formula one

FORMULA ONE
Frances Ridley
Editorial Consultant – Cliff Moon
Rising-Stars
nasen
NASEN House, 4/5 Amber Business Village, Amber Close,
Amington, Tamworth, Staffordshire B77 4RP
Rising Stars UK Ltd.
22 Grafton Street, London W1S 4EX
www.risingstars-uk.com
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obtain their permission for use of copyright material. The
publisher will gladly receive information enabling them to
rectify any error or omission in subsequent editions.
All facts are correct at time of going to press.
Text © Rising Stars UK Ltd.
The right of Frances Ridley to be identified as the author of
this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988.
Published 2006
Reprinted 2007
Cover design: Button plc
Cover image: Kolvenbach/Alamy
Illustrator: Bill Greenhead
Technical artwork: IFA Design
Text design and typesetting: Nicholas Garner, Codesign
Technical adviser: Mark Rendes
Educational consultants: Cliff Moon and Lorraine Petersen
Pictures: Motoring Picture Library/NMM; pages 10, 11, 22,
28, 31, 38: Alamy; pages 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18, 23, 27, 29,
30, 33, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46: Getty Images; pages 7, 8, 10, 19,
24, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of Rising
Stars UK Ltd.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A CIP record for this book is available from the British
Library.
ISBN: 978-1-905056-96-5
Printed by Craft Print International Ltd, Singapore
Contents
The Formula One World Championship
F1 teams
F1 drivers
F1 circuits and cars
Fangio – Part one
A Grand Prix weekend
The race!
Racing round Spa
Making a pit stop
The points system
Fangio – Part two
Ferrari
The 312T
The F1-2000
Michael Schumacher
McLaren
The MP4/4 and MP4/13
Ayrton Senna
Fangio – Part three
Renault
The RS01
The R25
Fernando Alonso
Quiz
Glossary of terms
More resources
Answers
Index
3
4
4
5
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
23
24
26
28
30
32
34
38
38
40
42
44
45
46
47
48
The Formula One
World Championship
The F1 World Championship has been held
every year since 1950. It is run by the FIA.
F1 teams
There have been more than 100 F1 teams since 1950.
These teams took part in the 2007 World Championship:
McLaren-Mercedes
Ferrari
BM2
Renault
Williams-Toyota
Toyota
Red Bull-Renault
Super Aguri-Honda
STR-Ferrari
Honda
Spyker-Ferrari
4
F1 drivers
F1 drivers need strong
bodies and strong minds.
They wear helmets and
fireproof clothes on
the track.
Fireproof gloves
Helmet
Thin soles
Fireproof overalls
Boots
5
F1 circuits and cars
Grand Prix races are held on circuits.
act!
F1
Fast F
anned
b
U
E
g
5, the
er tisin
In 200
v
d
a
f ro m
anned
s
b
m
o
a
s
l
e
t
ya
m
o. Th e
c
c
a
b
i e s f ro
n
to
a
p
m
o co
.
te a m s
to b a c c
1
F
g
n
ri
sponso
These 17 circuits were used in
the 2007 World Championship.
11
14
6
10
7
8
9
4
17
5
3
13
2
15
12
6
1
16
An F1 car is planned on a computer.
It is tested in a wind tunnel and on test tracks.
F1 cars are top secret and teams have to look out for spies.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur
BAHRAIN, Sakhir
SPAIN, Catalunya
MONACO, Monte Carlo
EUROPE, Nurburgring
CANADA, Montreal
US, Indianapolis
FRANCE, Magny-Cours
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
7
BRITAIN, Silverstone
BELGIUM, Spa Francorchamps
TURKEY, Istanbul
ITALY, Monza
HUNGARY, Budapest
BRAZIL, Sao Paulo
JAPAN, Suzuka
CHINA, Shanghai
Fangio (Part one)
Fangio was one of the best F1 drivers ever.
This is the story of his life.
Juan Manuel Fangio was born
in Argentina in 1911.
His parents were Italian and he
had five brothers and sisters.
Most racing drivers came from rich families,
but Fangio’s family was very poor. He started
working in a garage when he was 12.
He learnt about engines and how to drive.
