finnish drivers - Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen - the latest young Finn has a couple of hard acts to follow. But everything from his results in the lower levels of racing indicates that Heikki Kovalainen has what it takes for Formula 1 success. Personally, he is more demonstrative than his predecessors and could become a great crowd pleaser of the coming years. But Heikki will be under pressure in his rookie year at the world champion Renault team.
Giancarlo Fisichella: A Driver's Driver in a Make or Break Year
Giancarlo Fisichella has long been one of the most highly respected drivers in Formula 1, but the Italian from Rome had a difficult time finding the right team at the right time. When he joined Renault in 2005, he was finally there. Then unfortunately, his teammate, Fernando Alonso, won most of the races and the drivers' titles in 2005 and 2006. The 2007 season will be make or break it for Fisichella.
Lewis Hamilton: The Trailblazing Driver at McLaren-Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton's rise to the pinnacle of world motor racing is a story unique in the history of Formula 1. After years of proving to be one of the fastest, most successful drivers in the lower series the young British driver joined the illustrious McLaren-Mercedes team in 2007 to become the first black driver in F1 history.
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. But after making his reputation at the Renault team, he joined McLaren-Mercedes...
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, the Finnish driver hopes to break the jinx and take his first championship crown.
David Coulthard: Last of the Gentleman Drivers
David Coulthard has been racing in Formula 1 since 1994, when he 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.
Rubens Barrichello: The Sympathetic Brazilian With the Heart
Rubens Barrichello joined F1 in 1993 at 20 at the Jordan team, where he impressed the paddock with his speed and daring. A protégé of his countryman Ayrton Senna, Barrichello's great beginning was suddenly shattered when Senna was killed the following year. Barrichello had to rebuild his confidence, then joined Ferrari as Michael Schumacher's faithful teammate and won his first races.
Jenson Button Talks About His Career Racing
Jenson Button is a driver at the McLaren Mercedes team and the winner of the world drivers’ title in 2009, when he drove for the Brawn team. He has won 14 Grand Prix races, the most recent being the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francochamps on Sept. 2. He started racing in Formula 1 in 2000 at the Williams team. He joined the Benetton team in...