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GYXU > F1, Indy, Nascar, Rally > [FAQ] Frequently asked questions to rec.autos.sport.f1.­moderated - Part 2 of 2 2 May 2008 01:57:51
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[FAQ] Frequently asked questions to rec.autos.sport.f1.­moderated - Part 2 of 2

Mark Jackson 2 May 2008 01:57:51
 $Revision: 2.111 $, $Date: 2006/11/16 13:11:42 $

The FAQ is divided into several sections.

Introduction (Part 1)
1. Rules, regulations and governing body (Part 1)
2. The teams and cars (Part 1)
3. The drivers (Part 2)
4. The races (Part 2)
5. The circuits (Part 2)
6. Television (Part 2)
7. Sponsors (Part 2)
8. Manufacturers (Part 2)
9. Technical stuff (Part 2)
10. Miscellaneous (Part 2)

Corrections and additions to mjackson@alumni.cal­tech.edu.

3. The drivers
==============

Q: Who drove for whom in 2006?
A.
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team
1. Fernando Alonso (E)
2. Giancarlo Fisichella (I)
T. Heikki Kovalainen (SF)
Team McLaren Mercedes
3. Kimi RÄikkÆnen (SF)
4. Juan Pablo Montoya (CO) [through USA]
4. Pedro de la Rosa (E) [from F]
T. Pedro de la Rosa (E)
T. Gary Paffett (GB)
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
5. Michael Schumacher (D)
6. Felipe Massa (BR)
T. Luca Badoer (I)
T. Marc GenÈ (E)
Panasonic Toyota Racing
7. Ralf Schumacher (D)
8. Jarno Trulli
T. Ricardo Zonta (BR)
T. Olivier Panis (F)
WilliamsF1 Team
9. Mark Webber (AUS)
10. Nico Rosberg (D)
3d. Alex Wurz (A)
T. Narain Karthikeyan (IND)
Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team [1]
11. Rubens Barrichello (BR)
12. Jenson Button (GB)
3d. Anthony Davidson (GB)
Red Bull Racing
14. David Coulthard (GB)
15. Christian Klien (A) [through I]
15. Robert Doornbos (NL) [from RC]
3d. Robert Doornbos (NL) [through I]
3d. Michael AmmermÝller (D) [from RC]
BMW Sauber F1 Team [2]
16. Nick Heidfeld (D)
17. Jacques Villeneuve (CDN) [through D]
17. Robert Kubica (PL) [from H]
3d. Robert Kubica (PL) [through D]
3d. Sebastian Vettel (D) [from TR]
Spyker MF1 Racing [3]
18. Tiago Monteiro (P)
19. Christijan Albers (NL)
3d. Markus Winkelhock (D) [BRN, AUS, D-H]
3d. Giorgio Mondini (CH) [MAL, RSM, E-USA, TR-I]
3d. Adrian Sutil (D) [Eur, F, J]
3d. Alexandre PrÈmat (I) [RC]
3d. Ernesto Viso (YV) [BR]
T. Roman Rusinov (RUS)
T. Fabrizio del Monte (I)
Scuderia Toro Rosso [4]
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (I)
21. Scott Speed (USA)
3d. Neel Jani (CH)
Super Aguri F1
22. Takuma Sato (J)
23. Yuji Ide (J) [through RSM; Superlicense revoked by FIA]
23. Franck Montagny (F) [Eur-F]
23. Sakon Yamamoto (J) [from D]
3d. Sakon Yamamoto (J) [GB-F]
3d. Franck Montagny (F) [from TR]

3d = Friday and/or reserve 3rd Driver
T = Test Driver

[1] formerly BAR
[2] formerly Sauber
[3] formerly MF1 Racing, neÈ Jordan
[4] formerly Minardi

Q: What is known about driver lineups for 2007?
A: Confirmed:
BMW Sauber - Heidfeld, Kubica; Vettel test
Ferrari - RÄikkÆnen, Massa; Badoeer, GenÈ test
Honda - Button, Barrichello; Klien, James Rossiter test
McLaren - Alonso
Red Bull - Webber, Coulthard
Renault - Fisichella, Kovalainen; Zonta, Nelson Piquet Jr. test
STR -
Spyker MF1* - Albers
Super Aguri - Sato, Davidson
Toyota - RSchumacher, Trulli; Montagny test
Williams - Rosberg, Wurz; Karthikeyan, Kazuki Nakajima test

*formerly MF1 Racing - assuming the name change is approved

Juan Pablo Montoya has already left McLaren enroute to NASCAR,
Jacques Villeneuve has departed from BMW Sauber, and Christian
Klein has broken with Red Bull after turning down their offer
to sponsor him in Champcar in 2007.

Q: How much does driver x make?
A: According to /F1 Magazine/, August 2005 (with previous estimates
from April 2005):
M Schumacher $70m ($42m) half from personal sponsorship, etc.
R Schumacher $25m ($18m)
K RÄikkÆnen $22m ($19m)
JP Montoya $15m ($12m)
J Trulli $10m ($7m)
R Barrichello $10m ($9m)
G Fisichella $9m ($4m)
F Alonso $9m ($7m)
J Button $8m ($7m)
M Webber $4m ($6m)
F Massa $2.5m ($1m)
A Wurz $2.5m (-)
T Sato $2m ($1m)
J Villeneuve $2m ($3m)
D Coulthard $1.5m (-)
N Heidfeld $1m ($2m)
P de la Rosa $500k (-)
C Klien $350k (-)
T Liuzzi $350k (-)
A Davidson $250k (-)
T Monteiro $250k (-)
C Albers $250k (-)
N Karthikeyan $250k (-)
P Friesacher nil (-)

Q: Who won the drivers championship in the year ....?
A:
2006 Fernando Alonso (E)
2005 Fernando Alonso (E)
2004 Michael Schumacher (D)
2003 Michael Schumacher (D)
2002 Michael Schumacher (D)
2001 Michael Schumacher (D)
2000 Michael Schumacher (D)
1999 Mika HÄkkinen (SF)
1998 Mika HÄkkinen (SF)
1997 Jacques Villeneuve (CDN)
1996 Damon Hill (GB)
1995 Michael Schumacher (D)
1994 Michael Schumacher (D)
1993 Alain Prost (F)
1992 Nigel Mansell (GB)
1991 Ayrton Senna (BR)
1990 Ayrton Senna (BR)
1989 Alain Prost (F)
1988 Ayrton Senna (BR)
1987 Nelson Piquet (BR)
1986 Alain Prost (F)
1985 Alain Prost (F)
1984 Niki Lauda (A)
1983 Nelson Piquet (BR)
1982 Keke Rosberg (SF)
1981 Nelson Piquet (BR)
1980 Alan Jones (AUS)
1979 Jody Scheckter (ZA)
1978 Mario Andretti (USA)
1977 Niki Lauda (A)
1976 James Hunt (GB)
1975 Niki Lauda (A)
1974 Emerson Fittipaldi (BR)
1973 Jackie Stewart (GB)
1972 Emerson Fittipaldi BR
1971 Jackie Stewart (GB)
1970 Jochen Rindt (A)
1969 Jackie Stewart (GB)
1968 Graham Hill (GB)
1967 Denny Hulme (NZ)
1966 Jack Brabham (AUS)
1965 Jim Clark (GB)
1964 John Surtees (GB)
1963 Jim Clark (GB)
1962 Graham Hill (GB)
1961 Phil Hill (USA)
1960 Jack Brabham (AUS)
1959 Jack Brabham (AUS)
1958 Mike Hawthorn (GB)
1957 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1956 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1955 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1954 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1953 Alberto Ascari (I)
1952 Alberto Ascari (I)
1951 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1950 Giuseppe Farina (I)

Q: How many races has y won?
A: See the next answer.

4. The races
============

Q: Who won x race? Who raced car y in z?
A: The best source for this is Forix at http://www.forix.co­m - it has
comprehensive results for championship and non-championship races
extending back before 1950. Unfortunately in early 2003 they converted
to a subscription service. Free sources of some of this information
are out there, including http://www.grandpri­x.com/gpemain.html and
http://www.f1db.com­; other recommendations are welcome.

Q: What was the calendar for 2006?
A:
12 Mar Bahrain (Sakhir)
19 Mar Malaysia (Sepang)
02 Apr Australia (Melbourne)
23 Apr San Marino (Imola)
07 May Europe (NÝrburgring)
14 May Spain (Barcelona)
28 May Monaco (Monte Carlo)
11 Jun Great Britain (Silverstone)
25 Jun Canada (MontrÈal)
02 Jul USA (Indianapolis)
16 Jul France (Magny-Cours)
30 Jul Germany (Hockenheim)
06 Aug Hungary (Budapest)
27 Aug Turkey (Istanbul)
10 Sep Italy (Monza)
01 Oct China (Shanghai)
08 Oct Japan (Suzuka)
22 Oct Brazil (SÖo Paulo)

The Belgian GP (17 Sep) was dropped for 2006 due to Spa's
financial difficulties and to permit facilities upgrades
demanded by Bernie Ecclestone.

Q: What is the calendar for 2007?
A: As announced by the WMSC on 18 October:

18 Mar Australia (Melbourne)
08 Apr Malaysia (Sepang)
15 Apr Bahrain (Sakhir)
13 May Spain (Barcelona)
27 May Monaco (Monte Carlo)
10 Jun Canada (MontrÈal)
17 Jun USA (Indianapolis)
01 Jul France (Magny-Cours)
08 Jul Great Britain (Silverstone)
22 Jul Germany (NÝrburgring)
05 Aug Hungary (Budapest)
26 Aug Turkey (Istanbul)
09 Sep Italy (Monza)
16 Sep Belgium (Spa Francorchamps)
30 Sep Japan (Fuji)
07 Oct China (Shanghai)
21 Oct Brazil (SÖo Paulo)

China and Japan have swapped positions pending confirmation from
the respective national sporting authorities. The German GP will
now alternate between Hockenheim and the NÝrburgring.

Q: Why does the Monaco Grand Prix move around in the calendar?
A: The Thursday of the Monaco meeting has traditionally been Ascension
Day, therefore moving with Easter. This tradition was violated in
1957, 2002, and 2005, and will be again in 2007.

Q: What time is practice, qualifying, and the race?
A: The official weekend schedule is practice from 10 to 11:30
AM and 2 to 3:30 PM on Friday, and 11 AM to noon on Saturday.
Qualifying is 2 to 3 PM on Saturday, and the race commences
at 2 PM on Sunday. There are always exceptions, so be sure
to check for any specific event.

Remember that at Monaco the "Friday" program takes place on
Thursday. permitting the streets to be reopened on Friday for
normal (i.e. expensive) commerce.

Q: Where can I get lap charts for races on the web?
A: Graphical depictions and tables of running order lap-by-lap are
fairly common (e.g. through www.fia.com). All lap times for each
driver for any race can be found on Forix (http://www.forix.c­om),
and complete charts through the F1 yearly overview pages at
Autosport (e.g. http://www.autospor­t.com/f1/2006.html) - both
however available only to subscribers.