8
Fangio started racing when he was 18.
In 1940 he raced from Buenos Aires to Lima
and back. The race was thousands of miles
long and took two weeks.
It was hard – but Fangio won!
Fangio won many more races. He was the
Argentine Champion in 1940 and 1941.
Then the Second World War started and
Fangio had to stop racing.
Continued on page 20
9
A Grand Prix
weekend
T h u rs d a y
Friday
et up
Th e t e a m s s
ock.
in t h e padd
e
First practic
session
ctice
S e c o n d p ra
session
a ke
Th e t e a m s m
h e c a rs
ch a n ge s to t
m go
to m a ke t h e
fa s te r.
10
S a tu r d ay
ice
Third pract
session
tice
Four th prac
session
Qualif ying
session
p.
e d fo r o n e la
im
t
is
position.
r
e
le
iv
o
r
p
m
o
fr
E a ch d
ace
l s ta r t t h e r
il
w
r
e
iv
r
d
t
Th e fa s te s
a lk
Th e t e a m s t
.
to t h e media
S u n d ay
ance lap
Reconnaiss
s.
le a ve t h e p it
s
r
e
iv
r
d
e
h
T
p and then
Th ey d o a la
e grid.
li n e u p o n t h
e
lap
y wa it fo r t h
e
h
t
n
e
h
Formation
T
.
id
gr
la p fro m t h e
a
o
d
s
r
e
iv
r
Th e d
t.
ra c e to s ta r
11
The race!
Five red lights come on one by one.
When all the lights go out the race begins!
Each race is around 194 miles and lasts for
about 90 minutes.
12
Race officials use flags to give drivers warnings.
Flag Warning
Danger ahead – slow down and be ready to stop
All clear
Race has to be stopped
Let car behind overtake
Slippery track ahead
Car problem – go to pit
Go to pit (you are out of the race)
Race is finished
13
Racing round Spa
Spa Francorchamps is in Belgium.
It has fast straights and tricky corners.
Fastest straight
The most famous corner in F1!
3
100 150
50
0
Downhill straight
200
100 150
250
50
0
2
12
11
100 150
50
0
100 150
50
0
KEY
250
The finish line
is coming up!
100 150
0
200
250
Best speed in mph
14
200
250
1
200
Start / Finish
50
200
250
100 150
Good place to overtake
50
200
0
250
5
6
100 150
50
0
200
250
4
100 150
100 150
50
100 150
50
0
0
50
200
0
250
200
250
200
250
7
Accelerate here!
Downhill hairpin
10
Slow down
100 150
50
0
200
100 150
250
50
8
0
200
250
Go flat out!
100 150
50
Accelerate here!
0
200
250
9
Slow right down
It’s a bumpy ride!
1
La Source
7
Pouhon
2
First straight
8
Fagnes
3
Eau Rouge
9
Stavelot
4
Second straight – Kemmell
10 Blanchimont
5
Les Combes
11 Bus Stop Chicane
6
Malmeady
12 Pit straight
15
Making a pit stop
Each team has its own garage called a pit.
The pits are near the Start/Finish line.
F1 cars come into the pit for fuel and tyre repairs.
A pit stop takes about seven seconds.
Each damaged tyre is
changed by three
mechanics.
The car is jacked up
if it needs tyre changes.
The lollipop man shows the driver where
to stop and when it is safe to leave.
16
Two mechanics fill the car
This mechanic restarts
with fuel.
the car if it stalls.
Two mechanics stand by
One mechanic wipes
on each side of the car
the driver’s visor.
in case of fire.
17
The points system
The first eight cars in each Grand Prix get points.
P l a ce
The points are added
1st
together at the end of
the season.
Po i n t s
10
2nd
8
3 rd
The driver with the most
6
4th
points wins the
Drivers’ Championship.
5
5th
4
6th
The team with the most
points wins the
3
7th
Constructors’ Championship.
8th
2
1
Lewis Hamilton won his first
GP in 2007 in Canada.
He got 10 points for the
McLaren team!
18
Fernando Alonso won the 2005 Drivers’
Championship with 133 points.
Alonso is a Renault driver. The other
Renault driver got 58 points in 2005.
