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.

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).

Visit Ashleigh Charlesworth's author page — Ashleigh Charlesworth's Blog