5. The circuits
===============

Q: What circuits are rumoured to be getting races?
A: More than will actually get one, to be sure. Toyota has upgraded
facilities at Fuji International and has displaced Honda-owned
Suzuka for the Japanese GP in 2007; they hope to hold the
contract long-term, although Suzuka is looking to return in 2008,
prehaps with a "Pacific GP" as at the Aida circuit in the 1990s.
A contract has been signed to run a South Korean GP starting in
2010 at a track to be built in South Cholla province, and Bernie
says negotiations are well-advanced for a GP in India that year.
A 5-year contract was actually announced for Mexican
GPs to be held at a new track near Cancun beginning in 2006;
environmental and legal problems killed this. Valencia is
reportedly planning an upgrade to the track and facilities,
presumably in pursuit of a future Spanish or European GP
(although another possibility is a "street" race through the
area developed for the 2007 America's Cup);
Singapore has invited proposals for a possible GP there.
Rio de Janeiro was reported to be preparing a bid to get the GP
of Brazil back from SÖo Paulo. A bid has surfaced to run a GP in
Toronto, possibly alternating with the existing event in MontrÈal.
Rumors have also mentioned Moscow, Iran, Libya, Greece,
South Africa, and Egypt.

Clearly a Grand Prix is widely viewed as a very desirable property!
The Concorde Agreement sets a maximum of 17 GPs per year, which would
require some existing venues to go away to make room - although the
teams have agreed to more than this every year from 2004 through
2007, and the draft 2008 sporting regulations set the maximum at 20.

Against this robust picture one must set the difficulties faced
by a number of events. Spa's problems led to the cancellation of
the 2006 race; Hockenheim's debt is such that German organizers
have agreed to alternate the German GP with the NÝrburgring, the
European GP having been eliminated in 2007; the USGP is
reported to have reached only a one-year deal for 2007 following
the 2005 debacle, and Imola has been dropped for 2007 because
required track upgrades were not carried out by the organizers.
And the British GP is continually under threat because Bernie is
unhappy with the facilities and infrastructure of Silverstone.

Q: Where can I find maps of the circuits used in F1 racing?
A: An excellent source of current and historical information was
recently ressurected at
http://ellis.v12rac­ing.net/racingcircui­ts/racingcircuits/.
There's a fascinating repository of files
at http://www.geocitie­s.com/ciroalbertopab­on/Circuitos_eng.htm­
that, with the Google Earth application, let one take virtual
tours of present and past F1 (and other) tracks using real
images.

Most of the big F1 sites have current track maps.

In 2006 the Variante Alta chicane at Imola was tightened some and
the curbs lowered. Further changes under the guidance of Herman
Tilke, including straightening the track between Rivazza and
Tamburello and upgrades to the facilities, have begun and must
be completed if the track is to return to the calendar in 2008.
Spa is undergoing a number of facilities upgrades in preparation
for 2007, including a reprofiling of the Bus Stop chicane and
changes to La Source hairpin.


6. Television
=============

Q: I've heard about digital or pay-per-view F1. How does that work?
A: From a commercial point of view, not well enough. Bernie Ecclestone's
Formula One Management, which had sent crew and equipment to each GP
to provide seven channels of custom programming to pay-per-view
subscribers in several European countries, pulled the plug after
2002 due to lower than expected subscriptions. It was then promised that
the digital resouces would be focussed "on providing the best live
feed to our free-to-air broadcasters." This apparently proved unworkable,
and the operation was mostly mothballed. Most broadcasts are still
produced by a local TV operation - but some are contracted out to FOM.

Bernie has begun negotiating some individual pay-per-view deals
in specific countries for 2007. To the extent that such
arrangements interfere with free-to-air broadcasts they are
unpopular with manufacturers and sponsors (who are in the business
for the associated publicity, including television coverage), so
we'll have to wait and see what develops.

Q: How come the television viewing figures for F1 are bigger than the world
population?
A: It is a figure used for comparison by the advertising industry and has no
value as an absolute. That's the way the Olympic Games is counted and it's
the way the Football World Cup is counted, so it's the way F1 is counted.

For example the claimed viewership for 1999 was
57,754,361,716. This starts to make more sense when you realise that
every "viewing" counts. If you watch the race, and the repeat/highlights,
that's 2 for a start. Then remember it's 16 times a year (17 this
year...), so that's 34. Do you watch the qualifying? Add another 17... Did
you see any clips on the news? Several? Add another 60 or so. OK, so
you alone viewed F1 probably 100 times last year...

Significant erosion of F1 viewing figures was noted in most countries over
the course of the 2002 season. In addition to sparking a host of rules
change proposals to make racing more competitive, this may have played a
role in the death of digital pay-per-view in favor of improved free-to-air
coverage for 2003.

Q: I'm visiting the United States. Is there TV coverage of F1 events
there?
A: In 2006 all events will be carried on the Speed Channel
(http://www.speedtv­.com), a cable and satellite service that
is widely, but not universally, available. Speed generally has
some coverage of Friday practice, live coverage of Saturday
qualifying, and live race coverage; they also have in the
past laid on extra coverage for the US Grand Prix. This year they
will add a live grid camera to their Sunday coverage, and will also
carry the GP2 series. As in 2005, four races (San Marino, Spain,
Monaco, and Great Britain) will be covered on same-day tape delay
by CBS (an over-the-air network with much wider availability, but
*terrible* commentary and production); the Speed race coverage for
these will be tape-delayed until the following weekend.


7. Sponsors
===========
Q: When did the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale, forerunner of FISA)
allow outside sponsorship for F1 cars?
A: For the 1968 season.

Q: Which team first had a sponsor, the first race with sponsor, and the
sponsor's name?
A: At the 1968 Spanish GP, Lotus appeared in the red and gold livery of Gold
Leaf Cigarettes. If privateers are included then one must credit
John Love and Sam Tingle, whose "Team Gunston" Brabham-Repco and
LDS-Repco ran in the colors of that cigarette brand at the season-
opening South African event.

Q: What team brought Marlboro into F1 and when?
A: Marlboro came into F1 as teams sponsor in 1972 with the BRM team.

They 'eased' their way in with a low-key personal contract for Jo Siffert in
1970. Seppi carried logos on helmet and overalls for two seasons, as did his
STP March in '70 and his Yardley BRM in '71. This may well have been the
genesis of Marlboro's 'World Championship Team' concept, the umbrella
name for individual driver sponsorships which were additional to team
contracts.

Q: What is the longest running team/sponsor conection (current and all-time)?
A: In 2006 the Marlboro/Ferrari partnership entered its 23rd season (sponsor
since 1984, title sponsor since 1997). This ties the 23 seasons
of Marlboro and McLaren (1974-1996) for longest all-time.

Q: Who were the major sponsors for each F1 team in 2006?
A: According to /F1 Racing/, June 2006 (with estimated total team
sponsorship income:
BMW Sauber ($103M): Petronas (oil), Intel (electronics)
Ferrari ($222M): Marlboro (cigarettes), Vodafone (telecommunications­)
Honda ($66M): Lucky Strike (cigarettes)
McLaren ($141M): Mobil (oil), Johnny Walker (liquor)
MF1 Racing ($44M): Albers and Montero (drivers)
Red Bull ($0M): none [1]
Renault ($136M): Mild Seven (cigarettes), Elf (oil)
Super Aguri ($57M): Honda [2]
Toro Rosso ($0M): none [1]
Toyota ($63M): Panasonic (electronics)
Williams ($84M): RBS (bank), Petrobras (oil), Budweiser ("beer")

Excludes non-cash sponsorship deals and all parent company support.
[1] Red Bull and Toro Rosso are owned by the Red Bull energy drink
company.
[2] $30M from Honda as a start-up grant

Q. Who will be the major sponsors for each F1 team in 2007?
A. Faced with the spread of laws restricting tobacco advertising
(and an International Marketing Standards agreement) both British
American Tobacco (Lucky Strike) and Japan Tobacco (Mild Seven)
have announced that 2006 will be their last year in F1. Philip
Morris (Marlboro) remains publicly committed to Ferrari through
2011, although it's unclear how this will work in practice.
Announced so far:
BMW Sauber:
Ferrari:Marlboro (cigarettes)
McLaren:Vodafone (telecommunications­)
Red Bull:Red Bull (energy drink)
Renault:ING (financial services)
STR:Red Bull (energy drink)
Spyker MF1:
Super Aguri:
Toyota:
Williams:AT&T (telecommunications­)

8. Manufacturers
================

Q: Had Jaguar ever been in F1 before buying Stewart?
A: Clemente Biondetti drove a Jaguar-engined Ferrari 166 in the 1950
Italian GP. He qualified it 32 seconds (27%) behind Fangio, and retired from
the race on lap 17 with a blown engine.

When Moss, Dean Delamont and John "Autocar, not Cooper" Cooper were
casting about for bits for a new F2 car for him (the project that eventually
became the first of the two Cooper-Altas) there was apparently an attempt to
secure an experimental 2.0l 4-cyl Jaguar engine for that.

Paul Emery fitted a 2.4 Jag engine with fuel injection to his Emeryson
special, and did one F1 clubbie in '57. (The car had started life with a
linered-down Aston Martin engine for 2.0l F2, then acquired a bored-out
Alta for 2.5l F1...)

Q: Who owns Ilmor?
A: DaimlerChrysler completed its buyout of the original Illien-Morgan
engine business in 2005; it's now known as Mercedes-Benz High
Performance Engines. The company currently known as Ilmor is a
recent startup by Mario Illien and has nothing to do with F1.

Q: Who owns Cosworth?
A: Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, co-owners of the US-based
Champ Car series. With Ferrari, Renault, Honda, and Toyota
providing engines to a total of 5 other teams in 2007 it looks
like Cosworth is out of F1 for the forseeable future.


9. Technical Stuff
==================

Q: What is a desmodromic valve?
A: Conventional poppet valves are opened by the direct or indirect
mechanical action of a cam and are closed by the action of a spring,
the latter being a coil or hairpin of metal or (in recent
F1 engines) a chamber of compressed gas. Desmodromic valves are
both opened and closed by mechanical action, for example by an
additional cam lobe on the camshaft acting through fingers or
other structures.

Although desmodromic valves were used in Grand Prix racing as
early as 1914 and sporadically thereafter, significant success
was not achieved before the Mercedes Benz W196 of 1954-55.

Q: What is the fuel made of?
A: Essentially the fuel must be made from the same
components as pump fuels and with limits on the proportions of
individual components which are currently more stringent than those
applied to pump fuels in Europe.

Within those strict parameters, the fuel companies can - and do -
tailor the fuels to specific engines, engine maps and circuit
configurations. There is constant research and as many as three or
four different blends may used throughout a season, in line with
engine developments and circuit requirements.

A sample of each new batch of fuel is sent to the FIA to be tested to
ensure that it complies with the rules and is then 'fingerprinted'.
Samples are taken at the circuits to ensure that the fuel being used
in the cars matches this 'fingerprint'.




10. Miscellaneous
=================

Q: What colour is British Racing Green?
A: There isn't just one colour. See David Betts' photos at
http://www.kodakgal­lery.com/I.jsp?c=8hd­b40f.p96dman&x=1&y=y­0tki9
for many examples (free registration required).

