1.
Leafield
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Leafield is a village and civil parish about 4 miles northwest of Witney in West Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Langley,1 mile west of Leafield village, the 2011 Census recorded the parishs population as 945. The village is 635 feet above sea level in the Cotswold Hills and it was the highest point in Oxfordshire until the 1974 county boundary changes enlarged the county. There are a number of tumuli in the parish, atop the hill just to the north of the village is Leafield Barrow, locally called Barrys Hill Tump. The parish is within the limits of the Wychwood forest. The area of forest south of Langley was cleared in 1857–58, leaving straight, the village has the remains of a medieval preaching cross. The steps and lower part of its base are old, a new Gothic Revival shaft and top were added in 1873 in thanksgiving for the village escaping a smallpox epidemic. Leafield was a dependent chapelry of the parish of Shipton-under-Wychwood until the 19th century. Leafields Church of England parish church of Saint Michael and All Angels was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, built in 1859, the bell tower was completed in 1874 and has a ring of six bells, all cast that year by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough. St. Michaels is now a member of the Forest Edge Benefice, Leafield Church of England Primary School opened in 1839. It was expanded by the building of classrooms in 1871,1897 and 1904. The 1871 classroom was designed by the architect C. C, leafields school district was expanded in 1873 to include Asthall, Langley and Wychwood. Leafield C of E School resisted Oxfordshire County Councils attempts to reorganise it as a school until after the Second World War. The schools catchment area was expanded in 1986 to include Ascott-under-Wychwood, a large radio transmission station was sited at Langley from 1912 until 1986. British Telecom redeveloped the site as a college, but then closed the site in 1993. It was then used by Tom Walkinshaw Racing as a development centre for the Arrows Formula One team. From the 2006 season until the 2008 season Leafield Technical Centre was the headquarters of the now-defunct Super Aguri F1 team, menard Competition Technologies is now based at Leafield Technical Centre. MCT has made the engines for Norton Motorcycles range of Commando 961 models since 2009, in January 2012 Caterham F1 announced that they would be moving to Leafield from their original base at Hingham, Norfolk
Leafield
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St Michael's parish church
Leafield
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Gothic Revival preaching cross on medieval steps and base
Leafield
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The Fox public house
2.
Oxfordshire
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Oxfordshire is a county in South East England bordering on Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The county has major education and tourist industries and is noted for the concentration of performance companies and facilities. Oxford University Press is the largest firm among a concentration of print and publishing firms, the main centre of population is the city of Oxford. The highest point is White Horse Hill, in the Vale of White Horse, oxfordshires county flower is the Snakes-head Fritillary. Historically the area has always had some importance, since it contains valuable agricultural land in the centre of the county, largely ignored by the Romans, it was not until the formation of a settlement at Oxford in the eighth century that the area grew in importance. Alfred the Great was born across the Thames in Wantage, Vale of White Horse, the University of Oxford was founded in 1096, though its collegiate structure did not develop until later on. The university in the county town of Oxford grew in importance during the Middle Ages, the area was part of the Cotswolds wool trade from the 13th century, generating much wealth, particularly in the western portions of the county in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. Morris Motors was founded in Oxford in 1912, bringing industry to an otherwise agricultural county. The importance of agriculture as an employer has declined rapidly in the 20th century though, nonetheless, Oxfordshire remains a very agricultural county by land use, with a lower population than neighbouring Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which are both smaller. The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the army unit in the area, was based at Cowley Barracks on Bullingdon Green. Conversely, the Caversham area of Reading, now administratively in Berkshire, was part of Oxfordshire as was the parish of Stokenchurch. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Oxfordshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Oxfordshire has a comprehensive education system with 23 independent schools and 35 state secondary schools. Only eight schools do not have a form, these are mostly in South Oxfordshire. The county has two universities, the ancient University of Oxford and the modern Oxford Brookes University, both located in Oxford, in addition, Wroxton College, located in Banbury, is affiliated with Fairleigh Dickinson University of New Jersey. The dreaming spires of the buildings of the University of Oxford are among the reasons for Oxford being the sixth most visited city in the United Kingdom for international visitors. Among many notable University buildings are the Sheldonian Theatre, built 1664–68 to the design of Sir Christopher Wren, Blenheim Palace close to Woodstock was built by the great architect John Vanbrugh for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, after he had won the battle of Blenheim. The gardens, which can be visited, were designed by the landscape gardener Capability Brown, in the palace, which can also be visited by the public, Sir Winston Churchill was born in 1874
Oxfordshire
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Oxfordshire County Council http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk
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Flag
Oxfordshire
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Brasenose Lane in Oxford city centre, a street onto which three colleges back.
