INFO/F1: Formula One Motor Racing FAQ (modified 96-09-16), Part 1 of 2
- mitchmcc@ultranet.com (Mitchell McCann)
- UltraNet Communications, Inc.
- Mon Sep 16 22:11:52 EDT 1996
Archive-name: sports/formula-one-faq/part1
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: September 16, 1996
You obviously already have a copy of this FAQ but if you don't
have the most up to date version you can get it from:
http://www.ultranet.com/~mitchmcc/
It is also posted on or about the 15th of each month to:
rec.autos.sport.f1
rec.autos.sport.info
rec.answers
news.answers
This version was most recently updated on September 16, 1996.
The following list of Frequently Asked Questions has been put
together with the help many people and their input is greatly
appreciated. All contributors are acknowledged at the end of
this FAQ and sections which are substantially the work of one
person are denoted with that persons initials.
This FAQ is a work in progress and further submissions in the
way of questions and/or answers are encouraged. You can e-mail
me, Mitchell McCann, at mitchmcc@ultranet.com
Please note that there is also a r.a.s.* FAQ by Andrew Henry
which contains a lot of information that is of interest to F1
fans. Unfortunately, that FAQ is no longer being updated so some
of the information may be dated but it is still well worth
reading.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 1996 F1 schedule
1.2 What is Formula One? What is the FIA? What is FOCA?
1.3 Ticket information
2. THE TEAMS
2.1 Arrows
2.2 Benetton
2.3 Ferrari
2.4 Forti
2.5 Jordan
2.6 Ligier
2.7 McLaren
2.8 Minardi
2.9 Sauber
2.10 Tyrrell
2.11 Williams
3. THE DRIVERS
3.1 Jean Alesi
3.2 Luca Badoer
3.3 Rubens Barrichello
3.4 Gerhard Berger
3.5 Martin Brundle
3.6 David Coultard
3.7 Pedro Diniz
3.8 Juan Manuel Fangio
3.9 Giancarlo Fisichella
3.10 Heinz-Harald Frentzen
3.11 Mika Hakkinen
3.12 Johnny Herbert
3.13 Damon Hill
3.14 Eddie Irvine
3.15 Ukyo Katayama
3.16 Pedro Lamy
3.17 Jan Magnussen
3.18 Tarso Marques
3.19 Andrea Montermini
3.20 Olivier Panis
3.21 Mika Salo
3.22 Michael Schumacher
3.23 Ayrton Senna
3.24 Jos Verstappen
3.25 Jacques Villeneuve
4. THE RULES
4.1 How many points are scored for a win?
4.2 Is that a brake light on the back of the cars?
4.3 The start.
4.4 The finish.
4.5 What is the safety car for?
4.6 What is a stop-go penalty?
4.7 What do the different colored flags mean?
4.8 Is mid-race re-fueling allowed?
4.9 What is the 107% rule?
4.10 Who is eligible for a super-license?
5. THE CARS
5.1 Why V10 engines?
5.2 How big are the engines?
5.3 How much does a car weigh?
5.4 What is the tub made of?
5.5 How many gears do the cars have?
5.6 Interesting engine facts.
6. MISCELLANEOUS
6.1 What happens during a pit-stop?
6.2 Sponsorship.
6.3 What's the difference between F1 and Indy?
6.4 How many teams are there?
6.5 What is the connection between Ford and Cosworth?
6.6 What radio frequencies do the teams use?
6.7 How can you tell team-mates apart?
7. NETIQUETTE
8. WEB SITES
9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 1996 schedule
Winner
March 10th Melbourne Australia Hill
March 31st Interlagos Brazil Hill
April 7th Buenos Aires Argentina Hill
April 28th Nurenburgring Europe Villeneuve
May 5th Imola San Marino Hill
May 19th Monte Carlo Monaco Panis
June 2nd Barcelona Spain Schumacher
June 16th Montreal Canada Hill
June 30th Magny-Cours France Hill
July 14th Silverstone Great Britain Villeneuve
July 28th Hockenheim Germany Hill
August 11th Budapest Hungary Villeneuve
August 25th Spa-Francorchamps Belgium Schumacher
September 8th Monza Italy Schumacher
September 22nd Estoril Portugal
October 13th Suzuka Japan
1.2 What is Formula One? What is the FIA? What is FOCA? [AH]
FIA politics is really grungy stuff.
The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) is the
governing and sanctioning body for the FIA World Driver's
Championship, which is run to a set of technical and procedural
regulations and specifications known as Formula One. The FIA's
competition committee, which consists of representatives of the
motor sport organizing bodies of the member countries (eg ACCUS
represents the US, the RAC represents the UK, the FFSA
represents France), sets the F1 regulations, interprets them,
and judges any appeals or disputes.
The Formula One Constructor's Association (FOCA) is an
organisation of the chassis builders (constructors) who design
and build the cars that race in the F1 Grands Prix. Since the
rules these days say that a constructor can supply cars to only
one team, constructor and team are more or less synonymous.
Max Mosley (son of British fascist leader Oswald Mosley) is the
president of the FIA and is in charge of its day-to-day
operations. Bernie Ecclestone, who used to own and manage the
Brabham F1 team, is the president of the FOCA and also the
vice-president of marketing for the FIA. Originally, all the F1
Grands Prix were independent events, independently financed and
organized within their host countries. The FIA merely set the
technical regulations for F1, and designated certain Grands Prix
to be the qualifying rounds for the Driver's and Constructor's
Championships. Up until sometime in the 1970s, there were other
Grands Prix held besides those races included in the FIA
Championship. But the idea of non-Championship Grands Prix died
out as it became more and more expensive to hold F1 events. As
time went by, the Constructor's Association (FOCA) took on a
bigger and bigger role in the business side of Grand Prix
racing. They organized and coordinated the sponsorship of the
events, sold the television rights, and did the logistics and
financing of moving the Grand Prix `circus' from country to
country.
Then, in the late 1970s, Jean-Marie Balestre was elected as head
of the Committee du Sport Internationale (CSI), the committee of
the FIA directly involved in supervising F1. He decided that the
FIA should take back more control over the sport. When he tried
to impose his will autocratically, Bernie Ecclestone and the
other constructors in FOCA resisted. There was a big power
struggle between FISA (Federation Internationale du Sport
Automotive, Balestre's new name for the CSI) and FOCA in the
early 1980s. Some Grands Prix got cancelled or had their
championship status stripped as a result. In the end, FISA and
the FIA won out over the FOCA, mainly, I think, because the
teams were not unanimously behind the FOCA (not all constructors
were FOCA members), and because the sponsors, race organizers,
and others involved in Grand Prix racing prevailed on both sides
to settle things amicably. But for a while, the FOCA was talking
about forming a new F1 championship series comprising the races
that it organized, while the FIA of course was threatening to
refuse sanctioning for those races. There almost were two `World
Championship' series. Later on, Bernie Ecclestone was appointed
marketing director for the FIA, but he still retains his
presidency of FOCA. So Bernie is still in charge of the
organizational and financial side of Grand Prix racing, but now
officially as part of the FIA instead of in an independent
organisation.