Q: What are the national racing colours?
A: Country; car colour; number colour:

Egypt; light-lilac; red on white
Argentina; car:blue/bonnet: black; red on white
Belgium; yellow; black
Brazil; light-yellow/green;­ black
Bulgaria; car: green/bonnet: white; red on white
Chile; car: red/bonnet: blue/rear end: white; half blue and half red
on white or entirely red
Germany; white (yes, white was indeed Germany's official colour); red
Finland; black; blue on white
France; blue; white
Great Britain; green; white
Ireland; green (horizontal orange stripe); white
Italy; red; white
Luxemburg; grey; white on red
Monaco; white (horizontal red stripe); black on white
Netherlands; orange; white
Poland; white/rear end: white; red
Romania; navy blue/rear end: red; yellow
Sweden; lower part: blue/upper part: yellow/3 yellow stripes on the
bonnet; white
Switzerland; car: red/bonnet: white; black
Spain; car: red/bonnet: yellow; black on yellow/white on red
Thailand; car: light-blue/wheels: light-yellow/horizo­ntal yellow
stripe; white on blue
Czechoslovakia; car: white/bonnet: blue and white/rear end: red; blue
Hungary; car: white/bonnet: red/ rear end: green; black
USA; car: white/rear end: blue; blue on white

Q: What about drug testing in F1?
A: From an FIA statement on 1/10/99 "For several years, the FIA and the FIM
have strictly applied the regulations of the International Olympic
Committee, with numerous and repeated controls. Both federations are
fully prepared to intensify checks should the need arise."

Q: What are those strips sticking out of the ground in the pit lane?
A: They are there to ground the static electricity that builds up in the
car during a race, and try and prevent a pit lane fire.

Q: Who is Nazir Hoosein?
A: An (in)famous movie theater owner from Mumbai, India, who currently
represents China on the WMSC. Hoosein was Chief Steward in Brazil
in 1998, when the decision was taken to disallow McLaren's braking
system.

Hoosein was also Chief Steward in Brazil in 1997, when the drivers
had problems with a white line on the pit entry (they were told at
first to not cross it, but they managed to convince the stewards
that it was more dangerous to avoid it). You might have noticed
that the pit entry since 98 was much longer and the reason is
probably to avoid that "problem," which seemed to exist only on
Hoosein's head.

After the administrative mistake at the British GP in 98, he
voluntarilty gave up his Steward licence. He has since had it
given back. He resurfaced as Chief Steward at the 2002 Malaysian
GP, where Juan Pablo Montoya was given a controversial "drive-through"
penalty, and was also one of the Stewards at the 2003 German GP,
where Ralf Schumacher was penalized for causing a first-corner
accident. It must be sheer coincidence that he was also Chief
Steward for the USGP of 2005.

Hoosein heads the Motorsports Association of India, which displaced,
under somewhat murky circumstances, the older Federation of Motor
Sport Clubs of India as India's National Sporting Authority (ASN)
as recognized by the FIA.

Q: What was the music the BBC used for the Grand Prix?
A: "The Chain", by Fleetwood Mac, on the album "Rumo(u)rs"

Q: Are there any novels based on Formula 1?
A: Alistair Maclean's "The Way to Dusty Death" is one of the better
known ones.

Bob Judd wrote a series of "throbbing groin and motor racing" novels
called "Formula 1", "Phoenix", "Indy", "Monza", "Silverstone" and "Juice"
in the UK, but they have slightly different names in the US (Silverstone
is known as Spin in the states, and "Phoenix" as "Burn" for example).

Sally Armstrong wrote a novel called "Racers" which it claims was
researched with help of Williams Grand Prix Engineering. It is very
much a throbbing groins novel, and does beg the question exactly
what was going on at Williams in the early 90s...

Another few are "Eye of the Cobra" by Christopher Sherlock and
"White Death" by Andrew Neilsen, "The Last Open Road" by
B.S. Levy, and "Oversteer" & "Dead Pedal" by Ken Vose, plus
"Fine Tune" by Gerald Hammond.

Douglas Rutherford wrote a whole series of books in the 1950s,
including "Grand Prix Murder", "The Gilt-Edged Cockpit" and
"The Chequered Flag".

S. Thomas' "Miracle at Monaco" is a vanity press product, but worth
mention for the sheer weirdness of the concept: a 50-year-old
monk races a one-off Morgan F1 car at Monaco with the help of God.

Q: What is a "Jordan Stopwatch" and a "Ferrari Ruler"?
A: The first of these terms refers to the old practice of Jordan
having stunning testing times, only to falter during the season.
It is sometimes used as a ruse to increase sponsorship in a team,
as a fast car is easier to sell to corporate bods.

A Ferrari Ruler, on the other hand, is the idea that if you measure
something in a specific way then it is legal. It comes about from the
1999 Malaysian Grand Prix, where if you measured the bargeboards in a
specific way, then they were legal.

Q: What is "Remus?"
A: Remus is an ERA (English Racing Automobiles) - specifically, ERA R6B.
One of the three raced by Prince Bira before the war, the others being
Romulus and Hanuman.

Raced as a GP car post-war, being driven by John Bolster amongst
others. It was then owned and raced by Bill Moss for many years in UK
club motorsport and then historic events before passing to Patrick
Lindsay and, after his death, his son Ludovic.

Probably the most raced car ever.

For more information, see
http://www.brooklan­dstrack.co.uk/Carsli­st/biraera.htm

--
Mark Jackson - http://www.alumni.c­altech.edu/~mjackson­



Add comment
Mark Jackson 16 November 2006 23:00:07 [ permanent link ]
 Anand Nene <anandnNOSPAM@gmx.n­et> writes:
Mark Jackson wrote:
$Revision: 2.111 $, $Date: 2006/11/16 13:11:42 $
Mark, any chance I could get all the released revisions of this
FAQ? The oldest I could track is V1.22 December 2000.
Does your repository do anonymous? Besides, I see it jumped from
1.1 to 2.1...


The CVS repository is on my Sun workstation behind a corporate
firewall, unfortunately; it wouldn't help you, however.

Stephen M Baines maintained the FAQ on rec.autos.sport.f1 for a number
of years. He stopped in mid-2001. I picked it up in September, with
V1.28, posting (separately) to rasf1m as well. (I ceased posting to
rasf1 almost immediately, leaving in revulsion at some of the post-911
posts.) So what you've found goes back further than what I have.

CVS revision numbers were not the same as version numbers until January
30, 2002, when I reset both to 2.0. (January 15, 2002 was V1.36 but
CVS revision 1.11.)

--
Mark Jackson - http://www.alumni.c­altech.edu/~mjackson­
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace
alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an
endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.
- H. L. Mencken



Add comment
Art MacNeil 25 November 2006 21:35:03 [ permanent link ]
 "I ceased posting to rasf1 almost immediately, leaving in revulsion at some
of the post-911 posts"


Same here. I never subscribed to a group that wasn't moderated again.


"Mark Jackson" <mjackson@alumni.ca­ltech.edu> wrote in message
news:ejifoh$cfb$1@n­aig.caltech.edu...
Anand Nene <anandnNOSPAM@gmx.n­et> writes:
Mark Jackson wrote:
$Revision: 2.111 $, $Date: 2006/11/16 13:11:42 $
Mark, any chance I could get all the released revisions of this
FAQ? The oldest I could track is V1.22 December 2000.
Does your repository do anonymous? Besides, I see it jumped from
1.1 to 2.1...
The CVS repository is on my Sun workstation behind a corporate
firewall, unfortunately; it wouldn't help you, however.
Stephen M Baines maintained the FAQ on rec.autos.sport.f1 for a number
of years. He stopped in mid-2001. I picked it up in September, with
V1.28, posting (separately) to rasf1m as well. (I ceased posting to
rasf1 almost immediately, leaving in revulsion at some of the post-911
posts.) So what you've found goes back further than what I have.
CVS revision numbers were not the same as version numbers until January
30, 2002, when I reset both to 2.0. (January 15, 2002 was V1.36 but
CVS revision 1.11.)
--
Mark Jackson - http://www.alumni.c­altech.edu/~mjackson­
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace
alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an
endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.
- H. L. Mencken



Add comment
Mark Jackson 1 December 2006 17:50:07 [ permanent link ]
 $Revision: 2.112 $, $Date: 2006/12/01 14:10:51 $

The FAQ is divided into several sections.

Introduction (Part 1)
1. Rules, regulations and governing body (Part 1)
2. The teams and cars (Part 1)
3. The drivers (Part 2)
4. The races (Part 2)
5. The circuits (Part 2)
6. Television (Part 2)
7. Sponsors (Part 2)
8. Manufacturers (Part 2)
9. Technical stuff (Part 2)
10. Miscellaneous (Part 2)

Corrections and additions to mjackson@alumni.cal­tech.edu.

3. The drivers
==============

Q: Who drove for whom in 2006?
A.
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team
1. Fernando Alonso (E)
2. Giancarlo Fisichella (I)
T. Heikki Kovalainen (SF)
Team McLaren Mercedes
3. Kimi RÄikkÆnen (SF)
4. Juan Pablo Montoya (CO) [through USA]
4. Pedro de la Rosa (E) [from F]
T. Pedro de la Rosa (E)
T. Gary Paffett (GB)
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
5. Michael Schumacher (D)
6. Felipe Massa (BR)
T. Luca Badoer (I)
T. Marc GenÈ (E)
Panasonic Toyota Racing
7. Ralf Schumacher (D)
8. Jarno Trulli
T. Ricardo Zonta (BR)
T. Olivier Panis (F)
WilliamsF1 Team
9. Mark Webber (AUS)
10. Nico Rosberg (D)
3d. Alex Wurz (A)
T. Narain Karthikeyan (IND)
Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team [1]
11. Rubens Barrichello (BR)
12. Jenson Button (GB)
3d. Anthony Davidson (GB)
Red Bull Racing
14. David Coulthard (GB)
15. Christian Klien (A) [through I]
15. Robert Doornbos (NL) [from RC]
3d. Robert Doornbos (NL) [through I]
3d. Michael AmmermÝller (D) [from RC]
BMW Sauber F1 Team [2]
16. Nick Heidfeld (D)
17. Jacques Villeneuve (CDN) [through D]
17. Robert Kubica (PL) [from H]
3d. Robert Kubica (PL) [through D]
3d. Sebastian Vettel (D) [from TR]
Spyker MF1 Racing [3]
18. Tiago Monteiro (P)
19. Christijan Albers (NL)
3d. Markus Winkelhock (D) [BRN, AUS, D-H]
3d. Giorgio Mondini (CH) [MAL, RSM, E-USA, TR-I]
3d. Adrian Sutil (D) [Eur, F, J]
3d. Alexandre PrÈmat (I) [RC]
3d. Ernesto Viso (YV) [BR]
T. Roman Rusinov (RUS)
T. Fabrizio del Monte (I)
Scuderia Toro Rosso [4]
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (I)
21. Scott Speed (USA)
3d. Neel Jani (CH)
Super Aguri F1
22. Takuma Sato (J)
23. Yuji Ide (J) [through RSM; Superlicense revoked by FIA]
23. Franck Montagny (F) [Eur-F]
23. Sakon Yamamoto (J) [from D]
3d. Sakon Yamamoto (J) [GB-F]
3d. Franck Montagny (F) [from TR]

3d = Friday and/or reserve 3rd Driver
T = Test Driver

[1] formerly BAR
[2] formerly Sauber
[3] formerly MF1 Racing, neÈ Jordan
[4] formerly Minardi

Q: What is known about driver lineups for 2007?
A: Confirmed:
BMW Sauber - Heidfeld, Kubica; Vettel test
Ferrari - RÄikkÆnen, Massa; Badoeer, GenÈ test
Honda - Button, Barrichello; Klien, James Rossiter test
McLaren - Alonso, Lewis Hamilton; de la Rosa, Paffett test
Red Bull - Webber, Coulthard
Renault - Fisichella, Kovalainen; Zonta, Nelson Piquet Jr. test
STR -
Spyker MF1* - Albers
Super Aguri - Sato, Davidson
Toyota - RSchumacher, Trulli; Montagny test
Williams - Rosberg, Wurz; Karthikeyan, Kazuki Nakajima test

*formerly MF1 Racing - assuming the name change is approved

Juan Pablo Montoya has already left McLaren enroute to NASCAR,
Jacques Villeneuve has departed from BMW Sauber, and Christian
Klein has broken with Red Bull after turning down their offer
to sponsor him in Champcar in 2007.