Oxfordshire
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The University of Oxford's Chemistry Research Laboratory.
3.
Tony Fernandes
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Tan Sri Anthony Francis Tony Fernandes, CBE is a Malaysian entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune Air Sdn, bhd. who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline Now everyone can fly. Fernandes managed to turn AirAsia, a failing government-linked commercial airline and he has since founded the Tune Group of companies. As a result, these nations have granted landing rights to AirAsia, as of February 2014, Forbes Asia valued Fernandes net worth at $650 million, ranking him at number 28 on the Forbes list of Malaysias Richest. Fernandes was born in Kuala Lumpur on 30 April 1964 to an Indian father, at a young age, he would follow his mother who sold Tupperware at Tupperware parties. He was educated at The Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur, starting at age 12, from 1977 to 1983, he studied at Epsom College boarding school in England. He matriculated to the London School of Economics and graduated with a degree in accounting and he worked very briefly with Virgin Atlantic as an auditor, subsequently becoming the financial controller for Richard Bransons Virgin Records in London from 1987 to 1989. Fernandes was admitted as Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in 1991 and he is currently a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Fernandes was formerly a Warner Music executive in Malaysia and he was the South East Asian regional vice-president for Warner Music Group from 1992 to 2001. When Time Warner Inc announced its merger with America Online Inc, Fernandes left to pursue his dream of starting a budget no-frills airline. In September 2001, Fernandes purchased AirAsia and became its chief executive, instead of starting from scratch, Mahathir advised Fernandes to buy an existing airline. AirAsia, the heavily indebted subsidiary of the Malaysian government-owned conglomerate, One year after his takeover, AirAsia had broken even and cleared all its debts. Its initial public offering in November 2004 was oversubscribed by 130 per cent, Fernandes says his timing was in fact perfect, after 11 September 2001, aircraft leasing costs fell 40%. Also, airline lay-offs meant experienced staff were readily available and he believed Malaysian travellers would embrace a cut-rate air service that would save them time and money, especially in a tight economy. Fernandes estimates about 50 per cent of the travellers on Asia’s budget airlines are first-time flyers, before the advent of AirAsia, he estimated that only six per cent of Malaysians had ever travelled by air. Fernandes biggest achievement was to open up countries within the region to new budget carriers, as a result of Fernandes lobbying in mid-2003, Dr Mahathir brought up the idea with leaders from neighbouring countries. Those nations subsequently granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers, in Thailand and Indonesia, AirAsia holds a minority stake in the respective local companies. PT Awair, re-launched as a low fare airline on 8 December 2004 and subsequently renamed Indonesia AirAsia, in 2007, Fernandes started a hotel chain, Tune Hotels, based on the no frills concept
Tony Fernandes
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Fernandes at an Air Asia event
Tony Fernandes
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Tony Fernandes' seat at
Loftus Road
Tony Fernandes
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Tony Fernandes watching QPR v Newcastle alongside Les Ferdinand at Loftus Road May 2015
4.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
Sweden
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A
Vendel-era helmet, at the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.
Sweden
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Flag
Sweden
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A
romantic nationalist interpretation of
Valdemar IV taking control over
Gotland. The final battle outside the walls of Visby in 1361 ended with a massacre of 1,800 defenders of the city.
