www.Usenet.com
www.Usenet.com
| <-- __Chronological__ --> | <-- __Thread__ --> |
$Revision: 2.39 $, $Date: 2003/11/17 01:34:30 $
This FAQ is posted approximately twice a month. (The subject should be
the same; if you do not want to retrieve it, kill the subject.) Between
postings you can find a reasonably current copy at
http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~mjackson/rasf1m.html. For more information
about the operation of this newsgroup, and a nicely-formatted version of
this FAQ, see the rec.autos.sport.f1.moderated website at
http://www.rasf1m.net/.
*NOTE* The FAQ has been split into two parts to avoid it being too long
for some people's rules.
Thanks to the following people who, amongst others, have had contributions
culled to make the FAQ.
Kim Andrews, Paul B, Sven Baumer, David Betts, Sergiusz Boron, Alessio
Bragadini, Lord Tim Brent, Stênio F. Campos, Simon "Bumble Bee Boy"
Cossar, Andrew Cosstick, Emma Crawley, GD, BF Dehay, Doug Farrow,
Pete Fenelon, Ken Fletcher, Mark J Frusciante, Tony Gartshore, Alan Gauton,
Thomas Gmuer, Lutz Goerke, Paul Harman, Ian Hill, Mark Jackson, Jak, Alan
Jones, Brian Lawrence, Jeff "Eskimo Joe", Olav K. Malmin, Julie Miles,
Dave Parker, Jon Petersson, Barry Posner, Rob, Duncan Rollo, Rui Pedro
Mendes Salgueiro, Martin Schmidt, Peter Scoular, Johan V, Mike Whooley,
Paul Winalski. A big thanks must go to Stephen M Baines for maintaining
this FAQ through mid-2001.
Apologies to anyone whose name was missed - it's not deliberate!
The FAQ may not have answers to everything you need - it is just a
collection of *frequently* asked questions and their answers, not the
answers to everything ;-)
Corrections and additions are especially welcome. I do try to keep up
with the newsgroup, but to make sure of something being considered for
the FAQ mail me at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The FAQ is divided into several sections.
This 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)
1. Rules, Regulations and Governing Body
===========================================
Q: Who is the governing body of Formula 1?
A: The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), headquartered
in Paris (F) and whose President is currently Max Mosley.
Their involvement in motor sport dates back to 1924, when as the
Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) they
formed a Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) to regulate Grand Prix
and other forms of international racing. (As today, control of national
events was left in the hands of the various national motor clubs which
constituted the membership of the international body.)
The term Formula 1 came into use in 1947, when the AIACR reorganized
itself as the FIA. The World Championship of Drivers was begun in 1950.
Q: Where can I find the regulations to Formula 1?
A: The FIA's web site has the technical and sporting regulations. See
http://www.fia.com, select English or French, and look for "Technical
and Sporting Regulations" (or "Règlements techniques et sportifs")
under "Motor Sport" ("Sport Automobile") near the bottom of the page.
Q: What are the main changes for 2004?
A: The two "hot lap" qualifying sessions will now be held on Saturday:
drivers will run in the finishing order from the previous race; the
second runs (in reverse order of speed from the first tuns) will
determine the grid. Cars then go into parc fermé until the race with
no refueling allowed. Fridays are given over entirely to free practice,
with all but the top 4 teams from 2003 permitted to run a third car.
Engines must last the entire race weekend (Saturday-Sunday).
Q: What is the Concorde Agreement?
A: The original Concorde Agreement (so-called because it was signed
at the FIA headquarters on the Place de la Concorde
in Paris) was between the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA)
and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA).
FISA, reorganized from the old CSI by Jean-Marie Balestre after he became
its chair, was the arm of the FIA directly involved in sanctioning motor
sport and had direct sanctioning responsibility for F1. FOCA was, as
its name implies, an organization representing most of the F1 teams (but
not all of them--Tyrrell and, I think, Ferrari were not FOCA members).
Its president was Bernie Ecclestone, then owner of the Brabham F1 team.
Through the 1970s the FIA had gradually allowed FOCA to
take a greater hand in the financial, promotional, and
organizational aspects of the F1 Championship. By 1980
FOCA was organizing the races and the FIA's role was limited
to rules-making and officiating. When Balestre took over
as head of the CSI he set about trying to get control of F1 back
from FOCA. FOCA baulked at some of Balestre's proposed rule
changes, particularly the ones limiting ground effects, and
a very ugly dispute ensued that threatened to split the sport.