Q: How much does driver x make?
A: According to /F1 Magazine/, August 2005 (with previous estimates
from April 2005):
M Schumacher $70m ($42m) half from personal sponsorship, etc.
R Schumacher $25m ($18m)
K RÄikkÆnen $22m ($19m)
JP Montoya $15m ($12m)
J Trulli $10m ($7m)
R Barrichello $10m ($9m)
G Fisichella $9m ($4m)
F Alonso $9m ($7m)
J Button $8m ($7m)
M Webber $4m ($6m)
F Massa $2.5m ($1m)
A Wurz $2.5m (-)
T Sato $2m ($1m)
J Villeneuve $2m ($3m)
D Coulthard $1.5m (-)
N Heidfeld $1m ($2m)
P de la Rosa $500k (-)
C Klien $350k (-)
T Liuzzi $350k (-)
A Davidson $250k (-)
T Monteiro $250k (-)
C Albers $250k (-)
N Karthikeyan $250k (-)
P Friesacher nil (-)

Q: Who won the drivers championship in the year ....?
A:
2006 Fernando Alonso (E)
2005 Fernando Alonso (E)
2004 Michael Schumacher (D)
2003 Michael Schumacher (D)
2002 Michael Schumacher (D)
2001 Michael Schumacher (D)
2000 Michael Schumacher (D)
1999 Mika HÄkkinen (SF)
1998 Mika HÄkkinen (SF)
1997 Jacques Villeneuve (CDN)
1996 Damon Hill (GB)
1995 Michael Schumacher (D)
1994 Michael Schumacher (D)
1993 Alain Prost (F)
1992 Nigel Mansell (GB)
1991 Ayrton Senna (BR)
1990 Ayrton Senna (BR)
1989 Alain Prost (F)
1988 Ayrton Senna (BR)
1987 Nelson Piquet (BR)
1986 Alain Prost (F)
1985 Alain Prost (F)
1984 Niki Lauda (A)
1983 Nelson Piquet (BR)
1982 Keke Rosberg (SF)
1981 Nelson Piquet (BR)
1980 Alan Jones (AUS)
1979 Jody Scheckter (ZA)
1978 Mario Andretti (USA)
1977 Niki Lauda (A)
1976 James Hunt (GB)
1975 Niki Lauda (A)
1974 Emerson Fittipaldi (BR)
1973 Jackie Stewart (GB)
1972 Emerson Fittipaldi BR
1971 Jackie Stewart (GB)
1970 Jochen Rindt (A)
1969 Jackie Stewart (GB)
1968 Graham Hill (GB)
1967 Denny Hulme (NZ)
1966 Jack Brabham (AUS)
1965 Jim Clark (GB)
1964 John Surtees (GB)
1963 Jim Clark (GB)
1962 Graham Hill (GB)
1961 Phil Hill (USA)
1960 Jack Brabham (AUS)
1959 Jack Brabham (AUS)
1958 Mike Hawthorn (GB)
1957 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1956 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1955 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1954 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1953 Alberto Ascari (I)
1952 Alberto Ascari (I)
1951 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1950 Giuseppe Farina (I)

Q: How many races has y won?
A: See the next answer.

4. The races
============

Q: Who won x race? Who raced car y in z?
A: The best source for this is Forix at http://www.forix.co­m - it has
comprehensive results for championship and non-championship races
extending back before 1950. Unfortunately in early 2003 they converted
to a subscription service. Free sources of some of this information
are out there, including http://www.grandpri­x.com/gpemain.html and
http://www.f1db.com­; other recommendations are welcome.

Q: What was the calendar for 2006?
A:
12 Mar Bahrain (Sakhir)
19 Mar Malaysia (Sepang)
02 Apr Australia (Melbourne)
23 Apr San Marino (Imola)
07 May Europe (NÝrburgring)
14 May Spain (Barcelona)
28 May Monaco (Monte Carlo)
11 Jun Great Britain (Silverstone)
25 Jun Canada (MontrÈal)
02 Jul USA (Indianapolis)
16 Jul France (Magny-Cours)
30 Jul Germany (Hockenheim)
06 Aug Hungary (Budapest)
27 Aug Turkey (Istanbul)
10 Sep Italy (Monza)
01 Oct China (Shanghai)
08 Oct Japan (Suzuka)
22 Oct Brazil (SÖo Paulo)

The Belgian GP (17 Sep) was dropped for 2006 due to Spa's
financial difficulties and to permit facilities upgrades
demanded by Bernie Ecclestone.

Q: What is the calendar for 2007?
A: As announced by the WMSC on 18 October:

18 Mar Australia (Melbourne)
08 Apr Malaysia (Sepang)
15 Apr Bahrain (Sakhir)
13 May Spain (Barcelona)
27 May Monaco (Monte Carlo)
10 Jun Canada (MontrÈal)
17 Jun USA (Indianapolis)
01 Jul France (Magny-Cours)
08 Jul Great Britain (Silverstone)
22 Jul Germany (NÝrburgring)
05 Aug Hungary (Budapest)
26 Aug Turkey (Istanbul)
09 Sep Italy (Monza)
16 Sep Belgium (Spa Francorchamps)
30 Sep Japan (Fuji)
07 Oct China (Shanghai)
21 Oct Brazil (SÖo Paulo)

China and Japan have swapped positions pending confirmation from
the respective national sporting authorities. The German GP will
now alternate between Hockenheim and the NÝrburgring.

Q: Why does the Monaco Grand Prix move around in the calendar?
A: The Thursday of the Monaco meeting has traditionally been Ascension
Day, therefore moving with Easter. This tradition was violated in
1957, 2002, and 2005, and will be again in 2007.

Q: What time is practice, qualifying, and the race?
A: The official weekend schedule is practice from 10 to 11:30
AM and 2 to 3:30 PM on Friday, and 11 AM to noon on Saturday.
Qualifying is 2 to 3 PM on Saturday, and the race commences
at 2 PM on Sunday. There are always exceptions, so be sure
to check for any specific event.

Remember that at Monaco the "Friday" program takes place on
Thursday. permitting the streets to be reopened on Friday for
normal (i.e. expensive) commerce.

Q: Where can I get lap charts for races on the web?
A: Graphical depictions and tables of running order lap-by-lap are
fairly common (e.g. through www.fia.com). All lap times for each
driver for any race can be found on Forix (http://www.forix.c­om),
and complete charts through the F1 yearly overview pages at
Autosport (e.g. http://www.autospor­t.com/f1/2006.html) - both
however available only to subscribers.


5. The circuits
===============

Q: What circuits are rumoured to be getting races?
A: More than will actually get one, to be sure. Toyota has upgraded
facilities at Fuji International and has displaced Honda-owned
Suzuka for the Japanese GP in 2007; they hope to hold the
contract long-term, although Suzuka is looking to return in 2008,
prehaps with a "Pacific GP" as at the Aida circuit in the 1990s.
A contract has been signed to run a South Korean GP starting in
2010 at a track to be built in South Cholla province, and Bernie
says negotiations are well-advanced for a GP in India that year.
Officials in the Spanish city of Valencia are in discussions with
Bernie and a street circuit in the area developed for the 2007
America's Cup is reported to be favored, notwithstanding previous
plans to upgrade the existing circuit (used for F1 testing) to
full race specifications. Rumors have at various other times
mentioned Moscow, Iran, Libya, Greece, South Africa, Egypt,
Singapore, Toronto, Rio de Janeiro (a bid to get the Brazilian
race back from SÖo Paulo), and Mexico (where a contract for a
race near Cancun was actually announced before insurmountable
environmental and legal problems arose).

Clearly a Grand Prix is widely viewed as a very desirable property!
The Concorde Agreement sets a maximum of 17 GPs per year, which would
require some existing venues to go away to make room - although the
teams have agreed to more than this every year from 2004 through
2007, and the draft 2008 sporting regulations set the maximum at 20.

Against this robust picture one must set the difficulties faced
by a number of events. Spa's problems led to the cancellation of
the 2006 race; Hockenheim's debt is such that German organizers
have agreed to alternate the German GP with the NÝrburgring, the
European GP having been eliminated in 2007; the USGP is
reported to have reached only a one-year deal for 2007 following
the 2005 debacle, and Imola has been dropped for 2007 because
required track upgrades were not carried out by the organizers.
And the British GP is continually under threat because Bernie is
unhappy with the facilities and infrastructure of Silverstone.

Q: Where can I find maps of the circuits used in F1 racing?
A: An excellent source of current and historical information was
recently ressurected at
http://ellis.v12rac­ing.net/racingcircui­ts/racingcircuits/.
There's a fascinating repository of files
at http://www.geocitie­s.com/ciroalbertopab­on/Circuitos_eng.htm­
that, with the Google Earth application, let one take virtual
tours of present and past F1 (and other) tracks using real
images.

Most of the big F1 sites have current track maps.

In 2006 the Variante Alta chicane at Imola was tightened some and
the curbs lowered. Further changes under the guidance of Herman
Tilke, including straightening the track between Rivazza and
Tamburello and upgrades to the facilities, have begun and must
be completed if the track is to return to the calendar in 2008.
Spa is undergoing a number of facilities upgrades in preparation
for 2007, including a reprofiling of the Bus Stop chicane and
changes to La Source hairpin.


6. Television
=============

Q: I've heard about digital or pay-per-view F1. How does that work?
A: From a commercial point of view, not well enough. Bernie Ecclestone's
Formula One Management, which had sent crew and equipment to each GP
to provide seven channels of custom programming to pay-per-view
subscribers in several European countries, pulled the plug after
2002 due to lower than expected subscriptions. It was then promised that
the digital resouces would be focussed "on providing the best live
feed to our free-to-air broadcasters." This apparently proved unworkable,
and the operation was mostly mothballed. Most broadcasts are still
produced by a local TV operation - but some are contracted out to FOM.

