[FAQ] Frequently asked questions to rec.autos.sport.f1.moderated - Part 1 of 2
Mark Jackson
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 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.
This FAQ originated on rec.autos.sport.f1, where it was ably
maintained through mid-2001 by Stephen M Baines. Special thanks
to him, and thanks also 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, St�nio 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, GD, Thomas Gmuer, Lutz
Goerke, Paul Harman, Ian Hill, Mark Jackson, Jak, Alan Jones,
Brian Lawrence, Jeff "Eskimo Joe", Olav K. Malmin, Julie Miles,
Ciro Pab�n, Dave Parker, Jon Petersson, Barry Posner, Rob,
Duncan Rollo, Rui Pedro Mendes Salgueiro, Martin Schmidt, Peter
Scoular, Johan V, Mike Whooley, Paul Winalski.
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 mjac...@alumni.caltech.edu.
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 F�d�ration Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA),
headquartered in Paris (F) and whose president is currently
Max Mosley. In 1904 various national motor clubs organized
the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus
(AIACR) to run international motor sport (reserving control
of national events for themselves). The AIACR first issued
an international sporting calendar and regulations in 1908,
and in 1922 formed a Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI)
to formalize the oversignt of Grand Prix and other forms of
international racing.
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/sport/Regulations/f1regs.html.
Q: What were the main changes for 2009?
A: The grooved dry-weather tires used for several years have
been replaced by slicks; tire-warmers will continue to
be used, a proposal to drop them having failed on grounds of
safety and minimal impact on costs. Based on recommendations
from the Overtaking Working Group restrictions were imposed
on aerodynamics targeting a 50% reduction in downforce.
A driver-adjustable front wing to counter the effects
of running behind another car is permitted, restricted to
no more than 2 changes per lap within a 6 degree range.
A "Kinetic Energy Recovery System" (KERS) is permitted,
enabling the storage of some energy recovered during
braking to provide a boost during passing - although
the weight penalty and reliability concerns have caused
usage to be limited.
The unpopular closure of the pits at the beginning of
safety car periods is no more. Drivers are advised
electronically of the minimum time before they can pit,
based on track position when the safety car is invoked,
to remove the incentive to race to the pits.
Engines are limited to 18,000 RPM, and the former requirement
that they last for two successive races has been replaced by
a season limit of 8 engines per driver (with a 10 grid position
penalty at an event where a new engine beyond 8 is first used),
including Friday free practice. Modifications to homologated
engines are restricted to external changes only (but specific
additional catch-up changes to the Renault powerplant were
agreed to). The engine cost to independent teams has been
reduced 50%,
In-season testing is restricted to race weekends, with total
testing halved to 15,000 km/year. Wind tunnel testing has
been restricted to 60% scale and 50 m/sec, with an equivalancy
formula for computational fluid dynamics simulation to be sought.
Factory closures of 2 weeks per year have been mandated, and
changes to race weekend procedures put in place to reduce
team staffing.
In March the WMSC declared that the 2009 drivers' championship
would go to the winner of the most races; points (unchanged
from 2008) would be used to resolve a tie, for all other
placings, and for the constructors' championship. After it
was pointed out that this late change, without unanimous
consent of the teams, breached the FIA's own regulations it
was announced that this change would be deferred to 2010; it's
since been dropped entirely.
Q: Are further changes planned?
A: After much uncertainty and rancor - at one point most of the
current teams announced they would be starting their own
series - what ought to be the final 2010 regulations have now
been published. Changes include:
- ban on in-race refueling
- refueling permitted after qualifying - even for those taking
part in Q3
- reduction in width of front tires
- number of cars permitted increased from 24 to 26 (and the
FIA has since announced it would seek approval for 28)
- each competitor now required to at least design designated
parts (closes loophole under which Toro Rosso, and earlier
Super Aguri, were permitted to race semi-customer chassis)
- minimum weight increased fro 605 to 620 kg - intended to
accomodate KERS, although it is reported that the teams
have agreed among themselves not to use these systems in 2010
In September the FIA announced another re-equalization in
2010 for engines, this one to reduce the power of unit(s)
(believed to be Mercedes) that have managed to creep ahead
of the others despite the restrictions of homologation.
Future changes are to be restricted as provided in the
2009 Concorde Agreement (see below).
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 F�d�ration 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 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, rules stability, collection and distribution of
monies, etc.
FISA is no longer, its duties now being performed by the FIA's
World Motor Sports Council (WMSC). FOCA has evolved into
Bernie's complex of companies; see "Who owns F1," below. Since
the original Concorde Agreement there have been several revisions
to it. In recent years the CA has required unanimous consent
from the teams (almost impossible to obtain) or a couple of
years' notice in order to change the regulations.
