Drivers Who Became Team Owners

This week in F1 history, Olivier Panis scored a podium for the Prost team in only their second race at the 1997 Brazilian GP. Alain Prost, the four time World Champion, had set up his own team carrying his surname and ventured into Formula 1 team ownership. He is not the only driver to set up a Formula 1 team baring their name. There have been a few drivers to take this plunge and, sadly, many do not hand around too long. Here I will look at the Prost team and their short history along with Stewart F1 and Super Aguri. 

Stewart F1 - 1997-1999

Sir Jackie Stewart set up his own Formula 1 team in 1997, hiring former Footwork designer Alan Jenkins, acquiring Ford engines and Bridgestone tyres for its debut year. Adding in Rubens Barrichello and Jan Magnussen as drivers, the team had all the ingredients for an impressive debut season. Unfortunately for the team, it did not all come together the way they had hoped. The team did have some impressive moments throughout the season, thanks to Barrichello who qualified 5th in Argentina and finished a spectacular 2nd at Monaco in wet conditions. Magnussen on the other hand seemed to encounter all of the team’s misfortune. 

After a good showing in their debut season, the team wanted to progress further, and do it quickly. Early 1998 showed that the team had not made the progress it wanted, and Magnussen paid the price, getting dropped after only scoring a point at the Canadian GP. He was replaced by Jos Verstappen who did not fare much better and only lasted until the end of the season.

Johnny Herbert was drafted in as Verstappen's replacement for 1999, and progress was clear throughout the season. A podium in San Marino for Barrichello was followed by the team’s first pole position, courtesy of Barrichello, in the wet at the French GP, which resulted in another 3rd place finish. Later in the season though, the teams greatest day came at the European GP, held at the Nurburgring when Herbert scored the teams only F1 win, in changing conditions with Barrichello in 3rd. This enabled the team to finish 4th in the  Constructors Championship, ahead of the Williams team. This was as good as it would get for the team as it was sold to Ford and rebranded as Jaguar for the 2000 season.

Super Aguri F1 - 2006-2008

Super Aguri was founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki in 2006. The team was based in Japan, but operated out of the old Arrows teams factory in Oxfordshire. The team was effectively known as an unofficial "B"-team for Honda. Public pressure in Japan saw the team hire former Honda driver and Japan's own Takuma Sato as one of its drivers for its debut season alongside Yuji Ide. The team debuted in Bahrain and managed to get one car to the finish with Sato bringing the car home. Australia saw both cars finish which was a brilliant achievement considering how little pre-season testing was completed by the team. Ide was then replaced after round 4 in Spain after having his superlicense was revoked after a clash with Christijan Albers.

Franck Montagny took over from Ide only to be replaced by Sakon Yamamoto from the German GP onwards. The team’s updated car that arrived in Germany with Yamamoto impressed - although failed to finish. Progress continued during the season and saw the team overtake Midland in the pecking order.

2007 did not start as the team would have hoped. Teams such as Williams and Spyker were unhappy that Super Aguri planned on using the 2006 works Honda car and took the matter to the FIA. The team suffered a further setback when its car failed a crash test and the launch of the car was delayed. So when the team turned up in Australia, with Sato and Anthony Davidson driving for the team and qualified 10th and 11th, it was a special moment. No points were scored but clear progress had been made. The team then scored its first points at the Spanish GP when Sato finished 8th, mainly down to other cars dropping out of the race. Canada was very different as Sato finished 6th on merit alone after a tremendous drive. Had it not been for a poor pit stop, Sato could have finished 4th. No more points were scored for the team but a solid was achieved for the team.

2008 saw the team retain Sato and Davidson but their championship would be a very short one, as the team run into financial trouble. The team had countless setbacks during pre-season including failed takeover bids. The team managed to compete in the first four races but that would be it. Suzuki stated that the breach of contract by the promised partner SS United Group Oil & Gas Company resulting in the loss of financial backing as putting the team into financial difficulties. It was confirmed on 7th May that Super Aguri had gone into administration after a team of corporate recovery partners was appointed to seek a buyer for the operation.

Prost Grand Prix - 1997-2002

1997 saw Alain Prost buy the Ligier team and rebrand it Prost Grand Prix. He would inherit Olivier Panis and Shinji Nakano, Mugen-Honda engines and Bridgestone tyre. He would later sign a deal for Peugeot to supply engines for 98, 99 and 2000. The team’s debut season was not an easy one, but the car was competitive when the tyres were working. Panis finished 5th on the teams debut and scored a podium in Brazil at the following race. Argentina should have seen Panis win but his car broke down. Monaco was another strong race for Panis finishing 4th and then 2nd in Spain. Going to Canada, Panis was 3rd in the driver's standings but then broke both of his legs and was replaced by Jarno Trulli. Trulli did a great job, and should have won in Austria but once again, the team hit trouble and Trulli retired. Panis did return for the European GP in September and scored a point making it a good debut season.

1998 was a different story. The car was so unreliable, modifications to the poor gearbox made the car such a handful that no driver could have done anything with it. Prost knew something had to be done for 1999 and did a deal with John Barnard to become a technical consultant and used his B3 Technologies to help design the AP02. Panis and Trulli stayed with the team and had a good car to boot, although the Peugeot engine had become too big and heavy. Further technical reinforcements were brought in midway through the season with Alan Jenkins hired as technical director. The team was optimistic for the 2000 season.

The optimism was unfounded as the 2000 season was nothing short of disastrous. Nick Heidfeld and Jean Alesi were hired to drive but the car was poor. Jenkins was fired during the summer and Prost reconstructed his technical department again. Joan Villadelprat was brought in as managing director and Henri Durand as technical director. Prost also sold a shareholding in the team to the Diniz Family. His dealings went beyond this as well as he signed a deal for the team to use Ferrari engines for the 2001 season, again giving an optimistic view for the future. Again this was short lived as the team’s money ran out and they eventually went out of business in 2002, with a debt of around $30 million.