Bernie has begun negotiating some individual pay-per-view deals
in specific countries for 2007. To the extent that such
arrangements interfere with free-to-air broadcasts they are
unpopular with manufacturers and sponsors (who are in the business
for the associated publicity, including television coverage), so
we'll have to wait and see what develops.

Q: How come the television viewing figures for F1 are bigger than the world
population?
A: It is a figure used for comparison by the advertising industry and has no
value as an absolute. That's the way the Olympic Games is counted and it's
the way the Football World Cup is counted, so it's the way F1 is counted.

For example the claimed viewership for 1999 was
57,754,361,716. This starts to make more sense when you realise that
every "viewing" counts. If you watch the race, and the repeat/highlights,
that's 2 for a start. Then remember it's 16 times a year (17 this
year...), so that's 34. Do you watch the qualifying? Add another 17... Did
you see any clips on the news? Several? Add another 60 or so. OK, so
you alone viewed F1 probably 100 times last year...

Significant erosion of F1 viewing figures was noted in most countries over
the course of the 2002 season. In addition to sparking a host of rules
change proposals to make racing more competitive, this may have played a
role in the death of digital pay-per-view in favor of improved free-to-air
coverage for 2003.

Q: I'm visiting the United States. Is there TV coverage of F1 events
there?
A: In 2007 most events will be carried live on the Speed Channel
(http://www.speedtv­.com), a cable and satellite service that
is widely, but not universally, available. Speed generally has
some coverage of Friday practice, live coverage of Saturday
qualifying, and live race coverage. Four races will be covered
by Fox, a broadcast network of the same ownership with
near-universal availability. The US and Canadian races will be
carried there live; France and Great Britain will be on tape delay.
The usual Speed broadcast team (Bob Varsha, ex-driver David Hobbs,
ex-mechanic Steve Matchett) will cover the Fox events as well;
the new TV contract also covers GP2 events and runs through 2009.


7. Sponsors
===========
Q: When did the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale, forerunner of FISA)
allow outside sponsorship for F1 cars?
A: For the 1968 season.

Q: Which team first had a sponsor, the first race with sponsor, and the
sponsor's name?
A: At the 1968 Spanish GP, Lotus appeared in the red and gold livery of Gold
Leaf Cigarettes. If privateers are included then one must credit
John Love and Sam Tingle, whose "Team Gunston" Brabham-Repco and
LDS-Repco ran in the colors of that cigarette brand at the season-
opening South African event.

Q: What team brought Marlboro into F1 and when?
A: Marlboro came into F1 as teams sponsor in 1972 with the BRM team.

They 'eased' their way in with a low-key personal contract for Jo Siffert in
1970. Seppi carried logos on helmet and overalls for two seasons, as did his
STP March in '70 and his Yardley BRM in '71. This may well have been the
genesis of Marlboro's 'World Championship Team' concept, the umbrella
name for individual driver sponsorships which were additional to team
contracts.

Q: What is the longest running team/sponsor conection (current and all-time)?
A: In 2006 the Marlboro/Ferrari partnership entered its 23rd season (sponsor
since 1984, title sponsor since 1997). This ties the 23 seasons
of Marlboro and McLaren (1974-1996) for longest all-time.

Q: Who were the major sponsors for each F1 team in 2006?
A: According to /F1 Racing/, June 2006 (with estimated total team
sponsorship income:
BMW Sauber ($103M): Petronas (oil), Intel (electronics)
Ferrari ($222M): Marlboro (cigarettes), Vodafone (telecommunications­)
Honda ($66M): Lucky Strike (cigarettes)
McLaren ($141M): Mobil (oil), Johnny Walker (liquor)
MF1 Racing ($44M): Albers and Montero (drivers)
Red Bull ($0M): none [1]
Renault ($136M): Mild Seven (cigarettes), Elf (oil)
Super Aguri ($57M): Honda [2]
Toro Rosso ($0M): none [1]
Toyota ($63M): Panasonic (electronics)
Williams ($84M): RBS (bank), Petrobras (oil), Budweiser ("beer")

Excludes non-cash sponsorship deals and all parent company support.
[1] Red Bull and Toro Rosso are owned by the Red Bull energy drink
company.
[2] $30M from Honda as a start-up grant

Q. Who will be the major sponsors for each F1 team in 2007?
A. Faced with the spread of laws restricting tobacco advertising
(and an International Marketing Standards agreement) both British
American Tobacco (Lucky Strike) and Japan Tobacco (Mild Seven)
have announced that 2006 will be their last year in F1. Philip
Morris (Marlboro) remains publicly committed to Ferrari through
2011, although it's unclear how this will work in practice.
Announced so far:
BMW Sauber:
Ferrari:Marlboro (cigarettes)
McLaren:Vodafone (telecommunications­)
Red Bull:Red Bull (energy drink)
Renault:ING (financial services)
STR:Red Bull (energy drink)
Spyker MF1:
Super Aguri:
Toyota:
Williams:AT&T (telecommunications­)

8. Manufacturers
================

Q: Had Jaguar ever been in F1 before buying Stewart?
A: Clemente Biondetti drove a Jaguar-engined Ferrari 166 in the 1950
Italian GP. He qualified it 32 seconds (27%) behind Fangio, and retired from
the race on lap 17 with a blown engine.

When Moss, Dean Delamont and John "Autocar, not Cooper" Cooper were
casting about for bits for a new F2 car for him (the project that eventually
became the first of the two Cooper-Altas) there was apparently an attempt to
secure an experimental 2.0l 4-cyl Jaguar engine for that.

Paul Emery fitted a 2.4 Jag engine with fuel injection to his Emeryson
special, and did one F1 clubbie in '57. (The car had started life with a
linered-down Aston Martin engine for 2.0l F2, then acquired a bored-out
Alta for 2.5l F1...)

Q: Who owns Ilmor?
A: DaimlerChrysler completed its buyout of the original Illien-Morgan
engine business in 2005; it's now known as Mercedes-Benz High
Performance Engines. The company currently known as Ilmor is a
recent startup by Mario Illien and has nothing to do with F1.

Q: Who owns Cosworth?
A: Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, co-owners of the US-based
Champ Car series. With Ferrari, Renault, Honda, and Toyota
providing engines to a total of 5 other teams in 2007 it looks
like Cosworth is out of F1 for the forseeable future.


9. Technical Stuff
==================

Q: What is a desmodromic valve?
A: Conventional poppet valves are opened by the direct or indirect
mechanical action of a cam and are closed by the action of a spring,
the latter being a coil or hairpin of metal or (in recent
F1 engines) a chamber of compressed gas. Desmodromic valves are
both opened and closed by mechanical action, for example by an
additional cam lobe on the camshaft acting through fingers or
other structures.

Although desmodromic valves were used in Grand Prix racing as
early as 1914 and sporadically thereafter, significant success
was not achieved before the Mercedes Benz W196 of 1954-55.

Q: What is the fuel made of?
A: Essentially the fuel must be made from the same
components as pump fuels and with limits on the proportions of
individual components which are currently more stringent than those
applied to pump fuels in Europe.

Within those strict parameters, the fuel companies can - and do -
tailor the fuels to specific engines, engine maps and circuit
configurations. There is constant research and as many as three or
four different blends may used throughout a season, in line with
engine developments and circuit requirements.

A sample of each new batch of fuel is sent to the FIA to be tested to
ensure that it complies with the rules and is then 'fingerprinted'.
Samples are taken at the circuits to ensure that the fuel being used
in the cars matches this 'fingerprint'.




10. Miscellaneous
=================

Q: What colour is British Racing Green?
A: There isn't just one colour. See David Betts' photos at
http://www.kodakgal­lery.com/I.jsp?c=8hd­b40f.p96dman&x=1&y=y­0tki9
for many examples (free registration required).

Q: What are the national racing colours?
A: Country; car colour; number colour:

Egypt; light-lilac; red on white
Argentina; car:blue/bonnet: black; red on white
Belgium; yellow; black
Brazil; light-yellow/green;­ black
Bulgaria; car: green/bonnet: white; red on white
Chile; car: red/bonnet: blue/rear end: white; half blue and half red
on white or entirely red
Germany; white (yes, white was indeed Germany's official colour); red
Finland; black; blue on white
France; blue; white
Great Britain; green; white
Ireland; green (horizontal orange stripe); white
Italy; red; white
Luxemburg; grey; white on red
Monaco; white (horizontal red stripe); black on white
Netherlands; orange; white
Poland; white/rear end: white; red
Romania; navy blue/rear end: red; yellow
Sweden; lower part: blue/upper part: yellow/3 yellow stripes on the
bonnet; white
Switzerland; car: red/bonnet: white; black
Spain; car: red/bonnet: yellow; black on yellow/white on red
Thailand; car: light-blue/wheels: light-yellow/horizo­ntal yellow
stripe; white on blue
Czechoslovakia; car: white/bonnet: blue and white/rear end: red; blue
Hungary; car: white/bonnet: red/ rear end: green; black
USA; car: white/rear end: blue; blue on white

Q: What about drug testing in F1?
A: From an FIA statement on 1/10/99 "For several years, the FIA and the FIM
have strictly applied the regulations of the International Olympic
Committee, with numerous and repeated controls. Both federations are
fully prepared to intensify checks should the need arise."

Q: What are those strips sticking out of the ground in the pit lane?
A: They are there to ground the static electricity that builds up in the
car during a race, and try and prevent a pit lane fire.

Q: Who is Nazir Hoosein?
A: An (in)famous movie theater owner from Mumbai, India, who currently
represents China on the WMSC. Hoosein was Chief Steward in Brazil
in 1998, when the decision was taken to disallow McLaren's braking
system.

Hoosein was also Chief Steward in Brazil in 1997, when the drivers
had problems with a white line on the pit entry (they were told at
first to not cross it, but they managed to convince the stewards
that it was more dangerous to avoid it). You might have noticed
that the pit entry since 98 was much longer and the reason is
probably to avoid that "problem," which seemed to exist only on
Hoosein's head.

After the administrative mistake at the British GP in 98, he
voluntarilty gave up his Steward licence. He has since had it
given back. He resurfaced as Chief Steward at the 2002 Malaysian
GP, where Juan Pablo Montoya was given a controversial "drive-through"
penalty, and was also one of the Stewards at the 2003 German GP,
where Ralf Schumacher was penalized for causing a first-corner
accident. It must be sheer coincidence that he was also Chief
Steward for the USGP of 2005.

Hoosein heads the Motorsports Association of India, which displaced,
under somewhat murky circumstances, the older Federation of Motor
Sport Clubs of India as India's National Sporting Authority (ASN)
as recognized by the FIA.

Q: What was the music the BBC used for the Grand Prix?
A: "The Chain", by Fleetwood Mac, on the album "Rumo(u)rs"

Q: Are there any novels based on Formula 1?
A: Alistair Maclean's "The Way to Dusty Death" is one of the better
known ones.