(One race was boycotted by the FOCA teams; another, organized
by FOCA, was excluded from that year's Championship.)
The sponsors and manufacturers (engines, tires, fuel) had the
last say and forced both sides to hammer out the Concorde
Agreement, which covers the whole financial and organizational
side of F1 racing, collection and distribution of monies, etc.
FISA is no longer, its duties now being performed by the FIA's
World Motor Sports Council. FOCA has evolved into Bernie's
Company, Formula One Administration / SLEC. Since the original
Concorde Agreement there have been several revisions to it.
The exact terms of the Concorde Agreement are not public, but
what it amounts to is that in return for contracting to show
up at the GPs that make up the World Championship the teams
receive a cut of the monies that FOA/SLEC takes
in. Bernie's company guarantees to the promoters of each
F1 race that at least 12 cars will show up for the race (currently
20 do). The latest version of the CA limits the size of the
field for F1 championship GPs to 24 cars.
The current version expires in 2008; recently Bernie has been
talking about revising it earlier.
Q: Where can I see the Concorde Agreement?
A: You can't. It's secret, although some of its known or suspected
provisions are described in this FAQ.
Q: How much do the teams get for winning races?
A: The FIA doesn't get involved in money. Money is controlled by
Bernie through what used to be called FOCA. I believe that the
Concorde Agreement describes the "prize money" for each race,
and I think there are payments for the leading teams at quarter,
half, three-quarter and full distance. Maybe something for most
laps led too?
The revenue from TV rights is partially distributed to teams using
a points system derived from historical performances. As I understand
it points are awarded for:
* Placing in the constructor's championship (last 3 years)
* Number of years in F1 (1 year = 4 points, 10 years = 165 points
[Ferrari 50 yrs = 1200 points])
* Constructor's titles (25 points each)
* Constructor's championship points (last 2 years x 2)
* " " 2 (all-time / 10)
* Number of wins (last 2 years, 10 points each)
* All-time number of wins (1 point each)
Teams with points get a proportional share of the money. There is
also a separate pool of money distributed based on the previous
years constructor's championship.
Q: Who owns F1?
A: The FIA owns Formula 1, but a lot of its commercial side is licenced
to Formula One Administration. The ownership of these rights and companies
is rather difficult to uncover.
The television rights are owned by Formula One Administration Ltd
(previously called Formula One Holdings and Formula One Management Ltd).
Formula One Administration is divided into two types of share capital.
One "Ordinary £1 share" is issued and owned by Formula 1 Holdings Ltd.,
a company that is no longer trading and previously called Formula 1
Services limited. Previously, this share was owned by M H Nominees Ltd.
Another US$1.97 Billion of $1 redeemable shares has also been issued.
These were all issued to S.L.E.C Holdings Ltd of the Channel Islands,
and as such no information on this company is publicly available. It
is believed that SLEC *was* owned in turn by a family trust for the
Ecclestone family, and nominally Slavica Ecclestone. Formula 1 Holdings
limited has a single share issued, and owned by SLEC Holdings Ltd.
In early 2002 58.3% of SLEC was owned by the German media company
Kirch and 16.7% by the German EM.TV concern, Bernie Ecclestone
retaining 25% ownership and commercial control.
The involvement of Kirch made the major auto manufacturers
of F1 - the European Automobile Manufacturer's Association (BMW, Fiat,
Jaguar, Renault and Mercedes) quite nervous about losing exposure if
the media firm were to push to move F1 television coverage to
pay-per-view. As a result EAMA laid plans to launch a competing
open-wheeled racing series under the name Grand Prix World Championship
(GPWC) by 2008, when the Concorde Agreement expires. The badly
overextended Kirch went into insolvency in June 2002 and its SLEC
holding is currently in the hands of a group of creditor banks, which
have also negotiated a buyout of the EM.TV shares. Whether the
eventual sale will be to GPWC, or otherwise forestalls the launch
of a competing series, remains to be seen.