The agreement between FISA and FOCA over control of F1 is called
the Concorde Agreement. Among other things, it says that except
in the case of emergencies, changes to technical regulations
must be announced two years in advance of the date of adoption,
unless all constructors agree unanimously to adopt the
regulations earlier. This came up in 1994 because Max Mosley
wanted to introduce several major technical changes in the wake
of a series of fatal and near-fatal accidents in F1. He made
these changes without the unanimous agreement called for by the
Concorde Agreement, by claiming that this was an emergency
situation.
So Max Mosley, as FIA president, is responsible for setting
rules and policy for F1, but he's limited by the Concorde
Agreement in how quickly and how far he can push things his way.
Since Bernie Ecclestone still controls the purse strings for
Grand Prix racing, he still carries a lot of clout. As for `can
somebody take it away', the FIA president is elected by the
representatives from the member countries. When Max Mosley's
current term is up, he could be voted out. Similarly, I think
that the constructors could oust Ecclestone if they wanted to.
1.3 Ticket information
(Editor's note: I would like to expand on this section and
possibly make it a separate posting. Anybody who has this sort
of information on any regular and/or future venues, please let
me know).
Canada - Grand Prix Molson du Canada
Phone: (514) 392-4731
Fax: (514) 392-0007
1996 prices - Gold 3 day Can$295
Silver 3 day Can$250
Bronze 3 day Can$135
Bronze daily Can$50, 60 and 85
G.A. 3 day Can$60
G.A. daily Can$20, 30 and 40
Consensus seems to be that the stands at the hairpin, silver or
bronze, are the best value for money. Golds are over-priced.
General Admission - can be OK but get there very early. Circuit
accessible by public transport - subway to Ile St-Helene
station.
Belgian Grand Prix
Spa Francorchamps
(usually held at last weekend of August)
R.F.P.
Route du Circuit 55
B-4970 Francorchamps
Tel +32 87-27.51.46 / 27.51.38
Fax +32 87-27.55.51 / 27.52.96
1994 Prices
===========
Tickets: Friday Saturday Sunday Weekend
Green BEF 700 1.500 2.500 4.000
Bronze BEF 1.000 2.000 3.500 5.000
Silver BEF 1.500 3.000 6.000 7.000
Gold BEF ---- ---- 8.000 9.000
Green is limited access only, which means you allowed to stand
on the banking along the 'Kemmel' straight. Bronze gives you
access to (practically) all around the circuit. There are some
pretty fast corners at Spa, which are a must to be seen {Usually
a spin or two occurs at well :-)}. A Silver ticket buys you a
place at the open tribunes, while Gold either gives you right to
sit at the covered tribune at the finish line or the tribune
facing the awesome 'Eau Rouge' corner.
Looking for a place to stay? The Tourist Office might help you
out:
Spa Office du Tourisme
Place Royal 41
B 4900 Spa
Tel (+32) 87 77.17.00
Fax (+32) 87 77.07.00
Monaco Grand Prix
Always held at the weekend following Ascension day.
The following information about the event in 1996 was found on
the Webpages at http://www.monaco.mc/monaco/gprix/stand.html
Prices
Thursday Saturday Sunday
Stand Situation 16-May 18-May 19-May
A1 Saint Devote - Tabac 250F 600F 1400F
A3 Viaduc Saint Devote 250F 600F 1400F
A4 Ave de la Costa - 300F 500F
B Casino 250F 700F 1400F
E Chicane - 600F 1400F
K Quai Albert 1er 300F 750F 1500F
M Route de la Piscine 300F 700F 1400F
N Piscine panne Nord 200F 450F 900F
O Piscine Plongeur 200F 600F 1400F
P Piscine panne Sud 200F 450F 900F
L Piscine Rainier III 200F 450F 900F
T Cale de halage 150F 300F -
U Virage Rascasse 250F - -
V Virage Anthony Noghes 250F 600F 1400F
W Courbe des Gazometres 250F 600F 1400F
Z1 Av J.F. Kennedy 100F 200F 300F
Z2 Virage Anthony Noghes 150F 300F 600F
R Rocher de Monaco - 150F 200F
Seating Notes
General:
Stands K,M have the best view of the large TV screen (positioned
above and behind stand Z1.) Stand R is a large grass bank with a
view down over the port. There are no official seats. The large
TV can also be seen from this stand.
Thursday:
The tickets do not reference a seat number. You are free to sit
anywhere in the stand you have chosen.
Stands K,M: The ticket allows access to K and M.
Stands N,O,P: The ticket allows access to N,O and P.
Friday:
The stands are free. The circuit is only operational in the
morning and there is no Formula 1 action.
Saturday:
The tickets for all stands except Z,Z1,R are numbered to
specific
seats.
Sunday:
The tickets for all stands except Z,Z1,R are numbered to
specific
seats.
Buying Tickets
The Monaco Grand Prix tickets are on sale at the Automobile Club
of Monaco Reservations Office *) or at the accredited agents:
France:
Voyages Kuoni
2 rue Marechal Joffre
06000 Nice
Tel: 93.16.08.02, FAX: 93.16.15.45
Great Britain:
Page and Moy
136 London Road
Leicester LE2 1EN
Tel: (116) 252.4344, FAX: (116) 252.4283
Italy:
Bononia Viaggi
Galleria del Toro 3
40121 Bologna
Tel: (51) 26.39.85, FAX: (51) 23.93.17
Switzerland:
A.C. der Schweiz
Birsigstrasse 4
4011 Basel
Tel: (61) 272.39.33, FAX: (61) 281.36.57
*) Automobile Club de Monaco
23, Bd. Albert 1er
MC98012 Monaco
Tel: 93.15.26.00
FAX: 93.25.80.08
2. THE TEAMS
2.1 Arrows
Engine: Hart V8
Nationality: British
Key personnel: Tom Walkinshaw - owner
Year formed: 1977
Formula 1 debut: 1978
1995 car/drivers: FA16 - Inoue, Papis, Morbidelli
1996 car/drivers: FA17 - Rosset, Verstappen
Address: Arrows Grand Prix International
39 Barton Road
Water Eaton Industrial Estate
Bletchley, Milton Keynes
Buckinghamshire MK2 3HW
U.K.
