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Post by paulgilb on Mar 7, 2007 1:11:22 GMT 1
Toyota (JPN) First season: 2002 Races: 87 Best finish: 2nd x 2 Pole Positions: 2
Toyota made their debut in 2002, where the finished 10th overall having scored 2 points. They improved in 2003, finishing 8th overall. Highlights included leading the British GP for 18 laps, finishing 5th and 6th in Germany, and qualifying 3rd and 4th in Japan. 2004 was a disappointing year – they scored in only 3 races to finish 8th overall. Notably they used 4 different drivers that year (finishing the season with neither of the drivers with which they had started the season). 2005 was their best year to date – 2 pole positions and 5 podiums (including 2 2nd places) helped them to 4th overall. But in 2006, they struggled to adapt to Bridgestone tyres in the early rounds, and finished with fewer than half the points they scored in 2005 (finishing 6th overall). They did manage one podium – Ralf Schumacher finishing 3rd in Australia.
11 – Ralf Schumacher (GER) First season: 1997 Teams: Jordan (1997-98), Williams (1999-2004), Toyota (2005-date) Races: 163 Pole Positions: 6 Wins: 6 Podiums: 27 Points: 324 Best Championship Finish: 4th x 2
Having won the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship in 1996, Ralf Schumacher joined Jordan in 1997. He was involved a series of crashes, but managed a 3rd-place finish en route to 11th overall (13 pts), his best qualifying was also 3rd. Staying with Jordan in 1998, he never qualified higher than 4th but managed a 2nd and 3rd on his way to 10th overall (14 pts). He moved to Williams in 1999, where he again qualified no better than 4th, but managed a 2nd and 2 3rds, finishing 6th overall with 35 points. He went one better in 2000, managing 5th place (but with only 24 pts, including 3 3rd places). 2001 was one of his best years – managing his first pole position and 3 victories. 49 points put him 4th overall. He equalled this in 2002 (42 pts), with 3 front-row starts and 6 podiums (including a win). 2003 was an inconsistent season – he managed 3 pole positions and 2 victories, but only one further podium to finish 5th overall (58 pts). He managed a further pole position and a 2nd place finish in 2004, but only finished 9th overall (24 pts) due to a heavy accident which forced him to miss 6 races. He moved to Toyota in 2005, where he was often outpaced by, but was more consistent than, team-mate Jarno Trulli. As a result, he finished 6th overall (45 pts), one place higher than Trulli, including one pole position and 2 3rd place finishes. However, in the US GP he managed to crash in the same place as in 2004. 2006 was a difficult season for Toyota, however Schumacher did manage a podium and a 3rd place qualifying performance. He finished 10th overall with 20 points.
12 – Jarno Trulli (ITA) First season: 1997 Teams: Minardi (1997), Prost (1997-99), Jordan (2000-01), Renault (2002-04), Toyota (2004-date) Races: 167 Pole Positions: 3 Wins: 1 Podiums: 7 Points: 175 Best Championship Finish: 6th
After winning the German Formula 3 Championship in 1996, Jarno Trulli made his Formula 1 debut in 1997 with Minardi. He transferred to Prost later that year after Olivier Panis was injured. With Prost he managed a 3rd place start and a 4th place finish, giving him 3 points (15th overall). 1998 was not such a good season – he never qualified higher than 10th, and only scored 1 point (16th overall). In 1999 he managed a 5th place start, and finished 11th overall with 7 points, 6 of them coming in the European GP, where he finished 2nd. He moved to Jordan in 2000, where he managed 2 front-row starts, but never finished higher than 4th, and finished 10th overall (6 pts). In 2001, his best qualifying performances were 2 4th places, as were his best race performances. He finished 9th overall (12 pts). He moved to Renault in 2002, where he never qualified higher than 6th, but managed 2 4th place finishes to finish 8th overall (9 pts). He also managed 8th overall in 2003, but this time with 33 points, including 2 front-row starts and a 3rd place finish. 2004 started well – 2 pole positions and his first victory. However, he only managed one further podium, and parted company with Renault with 3 races still to go. As a result he made an early debut for Toyota in the last 2 races. He finished 6th overall with 46 points. In 2005 he was superb in qualifying – 1 pole and 13 further top 5 starts, and managed 2 2nd places and a 3rd place. However, he faded a bit in the later part of the season, and only finished 7th overall (43 pts). In 2006, he only managed 15 points (12th overall) – his best qualifying being 3rd, and his best finish 4th.
