F1: A Beginners Guide - The Top Teams and Drivers

In part one, we looked at some of the areas that make Formula One cars so much different to other types of race cars. This part of the guide will introduce you to the teams that make up the F1 experience. The Teams The current teams in F1 are made up of both up-and-comers, and the F1 staples. All of the front running teams have taken part in F1 for decades, however there are some up and coming teams that hope to challenge the establishment. Scudderia Marlboro Ferrari - The Ferrari team have been involved in F1 for years, and for many of those years, the team to beat. Ferrari has an incredible record of success in modern F1: Up until the end of 2006 they had competed in 741 races, won 193 races, had 184 pole positions, and 194 fastest laps. During their history in the sport, they have won 14 constructors and 14 drivers world championships although not necessarily in the same years. In recent years, the team's success is mainly due to the partnership of Jean Todt as team principal, Michael Schumacher as driver and Ross Brawn as technical director. Drivers - Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, 9 wins) and Filipe Massa (Brazil, 2 wins). Prediction - The Ferrari team will always be strong:even when the team is struggling in F1, they show glimmers of speed. There are new faces at Ferrari this year though, Kimi Raikonen has replaced Michael Schumacher as the team leader, Mario Almondo has replaced Ross Brawn as technical head of the team and Jean Todt will be distracted after taking over the running of the Ferrari production car company. This year also sees a completely new car, the track is wider, the wheel base longer and has a complete change to the front suspension technology. Ferrari adopted a zero keel layout over their traditional single keel design. The Ferrari will be strong this year: testing has shown the F2007 car to be quick but there may be teething troubles with the car as it is so new to the team. They have two of the fastest drivers on the grid and will be difficult to beat if they work as a team. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes - The McLaren team was founded in 1963 by the Australian, Bruce McLaren. McLaren has only been bettered in the history of F1 by one team, that of Ferrari (however Ferrari have competed in the sport for a longer period of time). The team has competed in 641 races, winning 148 races, 125 pole positions, and 130 fastest laps. They have also won 8 constructors, and 11 drivers' championships. The team is run by the self confessed workaholic, Ron Dennis and is one of many English based teams. Drivers - Fernando Alonso (Spain, 15 wins and 2 world championships) and Lewis Hamilton (England, Rookie season) Prediction - Like the Ferrari team, the McLaren team has a lot of changes. New for this year are both drivers, Fernando is a proven race and championship winner, and if the car is reliable and quick, will be the driver to beat. Hamilton, who is the first coloured driver in the championship, is an extremely fast, talented and focused driver, who has won everything he has driven. If he can keep on top of the steep learning curve, he will do well. The MP4-22 car has shown itself to be quick in testing, constantly as fast, if not faster than, the Ferrari F2007. The outlook is good, they have the best driver of last year, and one of the most talented rookies to come to the sport for years, McLaren should be a very strong team. ING Renault F1 - Renault have competed in F1 since 1977. For most of that time they were engine suppliers, and as such have won championships with both the Beneton and Williams teams. They took over the running of the Beneton F1 team in 2001 and in 2005 and 2006 they won both constructors and drivers' championship with Fernando Alonso at the wheel. The French owned team are another English based race crew. Drivers - Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy, 3 Wins) and Heikki Kovalainen (Finland, Rookie season) Prediction - The R26 of last year was not ultimately the fastest car on the grid, but it was reliable and probably the best all round car. It looks like the R27 could be the same, the car has always been close to the top times in winter testing, though certainly not the quickest. The team, like McLaren, also has a rookie at the helm of the second car. Giancarlo Fisichella takes over as the team leader, and has shown he can be quick, perhaps now that he is out from under the shadow of Alonso he may shine. Heikki Kovalainen is a bit of an unknown quantity, he has been quick in testing, as well as showing promise driving the third car last year for Renault. The team could do well, it's down to the drivers mostly. Alonso made a slightly off-pace Renault look good last year, the team is very innovative in the aerodynamics department, and have a good pit and strategy squad. AT&T Williams F1 - Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head's team gets reinvigorated this year. After a year of struggling in 2006, the team is looking to get back to their winning ways. The Williams team started racing in 1978 and was very successful in the 80s and 90s winning 9 constructors and 7 drivers' championships between 1980 and 1997. The team competed in 502 races in which they have won 113 races, had 125 pole positions and 128 fastest laps. The team is known for having had some of the most famous racing drivers in their cars: Keke