Founded in 1977 by Jackie Oliver and Alan Rees, Arrows is
currently the oldest F1 team never to have a won a GP. Their
most successful season was 1988 when Eddie Cheever and Derek
Warwick took them to 5th place in the constructor's
championship.
In 1989 the team was bought by the Japanese courier company
Footwork. In 94 following Footwork's financial problems, Oliver
and Rees regained control of the team although the Footwork name
lingered on (as far as the car designation is concerned) due to
FOCA rules which meant that the team would have lost their
travel money from FOCA if they had switched names - this rule
could have been waived with the consent of all the teams but Ron
Dennis and at least one other refused to sign off on the waiver.
In 1996, having been unable to gain full control of Ligier, Tom
Walkinshaw bought the Arrows team bringing in many of his TWR
people from Ligier. Of course, since then Ligier has won a GP
and Arrows hasn't - which is kind of ironic. The name of the
TEAM has been changed to TWR Arrows but the car is still
designated as a Footwork.
2.2 Benetton
Engine: Renault RS8
Nationality: Italian (nominally British until '96)
Key personnel: Flavio Briatore - Managing Director
Ross Brawn - Technical Director
Year formed: 1970 - Toleman
Formula 1 debut: 1981
1995 car/drivers: B195 - Herbert, Schumacher
1996 car/drivers: B196 - Alesi, Berger
Address: Benetton Formula Ltd.
Whiteways Technical Centre
Enstone, Chipping Norton
Oxfordshire OX8 6XZ
U.K.
The Mild Seven Benetton Renault B196
Front Double wishbone and pushrod with Benetton designed
suspension: and manufactured suspension system located on top of
the monocoque.
Rear Double wishbone and pushrod with upper mounted
suspension: Benetton designed and manufactured damper units.
Transmiss: Benetton semi-automatic 7 speed gearbox. Triple
plate clutch.
Fuel system:ATL rubber fuel cell mounted within monocoque
structure behind cockpit.
Oil system: Oil tank within bell-housing providing two gallon/
nine liter capacity.
Cooling Separate water and oil cooling; water radiators in
system: each sidepod.
Electrical: Hardware and software developed jointly by Benetton
and Magnetti Marelli.
Brakes: Carbon fibre discs and pads.
Engine: Renault RS8
Cylinders: V10 at 67 degree angle
Dimensions: 623 x 540.6 x 420.2
Weight: Approximately 132 kg according to accessories
Valves: Four per cylinder
Benetton entered Formula 1 as a sponsor of the Tyrrell team in
1983 and then Alfa Romeo in '84 and '85. On January 1st 1986
they made the leap from sponsorship to ownership, buying the
Toleman team and moving into their premises in Witney in
England.
In their first season they achieved two poles, one victory
(Berger at the Mexican GP) and 6th place in the constructor's
championship and they have improved steadily ever since. From
'87 - '90 they finished 5th, 3rd, 4th and 3rd in the
championship. In '91 Schumacher made his F1 debut and was signed
to a full time ride in '92 partnered by Martin Brundle.
Schumacher and Benetton finished their respective championships
in 3rd. They could not improve on their performance in '93 but
by '94 Schumacher had become a force to be reckoned with and he
took the driver's championship in controversial fashion at the
end of a controversial season. In 95 Benetton completed the
sweep of driver's and constructor's championships with relative
ease.
2.3 Ferrari
Engine: Ferrari
Nationality: Italian
Key personnel: Luca Cordero di Montezemolo - Chairman
Jean Todt - Sport Director
John Barnard - Technical director
Year formed: 1929
Formula 1 debut: 1950
1995 car/drivers: 412T2 - Alesi, Berger
1996 car/drivers: F310 - Schumacher, Irvine
Address: Ferrari SpA
Casella Postale 589
Via Emilia 1163
I-41100 Maranello (Modena)
Italy
Sponsors: Marlboro, Shell, Asprey, Magnetti
Marelli, Telecom Italia, Goodyear,
Pioneer, Arexons, BBS, Brembo, SKF,
Cerruti, Momo, NGK, TRW Sabelt, USAG,
Ve. Ca. Impianti
The Ferrari F310
Suspension:Independant, push-rod activated torsion spring front
and rear.
Transmiss: Ferrari transverse gearbox.Limited slip differential.
Semi-automatic sequential electronically controlled
gearbox. Six gears plus reverse.
Engine: 3000 Ferrari (046)
Cylinders: V10 at 75 degree angle
Number of valves: 40
Displacement: 2,998.1 cc
Max. power: > 600 HP
Electrical: Magnetti Marelli
Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, Ferrari is the oldest team in
F1 and the only one to have raced since the beginning of F1 in
1950. Scuderia Ferrari was initially formed as an
engineering-racing division of Alfa Romeo for whom Ferrari had
worked since 1920. Ferrari abandoned the Alfa connetion in 1940
and after the war began designing and building the very first
Ferrari. In 1969 Fiat bought a 50% stake in the company and
became majority shareholder in 1988.
>From 1950 - 1995, 86 drivers have driven for Ferrari, 31 winning
at least 1 GP, for a total of 105 victories, 114 pole positions,
9 driver's titles and 8 constructor's titles (since '58) - all
records.
Driver's titles went to: Ascari (52, 53), Fangio (56), Hawthorn
(58), P.Hill(61), Surtees (64), Lauda (75, 77) and Schekter
(79). Winningest drivers are: Lauda 15, Ascari 13, Ickx 6,
Villeneuve 6, Berger 5, Prost 5, Reutemann 5.
Ferrari won the constructor's championship in: 61, 64, 75, 76,
77, 79, 82 and 83.
2.4 Forti
Engine: Ford Zetec V8.
Nationality: Italian
Key personnel: Guido Forti - owner
Giorgio Stirano - Chief Designer
Year formed:
Formula 1 debut: 1995
1995 car/drivers: FG01 - Diniz, Moreno
1996 car/drivers: FG03 - Badoer, Montermini
Address: Forti Corse S.R.L.
Via Luigi Einaudi
1500 Alessandria
Italy
2.5 Jordan
Engine: Peugeot
Nationality: Irish
Key personnel: Owner - Eddie Jordan
Chief Designer - Gary Anderson
Year formed: 1980
Formula 1 debut: 1991
1995 car/drivers: 195 - Barrichello, Irvine
1996 car/drivers: 196 - Barrichello, Brundle
Address: Jordan Grand Prix
Silverstone Circuit
Towcester
Northamptonshire NN12 8TN
Sponsors: Total, Ape, Beta, Cadtek, Carrs Paints,
Control Techniques, Diavia, Guam,
Hewlett-Packard, Kremlyovskaya, Osama,
Motorscan, Pepsi, Ruffles, Sally
Ferries, Scania, Uliveto, Unipart,
Benson and Hedges
The Jordan Peugeot 196
Front Composite pushrods activating twin Jordan GP
suspension: dampers, unequal length aerodynamic wishbones,
composite top wishbone, steel lower wishbone,
steel fabricated uprights and front anti-roll bar.