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Post by paulgilb on Mar 7, 2007 1:12:12 GMT 1
Red Bull (AUT) First season: 2005 Races: 37 Best finish: 3rd
Red Bull made their debut in 2005 after purchasing Jaguar (who had managed 10 points in 2004), and managed 11 points in the first 2 races of that season, and finished 7th overall. Despite Ferrari engines in 2006, they did not do so well (although they did manage a podium finish).
14 – David Coulthard (GBR) First season: 1994 Teams: Williams (1994-95), McLaren (1996-2004), Red Bull (2005-date) Races: 212 Pole Positions: 12 Wins: 13 Podiums: 61 Points: 513 Best Championship Finish: 2nd
David Coulthard was promoted from test driver to race driver in 1994 following the death of Ayrton Senna. He competed in 8 races that year, in which he managed a 3rd place start and a 2nd place finish. He finished 8th overall with 14 points. In his first full season, he managed 5 pole positions and his first victory. 7 further podiums helped him to 3rd overall (49 pts). He moved to McLaren in 1996, where he never qualified higher than 4th, but managed a 2nd place and a 3rd place finish to finish 7th overall (18 pts). In 1997, he managed 2 wins and 2 further podiums (despite no front-row starts) to finish 3rd overall (36 pts). 1998 was the year that he helped McLaren win the Constructors Championship, thanks to 3 pole positions and 9 podiums, although only one victory. He finished 3rd overall (56 pts). In 1999 he failed to achieve a pole position, but achieved 6 2nd place starts. He did however manage 2 victories and 4 further podiums, helping him to 4th place overall (48 pts). 2 pole positions, 3 victories and 8 further podiums gave him 3rd place overall in 2000 (73 pts). 2001 was his ‘best’ season, finishing runner-up to Michael Schumacher with 65 points, including 2 pole positions, 2 wins, and 8 further podiums. 2002 was not such a good season, although he did manage a 2nd place start and 6 podiums, including a win. 41 points gave him 5th place overall. In 2003, he won the opening race, but only managed 2 further podiums en route to 7th overall (51 pts). 2004 was his last and worst season with McLaren – failing to manage either a front-row start or a podium finish (4th being his best result). 24 points gave him 10th place overall. He signed for Red Bull in 2005, and silenced his critics by scoring 24 points (12th place overall), including two 4th places. In 2006 he scored Red Bull’s first podium but had an otherwise disappointing season – his best qualifying was 7th, and he only managed 14 points (13th overall).
15 – Mark Webber (AUS) First season: 2002 Teams: Minardi (2002), Jaguar (2003-04), Williams (2005-06), Red Bull (2007) Races: 87 Best qualifying: 2nd x 3 Best finish: 3rd Podiums: 1 Points: 69
Having competed in the FIA International Formula 3000 Championship, Mark Webber made his Formula 1 debut for Minardi in 2002. In his first ever race he finished 5th, and put in impressive performances throughout the season (although he never qualified higher than 18th). He finished 16th overall (2 pts). He moved to Jaguar in 2003, and twice qualified 3rd on the grid. Despite never finishing higher than 6th, he managed 17 points (10th overall). 2004 was a difficult season, in which he only scored 7 points (13th overall) with a best finish of 6th. He did however qualify 2nd in the Malaysian GP. He then moved to Williams in 2005, where he shone in qualifying – 7 times in the top 5, including a 2nd place start. However, his race performances were less consistent – he only managed 1 podium, and finished 10th overall with 36 points. 2006 was a disaster – he finished fewer than half of the races, and scored just 7 points (with a best finish of 6th), finishing 14th overall. He did however manage his third front-row start in as many seasons at Monaco. He then signed to Red Bull for 2007.