Renault won the Constructors’
Championship with 191 points.
19
Fangio (Part two)
Fangio started racing again in 1949. He was 37,
which was old for an F1 driver.
Fangio drove for Alfa Romeo in the first
F1 World Championship and came second. In
1951 he won the World Championship!
In 1952, Fangio raced in the championship
again. He had to drive all night to get to the
Monza Grand Prix.
20
He got there just in time and started from
the back of the grid. But he was tired and he
made a mistake.
His car hit a bank and flipped over. Fangio
broke his neck.
Fangio nearly died but he didn’t let this beat
him. He got fit again and was soon back in F1.
Continued on page 34
21
Ferrari
The Ferrari team was started
by Enzo Ferrari in Italy.
It is the oldest team in the
Championship.
Its first F1 season was in 1950
and its first car was the 125F1.
The Ferrari 125F1
Ferrari won its first Grand Prix (GP) in 1951 at Silverstone.
By 1983 it had won nine Drivers’ titles and eight
Constructors’ titles.
22
The 312T
Nikki Lauda
Nikki Lauda drove the 312T
in the 1975 season.
He won his first
World Championship.
It was Ferrari’s first title
for eleven years.
The Ferrari 312T
acts!
Ca r F
points
p
i
h
s
n
io
Champ
itions
s
o
p
e
Po l
ns
GP wi
23
113
10
9
Ferrari didn’t win any F1 titles from 1983 to 1999.
Then things started to get better.
In 1996 Michael Schumacher moved to Ferrari.
In 1999 Ferrari won the Constructors’ title
with the F339.
The F1-2000
Rubens Barrichello,
Schumacher’s
teammate,
driving the
F1-2000.
The F1-2000 was Ferrari’s 47th F1 design.
Schumacher drove it in the 2000 season
and won nine races!
24
Fe r r a r
i Fact
!
F e r ra r
iw
Co n s t r o n t h e
uc
s i x t i m to rs ’ C h a m p
ionshi
es in a
p
ro w –
1999
f ro m
to 2 0 0
4.
Schumacher won the Drivers’ Championship in 2000.
Ferrari won the Constructors’ Championship.
acts!
Ca r F
points
p
i
h
s
n
io
Champ
sitions
o
p
e
l
Po
171
10
10
ns
GP wi
25
Michael
Schumacher
Michael Schumacher was born in Germany in 1969.
He started kart racing when he was four
and still loves this sport!
Schumacher’s first F1 race was at Spa in 1991.
He drove for Jordan because the team’s driver was in jail.
Schumacher was his stand-in!
Schumacher joined Benetton in 1992. He won the
World Championship in 1994 and 1995.
26
In 1996 Schumacher
joined Ferrari.
He has won five more
World Championships
with Ferrari.
D r i ve r
Facts!
s
p title
i
h
s
n
o
pi
Cham
d
l
r
o
W
ns
GP wi
sitions
o
p
e
l
Po
7
91
68
Schumacher retired from Formula One at the end of 2006.
He is one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.
27
McLaren
The McLaren team was started
in 1963 by Bruce McLaren.
Bruce Mclaren was an F1 driver. In 1968 he won the
first GP for McLaren.
Sadly, he died two years later in a car crash.
28
The McLaren team won its
first Drivers’ title and
Constructors’ title in 1974.
James Hunt won a second
Drivers’ title in 1976.
He beat Nikki Lauda by
one point.
McLaren had won seven more Drivers’ titles by 1991.
They won the Constructors’ title five more times.
29
The MP4/4 and MP4/13
The MP4/4 raced in 16 GPs in 1988.
It won 15 of them!
McLaren had the most
powerful car and the
best drivers –
Ayrton Senna and
MP4/4
Champ
Facts!
ionshi
p poin
ts
Po l e p
osition
s
GP wi
ns
Alain Prost.
199
15
15
Ayrton Senna
Alain Prost
Alain Prost moved to Williams in 1992.
Ayrton Senna left McLaren in 1993 and Mika Hakkinen
joined the team.
McLaren didn’t win a title for the next five years.
30
Then, in 1998, McLaren had another great year.