Rear Composite pushrods activating twin gearbox mounted
suspension: Jordan GP dampers, unequal length aerodynamic
wishbones, composite top wishbone, steel lower
wishbone, steel fabricated uprights and rear anti-
roll bar.
Transmiss: In house Jordan GP design. 7 speed + reverse
longitudinal gearbox with electronically operated
hydraulic sequential gearchange.
Clutch: Triple plate Jordan Peugeot racing clutch.
Brakes: Brembo braking system. 8 piston metal matrix
callipers on front and rear. SEP carbon discs and
pads.
Wheels: Forged OZ Racing to Jordan GP specification.
Fuel tank: 145 litres
Wheelbase: 2950mm
Front track:1700mm
Rear track: 1618mm
Overall height: 950mm
Overall length: 4450mm
Overall weight: 600 kg including driver
Engine: Peugeot A12EV5
Cylinders: V10 at 72 degree angle
Capacity: 2998cc
Timing: By gear group
Valves: 4 per cylinder, with pneumatic
return
Cylinder blocks and heads: Light alloy
Camshafts: 2 per bank of cylinders
Fuel supply and ignition: TAG electronic control
Dimensions: 620 x 538 x 408
Weight: 133kg
Eddie Jordan raced in karts, FF1600, Formula Atlantic, F3 and F2
and was a test driver for McLaren before establishing Eddie
Jordan Racing in 1980 initially to support his own racing
career. He retired from driving in 1981 to concentrate on
running the team. He signed David Sears to drive a Ralt-Toyota
in the 1981 British F3 series. The team started its first event
from the front row and ended up on the rostrum after finishing
second.
Between 1981 and 1989 the team ran several F3 cars in Britain,
Europe, France and in 1985 they also began competing in the
newly created F3000. During these years many drivers took a seat
in Jordan cars including Martin Brundle, Stefan Johansson, David
Hunt, Johnny Herbert, Jean Alesi and a first F3 test for Ayrton
Senna in August '82. The Jordan team was a consistent race
winner and narrowly missed out on the Championships before
securing the F3 title in 1987 with Herbert winning 5 races. They
won the F3000 championship in 1989 with Alesi beating out
Herbert.
As the move towards F1 gathered pace, Jordan concentrated his
efforts solely on F3000 in 1990, running three Mugen powered
Reynards for Eddie Irvine, Heinz Harald Frentzen and Emanuele
Naspetti. Irvine was the dominant of the three gaining 3rd place
in the championship with a race win at Hockenheim. Jordan was
still active in F3000 in 1991 with the two-car Team Barclay EJR
though an uncompetitive chassis prevented Damon Hill and
Vincenzo Sospiri from achieving better results than a 2nd at
Hockenheim (Sospiri) a third place at Nogard (Hill).
The fledgling F1 team however were to prove the success story of
the motorsport year. Jordan Grand Prix took the F1 establishment
by surprise in 1991 finishing an unprecedented 5th in the
Constructor's championship in their first season.
1992 was to be a frustrating year and the team only scored one
championship point at the final race in Adelaide. It was
announced at the Australian GP that Jordan had signed an
exclusive agreement with Brian Hart for the supply of his new
V10 engine for the 93 and 94 seasons. A few weeks later Rubens
Barrichello was signed to the team. The team did not score
points in 93 until the penultimate round in Japan with
Barrichello finishing 5th followed by F1 newcomer Eddie Irvine
making his GP debut.
The team was much improved in 94 retaining both drivers and
engine partner. Despite Irvine's three race ban for his
involvement in the incident at the Brazilian GP, the team
finished the year with 28 points, 5th place in the constructors,
a rostrum finish and a pole position - both courtesy of
Barrichello.
In October 94 Jordan announced that they had signed a three year
exclusive engine deal with Peugeot. The team maintained the same
driver line-up but the team did not live up to their promise
scoring just two rostrum finishes - 2nd and 3rd at the Canadian
GP. The same driver line-up was again announced for '96 but just
one week later Eddie Irvine was lured away by Ferrari - Jordan
receiving several million in compensation from the Italian team.
Martin Brundle has returned to the Jordan team taking Irvine's
place.
2.6 Ligier
Engine: Honda
Nationality: French
Key personnel: Techincal Director - Andre de Cortanze
Year formed:
Formula 1 debut:
1995 car/drivers: JS41 - Brundle, Panis, Suzuki
1996 car/drivers: JS43 - Diniz, Panis
Address: Ligier Sports
Technopole de la Nievre
58470 Magny Cours
France
2.7 McLaren
Engine: Mercedes
Nationality: British
Key personnel: Managing Director - Ron Dennis
Chief Designer - Neil Oatley
Year formed: 1963 - Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd.
Formula 1 debut: 1966 - Monaco
1995 car/drivers: MP4/10 - Blundell, Hakkinen, Mansell,
Magnussen
1996 car/drivers: MP4/11 - Coulthard, Hakkinen
Address: McLaren International Ltd.
Woking Business Park
Albert Drive
Woking, Surrey GU 21 5JY
U.K.
Sponsors: Marlboro, Hugo Boss, Tag-Heuer,
Essilor, Abac, Asics, Charmilles
Technologies, GS Battery, Enkei,Sports
Marketing Surveys, Highland Spring,
Targetti, Mobil, Loctite, Goodyear,
Kenwood, Instron, Computervision, Sun
Microsystems
The Marlboro McLaren Mercedes MP4/11
Front Inboard spring/damper operated by pushrod bellcrank
suspension: unequal length wishbones
Rear Inboard spring/damper operated by pushrod bellcrank
suspension: unequal length wishbones
Transmiss: McLaren longitudinal six speed gearbox with semi-
automatic operation. Control by TAG Electronic
Systems. McLaren drive shafts and CV assemblies.
Dampers: Penske
Brakes: AP Racing calipers and master cylinders
Wheels: Enkei
Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO110 - Phase 3
Cubic capacity: 3000cc
Component drive: Geartrain
Cylinders: V10 at 75 degree angle
Cylinder block: Sand cast aluminum alloy, wet
liners
Cylinder heads: One piece sand cast aluminum alloy
Crankshaft: Forged steel
Camshaft: Two per bank of cylinders, 4 valves
per cylinder
Injection and ignition: TAG Electronic Systems
Dimensions: 590mm x 500mm x 522mm
Spark plugs: NGK
Bruce McLaren founded the team that bears his name in 1963.