Bob Judd wrote a series of "throbbing groin and motor racing" novels
called "Formula 1", "Phoenix", "Indy", "Monza", "Silverstone" and "Juice"
in the UK, but they have slightly different names in the US (Silverstone
is known as Spin in the states, and "Phoenix" as "Burn" for example).

Sally Armstrong wrote a novel called "Racers" which it claims was
researched with help of Williams Grand Prix Engineering. It is very
much a throbbing groins novel, and does beg the question exactly
what was going on at Williams in the early 90s...

Another few are "Eye of the Cobra" by Christopher Sherlock and
"White Death" by Andrew Neilsen, "The Last Open Road" by
B.S. Levy, and "Oversteer" & "Dead Pedal" by Ken Vose, plus
"Fine Tune" by Gerald Hammond.

Douglas Rutherford wrote a whole series of books in the 1950s,
including "Grand Prix Murder", "The Gilt-Edged Cockpit" and
"The Chequered Flag".

S. Thomas' "Miracle at Monaco" is a vanity press product, but worth
mention for the sheer weirdness of the concept: a 50-year-old
monk races a one-off Morgan F1 car at Monaco with the help of God.

Q: What is a "Jordan Stopwatch" and a "Ferrari Ruler"?
A: The first of these terms refers to the old practice of Jordan
having stunning testing times, only to falter during the season.
It is sometimes used as a ruse to increase sponsorship in a team,
as a fast car is easier to sell to corporate bods.

A Ferrari Ruler, on the other hand, is the idea that if you measure
something in a specific way then it is legal. It comes about from the
1999 Malaysian Grand Prix, where if you measured the bargeboards in a
specific way, then they were legal.

Q: What is "Remus?"
A: Remus is an ERA (English Racing Automobiles) - specifically, ERA R6B.
One of the three raced by Prince Bira before the war, the others being
Romulus and Hanuman.

Raced as a GP car post-war, being driven by John Bolster amongst
others. It was then owned and raced by Bill Moss for many years in UK
club motorsport and then historic events before passing to Patrick
Lindsay and, after his death, his son Ludovic.

Probably the most raced car ever.

For more information, see
http://www.brooklan­dstrack.co.uk/Carsli­st/biraera.htm

--
Mark Jackson - http://www.alumni.c­altech.edu/~mjackson­



Add comment
Mark Jackson 18 December 2006 01:03:20 [ permanent link ]
 $Revision: 2.113 $, $Date: 2006/12/17 21:43:56 $

The FAQ is divided into several sections.

Introduction (Part 1)
1. Rules, regulations and governing body (Part 1)
2. The teams and cars (Part 1)
3. The drivers (Part 2)
4. The races (Part 2)
5. The circuits (Part 2)
6. Television (Part 2)
7. Sponsors (Part 2)
8. Manufacturers (Part 2)
9. Technical stuff (Part 2)
10. Miscellaneous (Part 2)

Corrections and additions to mjackson@alumni.cal­tech.edu.

3. The drivers
==============

Q: Who drove for whom in 2006?
A.
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team
1. Fernando Alonso (E)
2. Giancarlo Fisichella (I)
T. Heikki Kovalainen (SF)
Team McLaren Mercedes
3. Kimi R ikk nen (SF)
4. Juan Pablo Montoya (CO) [through USA]
4. Pedro de la Rosa (E) [from F]
T. Pedro de la Rosa (E)
T. Gary Paffett (GB)
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
5. Michael Schumacher (D)
6. Felipe Massa (BR)
T. Luca Badoer (I)
T. Marc Gen (E)
Panasonic Toyota Racing
7. Ralf Schumacher (D)
8. Jarno Trulli
T. Ricardo Zonta (BR)
T. Olivier Panis (F)
WilliamsF1 Team
9. Mark Webber (AUS)
10. Nico Rosberg (D)
3d. Alex Wurz (A)
T. Narain Karthikeyan (IND)
Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team [1]
11. Rubens Barrichello (BR)
12. Jenson Button (GB)
3d. Anthony Davidson (GB)
Red Bull Racing
14. David Coulthard (GB)
15. Christian Klien (A) [through I]
15. Robert Doornbos (NL) [from RC]
3d. Robert Doornbos (NL) [through I]
3d. Michael Ammerm ller (D) [from RC]
BMW Sauber F1 Team [2]
16. Nick Heidfeld (D)
17. Jacques Villeneuve (CDN) [through D]
17. Robert Kubica (PL) [from H]
3d. Robert Kubica (PL) [through D]
3d. Sebastian Vettel (D) [from TR]
Spyker MF1 Racing [3]
18. Tiago Monteiro (P)
19. Christijan Albers (NL)
3d. Markus Winkelhock (D) [BRN, AUS, D-H]
3d. Giorgio Mondini (CH) [MAL, RSM, E-USA, TR-I]
3d. Adrian Sutil (D) [Eur, F, J]
3d. Alexandre Pr mat (I) [RC]
3d. Ernesto Viso (YV) [BR]
T. Roman Rusinov (RUS)
T. Fabrizio del Monte (I)
Scuderia Toro Rosso [4]
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (I)
21. Scott Speed (USA)
3d. Neel Jani (CH)
Super Aguri F1
22. Takuma Sato (J)
23. Yuji Ide (J) [through RSM; Superlicense revoked by FIA]
23. Franck Montagny (F) [Eur-F]
23. Sakon Yamamoto (J) [from D]
3d. Sakon Yamamoto (J) [GB-F]
3d. Franck Montagny (F) [from TR]

3d = Friday and/or reserve 3rd Driver
T = Test Driver

[1] formerly BAR
[2] formerly Sauber
[3] formerly MF1 Racing, ne Jordan
[4] formerly Minardi

Q: Who will be driving for whom in 2007?
A.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
1. Fernando Alonso (E)
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB)
T. Pedro de la Rosa (E)
T. Gary Paffett (GB)
ING Renault F1 Team
3. Giancarlo Fisichella (I)
4. Heikki Kovalainen (SF)
T. Ricardo Zonta (BR)
T. Nelson Piquet Jr. (BR)
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
5. Felipe Massa (BR)
6. Kimi Raikkonen (SF)
T. Luca Badoer (I)
T. Marc Gen (E)
Honda Racing F1 Team
7. Jenson Button (GB)
8. Rubens Barrichello (BR)
T. Christian Klien (A)
T. James Rossiter (GB)
BMW Sauber F1 Team
9. Nick Heidfeld (D)
10. Robert Kubica (PL)
T. Sebastian Vettel (D)
Panasonic Toyota Racing
11. Ralf Schumacher (D)
12. Jarno Trulli (I)
T. Franck Montagny (F)
Red Bull Racing
14. David Coulthard (GB)
15. Mark Webber (AUS)
AT&T Williams
16. Nico Rosberg (D)
17. Alexander Wurz (A)
T. Narain Karthikeyan (IND)
T. Kazuki Nakajima (J)
Scuderia Toro Rosso
18. TBA
19. TBA
Spyker F1 Team*
20. Christijan Albers (NL)
21. TBA
TBA Super Auguri F1 Team
22. Takuma Sato (J)
23. Anthony Davidson (GB)
T. Giedo van der Garde (NL)

*formerly MF1 Racing, ne Jordan

Q: How much does driver x make?
A: According to /F1 Magazine/, August 2005 (with previous estimates
from April 2005):
M Schumacher $70m ($42m) half from personal sponsorship, etc.
R Schumacher $25m ($18m)
K R ikk nen $22m ($19m)
JP Montoya $15m ($12m)
J Trulli $10m ($7m)
R Barrichello $10m ($9m)
G Fisichella $9m ($4m)
F Alonso $9m ($7m)
J Button $8m ($7m)
M Webber $4m ($6m)
F Massa $2.5m ($1m)
A Wurz $2.5m (-)
T Sato $2m ($1m)
J Villeneuve $2m ($3m)
D Coulthard $1.5m (-)
N Heidfeld $1m ($2m)
P de la Rosa $500k (-)
C Klien $350k (-)
T Liuzzi $350k (-)
A Davidson $250k (-)
T Monteiro $250k (-)
C Albers $250k (-)
N Karthikeyan $250k (-)
P Friesacher nil (-)

Q: Who won the drivers championship in the year ....?
A:
2006 Fernando Alonso (E)
2005 Fernando Alonso (E)
2004 Michael Schumacher (D)
2003 Michael Schumacher (D)
2002 Michael Schumacher (D)
2001 Michael Schumacher (D)
2000 Michael Schumacher (D)
1999 Mika H kkinen (SF)
1998 Mika H kkinen (SF)
1997 Jacques Villeneuve (CDN)
1996 Damon Hill (GB)
1995 Michael Schumacher (D)
1994 Michael Schumacher (D)
1993 Alain Prost (F)
1992 Nigel Mansell (GB)
1991 Ayrton Senna (BR)
1990 Ayrton Senna (BR)
1989 Alain Prost (F)
1988 Ayrton Senna (BR)
1987 Nelson Piquet (BR)
1986 Alain Prost (F)
1985 Alain Prost (F)
1984 Niki Lauda (A)
1983 Nelson Piquet (BR)
1982 Keke Rosberg (SF)
1981 Nelson Piquet (BR)
1980 Alan Jones (AUS)
1979 Jody Scheckter (ZA)
1978 Mario Andretti (USA)
1977 Niki Lauda (A)
1976 James Hunt (GB)
1975 Niki Lauda (A)
1974 Emerson Fittipaldi (BR)
1973 Jackie Stewart (GB)
1972 Emerson Fittipaldi BR
1971 Jackie Stewart (GB)
1970 Jochen Rindt (A)
1969 Jackie Stewart (GB)
1968 Graham Hill (GB)
1967 Denny Hulme (NZ)
1966 Jack Brabham (AUS)
1965 Jim Clark (GB)
1964 John Surtees (GB)
1963 Jim Clark (GB)
1962 Graham Hill (GB)
1961 Phil Hill (USA)
1960 Jack Brabham (AUS)
1959 Jack Brabham (AUS)
1958 Mike Hawthorn (GB)
1957 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1956 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1955 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1954 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1953 Alberto Ascari (I)
1952 Alberto Ascari (I)
1951 Juan Manuel Fangio (RA)
1950 Giuseppe Farina (I)

Q: How many races has y won?
A: See the next answer.

4. The races
============

Q: Who won x race? Who raced car y in z?
A: The best source for this is Forix at http://www.forix.co­m - it has
comprehensive results for championship and non-championship races
extending back before 1950. Unfortunately in early 2003 they converted
to a subscription service. Free sources of some of this information
are out there, including http://www.grandpri­x.com/gpemain.html and
http://www.f1db.com­; other recommendations are welcome.