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Post by paulgilb on Mar 7, 2007 1:13:57 GMT 1
Williams (GBR) First season: 1975 Constructors Championships: 9 (1980-81, 1986-87, 1992-94, 1996-97) Drivers Championships: 7 (1980, 1982, 1987, 1992-93, 1996-97) Races: 502 Race Wins: 113 Pole Positions: 125
Williams made their debut in 1975, scoring 6 points to finish 9th overall. They scored their first victory courtesy of Clay Regazzoni in 1979 and did the double courtesy of Alan Jones in 1980. They won the Drivers Championship with Keke Rosberg and Nelson Piquet in 1982 and 1987. Nigel Mansell helped the team to the double in 1992, before retiring (temporarily). Alain Prost did the same the following year (except that he retired for good). In 1994 the team suffered the loss of Ayrton Senna at Imola, and Damon Hill was cruelly robbed of the Drivers Championship, but they did have the consolation of winning the Constructors Championship. Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve helped the team to 2 more doubles in 1996 and 1997. However, they lost ground in the late 1990s to McLaren and then to Ferrari in the 2000s (although they were winning races in 2001-02). In 2003 they dramatically improved in the second half of the season to take 4 race wins and finish 2nd overall to Ferrari. In 2004 they started the season with the radical ‘walrus’ front wing, which they later ditched after a poor start to the season. They ended 2004 on a high with a victory, but could only finish 4th overall. 2005 was a somewhat disappointing season, in which they finished 5th overall before ending their partnership with BMW. They finished 2nd and 3rd at Monaco in 2005, thus giving 14 points for that race – which is 3 more than they would manage in the whole of 2006! 2006 did have a promising start – Nico Rosberg achieving fastest lap on his debut, but they quickly ran out of steam.
16 – Nico Rosberg (GER) First season: 2006 Teams: Williams (2006-date) Races: 18 Best qualifying: 3rd Best finish: 7th x 2 Points: 4 Best Championship Finish: 17th
After winning the inaugural GP2 series in 2005, Nico Rosberg signed a testing contract with Williams before becoming a race driver in 2006. He started the season relatively well – fastest lap in Bahrain and 3rd on the grid in Malaysia, but it was all downhill from there. He finished 17th overall.
17 – Alexander Wurz (AUT) First season: 1997 Teams: Benetton (1997-2000), McLaren (2005), Williams (2007) Races: 53 Best qualifying: 5th x 4 Best finish: 3rd x 2 Podiums: 2 Points: 32 Best Championship Finish: 8th
After becoming the youngest ever winner in the Le Mans 24-hour race, Alexander Wurz signed as a Benetton tester in 1997. He competed in 3 races as a substitute driver, qualifying 7th and managing a 3rd place finish (14th overall with 4 points). In 1998, his first full season, he qualified 5th on 3 occasions, and finished 4th on 5 occasions. He finished 8th overall with 17 points. 1999 was not so good – he never qualified higher than 7th, and only scored 3 points (best finish 5th) to finish 13th overall. 2000 was even worse – scoring only 2 points from a 5th place finish to end up 15th overall. In 2001 he joined McLaren in a long-term testing role, which continued until 2005. In 2005, he competed in one race (replacing the injured Juan Pablo Montoya). He did not disappoint – he qualified 7th and finished 3rd (due to the disqualification of both BARs), and that was enough for 17th overall. He joined Williams as a test driver in 2006, and became a race driver in 2007.
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Post by paulgilb on Mar 7, 2007 1:15:11 GMT 1
Toro Rosso (ITA) First season: 2006 Races: 18 Best finish: 8th
Red Bull’s ‘junior’ team were born out of their purchase of Minardi in 2005. In 2006 they used rev-limited V10 engines (all other teams used V8 engines), which meant that they were often challenging the Red Bull Racing cars. Their only point came at the US GP courtesy of Vitantonio Liuzzi.
18 – Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) First season: 2005 Teams: Red Bull (2005), Toro Rosso (2006-date) Races: 22 Best qualifying: 11th Best finish: 8th x 2 Points: 2 Best Championship Finish: 19th
Vitantonio Liuzzi, having won the last ever FIA International Formula 3000 Championship in 2004, joined Red Bull in 2005, sharing the race seat with Christian Klien. He scored a point on his debut (thanks to several disqualifications / penalties) at San Marino, but his next 3 results were not so impressive (his best qualifying was 11th), and so Klien filled the seat for the remainder of the season (Liuzzi finished 24th overall). 2006 was his first full season in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso, in which he twice qualified 12th and scored the team’s only point to finish 19th overall.