Their F1 debut came in 1966 and their first GP win was in 1968
in Belgium with Bruce himself at the wheel. Bruce McLaren died
in 1970 while testing a Can-Am sportscar at Goodwood. Having
signed up with Marlboro in '74, a partnership that persists to
this day, McLaren won driver (Fittipaldi) and constructor's
championships and then the driver's championship again in '76
(Hunt).
In 1980, at the urging of mutual sponsor Marlboro, the team
merged with Ron Dennis' Project Four to form McLaren
International (The MP4 in the car designation stands for
Marlboro Project Four). In '84, switching from Ford to Porsche
TAG, McLaren again won both driver's and constructor's
championships with Lauda beating Prost to the driver's title by
half a point. This marked the beginning of McLaren's domination
of F1 which was to last through the 91 season. Switching to
Honda in 1988, they won constructor's championships in 84, 85,
88, 89, 90 and 91. They were equally successful in the driver's
championship winning in 85 and 86 (Prost), 88 (Senna), 89
(Prost), 90 and 91 (Senna). Due to this long period of almost
complete dominance, McLaren is second only to Ferrari with 104
GP wins, 7 constructor's titles and 9 driver's titles.
Despite switching engines in 93 (Ford), 94 (Peugeot) and 95
(Mercedes), McLaren has not been able to re-create this success
and has not won a GP since 1993. They finished 95 in fourth
place but Jordan, Sauber and Ligier are all threatening
McLaren's place as one of the Big Four.
2.8 Minardi
Engine: Ford
Nationality: Italian
Key personnel: Owners - Gian Carlo Minardi
- Giuseppe Lucchini
Technical director - Mauro Gennari
Year formed: 1974
Formula 1 debut: 1985
1995 car/drivers: M195 - Badoer, Lamy, Martini
1996 car/drivers: M195B- Fisichella, Lamy, Lavaggi,
Marques
Address: Minardi Scuderia Italia
Via Spallanzani 21
Faenza (RA)
Italy
The Minardi Ford 195B
Suspension: Inboard spring via rocker and pushrod to bottom
wishbone (front and rear)
Dampers: Penske
Brakes: Brembo
Brake discs:Carbone Industrie
Gearbox: Xtrac gearbox and Minardi electrohydraulic system.
6 speeds plus reverse.
Wheels: Fondmetal
Length: 4350mm
Width: 1980mm
Height: 995mm
Wheelbase: 2853.5mm
Engine: Ford ED2 V8
Injection: Magnetti Marelli
Based on the experience accuumulated in motor racing with the
'Scuderia del Passatore' in 1972 and "Scuderia Everest' in 1974
Gian Carlo Minardi felt capable of constructing his own cars and
in 1979 he founded the Minardi team in association with Piero
Mancini and Giacomo Caliri. The first Minardi F2 cars, equipped
with BMW engines, got good results such as Alboreto's win at
Misano. In 1985 Minardi entered F1 with a car driven by
Pierluigi Martini and powered by a Motori Moderni turbo engine.
In 1986 a big jump was foreseen and the signing of qualified
drivers such as Andrea de Cesaris and Alessandro Nannini
testified to that. Unfortunately the sophisticated technology of
the turbo engines and reliability problems didn't allow the
achievement of significant results. In 1988 Minardi switched to
Ford Cosworth engines and signed Spanish drivers Luis Sala and
Adrian Campos. After the Canadian GP, Campos retired and was
replaced by Martini who scored Minardi's first championship
point with 6th place in Detroit.
In 1989 Martini and Sala scored top six finishes and Martini
started third on the grid twice. In 1990 Sala was replaced by
Paolo Barilla. The high point of the season, during which
Minardi did not score any points, was Martini's front row start
at the U.S. GP. In 1991 Minardi adopted the V12 Ferrari engine
and after struggling with it at the beginning of the season
finished 7th in the constructor's championship. In 92 they
switched drivers and engines going with the Lamborghini V12 and
Gianni Morbidelli and Christian Fittipaldi but scored only one
point. 93 was a slightly better year with Fittipaldi and
Fabrizio Barbazza both scoring points to give Minardi 8th place
in the constructor's championship.
In 1994 Minardi merged with the Scuderia Italia to form the
current team - Minardi Scuderia Italia. Powered by a Ford HB
engine and driven by Martini and Michele Alboreto the team
scored 5 points finishing 10th. 1995 represented another step
backwards with the driver combimation of Martini, Badoer and
Lamy scoring just one point.
2.9 Sauber
Engine: Ford Zetec-R V10
Nationality: Swiss
Key personnel: Owner - Peter Sauber
Chief Designer - Leo Ress
Year formed: 1968
Formula 1 debut: 1993
1995 car/drivers: C14 - Boullion, Frentzen, Wendlinger
1996 car/drivers: C15 - Frentzen, Herbert
Address: Wildbachstrasse 9
CH-8340 Hinwil
Switzerland
Sponsors: Red Bull, Baumler, Brembo, Goodyear, Hertz, IBM,
MacNeal-Schwendler, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, Modellbau
Bubeck, OMP, Sachs, Silicon Graphics, Speedline
The Red Bull Sauber-Ford C15
Suspension: Upper and lower wishbones, combined spring/damper
units (Sachs) mounted inboard with pushrod
actuation, front and rear.
Brakes: Eight-piston calipers front and rear (Brembo) carbon
pads and discs (Carbone Industries)
Transmiss: Semi-automatic, longitudinally mounted, six-speed
transmission (Sauber), carbon clutch (Sachs)
Dimensions:
Length: 4340mm
Width: 2000mm
Height: 1000mm
Front track:1710mm
Rear track: 1610mm
Wheel base: 2900mm
Engine: Ford Zetec-R V10
Number of cylinders: 10 in 72 degree V
Number of valves: 40
Displacement: 2998 cc
Engine Management: Ford Electronics
Oil system: Dry sump
Ignition system: Cosworth
Throttles: Light-weight barrel valves
Spark plugs: Champion
Weight: 120 kg
Dimensions: 605mm x 520mm x 460mm
1968 Founding of PP Sauber AG
1977 First start for a Sauber (C5) at the 24 Hours if Le Mans.
1984 Sauber and Mercedes-Benz commence motorsport co-operation.
1986 Sauber cars start five rounds of the Sports Car World
Championship; Sauber C8 wins Nurburgring 1000km race.
