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.   

Drivers Who Only Win at Monaco

This week is the highlight of the F1 calendar as the circus roles into the principality of Monaco. Monaco is often referred to as the jewel in the crown for F1 and rightfully so. The glitz, the glamour, the lifestyle - all equal a fantastic weekend of racing. It is a massive spectacle that delivers a brilliant race year in year out, with its close quarters racing and being literally millimeters away from the unforgiving barriers.  The track has a rich history with the sports' greatest drivers all registering wins around the famous circuit. We obviously have Ayrton Senna, who won 6 times around the famous streets and "Mr Monaco" himself Graham Hill winning 5 times, and of course, Michael Schumacher's 5 victories as well. There are also 3 winners at this historic event that turned out to be their only ever Formula 1 victory. I will be looking at each of their races and showing how anything is possible during the Monaco GP.

Jean-Pierre Beltoise 1972

The 1972 Monaco GP was a rain soaked event that delivered Jean-Pierre Beltoise his first, and the BRM team's final, F1 win. Beltoise’s F1 career was a very quiet one, with limited success despite his win in Monaco. He found more success after he retired from Formula 1 in 1974 when he moved to Touring Cars and won 2 French titles.

Beltoise started in 4th but stormed into 1st, the only position anyone would want in a race with such poor visibility. Eventual championship winner in 1972 Emerson Fittipaldi fell back behind Clay Regazzoni's Ferrari, and with the conditions being so poor, Regazzoni went straight over at the chicane and was followed by Fittipaldi, allowing the Ferrari and Jacky Ickx to take second place. This should have spelt massive trouble for Beltoise as Ickx was a renowned wet-weather driver, yet Beltoise lead every one of the 80 laps, showing the advantage of being at the front of the grid during a wet race, especially in Monaco.  His race wasn't without heart in the mouth moments however, as he lost the rear of his car at Portier, and just marginally held on to continue. Beltoise also had a coming together with Tim Schenken's Surtees as he was trying to lap him at the Station Hairpin, now the Lowes Hairpin. Also, not just for Beltoise, but for many drivers on the grid, the weather was causing water logging in certain areas of the circuit. Notably, Sir Jackie Stewart's Tyrell Cosworth was so badly affected by the water logging, he was lapped twice in the closing stages by Beltoise. Despite the rain getting worse throughout the race and soaking the track to its core, Beltoise stayed calm and cool and scored his one and only F1 win. It goes to show how the rain can have a massive effect on the way a race is run and Beltoise put on a fantastic display to come out on top in tricky circumstances.

Olivier Panis 1996

The 1996 F1 season will be remembered for many reasons. The emergence of Jacque Villeneuve, the start of Michael Schumacher's relationship with Ferrari and Damon Hill winning the World Championship. What will also stick out in the memory of F1 fans that season will be the Monaco GP in which only 3 cars finished after a very bizarre race. At the start, I don't think anybody could have imagined that Olivier Panis who started in 14th in his Ligier would win his only Formula 1 victory, and Ligier's last.

Back in the days of Sunday morning practise, Panis actually set the fastest time and showed that engine trouble in qualifying meant his 14th position wasn't a true reflection of what the car could do. Step forward a torrential downpour.

Shortly after practise had finished, the heavens opened and soaked the track through. By the time the race started, the track was still damp which meant some very tricky conditions. This was evident at the first corner as both Minardi's were out and Schumacher had been beaten to the first corner by both Williams’. Schumacher would also retire before the end of lap 1, after a coming together with the wall and Ruben's Barrichello's Jordan was also gone. This was just the start as well, by lap 10 only 12 cars were still running after Ukyo Katayama and Riccardo Rosset both were involved in accidents, and Pedro Diniz, Panis' team mate and Gerhard Berger both retired with mechanical failures.

Panis was running a good solid race staying clear of trouble, whilst out-front, Damon Hill was unchallenged and powering on like a man on a mission. His father Graham was known as "Mr Monaco" during the sixties, and Damon so badly wanted to become the first second generation Monaco GP victor. Nothing seemed like it was going to stop him as he streaked clear of Jean Alesi's Benetton. Then fate intervened, and unfortunately for Hill, his Renault engine let go and he retired from the race. Hill's retirement meant Alesi had a 30 second lead but again, would retire from the race with a suspension issue. A very typical scenario for Alesi who many times in his F1 career would have victory snatched from his grasp so close to the end. By this point Panis had charged through the field with some brilliantly brave overtakes on Martin Brundle, Mika Hakkinen and Johnny Herbert, who were all following Eddie Irvine's Ferrari. Panis timed his pit stop brilliantly, and jumped a queue of cars getting right up with Irvine on lap 35. He threw his Ligier up the inside of Irvine at the Lowes Hairpin and never looked back from there.

So when Alesi retired from the race on lap 60, for the first time Panis found himself cruising at the head of the field. Before Monaco, Panis' best finish had been second in Germany 1994 and Australia 1995, where massive collisions meant the Frenchman prospered from others misfortunes. This was very different however, as his raw pace meant he was in the right position to capitalise on any mistakes other drivers made. In Germany and Australia the previous years, Panis was nowhere in those races and was fortunate with his podiums. This was very deserving and showed how big a talent Panis was. Surprisingly to this day, there has not been another French winner in Formula 1.

Jarno Trulli 2004

When I think of the fact that Jarno Trulli only ever won one Grand Prix it always astounds me. Whenever I hear this stat I try and rack my brain for another victory. Obviously I won't find one, but I really find it hard to believe. For me what makes his Monaco GP win brilliant is the fact was it was during the season where the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher could not be stopped. Trulli however didn't read the script properly though, as he stuck his improving Renault on pole on Saturday and drove brilliantly throughout. Again, a difference between the other two races I've spoke about is that Trulli's drive was in the dry from start to finish. No soaking or damp spells, it was bone dry throughout.

Trulli got away brilliantly and led into the first corner with team mate Fernando Alonso closely following him but unable to do much more than that. Jenson Button's BAR was chasing after the pair in 3rd place. A quiet race was disrupted massively when Fernando Alonso had a huge crash coming out of the tunnel on lap 41 which brought the safety car out and squeezed the pack up. Unbelievably, Michael Schumacher had a similar crash to Alonso but it was behind the safety car, making Trulli's race a little bit more comfortable.

That was of course until Jenson Button got himself involved. 

Button was 7 seconds behind Trulli at one point, but some stunning laps meant with 10 laps to go he could see the yellow and blue Renault. Back markers a plenty possibly cost Button the chance at a proper shot at Trulli during the final few laps, but that can't take anything away from Trulli who drove a superb race and deserved his win. It still shocks me that after watching how good a display Trulli put on in  Monaco, he didn't win any more races. His one lap pace was stunning, especially when he moved to Toyota at the end of 2004, but I suppose he was never really given the machinery after he left Renault to do anything with it. Renault was his best chance at race victories, and unfortunately for him, Fernando Alonso was his team mate. As they say: the rest… is history.