19 – Scott Speed (USA) First season: 2006 Teams: Toro Rosso (2006-date) Races: 18 Best qualifying: 11th Best finish: 9th Best Championship Finish: 20th
Having finished 3rd in the 2005 GP2 championship, Scott Speed signed as a Red Bull test driver and then won a seat in the Toro Rosso team for 2006. He crossed the line in 8th place in Australia, but had 25 seconds added to his time for a yellow flag offence, relegating him to 9th (which ended up as his best result of the season). He finished 20th overall.
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Post by paulgilb on Mar 7, 2007 1:15:52 GMT 1
Spyker (NED) First season: 2006 Races: 18 Best finish: 9th
Spyker started 2006 as MF1, following Midland Group’s purchase of the Jordan team. Despite good progress, they failed to score a point. The team were sold again in September 2006 to Dutch sportscar maker Spyker.
20 – Christijan Albers (NED) First season: 2005 Teams: Minardi (2005), Midland (2006), Spyker (2007) Races: 37 Best qualifying: 13th Best finish: 5th Points: 4 Best Championship Finish: 19th
Having competed in the German DTM Series, Christijan Albers made his Formula 1 debut with Minardi in 2005. He managed to qualify 13th on the grid in Japan, and managed to finish 5th in the 6-car US GP. He finished 19th overall. He moved to Midland in 2006, where he had occasional battles with midfield teams and positive qualifying results (best was 14th), but failed to score a point (best finish 10th), and finished 22nd overall.
21 – Adrian Sutil (GER) First season: 2007
Having competed in Formula 3 Euroseries and having won the Japanese Formula 3 Title in 2006, Adrian Sutil will drive for Spyker in 2007, having tested with them in 2006.
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Post by paulgilb on Mar 7, 2007 1:16:52 GMT 1
Super Aguri (JPN) First season: 2006 Races: 18 Best finish: 10th
Super Aguri were granted a late entry into the 2006 season by the FIA. For the first 11 races they used a modified 2002 Arrows chassis, but their performance improved later on in the season. They used 4 drivers in 2006.
22 – Takuma Sato (JPN) First season: 2002 Teams: Jordan (2002), BAR (2003-05), Super Aguri (2006-date) Races: 70 Best qualifying: 2nd Best finish: 3rd Podiums: 1 Points: 40 Best Championship Finish: 8th
Having competed in the British Formula 3 championship, Takuma Sato made his Formula 1 debut with Jordan in 2002. He had several crashes, but finished 5th in the final race in Japan to clinch 2 points and 15th place overall. He was a BAR test driver for most of 2003, but competed in the final race in Japan after Jacques Villeneuve’s departure, where he qualified 13th and finished 6th, which was enough for 18th overall. In 2004, his first full race season with BAR, he was largely overshadowed by his team-mate Jenson Button, but nonetheless put in some strong drives. He qualified 2nd in Europe and finished 3rd in the US, giving him 34 points and 8th overall. 2005 was a disappointing season – despite qualifying 4th twice, he could only manage 1 point (23rd overall), and was thus dropped by the team. He joined Super Aguri in 2006, struggled with the outdated car early on, but got better with the new model, managing to qualify 17th twice and managing to finish 10th in the final race in Brazil, and 23rd overall.
23 – Anthony Davidson (GBR) First season: 2002 Teams: Minardi (2002), BAR (2005), Super Aguri (2007) Races: 3 Best qualifying: 15th Best finish: n/a Best Championship Finish: 23rd
Having been a BAR test driver since 2001, Anthony Davidson made his race debut in 2002 for Minardi, replacing Alex Yoong for 2 races. He qualified 20th in both races and didn’t finish either (he finished 23rd overall). Still as a BAR test driver, he raced for the team in Malaysia in 2005, replacing Takuma Sato, where he qualified 15th but retired after 2 laps with an engine failure (after BAR withdrew both their cars from the previous race in order to start the Malaysian race with fresh engines!). He was Honda’s 3rd driver in 2006 before signing with Super Aguri.
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Paul
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Post by Paul on Mar 11, 2007 15:51:29 GMT 1
Nice previews there, thanks Paul . ITV have a programme on at 5pm tonight about McLaren's preparations for the year (not sure if it is the traditional preview show, as it seems to be pencilled in at 8pm on ITV4 on Friday) Cannot wait for Australia, who is getting up early?!
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Post by -Big Dan- on Mar 11, 2007 23:26:03 GMT 1
Meee!
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Post by -Big Dan- on Mar 16, 2007 13:42:35 GMT 1
Hamilton 3rd fastest in Friday practice!!