Q: What was the calendar for 2006?
A:
12 Mar Bahrain (Sakhir)
19 Mar Malaysia (Sepang)
02 Apr Australia (Melbourne)
23 Apr San Marino (Imola)
07 May Europe (N rburgring)
14 May Spain (Barcelona)
28 May Monaco (Monte Carlo)
11 Jun Great Britain (Silverstone)
25 Jun Canada (Montr al)
02 Jul USA (Indianapolis)
16 Jul France (Magny-Cours)
30 Jul Germany (Hockenheim)
06 Aug Hungary (Budapest)
27 Aug Turkey (Istanbul)
10 Sep Italy (Monza)
01 Oct China (Shanghai)
08 Oct Japan (Suzuka)
22 Oct Brazil (S o Paulo)

The Belgian GP (17 Sep) was dropped for 2006 due to Spa's
financial difficulties and to permit facilities upgrades
demanded by Bernie Ecclestone.

Q: What is the calendar for 2007?
A: As announced by the WMSC on 18 October:

18 Mar Australia (Melbourne)
08 Apr Malaysia (Sepang)
15 Apr Bahrain (Sakhir)
13 May Spain (Barcelona)
27 May Monaco (Monte Carlo)
10 Jun Canada (Montr al)
17 Jun USA (Indianapolis)
01 Jul France (Magny-Cours)
08 Jul Great Britain (Silverstone)
22 Jul Germany (N rburgring)
05 Aug Hungary (Budapest)
26 Aug Turkey (Istanbul)
09 Sep Italy (Monza)
16 Sep Belgium (Spa Francorchamps)
30 Sep Japan (Fuji)
07 Oct China (Shanghai)
21 Oct Brazil (S o Paulo)

China and Japan have swapped positions pending confirmation from
the respective national sporting authorities. The German GP will
now alternate between Hockenheim and the N rburgring.

Q: Why does the Monaco Grand Prix move around in the calendar?
A: The Thursday of the Monaco meeting has traditionally been Ascension
Day, therefore moving with Easter. This tradition was violated in
1957, 2002, and 2005, and will be again in 2007.

Q: What time is practice, qualifying, and the race?
A: The official weekend schedule is practice from 10 to 11:30
AM and 2 to 3:30 PM on Friday, and 11 AM to noon on Saturday.
Qualifying is 2 to 3 PM on Saturday, and the race commences
at 2 PM on Sunday. There are always exceptions, so be sure
to check for any specific event.

Remember that at Monaco the "Friday" program takes place on
Thursday. permitting the streets to be reopened on Friday for
normal (i.e. expensive) commerce.

Q: Where can I get lap charts for races on the web?
A: Graphical depictions and tables of running order lap-by-lap are
fairly common (e.g. through www.fia.com). All lap times for each
driver for any race can be found on Forix (http://www.forix.c­om),
and complete charts through the F1 yearly overview pages at
Autosport (e.g. http://www.autospor­t.com/f1/2006.html) - both
however available only to subscribers.


5. The circuits
===============

Q: What circuits are rumoured to be getting races?
A: More than will actually get one, to be sure. Toyota has upgraded
facilities at Fuji International and has displaced Honda-owned
Suzuka for the Japanese GP in 2007; they hope to hold the
contract long-term, although Suzuka is looking to return in 2008,
prehaps with a "Pacific GP" as at the Aida circuit in the 1990s.
A contract has been signed to run a South Korean GP starting in
2010 at a track to be built in South Cholla province, and Bernie
says negotiations are well-advanced for a GP in India that year.
Officials in the Spanish city of Valencia are in discussions with
Bernie and a street circuit in the area developed for the 2007
America's Cup is reported to be favored, notwithstanding previous
plans to upgrade the existing circuit (used for F1 testing) to
full race specifications. Rumors have at various other times
mentioned Moscow, Iran, Libya, Greece, South Africa, Egypt,
Singapore, Toronto, Rio de Janeiro (a bid to get the Brazilian
race back from S o Paulo), and Mexico (where a contract for a
race near Cancun was actually announced before insurmountable
environmental and legal problems arose).

Clearly a Grand Prix is widely viewed as a very desirable property!
The Concorde Agreement sets a maximum of 17 GPs per year, which would
require some existing venues to go away to make room - although the
teams have agreed to more than this every year from 2004 through
2007, and the draft 2008 sporting regulations set the maximum at 20.

Against this robust picture one must set the difficulties faced
by a number of events. Spa's problems led to the cancellation of
the 2006 race; Hockenheim's debt is such that German organizers
have agreed to alternate the German GP with the N rburgring, the
European GP having been eliminated in 2007; the USGP is
reported to have reached only a one-year deal for 2007 following
the 2005 debacle, and Imola has been dropped for 2007 because
required track upgrades were not carried out by the organizers.
And the British GP is continually under threat because Bernie is
unhappy with the facilities and infrastructure of Silverstone.

Q: Where can I find maps of the circuits used in F1 racing?
A: An excellent source of current and historical information was
recently ressurected at
http://ellis.v12rac­ing.net/racingcircui­ts/racingcircuits/.
There's a fascinating repository of files
at http://www.geocitie­s.com/ciroalbertopab­on/Circuitos_eng.htm­
that, with the Google Earth application, let one take virtual
tours of present and past F1 (and other) tracks using real
images.

Most of the big F1 sites have current track maps.

In 2006 the Variante Alta chicane at Imola was tightened some and
the curbs lowered. Further changes under the guidance of Herman
Tilke, including straightening the track between Rivazza and
Tamburello and upgrades to the facilities, have begun and must
be completed if the track is to return to the calendar in 2008.
Spa is undergoing a number of facilities upgrades in preparation
for 2007, including a reprofiling of the Bus Stop chicane and
changes to La Source hairpin.


6. Television
=============

Q: I've heard about digital or pay-per-view F1. How does that work?
A: From a commercial point of view, not well enough. Bernie Ecclestone's
Formula One Management, which had sent crew and equipment to each GP
to provide seven channels of custom programming to pay-per-view
subscribers in several European countries, pulled the plug after
2002 due to lower than expected subscriptions. It was then promised
that
the digital resouces would be focussed "on providing the best live
feed to our free-to-air broadcasters." This apparently proved
unworkable,
and the operation was mostly mothballed. Most broadcasts are still
produced by a local TV operation - but some are contracted out to FOM.

Bernie has begun negotiating some individual pay-per-view deals
in specific countries for 2007. To the extent that such
arrangements interfere with free-to-air broadcasts they are
unpopular with manufacturers and sponsors (who are in the business
for the associated publicity, including television coverage), so
we'll have to wait and see what develops.

Q: How come the television viewing figures for F1 are bigger than the world
population?
A: It is a figure used for comparison by the advertising industry and
has no
value as an absolute. That's the way the Olympic Games is counted
and it's
the way the Football World Cup is counted, so it's the way F1 is
counted.

For example the claimed viewership for 1999 was
57,754,361,716. This starts to make more sense when you realise that
every "viewing" counts. If you watch the race, and the
repeat/highlights,
that's 2 for a start. Then remember it's 16 times a year (17 this
year...), so that's 34. Do you watch the qualifying? Add another
17... Did
you see any clips on the news? Several? Add another 60 or so. OK, so
you alone viewed F1 probably 100 times last year...

Significant erosion of F1 viewing figures was noted in most
countries over
the course of the 2002 season. In addition to sparking a host of rules
change proposals to make racing more competitive, this may have played a
role in the death of digital pay-per-view in favor of improved
free-to-air
coverage for 2003.

Q: I'm visiting the United States. Is there TV coverage of F1 events
there?
A: In 2007 most events will be carried live on the Speed Channel
(http://www.speedtv­.com), a cable and satellite service that
is widely, but not universally, available. Speed generally has
some coverage of Friday practice, live coverage of Saturday
qualifying, and live race coverage. Four races will be covered
by Fox, a broadcast network of the same ownership with
near-universal availability. The US and Canadian races will be
carried there live; France and Great Britain will be on tape delay.
The usual Speed broadcast team (Bob Varsha, ex-driver David Hobbs,
ex-mechanic Steve Matchett) will cover the Fox events as well;
the new TV contract also covers GP2 events and runs through 2009.


7. Sponsors
===========
Q: When did the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale, forerunner of FISA)
allow outside sponsorship for F1 cars?
A: For the 1968 season.

Q: Which team first had a sponsor, the first race with sponsor, and the
sponsor's name?
A: At the 1968 Spanish GP, Lotus appeared in the red and gold livery of Gold
Leaf Cigarettes. If privateers are included then one must credit
John Love and Sam Tingle, whose "Team Gunston" Brabham-Repco and
LDS-Repco ran in the colors of that cigarette brand at the season-
opening South African event.

Q: What team brought Marlboro into F1 and when?
A: Marlboro came into F1 as teams sponsor in 1972 with the BRM team.

They 'eased' their way in with a low-key personal contract for Jo
Siffert in
1970. Seppi carried logos on helmet and overalls for two seasons, as
did his
STP March in '70 and his Yardley BRM in '71. This may well have been the
genesis of Marlboro's 'World Championship Team' concept, the umbrella
name for individual driver sponsorships which were additional to team
contracts.

Q: What is the longest running team/sponsor conection (current and
all-time)?
A: In 2006 the Marlboro/Ferrari partnership entered its 23rd season (sponsor
since 1984, title sponsor since 1997). This ties the 23 seasons
of Marlboro and McLaren (1974-1996) for longest all-time.

Q: Who were the major sponsors for each F1 team in 2006?
A: According to /F1 Racing/, June 2006 (with estimated total team
sponsorship income:
BMW Sauber ($103M): Petronas (oil), Intel (electronics)
Ferrari ($222M): Marlboro (cigarettes), Vodafone
(telecommunications­)
Honda ($66M): Lucky Strike (cigarettes)
McLaren ($141M): Mobil (oil), Johnny Walker (liquor)
MF1 Racing ($44M): Albers and Montero (drivers)
Red Bull ($0M): none [1]
Renault ($136M): Mild Seven (cigarettes), Elf (oil)
Super Aguri ($57M): Honda [2]
Toro Rosso ($0M): none [1]
Toyota ($63M): Panasonic (electronics)
Williams ($84M): RBS (bank), Petrobras (oil), Budweiser ("beer")

Excludes non-cash sponsorship deals and all parent company support.
[1] Red Bull and Toro Rosso are owned by the Red Bull energy drink
company.
[2] $30M from Honda as a start-up grant

Q. Who will be the major sponsors for each F1 team in 2007?
A. Faced with the spread of laws restricting tobacco advertising
(and an International Marketing Standards agreement) both British
American Tobacco (Lucky Strike) and Japan Tobacco (Mild Seven)
have announced that 2006 will be their last year in F1. Philip
Morris (Marlboro) remains publicly committed to Ferrari through
2011, although it's unclear how this will work in practice.

BMW:TBA
Ferrari:Marlboro (cigarettes)
Honda: TBA
McLaren:Vodafone (telecommunications­)
Red Bull:Red Bull (energy drink)
Renault:ING (financial services)
STR:Red Bull (energy drink)
Spyker: TBA
Super Aguri:TBA
Toyota: Panasonic (electronics)
Williams:AT&T (telecommunications­)

8. Manufacturers
================

Q: Had Jaguar ever been in F1 before buying Stewart?
A: Clemente Biondetti drove a Jaguar-engined Ferrari 166 in the 1950
Italian GP. He qualified it 32 seconds (27%) behind Fangio, and
retired from
the race on lap 17 with a blown engine.