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Stockholm in mid-17th century
5.
Marcus Ericsson
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Marcus Ericsson is a Swedish race car driver currently racing for Sauber in Formula One, where he is contracted to the end of the 2017 season. After a successful début in car racing in 2007 which saw him take the British Formula BMW title with Fortec Motorsport, he moved up into the British teams British Formula Three Championship squad. After finishing as one of the top rookies in the category, in 2010, he moved up to the GP2 Series where he secured one victory during his maiden campaign for Super Nova Racing. Between 2011 and 2012, Ericsson drove for iSport, Ericsson completed the 2013 GP2 season with DAMS, and debuted in Formula One in 2014 with Caterham F1. Born in Kumla, Örebro County, Ericssons first taste of motorsport came when he was nine years old racing in karts, I got a call from Fredrik Ekblom, whom I ran in British Formula 3000 and Indy Lights. He now runs a circuit and he told me about a nine-year old kid whod walked in off the street and nearly broke the lap record recalled Richard Dutton. Ekblom managed to convince Ericssons father, Tomas, to buy his son a kart and my family didnt have the money for me to race formula cars so we never thought about it Ericsson recalled. In 2006 Ericssons career got backing from former Champ Car driver and 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Bräck. I spotted Marcus at a race in Gothenburg Bräck said, He didnt win the race because his engine blew up two laps to go but he was clearly the best out there. He didnt get caught in any battles when passing – hed just wait for the opportunity, then he pounced. He has such patience but when he does go for it, it measures so perfectly and he reminded me of watching Alain Prost Bräck added. Bräck convinced Richard Dutton, who ran Bräck in the British Formula Three Championship in 1989, to race Ericsson for his Fortec Motorsport teams 2007 Formula BMW UK title challenge. Ericsson said of his chances during the season, I was thinking that I should be around top eight to start with, trying for podiums and maybe wins by the end of the year. Ericssons first win came at the first meeting of the series at Brands Hatch where he took place in the first race. Following his win, Ericsson was described by Autosport as the best young talent Bräck had ever seen, Ericsson was in the title race for the whole season, challenging Czech Josef Král and Brit Henry Arundel. Following his win of the Formula BMW title, Ericsson began aiming for a seat in Formula Three, tests followed with British Formula 3 team Räikkönen Robertson Racing as part of his prize for winning the title that year. Afterwards Ericsson had a test with frontrunning Formula 3 Euro Series team ASM, despite an offer to join ASM, Ericsson opted to stay in England and join Fortecs British Formula 3 team. Ericsson received with two positions and a handful of podium finishes, but no victories, which gave him fifth overall in the championship
Marcus Ericsson
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Ericsson in 2014.
Marcus Ericsson
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Ericsson won his second
Formula BMW race at
Brands Hatch by six seconds.
Marcus Ericsson
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Ericsson driving for
Fortec Motorsport at the
Croft round of the
2008 British Formula 3 season.
Marcus Ericsson
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Ericsson driving for
TOM'S at the
2009 Macau Grand Prix, where he finished fourth.
6.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
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The Netherlands in 5500 BC
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Flag
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The Netherlands in 500 BC
Netherlands
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An oak figurine found in
Willemstad, North Brabant (4500 BC).
7.