Mika Hakkinen drove the MP4/13.
The McLaren MP4/13
Facts!
3
1
/
4
MP
ts
ip poin
h
s
n
o
i
Champ
s
osition
p
e
l
o
P
ns
GP wi
Hakkinen won the Drivers’ title and
McLaren won the Constructors’ title.
31
156
12
9
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna was born in 1960 in Brazil.
He came from a rich family, so he didn’t race for money.
He raced because he loved it.
Senna drove for McLaren from
1988 to 1993.
He won three World
Championships in that time.
32
D r i ve r
Facts!
Wo r l d
Champ
ionshi
p title
GP wi
s
ns
Po l e p
osition
s
3
41
65
Senna moved to Williams in 1994.
That year his car came off
the track at Imola. It crashed
into a wall and Senna died.
It was a great loss to F1.
Frank Williams said, “Ayrton
was a greater man out of
the car than in it.”
33
Fangio (Part three)
Fangio won four more World Championships
from 1954 to 1957. He drove for four different
teams.
Enzo Ferrari didn’t like the way Fangio
swapped teams.
Fangio just
wants to drive
the best car!
But Stirling Moss said it didn’t matter which
car Fangio drove.
Fangio wins
because he’s
the best driver!
34
Fangio was very strong. This was important as
the cars were heavy and hard to handle.
Drivers had to work hard to get them round
the track!
Fangio’s greatest race was in 1957 at
Nurburgring. He was leading by 28 seconds
but Maserati hadn’t put much fuel in the car.
This made the car lighter, but Fangio had to
stop for fuel, so he lost lots of time.
Continued on the next page
35
At last Fangio got back on the track. There
were only 12 laps to go! Fangio drove like a
demon. He overtook the Ferrari driver and got
into first place again. He won by 3.6 seconds!
Fangio stopped racing in 1958, but he soon had
another adventure!
He was kidnapped by Cuban rebels in 1958.
36
The rebels let Fangio go after a day or two and
he said that they had looked after him well!
Fangio died in 1995. He was 84. There is a
racetrack named after him in his home town of
Balcarce. There is a Fangio Museum in
Balcarce, too. In 2005, the car-maker Pagani
named the Zonda 2005 C12 F after Fangio.
Fangio will never be forgotten!
37
Renault
Renault’s first F1 season was in 1977.
It raced the RS01.
The RS01
The RS01 was the first turbocharged F1 car.
It was a powerful car, but it had a lot of
engine problems.
It was called ‘The Yellow Teapot’ – because
it was yellow and made smoke that looked
like steam!
38
acts!
Ca r F
ts
ip poin
h
s
n
o
i
Champ
s
osition
p
e
l
o
P
ns
GP wi
Renault kept working on the RS01. It got
better over the next two seasons.
It never won a GP but it started something
new. Soon, every car on the grid was
turbocharged.
39
3
1
0
Renault pulled out of F1 in the 1980s.
It came back in 2000.
Renault came third in the Constructors’ Championship
in 2004.
The R25
shark gills
The FIA changed the rules for cars in 2005.
Renault took a risk – it didn’t make a new car.
It made changes to the R24 and came up with the R25.
The R25 was stiffer and lighter than the R24.
40
Renault won the Constructors’ Championship.
Fernando Alonso won the Drivers’ Championship.
Ca r F
acts!
Champ
ionshi
p poin
ts
Po l e p
osition
s
GP wi
ns
191
7
8
41
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso was born in 1981 in Spain.
Alonso got his first kart when he was three.
It looked like a small F1 car!
When he was 18 he won the
World Junior Karting Championship.
Alonso has always wanted to win.
He says, “It is something I was born with.”
42
In 2003 he joined Renault.
That year he became the youngest ever
pole winner when he won the Hungarian GP.
In 2005 he became the youngest ever
World Champion – at just 24 years old!
He became World Champion again in
2006.
D r i ve r
Facts!
Wo r l d
Champ
ionshi
p title
GP wi
s
ns
2
Po l e p
osition
17
s
9
43
Quiz
1
How many teams were there in the 2005 World
Championship?
2
How many practice sessions are there in a GP
weekend?