The most-recent, three-party version (FIA, Bernie, the F1 teams)
expired at the end of 2007. In mid-January 2005 the FIA, Ferrari,
and Bernie announced the signing of a revised Concorde Agreement,
giving signatory teams a larger share of revenues, effective
2008-2012. (It emerged in May 2009 that Ferrari was also given a
veto over changes in FIA regulations, a matter that may yet produce
legal fallout.) Williams also apparently signed, but the
remaining teams did not. At a meeting in late July 2008 with
Bernie and CVC's managing partner the teams agreed to form the
Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) to work on regulations and
commercial arrangements with the FIA and FOM (see "Who owns F1?").
Negotiations over cost- cutting measures and other provisions were
remarkable for their difficulty - the FOTA teams at one point
announcing a breakaway series - but ultimately a final document,
binding through 2012, was signed by all parties except Sauber BMW by
late August.
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 isn't supposed to get involved in money, which is
controlled by Bernie and is detailed in the (secret) Concorde
Agreement. Some of the distribution has been based on historical
performance and length of participation in F1, provisions of
particular benefit to Ferrari.
The 2009 Concorde Agreement apparently mandates the payment of
revenues withheld by Bernie during the years no signed agreement was
in place. While the teams' share has been increased from 33% to 50%
the need of CVC for income to pay interest on loans (see next
question) continues to be a sore point; getting a larger share of
revenues is a stated objective of FOTA.
Q: Who owns F1?
A: The FIA owns Formula 1, but has licensed the commercial rights
through 2110 (yes, for over a century) to a complex of companies
effectively controlled by Bernie Ecclestone. The actual structure
was Byzantine; in discussing it /The Economist/ used the words
"complex tax-avoidance scheme."
The key elements were:
* Formula One Management (FOM), owned by the Jersey company Petara
* Formula One Administration (FOA), which owns Petara and is in turn
owned by Formula One Holdings (FOH)
* SLEC Holdings, a Jersey company (evidently named for Bernie's wife
Slavica, who controls Petara) which owns FOH.
* Bambino Holdings, another Jersey company controlled by the
Liechtenstein-based Bambino Trust (whose beneficiaries are members
of the Ecclestone family).
A few years ago Bernie sold 75% of SLEC for a very large sum,
while retaining a 25% stake through Bambino Holdings - as well
as effective control through arcane directorship arrangements at
FOM and FOA. Due to financial difficulties ownership of this 75%
passed through the hands of German media companies EM.TV and Kirch
and, following the latter's default, to three creditor banks.
The banks were unhappy with the return on their unwilling
investment and lack of the control that usually comes with 75%
ownership; legal actions followed.
In November 2005 Ecclestone and the British private equity firm CVC
Capital Partners agreed to form a new company, Alpha Prema, which
was to reunite the bank and Bambino holdings with
Ecclestone continuing as chief executive of the F1 group. Details
were then worked out with the banks, conditional approval was
granted by the European Commission (CVC being required to divest
itself of its interest in MotoGP), and in March 2006 the purchase
was completed. Subsequently the purchase was refinanced with a
large loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland and equity positions
taken by other investment firms; some additional related properties
were merged in at the same time. Following a new share issue in
February 2009 the controlling entity, Jersey-based Delta Topco
was held by:
* CVC (63.4%)
* Lehman Brothers (15.3% - but see below)
* Bambino Holdings (8.5%)
* Bernie Ecclestone (5.3%)
* JP Morgan (3.1%)
* Churchill Corp (0.7%)
* Delta Topco senior managers (3 @ 1%)
* non-managing directors (2 @ 0.3%)
The financial collapse of Lehman Brothers in principle put its
holdings in play, although it is expected that CVC will exercise
its right of first refusal to obtain, or at least control the
resale of, those shares.
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.
Q: Who owns which team?
A: BMW Sauber - BMW 80%, Peter Sauber 20%. BMW is leaving F1 at the
end of 2009; in September it was announced that the
team would be sold to Qadbak Investments, a Swiss-
based foundation representing the interests of
"certain Middle East and European-based families."
Brawn GP - Ross Brawn (principal), Nick Fry, Nigel Kerr,
Caroline McGrory, and John Marsden - so far as is
known. This management group bought the former
Honda team before the 2009 season after the
parent company withdrew from F1; financing has not
been divulged but is believed to involve substantial
but quiet support from Honda.
Ferrari - Piero Lardi Ferrari 10%, the FIAT Group 85%, and 5%
by the government-owned Mubadala Development Co. of
Abu Dhabi.
McLaren - TAG McLaren is 40% owned by Daimler A. G., 30% by
the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, and 15% each
by Ron Dennis and TAG Group S.A. (Mansouer Ojjeh).
Red Bull - Dietrich Mateschitz's Red Bull energy drink company.
Renault - Renault.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Dietrich Mateschitz's Red Bull energy drink company,
which bought back Gerhard Berger's 50% stake.
Force India - Orange India Holdings, itself equally owned by
Strongwind (an investment company controlled by
Michiel Mol) and Watson Ltd. (owned by Indian
businessman Vijay Mallya).
Toyota - Toyota.
Williams - Frank Williams and Patrick Head (said to be 80/20).
Q: What happened to Prodrive?