FOA is run by Bernie Ecclestone, with Thomas Haffa, Scott Lanphere,
Marco Piccinini and Helmut Werner as his co-directors with Mukesh Andani
as Company Secretary. Formula One Holdings is run by Bernie Ecclestone,
with Dr Nickolaus Becker, Florian Haffa, Thomas Haffa, Stephen Mullens,
Robin Saunders, and Helmut Werner as his co-directors, and again Mukesh
Andani as Company Secretary.
Formula 1 Administration made profits of some US$75m for the period
ending December 1999.
2. The teams and cars
=====================
Q: When was the last time a privateer won a race?
A: The last privateer to win a GP was either Jo Siffert in the Walker
Lotus-Ford at Brands Hatch in 1968, or Jackie Stewart in the Tyrrell
March-Ford in Spain in 1970. (Although Tyrrell bought both chassis
and engine that season some feel that the support he was receiving from
Ford, Elf, and Goodyear place him at least among the semi-works ranks.
It's a judgement call, there being no official body empowered to bless
privateership.)
There has never been a privateer World Champion. Moss came closest in
the Rob Walker-entered Cooper in 1959 when he finished third. Walker
was the first privateer entrant to win a World Championship Grand Prix
with Moss in a Cooper-Climax, in the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix.
The Mugen-Honda engine used by the 2000 Jordan was a factory engine
in all-but-name. The last World Champion to use an off-the-shelf
engine was Keke Rosberg (1982, Williams-Ford).
Q: Who owns which team?
BAR - Depending on the source, you can perm any of BAT (c.80%),
Craig Pollock, Jacques Villeneuve, Adrian Reynard, and Jerry
Forsythe. Craig Pollock and JVs stake is through Mount Eagle
(according to press reports).
Ferrari - Piero Lardi Ferrari 10% and the FIAT Group 56%; 34% was
bought in June 2002 by the investment bank Mediobanca, which
is reselling it piecemeal to other investors and planning an
eventual stock flotation.
Jaguar - Ford
Jordan - Eddie Jordan (50.1%) and assorted Irish investors through
Merrim Capital (49.9%).
McLaren - As of January 2000, TAG McLaren is 40% owned by DaimlerChrysler
and 30% each by Ron Dennis and TAG Group S.A. (Mansouer Ojjeh).
Minardi - Paul Stoddart and Bernie Ecclestone (although Bernie seems
somehow to have avoided putting any of his own money in).
Some percentage may still fall to the "Minardi Holding," the
ownership of which is unknown although Giancarlo Minardi is
believed to have a stake in it.
Renault - Renault
Sauber - Peter Sauber (37%); the remaining shares, formerly held by
Red Bull's Dieter Mateschitz, are currently in the hands of
Credit Suisse (who are reportedly seeking other investors).
Toyota - Toyota
Williams - Frank Williams and Patrick Head (said to be 80/20)
Q: Who supplied engines and tyres to which team in 2003?
A:
BAR - Honda [F], Bridgestone
Ferrari - Ferrari [F], Bridgestone
Jaguar - Cosworth [F], Michelin
Jordan - Cosworth [C], Bridgestone
McLaren - Mercedes [F], Michelin
Minardi - Cosworth [C], Bridgestone
Renault - Renault [F], Michelin
Sauber - Ferrari [C], Bridgestone
Toyota - Toyota [F], Michelin
Williams - BMW [F], Michelin
[F] Factory [C] Customer
Q. How much does each team spend per year?
A. /F1 Magazine/ ran an article in March 2003 in which they admitted that
no accurate figures were available due to the secretive nature of the
business. However, they said that they had "nagged and cajoled dozens
of key team personnel to reveal the odd titbit, after which [they]
cross-checked and analysed [their] findings, then pieced together what
[they] believe is the most comprehensive, definitive and accurate guide
to F1 costs ever published". The results are further broken out into 10
spending categories:
Total $2,141,100,000
Ferrari $443,800,000 Renault $206,800,000
Williams $353,300,000 Sauber $119,500,000
McLaren $304,600,000 Jordan $79,200,000
Toyota $290,400,000 Jaguar $78,800,000
BAR $225,100,000 Minardi $39,600,000
Engine budgets $931,000,000
Williams $185,000,000 BAR $105,000,000
Ferrari $175,000,000 Sauber $24,000,000
Toyota $150,000,000 Jordan $18,000,000
McLaren $140,000,000 Minardi $15,000,000
Renault $110,000,000 Jaguar $9,000,000
Operating the cars at tests $260,800,000
Ferrari $88,000,000 Sauber $19,800,000
Williams $48,000,000 Renault $14,600,000
McLaren $29,100,000 Jaguar $7,500,000
Toyota $24,700,000 Jordan $3,700,000
BAR $22,000,000 Minardi $3,400,000
Team salaries $194,000,000
Ferrari $41,400,000 BAR $12,800,000
Toyota $32,300,000 Sauber $12,700,000
McLaren $30,300,000 Jaguar $10,600,000
Williams $24,000,000 Jordan $8,800,000
Renault $16,500,000 Minardi $5,300,000
Operating the cars at races $187,300,000
Ferrari $28,500,000 Sauber $18,200,000
Toyota $22,500,000 BAR $17,600,000
Williams $20,800,000 Jaguar $17,000,000
McLaren $19,200,000 Jordan $16,000,000
Renault $19,000,000 Minardi $8,500,000
Research and development $173,000,000
McLaren $35,000,000 BAR $16,500,000
Toyota $21,500,000 Jaguar $15,400,000
Williams $20,300,000 Sauber $14,600,000
Ferrari $20,000,000 Jordan $12,600,000
Renault $16,900,000 Minardi $200,000
Driver salaries $132,000,000
Ferrari $44,000,000 Toyota $7,500,000
BAR $24,000,000 Sauber $6,800,000
Williams $20,000,000 Renault $6,200,000
McLaren $13,500,000 Jaguar $1,500,000
Jordan $8,000,000 Minardi $500,000
Wind tunnel operating costs $93,600,000
Ferrari $15,100,000 BAR $10,100,000
McLaren $12,900,000 Renault $8,000,000
Williams $12,200,000 Jaguar $5,500,000
Toyota $11,600,000 Jordan $4,500,000
Sauber $10,400,000 Minardi $3,300,000
Travel and accommodation $86,600,000
Ferrari $18,000,000 Renault $7,500,000
McLaren $13,000,000 Sauber $6,800,000
Toyota $12,000,000 Jaguar $5,300,000
Williams $9,300,000 Jordan $4,500,000
BAR $7,900,000 Minardi $2,300,000
Corporate entertaining and catering $62,850,000
Williams $12,200,000 Toyota $6,300,000
Ferrari $9,700,000 Jaguar $5,600,000
McLaren $8,900,000 Sauber $4,300,000
BAR $7,200,000 Jordan $1,600,000
Renault $6,700,000 Minardi $350,000
Car manufacturing costs $19,250,000
Ferrari $4,100,000 Williams $1,500,000
McLaren $2,700,000 Jordan $1,500,000
Toyota $2,000,000 Renault $1,400,000
BAR $2,000,000 Jaguar $1,400,000
Sauber $1,900,000 Minardi $750,000
Q: Is it true that there was a 6-wheel F1 car that won a race?
A: It's a Tyrrell - the P34. Just the one win, at Anderstorp (Swedish Grand
Prix) in 1976, for Jody Scheckter with Depailler second. A development of
the was car raced in '77 by Depailler (best result 2nd in Canada) and Ronnie
Peterson (best result 3rd in Belgium).
The Tyrrell project 34 had small, 10 inch diameter front wheels
that could be completely hidden behind the front cowling then
in common use on F1 cars. This removed the front wheels from the
airstream and thus reduced drag significantly, resulting in the
car going faster. The problem was that the tiny front wheels
didn't provide enough surface area for proper braking. The way
around this was to use 4 front wheels instead of the usual 2.
The car was pretty successful in its first year and actually won
1 race. It was less successful in its second year because the
more complicated 4-wheel front suspension assembly added a lot
of weight, and Goodyear wasn't keeping up on tire development of
the 10" tires. Tyrrell went back to a conventional, 4-wheel car
the next year. Pictures at http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/tyrp34.htm
and http://www.evil-photographer.com/cars/tyrrell/P34/P34.htm.
March also made some experiments with a 6 wheel car in 1977.
The Williams 6-wheeler was developed in 1980. The idea this time
was to extend the area under the car available to venturi tunnels
and to allow the rear wing to be mounted further back on the car.