1988 Sauber cars win 5 out of 10 WSC races and the team finishes
second in the Team's World Championship.
1989 Sauber C9 "Silver Arrows" secure WSC Championship and
Teams' World Championship after taking 7 victories in eight
races (three double wins); Sauber C9s finish 1st, 2nd and
5th at Le Mans.
1990 Sauber C11 secures WSC Drivers' and Teams' titles for the
2nd consecutive year.
1992 February 4; Sauber announces commencement of F1 project.
1993 Sauber finishes in 7th place in the F1 Constructors'
championship.
1994 Sauber finishes in 8th place in the F1 Constructors'
championship.
1995 Sauber finishes in 7th place in the F1 Constructors'
championship.
2.10 Tyrrell
Engine: Yamaha Judd
Nationality: British
Key personnel: Chairman - Ken Tyrrell
MD (Commercial) - Bob Tyrrell
MD (Engineering) - Harvey Postlethwaite
Year formed: 1968
Formula 1 debut: 1968
1995 car/drivers: 023 - Katayama, Salo, Tarquini
1996 car/drivers: 024 - Katayama, Salo
Address: Long Reach
Ockham
Woking, Surrey GU23 6PE
The Tyrrell Yamaha 024
Front and rear Combined spring and damper units operated by
suspension: push-rods and rockers, third spring,
mechanical anti-roll bar
Dampers: Koni
Gearbox: Tyrrell longitudinal three-shaft 6-speed unit
Gear selection: Pneumatic, sequential
Drive shafts: Tyrrell
Clutch: AP Racing carbon plate
Differential: Tyrrell/X-Trac viscous coupling
Wheels: Fondmetal cast magnesium
Fuel and lube: Elf
Brakes: AP Racing
Engine: Yamaha OX11A V-10
Cylinders: V10 at 72 degree angle
Displacement: 2,996cc
Dry weight: < 105 kg
Dimensions: 575mm x 499mm x 373mm
Max. power: 650+ bhp
Inject/ignit: Zytek
Spark plugs: NGK
Founded by Ken Tyrrell and owned by the Tyrrell family, the
Tyrrell Racing Organisation's history in F1 goes back to 1968
when it first entered the championship using Ford Cosworth
powered Matras. After winning both championships in 1969, with
Matra and Jackie Stewart, construction began on the first
Tyrrell GP car which made its debut at the 1970 Canadian GP. In
the next year, 1971, Tyrrell cars clinched the Constructor's
Championship and finished 1st and 3rd in the Driver's
Championship. Tyrrell has won a total of two Constructor's and
three Driver's titles as well as the 1987 Drivers and
Constructor's titles for normally aspirated cars.
2.11 Williams
Engine: Renault RS8
Nationality: British
Key personnel: Frank Williams - Owner
Patrick Head - Technical Director
Adrian Newey - Chief Designer
Year formed: 1977
1995 car/drivers: FW17 - Coulthard, Hill
1996 car/drivers: FW18 - Hill, Villeneuve
Formula 1 debut: 1977
Address: Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd.
Grove
Wantage OX12 0DQ
U.K.
Frank Williams began his Formula 1 career in 1969 at the age of
27 with his close friend Piers Courage and a private Brabham.
They finished 8th overall in the Driver's Championship. Courage
died the next year at the Dutch GP driving a car Williams was
running for the de Tomaso factory.
After a disappointing partnership with Austro-Canadian oil man
Walter Wolf in 1976, his new team, Williams Grand Prix
Engineering, acquired a March for Patrick Neve to drive and
Williams recruited a promising engineer named Patrick Head.
Head's first GP design in 1978, the FW06, with Alan Jones at the
wheel, was extremely competitive. Williams first GP victory came
at the British GP in 1979 when Jones retired from the lead but
Clay Regazzoni took the victory for Williams.
Williams quickly became the team to beat taking the
Constructor's championship with ease in 1980, 1981, 1986 and
1987. Williams missed out on the constructor's championship in
1982 but Keke Rosberg did take the Driver's championship.
Williams responded slowly to the turbo era and struggled through
83 and 84. In 85 with Mansell joining Rosberg the team improved
through the year with the Williams-Honda FW10 taking the last
three races of the season. By 86 they were back on top with the
FW11 and, with Piquet replacing Rosberg, the team won 9 GPs
(Mansell 5, Piquet 4) giving Williams the constructor's
championship with ease although they lost the drivers
championship to Prost due to the in-team fighting. The modified
FW11 continued its dominance in 87 and Williams took 1st and 2nd
in the driver's championship and the constructor's championship.
1988 marked the end of the turbo era, Williams switched from
Honda to Judd for the FW12 and Mansell became the #1 driver
partnered by Ricardo Patrese. Williams suffered from mechanical
problems and in July 88 a three year deal was signed with
Renault for their new V10 engine.
Thierry Boutsen replaced Mansell for the 89 season and won two
GPs (Canada and Australia) in atrocious weather conditions.
Patrese finished 3rd in the driver's championship helping the
team to runner-up spot in the constructor's.
Having retired from Ferrari and been talked out of it by
Williams, Mansell returned to the team at the end of 1990. The
Canon Williams FW14 was McLaren's only competition and with 7
victories they finished 2nd in the constructors and 2nd and 3rd
in the driver's. The advent of the active FW14B put Williams in
a class by themselves in 1992. Mansell won the first five races
of the season on his way to a still unbeaten total of 9 wins and
14 poles. His win at the British GP was his 28th beating Jackie
Stewart's record for a British driver. Mansell and Williams won
their respective championships and Patrese finished 2nd in the
driver's.
In 93 Prost and Hill replaced Mansell and Patrese and retained
both constructor's and driver's (Prost) championships. Hill also
chalked up his first GP win in Hungary. Prost retired after the
season and was replaced by Senna. At the third GP of the year at
Imola in Italy, Senna was killed when he crashed his FW16 while
leading the race. It remains to be seen whether the Italian
authorities are going to charge Williams personnel in connection
with Senna's death. The team went on to retain the constructor's
championship again but Hill missed out on the driver's
championship by one point to Michael Schumacher.
3. THE DRIVERS
3.1 Jean Alesi
Nationality: French
Age - DOB: 31 - June 11th, 1964
Born: Avignon, France
Resident: Nyon, Switzerland
Current team: Benetton
Former team(s): Tyrrell, Ferrari
Alesi was born in France to Sicilian parents. Like many of his
contemporaries he began his career in karts but at the
relatively late age of 17. He won two regional titles and moved
on to the Renault 5 Cup in 1983 finishing 7th with 1 win. 1984
and '85 saw Alesi in Formula Renault finishing 10th and 5th
respectively. In '86 he competed in the French F3 championship
finishing 2nd in '86 and 1st in '87. The next two years were in
F3000 with Oreca in 88, finishing 10th, and Eddie Jordan in '89
finishing 1st.