Rosberg, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost are just a few of the names that have driven a Williams over the years. Drivers - Nico Rosberg (German, 0 Wins) and Alexander Wurz (Austrian, 0 Wins) Prediction - The Williams team struggled in 2006, they initially had issues with the aero stability of their cars. Although the Cosworth V8 engine was reportedly the most powerful on the grid and the first break, the 20,000 RPM 'limit' that the V8 engines theoretically had made it a bit fragile at times. There may be a resurgence at the Grove (Oxford, UK) team. They have signed some large corporate sponsors in AT&T and Lenovo, so money will not be a key issue. They have also dropped the Cosworth engine and instead signed a deal with the Toyota F1 team to run their RVX-07 engine this year. With a major car company helping out, and two up and coming drivers, they may just be able to turn the tide. I would think the team does not have title expectations this year, instead they should be looking to get back into the winning way. Honda Racing F1 - The modern Honda team grew out of the BAR team that was setup originally by British American Tobacco after they acquired the Tyrell team. There is not a lot of the old BAR team left inside Honda after the Japanese manufacturer bought the team out, besides the Brackley (UK) team base. The Honda team has been set up and honed for the English driver Jenson Button. Button was joined last year by the likable Brazilian, Rubens Barrichello, and this year is no different. Honda corporation has a long F1 history, they competed in the sport as early as 1963 which was only three years after creating their first road car withdrawing from the championship in 1969. They reentered the sport as engine suppliers between 1983 and 1992 winning 71 grands prix, six constructors championships and five drivers' championships. Since the company's return as a constructor to F1 in 2005 they have won once with Jenson Button. Drivers - Jenson Button (England, 1 Wins) and Rubens Barrichello (Brazil, 9 Wins) Prediction - The Honda team has been struggling for pace in Winter testing. It seems that the team is struggling to get the aero balance of the car and tyres right. The team has been getting better towards the end of the testing season - times have not quite reached the levels of the other top teams yet. Jenson Button has rid himself of the worry that he would not win a race, and towards the end of last season looked more at ease with himself and his driving. Rubens Barrichello has proven himself as a winner in the past, he struggled to acclimatise to the Honda last year, but with a year of driving behind him, could be back on form this year. The team should be in the podium places more often this year as long as the package is reliable. Panasonic Toyota Racing - The Toyota team is the most recent team to set up "fresh" in F1 (they did not buy a current F1 team, instead they paid the 40 million dollar joining fee). They were created in 1999 and started racing in 2001. The team has been heavily criticized for not performing in the five years they have been competing, this is mainly due to the fact that they are rumored to have the largest budget of any team on the grid and as yet have not won a race. Team Panasonic Toyota have competed in 87 races and had two pole positions, a handful of podium finishes and one fastest lap. The team set up shop in the factory that the championship winning World Rally team used prior in Cologne Germany. Toyota has a proven record in motorsport winning everything they have competed in besides F1. Drivers - Ralph Schumacher (Germany, 6 Wins) and Jarno Trulli (Italy, 1 Wins) Prediction - It's considered by most, that 2007 is a make or break year for the Toyota factory team. The company is now supplying its engine to another top team in Williams, and if the factory team cannot outperform or at least equal the 'sister' cars throughout the year then Toyota may well withdraw funding for its own F1 team, and perhaps increase its support of Williams. That said, the team did show glimmers of performance in 2005 and 2006. Ralph Schumacher has underperformed since joining the team, and he commands one of the highest wages on the grid. Unfortunately for Schumacher, his contract expires at the end of 2007 and must show that he can perform on a par with his great brother (Michael). Jarno Trulli is something of a Jekyl and Hyde. He can be blisteringly quick in qualifying making the car look amazing, then struggling to maintain pace during the race. He must try to bring his Saturday pace into the race on Sunday. If he can manage, Trulli would be a strong candidate for wins. The car has been plagued by small technical issues during Winter testing, but looked solid when it did run correctly. I personally hope the team get it together this season. Long term F1 watchers will know that corporate teams never do well in the sport. Toyota could be the company to change that view, if they do then they could dominate the sport.In part two of the the teams and drivers guide, we will look as some of the teams that could improve this year to challenge at the top.Continue Reading, F1: A Beginners Guide - The Other Teams and Drivers.

Article Author: Ashleigh Charlesworth

Ashleigh currently writes for Naked Cleaner and F1 Blog. His interest lie in Technology (of all forms) and engineering. Day to day he does network security for living (yes I AM that nerdy).

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