3
What does a blue flag mean?
4
Name the most famous corner in F1.
5
What does a lollipop man do at a pit stop?
6
How many points does the sixth car get in a GP?
7
Name the oldest team in the Championship.
8
How many times has Schumacher won the Drivers’
Championship?
9
What is the nickname of the RS01?
10 Alonso holds two F1 records – what are they?
44
Glossary of terms
accelerate
Go faster.
circuit
Track used for motor racing.
FIA
Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.
fireproof
Will not catch fire.
grid
Starting positions for cars in a Grand Prix.
kart racing
Racing with go-karts – the karts have engines.
media
Newspapers, magazines, radio and television.
paddock
Where the F1 teams stay during a Grand Prix.
pole position
Front place on the grid.
pole winner
Car that wins from pole position.
turbocharge
Way of making an engine much more powerful.
wind tunnel
Tunnel with air rushing down it – it is like being on
the race track.
45
More resources
Books
The Complete Book of Formula One: All Cars and Drivers
since 1950, Simon Arron and Mark Hughes, Motorbooks
International (ISBN: 0-76031-688-0)
This book gives you information on drivers and cars. It has 3,685
great pictures!
FIA Formula One World Championship: The Official ITV Sport
Guide, Bruce Jones, Carlton Books (ISBN: 1-84222-578-9)
This book comes out each year and tells you about the circuits, the
drivers, the cars and the teams.
Magazines
F1 Racing, Haymarket Magazines
The best-selling F1 magazine – news, gossip, info and great pictures.
Autosport Magazine, Haymarket Publishing
This covers all kinds of motor racing. It will keep you up to date
with F1.
Websites
http://www.formula1.com/
The Official Formula One Website
Everything you need on one site: news about the latest season – and
pictures; results since 1950; info on cars, teams and drivers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/static/in_depth/motorsport/20
02/formula_one/default.stm
The BBC Website – Motorsport/Formula One
Very clear introduction to F1. Check out the circuits – play the
videos to go round each circuit with an F1 driver!
DVDs and Videos
50 Years of Formula One On-Board (2004) (Cat. No. 8231843)
Non-stop racing from 1950 to the present – this is the next best
thing to being in the car yourself!
Secret Life of Formula One (2003) (Cat. No. LACE250)
Find out team secrets in this F1 film.
46
Answers
1
10
2
4
3
Let car behind overtake
4
Eau Rouge
5
Shows the driver where to stop and when it is
safe to leave.
6
3
7
Ferrari
8
7
9
The Yellow Teapot
10 Youngest ever pole winner and World
Champion.
47
Index
Media
11
2005 World Championship 4, 6
Moss, Stirling
34
312T
MP4/13
31
Alonso, Fernando 19, 41, 42-43
Nurburgring
35
Circuits
Paddock
10
Pagani
37
125F1
22
23
6
Eau Rouge
14-15
F1-2000
Pit stop
24
Fangio
8-9, 20-21, 34-37
Ferrari
22-25, 27, 36
Ferrari, Enzo
Points
Practice session
22, 34
16-17
18
10-11
Prost, Alain
30
FIA
4
Qualifying session
11
Fireproof clothes
5
R24
40
Flags
13
R25
40
Formation lap
11
Reconnaissance lap
11
Grid
Renault
11, 21, 39
RSO1
19, 38-39
38-39
Hakkinen, Mikka
30-31
Hamilton, Lewis
18
Schumacher, Michael
24, 26-27
Hunt, James
29
Senna, Ayrton
30, 32-33
Imola
33
Spa Francorchamps
14-15, 26
Kart racing
26, 42
Teams
4
Lauda, Nikki
23, 29
Test tracks
7
Lights
12
Turbocharged
Lollipop man
16
Williams
33
Maserati
35
Williams, Frank
33
McLaren
28-29, 30-31, 32
McLaren, Bruce
Wind tunnel
Yellow Teapot
28
48
38-39
7
38
This motorsport stands
out from the rest.
Read all about the
champion drivers.
Go from pit lane
to pole position.
Hit the track with
the speed heroes of F1!
£5.00
ISBN 1-905056-96-6
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