In addition to the F3000 championship, Alesi also made his F1
debut in '89 with Tyrrell. He finished 4th in his first GP
(France) and went onto score a total of 8 points for 9th place
from just 8 races. He was retained by Tyrrell for the 1990
season and finished in 9th place with 13 points. In 1991 Alesi
was signed by Ferrari where he has remained for the last 5
seasons with rather disappointing results due no doubt to the
unreliable and/or uncompetitive cars that Ferrari has put out in
the last few years. Between 1991 and 1994 Alesi has scored 13,
21, 18 and 16 points respectively placing him 7th, 7th, 6th and
5th in the championship. Ferrari was much improved in 95 and
Alesi finished the season with 42 points placing him 5th in the
championship. '95 also saw Alesi's first ever GP win in Canada.
In an emotional finish, Alesi brought the #27 Ferrari across the
line first before an adoring French-Canadian crowd in Montreal.
Alesi, along with his Ferrari team-mate Berger, have both been
signed by Benetton for the '96 season.
Jean is single.
3.2 Luca Badoer
Nationality: Italian
Age - DOB: 25 - January 24th 1971
Born: Montebelluna, Italy
Resident: Montebelluna
Current team: Forti
Former team(s): BMS Scuderia Italia, Minardi
Between 1985 and 1988 Badoer raced karts winning regional and
national championships. In 89 he moved on to F3 before spending
one season in F3000 in 1992. He broke into F1 in 1993 with BMS
Scuderia Italia and after their demise he signed with Minardi as
test driver. In 95 he raced for Minardi with little distinction,
his best finish being 8th, before signing with Forti for the
1996 season.
Luca is single.
3.3 Rubens Barrichello
Nationality: Brazilian
Age - DOB: 24 - May 23rd, 1972
Born: Sao Paolo, Brazil
Resident: Monaco
Current team: Jordan
Former team(s): None
Barrichello began his racing career at the age of 9, competing
in and winning various local and national karting championships
between 1983 and 1988. In 1989 he moved onto Formula Ford and
finished 4th in the Brazilian championship with the Arisco team.
In 1990 he moved to Europe and won the Opel-Lotus European
championship with the Draco team and in 1991 followed up by
winning the British F3 championship with West Surrey Racing. In
1992 he finished 3rd in the F3000 championship with Il Barone
Rampante. He joined Jordan in 1993 and has experienced
increasing success in his 3 seasons in F1. In '93 he gained 2
points, in '94 he finished 6th in the driver's championship with
19 points, his first rostrum finish and pole at Spa - the
youngest pole-sitter ever at the age of 22. In '95 he had an
unspectacular season finishing 11th with 11 points.
Rubens is single with no children.
3.4 Gerhard Berger
Nationality: Austrian
Age - DOB: 36 - August 27th, 1959
Born: Woergl, Austria
Resident: Monaco
Current team: Benetton
Former team(s): ATS, Arrows, Benetton, Ferrari, McLaren
Ferrari
Now in his 12th year of F1 racing, Berger is one of the elder
statesmen of the sport. His career began in saloon cars in 1979.
In 1981 he competed in the Alfasud European Cup (finishing 7th)
before moving onto F3 the next year. Berger spent 3 years in F3
and at the end of 1984 broke into F1 with ATS. He competed in 4
races that season gaining 1 point for a 6th place at the Italian
GP. Berger signed with Arrows for the 1985 season and has been a
permanent feature of F1 ever since driving for Benetton (86),
Ferrari (87-89), McLaren (90-92) and Ferrari again (93-95).
Although he has never managed to win it all, Berger has had
several successful seasons. His best championship finish was 3rd
in 1988, his best points total was 49 in '92 which was only good
enough for 5th place. He has a total of 9 wins in his career
with a high of 2 in a season in 87 and 92. '95 was a
disappointing year finishing 6th with 31 points. For the '96
season Berger returns to Benetton, the team for whom he scored
his, and Benetton's, first GP win in Mexico in '86.
Gerhard is married with one child.
3.5 Martin Brundle
Nationality: British (English)
Age - DOB: 37 - June 1st, 1959
Born: King's Lynn, England
Resident: Gayton, Norfolk, England
Current team: Jordan
Former team(s): Tyrrell, Zakspeed, Williams, Brabham,
Benetton, Ligier, McLaren, Ligier
Martin Brundle started his racing career in 1973 at the age of
12 driving a self-built Ford Anglia at a grass track car near his
West Norfolk home. He has not missed a season in the subsequent
23 years.
Martin started Hot Rod short oval racing in 1975. The 70 mph
quarter mile tracks were the site of many wins and gave Martin
"star grade" status, preparing him for the cut and thrust of
circuit racing. Just a few days after his 17th birthday he
acquired a circuit racing license which signalled the beginning
of his saloon car racing achievements. His first proper circuit
race was at Oulton Park in 1977 and he went straight out and put
his Toyota Celica on pole position.
1979 brought with it Martin's first single seater opportunity in
FF2000. A win and several placings followed rapidly and the
success prompted Martin to write a letter to Tom Walkinshaw
requesting the opportunity to drive one of his entries in the
BMW Championship at Snetterton. Amazingly Walkinshaw agreed and
Martin lined up on the front row against an international field,
eventually finishing second.
In 1980 he won the BMW Championship and competed successfully in
the FF2000 series. Lack of sponsorship the following year
limited his programme to saloon cars where he partnered the
great Stirling Moss in the BP/Audi team.
BP came forward with a budget in 1982 which enabled him to move
up into the British F3 championship. The investment was well
rewarded with five pole positions and two race wins. The
performance was enough to gain the prestigious Grovewood Award
as the season's most promising Commonwealth driver.
Martin's potential had also been recognized by the Eddie Jordan
who signed him to race for his fledgling F3 team in 1983. It was
to be a memorable season with Brundle battling against Ayrton
Senna in one of the most closely contested F3 championships of
recent years. The Brazilian eventually took victory in the final
laps of the final race of the year. The performances of both had
not gone unnoticed though and they were immediately snapped up
by F1 teams: Martin went to Tyrrell and immediately lived up to
expectations by finishing 5th on his F1 debut at the '84 season
opener in Brazil. He went on to record his first rostrum finish
in his 8th GP, collecting a second place at Detroit behind
Nelson Piquet. The team was subsequently excluded from the
championship for a technical infringement and all Martin's
points for the season were disallowed.