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Post by Maximo Mark on Mar 16, 2007 18:12:18 GMT 1
Means little though in reality. Will probably get up to watch both quali and the race!
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Post by -Big Dan- on Mar 16, 2007 18:27:08 GMT 1
I will definitely.
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Post by Panda on Mar 16, 2007 18:29:40 GMT 1
Was slightly disappointed when I read the headline "Ferrari dominate practice" but the times were actually reasonably close.
Impressed with Hamilton's showing.
BMW definitely look like being the #4 team. For what it's worth, I think Heidfeld will finally get his first victory this year. Super Aguri going well...
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Post by -Big Dan- on Mar 17, 2007 12:55:05 GMT 1
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Post by -Big Dan- on Mar 17, 2007 12:55:21 GMT 1
Here's the grid for the Australian Grand Prix:
1. Raikkonen (Ferrari) 2. Alonso (McLaren) 3. Heidfeld (BMW) 4. Hamilton (McLaren) 5. Kubica (BMW) 6. Fisichella (Renault) 7. Webber (Red Bull) 8. Trulli (Toyota) 9. Schumacher (Toyota) 10. Sato (Super Aguri) 11. Davidson (Super Aguri) 12. Rosberg (Williams) 13. Kovalainen (Renault) 14. Button (Honda) 15. Wurz (Williams) 16. Massa (Ferrari) 17. Barrichello (Honda) 18. Speed (Toro Rosso) 19. Coulthard (Red Bull) 20. Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) 21. Sutil (Spyker) 22. Albers (Spyker)
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Paul
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Post by Paul on Mar 17, 2007 13:12:36 GMT 1
I don't think Ferrari have the advantage they had at the end of last season. As Massa showed in quali, reliability is potentially an issue, but I expect Kimi to win quite comfortably tomorrow
McLaren are there, and are much more reliable. Hamilton was exceptional in qualifying, outpacing Alonso initally in Q1 and Q2. I expect them to both be on the podium tomorrow
BMW should not be discounted. In fact, I'd say they are clearly the 3rd best team since Renault have flattered to deceive a bit in qualifying. The long runs for the BMWs are very consistent, so both BMWs could surprise McLaren tomorrow.
Renault are 4th best and some distance ahead of those behind. I was surprised Kovy didn't make it through Q2, but Fisi's experience with the tyres is making his performance look very strong. I fully expect Kovy (and Massa obviously) to be in the points tomorrow though
After that it seems to be a real free-for-all. I had expected Williams and Honda to be 5th and 6th fastest teams respectively, but it hasn't panned out like that. Webber was very quick in all sessions of qualifying yesterday, Toyota have been nowhere and suddenly qualify in the top 10 and Super Aguri are 10th and 11th!!!
Should be a very good race tomorrow - I would love it if Heidfeld, Hamilton or Kubica took a maiden win, but it will be Kimi if he doesn't have problems
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Post by -Big Dan- on Mar 17, 2007 13:39:07 GMT 1
I for one would love to see one of the Super Aguris, preferably Davidson, nab a point or two in the race.
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Post by Zodiac on Mar 17, 2007 13:43:04 GMT 1
Good qualifying last night/this morning. Raikkonen looked pretty comfortable throughout. Excellent start to his F1 career for Hamilton. I quite enjoyed seeing the Super Aguris out qualify Honda in their old car too. I would stay up for the race itself but I have to work tomorrow. I'll record it and watch it later.
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Post by Maximo Mark on Mar 17, 2007 15:25:19 GMT 1
Excellent session, really hope that Heidfeld can keep his top 3 place atleast. Glad Jenson Button is no longer our number one driver any more too, 4th seems much better!
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Post by paulgilb on Mar 18, 2007 0:38:56 GMT 1
Toyota have been fined 2000 Euros for allowing Jarno Trulli to exit the pit lane with a rear jack attached to his car (it fell off at the end of the pit lane).
Spyker have protested about Super Aguri's and Red Bull's cars, claiming that they breach the rules by being essentially the same as other teams' cars.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Mar 18, 2007 3:03:35 GMT 1
Serves Toyota right for being irrisponsible
Very happy with the way the Super Aguri's are going, Hamilton doing good as well and McLaren seem to have adapted to the new tyres quite well.
Will not be watching it now but I will when its repeated in the afternoon.
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