The cars were built and tested, but right about the time that they
were ready to race the FIA came out with new regulations restricting
F1 cars to 4 wheels mounted on 2 axles, so it never raced for the
FIA World Championship. The cars still exist and have appeared
in several historic races. If I recall correctly, a Williams 6-
wheeler won a historic race sometime in the last few years.
Q: Is it true about a "fan car"?
A: The Brabham BT46B, which Niki Lauda drove to victory in the
1978 Swedish GP.
This was an idea borrowed from Jim Hall's Chaparral CanAm cars.
The idea was to put skirts on the sidepods to seal the undercar area,
then to mount an extractor fan at the back to remove
the air under the car, thus sucking it down onto the track.
To get around the "moveable areodynamic device" ban, Brabham
claimed that the fan was there to help cool the engine.
Whilst this wasn't false, it wasn't the full reason behind the
fan; the car actually squatted down onto the track if you
blipped the throttle while it was stationary.
But its biggest problem was that it was very successful, so
all the other teams protested. There was also one legitimate
(IMO) concern--the fan tended to pick up debris from the track
and blow it into the face of a driver following closely. In
any event, the car was very soon banned by the FIA because the
fan was ruled to be an aerodynamic aid not in a fixed position
relative to the sprung part of the car.
Q: Why were Tyrrell thrown out of the 1984 championship?
A: This is from Autocourse:
"In the afterglow of 1984's chase-the-McLaren story, the
FISA-versus-Tyrrell affair still rankles as being as distasteful as it
was ill-considered. Whether or not Tyrrell was plying his 012 cars
with lead ballast during a late-race pit stop or - and this is more
far-fetched - mixing additive to the water injected into the engine to
ward off piston and valvegear failures has become a moot case. What is
more relevant is not only the way that FISA conducted his trial - for
example, introducing fresh evidence at an appeal hearing and barring
Tyrrell from approaching expert witnesses who had analysed water
samples for FISA - but also the severity of the fine. If Andrea de
Cesaris and Niki Lauda have their practice times discounted on the
days at Dijon and Dallas where the Ligier was found to be running with
an empty fire extinguisher bottle and the McLaren declared to have a
rear wing 2mm too wide, then excluding Tyrrell from the World
Championship for infringements committed during Martin Brundle's gutsy
drive to second in Detroit ranks as a kneejerk reaction of an
inappropriate magnitude.
But the decision was final, costing Tyrrell his FOCA membership and
USD 1,000,000 in concessionary travel arrangements to transcontinental
races. Underlying the season had been the backstage arguments over the
proposed 195-litre fuel capacity maximum intended for 1985: to stick
at the current 220-litre allowance required team unanimity - and Ken
Tyrrell was the only dissenting voice. Naturally, after he was barred
from the Championship, so 220 litres became a fixed part of the '85
technical regulations, neatly, tidily and with no outward fuss."
Q: Who won the constructors championship in the year....?
A:
2003 Ferrari (I)
2002 Ferrari (I)
2001 Ferrari (I)
2000 Ferrari (I)
1999 Ferrari (I)
1998 McLaren (GB)
1997 Williams (GB)
1996 Williams (GB)
1995 Benetton (GB)
1994 Williams (GB)
1993 Williams (GB)
1992 Williams (GB)
1991 McLaren (GB)
1990 McLaren (GB)
1989 McLaren (GB)
1988 McLaren (GB)
1987 Williams (GB)
1986 Williams (GB)
1985 McLaren (GB)
1984 McLaren (GB)
1983 Ferrari (I)
1982 Ferrari (I)
1981 Williams (GB)
1980 Williams (GB)
1979 Ferrari (I)
1978 Lotus (GB)
1977 Ferrari (I)
1976 Ferrari (I)
1975 Ferrari (I)
1974 McLaren (GB)
1973 Lotus (GB)
1972 Lotus (GB)
1971 Tyrrell (GB)
1970 Lotus (GB)
1969 Matra (F)
1968 Lotus (GB)
1967 Brabham (GB)
1966 Brabham (GB)
1965 Lotus (GB)
1964 Ferrari (I)
1963 Lotus (GB)
1962 BRM (GB)
1961 Ferrari (I)
1960 Cooper (GB)
1959 Cooper (GB)
1958 Vanwall (GB)
(The Constructors Championship originated in 1958.)
--
Mark Jackson - http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~mjackson
| <-- __Chronological__ --> | <-- __Thread__ --> |