He spent a total of three years with Tyrrell before moving to
the German Zakspeed team for 1987. His driving wasn't confined
solely to single-seaters though; he began a highly successful
stint in the European Touring Car Championship in 1982 with a
winning drive in the TWR XJS at Donnington. Nine wins followed
in '83 and '84 and he was chosen as lead driver when Jaguar
returned to the World Sportscar Championship at Mosport, Canada
in 1985. He won again in '87 at Spa and the following season
left F1 altogether signing instead to drive for Jaguar in the
USA IMSA and the World Group C Championships. '88 started with a
win in January in the famous Daytona 24 hour event and ended up
with a win in October when he claimed the World Championship
crown at Suzuka, Japan. A test schedule with the Williams GP
team, for whom he also competed in the Belgian GP in place of an
unwell Mansell, completed an exhausting year for Brundle.
He was back in full-time F1 drive in 1989, signing for the
Brabham team. Limited GP success was compensated for in 1990 by
an IMSA GTP and WSC programme and winning the prestigious Le
Mans 24 hour race for Jaguar. He also made history by finishing
1st and 2nd in the same race at Monza in 1991 driving both of
the stunning Jaguar XJR 14s.
1992 was his most successful F1 season to date. He held his own
against Michael Schumacher in the Benetton Ford team - one of
few drivers to do so - scoring points in 11 of the 16 races
including 5 podium finishes, to record 6th overall in the
Driver's Championship. Unfortunately, politics intervened the
next year and, to everyone's surprise, he was replaced by
Ricardo Patrese for 1993. He moved to the French Ligier team
with whom he finished 7th in the 93 championship highlighted by
a podium finish in the San Marino GP.
Early '94 saw some brinkmanship taking place as Brundle gambled
on, and claimed the McLaren seat vacated by Senna's move to
Williams. 2nd and 3rd in Monaco and Australia were the high
points - poor reliability was the low point although once again
he finished 7th in the championship.
He moved back to Ligier in 95 but once again politics played a
part in his career. In a quest to satisfy their home market.
engine suppliers Mugen-Honda insisted he share his seat with
Japanese driver Aguri Suzuki who raced in 6 of 17 events. Martin
was Eddie Jordan's first choice when it came to replacing Irvine
and after a season of uncertainty Brundle was delighted to take
up the offer to drive for Jordan in 96.
Martin is married with two children.
3.6 David Coulthard
Nationality: British (Scottish)
Age - DOB: 25 - 27th March 1971
Born: Twynholm, Scotland
Resident: Twynholm and Monaco
Current team: McLaren
Former team(s): Williams
After a successful karting career, Coulthard rose rapidly to F1
through FF1600, F3 and F3000. As Williams test driver in 1994,
he took Senna's place at the Spanish GP and in the remaining
eight races he scored 14 points. He retained his seat in 95 and
has shown much promise, particularly since being released by
Williams and signed by McLaren midway through the season. He
joined the ranks of GP winners with a strong drive from pole
position at the Portuguese GP. He finished the '95 season with
49 points in 3rd place.
David is single with no children.
3.7 Pedro Diniz
Nationality: Brazilian
Age - DOB: 26 - May 22nd, 1970
Born: Sao Paolo, Brazil
Resident:
Current team: Ligier
Former team(s): Forti
Diniz raced karts for just two years before moving up to Formula
Ford in 1989. '90-92 were spent in F3, first in South America
and then Europe. He joined the Forti team in 1993 in F3000 where
he spent two years before moving up to F1 with Forti in 95. His
best finish was 9th at the Italian GP.
3.8 Juan Manuel Fangio
Nationality: Argentine
Age - DOB: June 24th, 1911 - July 17th, 1995
Born: Balcarce, Argentina
Current team:
Former team(s): Alfa, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, Ferrari,
Maserati
Although subject to eternal debate, Fangio is widely regarded as
the greatest driver ever. Certainly his record of 5 world
championships still stands and his winning percentage of almost
50% (24 of 51) is clear evidence of his unchallenged supremacy
in the 50s.
He began racing in 1934 mainly in long-distance road races in
Argentina before moving to Europe and F1 racing in 1949. In the
first year of the FIA championship (1950) he won three of six
races finishing second in the championship to Farina. The next
year he won the first of his championships driving an Alfa and
taking 3 of 7 GPs. In '52 he crashed out of the non-championship
Monza GP and did not compete for the rest of the season. He
returned in a Maserati in '53 to his worst season, winning only
one of eight GPs. Switching from Maserati to Mercedes Benz to
Ferrari and back to Maserati, between '54 and '57 he was almost
unbeatable, winning 17 of 28 GPs and the championship four years
in a row. He competed in just two GPs in 1958 before retiring.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Fangio lived to a ripe old
age and died in 1995 after being admitted to hospital suffering
from pneumonia.
3.9 Giancarlo Fisichella
Nationality: Italian
Age - DOB: 23 - January 14th, 1973
Born: Rome, Italy
Resident: Monte Carlo
Current team: Minardi
Former team(s): None
Fisichella won several karting championships between 1984 and
1991 before moving up to the Italian F3 championship in 1992. In
'93 he finished 2nd in Italian F3 and won the championship in
'94. In '95 he raced in DTM for Alfa Romeo and was also signed
as test driver for Minardi. He made his F1 debut in 96 and is
currently sharing the drive with Tarso Marques.
Giancarlo is single.
3.10 Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Nationality: German
Age - DOB: 29 - May 18th, 1967
Born: Mochengladbach, Germany
Resident: Monte Carlo
Current team: Sauber
Former team(s): None
After a relatively successful 95 season in a middle-of-the-grid
car, Heinz-Harald Frentzen is widely regarded as one of the up
and coming drivers of F1. He began racing in karts winning the
German Junior championship in 1981. From 85 - 87 he competed in
FF2000 finishing 2nd in '87. In '88 he was German Formula Opel
Lotus champion and was 6th in the Opel Lotus Euroseries. He
spent one year in German F3, finishing 2nd, before moving onto
F3000 in 1990. He spent one season each with Eddie Jordan and
Vortex before accepting a financially attractive offer to move
to Japan and race for the Nova team. In 1994, he made his F1
debut for the Sauber team and scored a total of 7 points in 15
races. With three races left in 95 he has scored 15 points
putting him behind only the Benettons, Williams and Ferraris. He
has re-signed with Sauber for 96.
Heinz-Harald is single with no children. (You will see posts
referring to the fact that he once dated Schumacher's wife -
before she was his wife, of course).
--
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