A: Anticipating the expiration of the Concorde Agreement (see above),
which restricted participation in F1 to true constructors, the
FIA abruptly opened entries for 2008 for the week of 24 to 31
March, 2006. Twenty-two applications were received; the official
entry list, announced by the FIA on April 28, consisted of the
then-current 11 teams plus Prodrive (Dave Richards, former BAR and
Benetton principal). The Prodrive entry, however, was predicated
on the legality of "customer" cars - they negotiated with McLaren
and others for a 2008 supply - and the ongoing legal questions over
the 2007 Toro Rosso and Super Aguri entries, and the failure to
agree on a new Concorde agreement permitting this for 2008,
caused Richards to announce that Prodrive would not compete as
scheduled. They tried again for 2010, without success.
Q: Who is supplying engines to which team in 2009?
A: BMW Sauber - BMW [F]
Brawn - Mercedes [C]
Ferrari - Ferrari [F]
McLaren - Mercedes [F]
Red Bull - Renault [C]
Renault - Renault [F]
STR - Ferrari [C]
Force India - Mercedes [C]
Toyota - Toyota [F]
Williams - Toyota [F]
[F] Factory [C] Customer
Q: What else is known about possible changes to team lineups?
A. Following the settlement between the FIA and FOTA over
governance and technical regulations (see above) the 2010
entry list was published; it included the 10 current teams
plus:
- Campos Meta Team, based in Spain and using chassis built
by Dallara.
- Manor Grand Prix, based on the successful F3 team and with
Nick Wirth as technical director, partnering John Booth.
Sponsorship is expected to come from Virgin, and the team
may be renamed accordingly.
- Team US F1, a North Carolina-based operation which has been
preparing an entry for several years and is headed by ex-F1
men Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor. Chad Hurley, co-founder
and CEO of YouTube, is the primary investor.
All of the new entrants were "cost-capped" under the 2010
regulations announced at the time and intend to get their engines
from Cosworth, which has indicated it can support up to five teams.
Since the "settlement" ruled out the cost-capped option what support
the new teams will get in its place is unclear. Subsequent reports
that new team applicants were strong-armed by the FIA to sign
Cosworth contracts, and questions about the role of a high FIA
official in acting on behalf of Manor, have led to a formal
complaint to the European Commission and a separate legal proceeding
in France.
Further complicating the outlook BMW later announced that it would
leave F1 at the end of 2009. They did not sign the new Concorde
agreement (although there may be enforceable obligations under a
2005 memorandum of understanding, and FOTA has offered its support
should the team wish to sign in future in order to continue); as a
result the FIA reopened the team selection process and invited bids
from the 7 teams not selected in the previous round plus BMW
Sauber. On September 15 the new 13th entrant was announced:
- "Lotus F1 Team," headed by Tony Fernandes, with Mike Gascoyne as
technical director. The Malaysian government is involved - the
Lotus Group is owned by national car company Proton - and
although the team will initially be based in England they intend
to build new facilities at the Sepang circuit. They plan on using
Cosworth engines in 2009.
However the FIA also announced that they would seek agreement from
the other teams for expansion of the 2010 grid to 28 cars, and
granted the hypothetical 14th entry to BMW Sauber. (Williams appear
ready to veto such an expansion.) They are also positioned to race
should one of the approved entrants drop out. (Toyota's board has
not yet committed to a 2010 budget, and the financial state of every
new entrant is not necessarily solid.) The team is believed to have
an agreement to run Ferrari engines in 2010-12 should they be
admitted.
Q. How much does each team spend per year?
A. Estimates are all that are available, and of course they vary.
According to /F1 Racing/ (all figures in millions of US dollars):
Team 2003 2004 2005
==============================
Ferrari 443.8 418.2 432.98
Toyota 290.4 368.5 499.05
McLaren 304.6 359.2 419.95
Williams 353.3 359.0 360.12
BAR 225.1 309.9 360.16
Renault 206.8 255.2 287.81
Sauber 119.5 154.6 161.32
Jaguar 78.8 141.9 139.22* (*Red Bull)
Jordan 79.2 79.9 104.20
Minardi 39.6 46.6 50.31
--------------------
Total 2141 2493 2815
Q: Is it true that there was a 6-wheel F1 car that won a race?
A: 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 at Anderstorp (Swedish Grand Prix
1976) for Jody Scheckter, with Depailler second. It was less
successful in 1977 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 2-4-0 (from rail locomotive terminology) sought increased
traction by having a second set of rear wheels behind the
first. Design and construction were very informal, development
nonexistent (most running was done with only one set of rear
wheels driven to avoid cracking the inadequate gearbox
casing), and the car never competed; a successor machine did
win several British hillclimbs in 1979 with Roy Lane at the
wheel. Photo at
http://www.geocities.com/simontmallett/240march1.html.
Williams produced a 6-wheel variant of their FW08 in 1982, of
similar layout to the March. 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.
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. Photo at
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/large/689-1.jpg.
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
safety 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:
2008 Ferrari (I)
2007 Ferrari (I)
2006 Renault (F)
2005 Renault (F)
2004 Ferrari (I)
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