When Moss, Dean Delamont and John "Autocar, not Cooper" Cooper were
casting about for bits for a new F2 car for him (the project that
eventually
became the first of the two Cooper-Altas) there was apparently an
attempt to
secure an experimental 2.0l 4-cyl Jaguar engine for that.

Paul Emery fitted a 2.4 Jag engine with fuel injection to his Emeryson
special, and did one F1 clubbie in '57. (The car had started life with a
linered-down Aston Martin engine for 2.0l F2, then acquired a bored-out
Alta for 2.5l F1...)

Q: Who owns Ilmor?
A: DaimlerChrysler completed its buyout of the original Illien-Morgan
engine business in 2005; it's now known as Mercedes-Benz High
Performance Engines. The company currently known as Ilmor is a
recent startup by Mario Illien and has nothing to do with F1.

Q: Who owns Cosworth?
A: Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, co-owners of the US-based
Champ Car series. With Ferrari, Renault, Honda, and Toyota
providing engines to a total of 5 other teams in 2007 it looks
like Cosworth is out of F1 for the forseeable future.


9. Technical Stuff
==================

Q: What is a desmodromic valve?
A: Conventional poppet valves are opened by the direct or indirect
mechanical action of a cam and are closed by the action of a spring,
the latter being a coil or hairpin of metal or (in recent
F1 engines) a chamber of compressed gas. Desmodromic valves are
both opened and closed by mechanical action, for example by an
additional cam lobe on the camshaft acting through fingers or
other structures.

Although desmodromic valves were used in Grand Prix racing as
early as 1914 and sporadically thereafter, significant success
was not achieved before the Mercedes Benz W196 of 1954-55.

Q: What is the fuel made of?
A: Essentially the fuel must be made from the same
components as pump fuels and with limits on the proportions of
individual components which are currently more stringent than those
applied to pump fuels in Europe.

Within those strict parameters, the fuel companies can - and do -
tailor the fuels to specific engines, engine maps and circuit
configurations. There is constant research and as many as three or
four different blends may used throughout a season, in line with
engine developments and circuit requirements.

A sample of each new batch of fuel is sent to the FIA to be tested to
ensure that it complies with the rules and is then 'fingerprinted'.
Samples are taken at the circuits to ensure that the fuel being used
in the cars matches this 'fingerprint'.




10. Miscellaneous
=================

Q: What colour is British Racing Green?
A: There isn't just one colour. See David Betts' photos at
http://www.kodakgal­lery.com/I.jsp?c=8hd­b40f.p96dman&x=1&y=y­0tki9
for many examples (free registration required).

Q: What are the national racing colours?
A: Country; car colour; number colour:

Egypt; light-lilac; red on white
Argentina; car:blue/bonnet: black; red on white
Belgium; yellow; black
Brazil; light-yellow/green;­ black
Bulgaria; car: green/bonnet: white; red on white
Chile; car: red/bonnet: blue/rear end: white; half blue and half red
on white or entirely red
Germany; white (yes, white was indeed Germany's official colour); red
Finland; black; blue on white
France; blue; white
Great Britain; green; white
Ireland; green (horizontal orange stripe); white
Italy; red; white
Luxemburg; grey; white on red
Monaco; white (horizontal red stripe); black on white
Netherlands; orange; white
Poland; white/rear end: white; red
Romania; navy blue/rear end: red; yellow
Sweden; lower part: blue/upper part: yellow/3 yellow stripes on the
bonnet; white
Switzerland; car: red/bonnet: white; black
Spain; car: red/bonnet: yellow; black on yellow/white on red
Thailand; car: light-blue/wheels: light-yellow/horizo­ntal yellow
stripe; white on blue
Czechoslovakia; car: white/bonnet: blue and white/rear end: red; blue
Hungary; car: white/bonnet: red/ rear end: green; black
USA; car: white/rear end: blue; blue on white

Q: What about drug testing in F1?
A: From an FIA statement on 1/10/99 "For several years, the FIA and the FIM
have strictly applied the regulations of the International Olympic
Committee, with numerous and repeated controls. Both federations are
fully prepared to intensify checks should the need arise."

Q: What are those strips sticking out of the ground in the pit lane?
A: They are there to ground the static electricity that builds up in the
car during a race, and try and prevent a pit lane fire.

Q: Who is Nazir Hoosein?
A: An (in)famous movie theater owner from Mumbai, India, who currently
represents China on the WMSC. Hoosein was Chief Steward in Brazil
in 1998, when the decision was taken to disallow McLaren's braking
system.

Hoosein was also Chief Steward in Brazil in 1997, when the drivers
had problems with a white line on the pit entry (they were told at
first to not cross it, but they managed to convince the stewards
that it was more dangerous to avoid it). You might have noticed
that the pit entry since 98 was much longer and the reason is
probably to avoid that "problem," which seemed to exist only on
Hoosein's head.

After the administrative mistake at the British GP in 98, he
voluntarilty gave up his Steward licence. He has since had it
given back. He resurfaced as Chief Steward at the 2002 Malaysian
GP, where Juan Pablo Montoya was given a controversial "drive-through"
penalty, and was also one of the Stewards at the 2003 German GP,
where Ralf Schumacher was penalized for causing a first-corner
accident. It must be sheer coincidence that he was also Chief
Steward for the USGP of 2005.

Hoosein heads the Motorsports Association of India, which displaced,
under somewhat murky circumstances, the older Federation of Motor
Sport Clubs of India as India's National Sporting Authority (ASN)
as recognized by the FIA.

Q: What was the music the BBC used for the Grand Prix?
A: "The Chain", by Fleetwood Mac, on the album "Rumo(u)rs"

Q: Are there any novels based on Formula 1?
A: Alistair Maclean's "The Way to Dusty Death" is one of the better
known ones.

Bob Judd wrote a series of "throbbing groin and motor racing" novels
called "Formula 1", "Phoenix", "Indy", "Monza", "Silverstone" and
"Juice"
in the UK, but they have slightly different names in the US
(Silverstone
is known as Spin in the states, and "Phoenix" as "Burn" for example).

Sally Armstrong wrote a novel called "Racers" which it claims was
researched with help of Williams Grand Prix Engineering. It is very
much a throbbing groins novel, and does beg the question exactly
what was going on at Williams in the early 90s...

Another few are "Eye of the Cobra" by Christopher Sherlock and
"White Death" by Andrew Neilsen, "The Last Open Road" by
B.S. Levy, and "Oversteer" & "Dead Pedal" by Ken Vose, plus
"Fine Tune" by Gerald Hammond.

Douglas Rutherford wrote a whole series of books in the 1950s,
including "Grand Prix Murder", "The Gilt-Edged Cockpit" and
"The Chequered Flag".

S. Thomas' "Miracle at Monaco" is a vanity press product, but worth
mention for the sheer weirdness of the concept: a 50-year-old
monk races a one-off Morgan F1 car at Monaco with the help of God.

Q: What is a "Jordan Stopwatch" and a "Ferrari Ruler"?
A: The first of these terms refers to the old practice of Jordan
having stunning testing times, only to falter during the season.
It is sometimes used as a ruse to increase sponsorship in a team,
as a fast car is easier to sell to corporate bods.

A Ferrari Ruler, on the other hand, is the idea that if you measure
something in a specific way then it is legal. It comes about from the
1999 Malaysian Grand Prix, where if you measured the bargeboards in a
specific way, then they were legal.

Q: What is "Remus?"
A: Remus is an ERA (English Racing Automobiles) - specifically, ERA R6B.
One of the three raced by Prince Bira before the war, the others being
Romulus and Hanuman.

Raced as a GP car post-war, being driven by John Bolster amongst
others. It was then owned and raced by Bill Moss for many years in UK
club motorsport and then historic events before passing to Patrick
Lindsay and, after his death, his son Ludovic.

Probably the most raced car ever.

For more information, see
http://www.brooklan­dstrack.co.uk/Carsli­st/biraera.htm

--
Mark Jackson - http://www.alumni.c­altech.edu/~mjackson­

Add comment
Mark Jackson 17 January 2007 21:40:04 [ permanent link ]
 $Revision: 2.115 $, $Date: 2007/01/17 17:45:01 $

The FAQ is divided into several sections.

Introduction (Part 1)
1. Rules, regulations and governing body (Part 1)
2. The teams and cars (Part 1)
3. The drivers (Part 2)
4. The races (Part 2)
5. The circuits (Part 2)
6. Television (Part 2)
7. Sponsors (Part 2)
8. Manufacturers (Part 2)
9. Technical stuff (Part 2)
10. Miscellaneous (Part 2)

Corrections and additions to mjackson@alumni.cal­tech.edu.

3. The drivers
==============

Q: Who drove for whom in 2006?
A.
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team
1. Fernando Alonso (E)
2. Giancarlo Fisichella (I)
T. Heikki Kovalainen (SF)
Team McLaren Mercedes
3. Kimi RÄikkÆnen (SF)
4. Juan Pablo Montoya (CO) [through USA]
4. Pedro de la Rosa (E) [from F]
T. Pedro de la Rosa (E)
T. Gary Paffett (GB)
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
5. Michael Schumacher (D)
6. Felipe Massa (BR)
T. Luca Badoer (I)
T. Marc GenÈ (E)
Panasonic Toyota Racing
7. Ralf Schumacher (D)
8. Jarno Trulli
T. Ricardo Zonta (BR)
T. Olivier Panis (F)
WilliamsF1 Team
9. Mark Webber (AUS)
10. Nico Rosberg (D)
3d. Alex Wurz (A)
T. Narain Karthikeyan (IND)
Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team [1]
11. Rubens Barrichello (BR)
12. Jenson Button (GB)
3d. Anthony Davidson (GB)
Red Bull Racing
14. David Coulthard (GB)
15. Christian Klien (A) [through I]
15. Robert Doornbos (NL) [from RC]
3d. Robert Doornbos (NL) [through I]
3d. Michael AmmermÝller (D) [from RC]
BMW Sauber F1 Team [2]
16. Nick Heidfeld (D)
17. Jacques Villeneuve (CDN) [through D]
17. Robert Kubica (PL) [from H]
3d. Robert Kubica (PL) [through D]
3d. Sebastian Vettel (D) [from TR]
Spyker MF1 Racing [3]
18. Tiago Monteiro (P)
19. Christijan Albers (NL)
3d. Markus Winkelhock (D) [BRN, AUS, D-H]
3d. Giorgio Mondini (CH) [MAL, RSM, E-USA, TR-I]
3d. Adrian Sutil (D) [Eur, F, J]
3d. Alexandre PrÈmat (I) [RC]
3d. Ernesto Viso (YV) [BR]
T. Roman Rusinov (RUS)
T. Fabrizio del Monte (I)
Scuderia Toro Rosso [4]
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (I)
21. Scott Speed (USA)
3d. Neel Jani (CH)
Super Aguri F1
22. Takuma Sato (J)
23. Yuji Ide (J) [through RSM; Superlicense revoked by FIA]
23. Franck Montagny