Giedo van der Garde
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Giedo van der Garde is a Dutch racing driver. He drove for the Caterham F1 team in 2013 and joined Sauber as a driver in 2014. The matter ended by mutual consent with a cash settlement paid by Sauber, Van der Garde has a successful karting career, winning the Dutch championship in 1998. In Super A he was best rookie in 2001 and world champion in 2002, the following year he joined the Formula Renault 2000 Championship and finished sixth, driving for Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing. On the strength of his performance he became part of the Renault F1 Driver Development programme and he joined the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2004 with Signature-Plus but after finishing the year ninth he was dropped by Renault Driver Development. A move to Team Rosberg for 2005 yielded another ninth in the series, for 2006 he joined the ASM team, which had dominated the season in 2005 with Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Sutil. The team claimed the top two places in the once more in 2006 – but it was van der Gardes team mates Paul di Resta. The Dutchman ended the sixth with a single victory. Van der Garde had podium positions in mind for the season and he finished the season 6th, 3rd in the Rookie of the year standings. He received several offers for tests in GP2, from teams like DAMS, during his first tests, he impressed. He eventually signed with P1 Motorsport to compete in the 2008 season, in the first race of the 2008 FR3.5 season in Monza, van der Garde managed to qualify on pole for the feature race. Due to regulations, he started 8th in the sprint race because of the grid order in the sprint race. He came through the field to clinch victory in the sprint race, in the second race at Spa, he narrowly missed out on pole by 0.033 seconds after previously topping the tables at all practice sessions. In the sprint race, Julien Jousse collided into him forcing van der Garde into retiring from the race, having qualified second for the feature race, he lost a position at the start. He immediately overtook Mikhail Aleshin on the first lap to regain his position, after this strong start to the season, van der Garde was never headed in the championship and duly won it with two races remaining. Van der Garde signed to drive for the iSport International team in the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season, at the Hungaroring, he took his first victory, in the sprint race. He added two wins before the end of the season en route to seventh in the championship standings. He had not been due to compete in the 2009–10 GP2 Asia season and he drove for the same team in the 2010 GP2 Series season, equalling his seventh place in the drivers championship, whilst team-mate Sergio Pérez was runner-up
Giedo van der Garde
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Van der Garde at the
2013 Monaco Grand Prix.
Giedo van der Garde
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Van der Garde driving for
Victory Engineering at the
Donington Park round of the
2007 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.
Giedo van der Garde
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Van der Garde driving for
P1 Motorsport at the
Silverstone round of the
2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.
Giedo van der Garde
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Van der Garde driving for
iSport International at the
Nürburgring round of the
2009 GP2 Series season.
8.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Japan
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The
Golden Hall and
five-storey pagoda of
Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world,
National Treasures, and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Japan
Japan
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Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the
Mongol invasions of Japan. The
Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.
Japan
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Samurai could
kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population.
Edo period, 1798
9.
Kamui Kobayashi
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Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese professional racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Racing. He also previously competed in the GP2 Series, the GP2 Asia Series, and Formula One from 2009 to 2012, Kobayashi was born in Amagasaki, near Kobe. His father owns a sushi restaurant and he began his career in motorsport in 1996 when he was nine years old, finishing third in his first season of karting in the SL Takarazuka Tournament Cadet Class. During the following seven years, Kobayashi took four karting titles, in 2004, he signed for Toyotas Driver Academy and soon began his career in open wheel racing. His next step was Formula Renault, entering the Asian, German, Italian and Dutch championships, Kobayashi continued in the Formula Renault class, entering the Italian and European championships and with six wins in both championships, he won both titles. In 2006, Kobayashi entered the Formula 3 Euro Series with ASM Formule 3 alongside Paul di Resta, Giedo van der Garde and he took three podium positions in his debut season, coming eighth in the Drivers Championship and first in the Rookies Championship. Kobayashi also entered the Macau Grand Prix and the Masters of Formula 3, Kobayashi started in 10th place and finished the race a place lower in 11th, while at the Macau Grand Prix, he started the race in pole position but finished in 19th place. At the beginning of 2007, Kobayashi, with Kohei Hirate, was named as one of the Toyota Formula One teams test drivers and he finished fourth in the Drivers Championship. Following a successful GP2 Asia Series campaign in early 2008, Kobayashi won his first GP2 Series race in only the race of the season. After a strong start from pole in the sprint race at the Circuit de Catalunya and this was after a controversial piece of defensive driving from his former Euro Series team-mate Romain Grosjean after a safety car period. At the end of the pit straight, Kobayashi attempted a pass on Grosjean, however, the Frenchman moved more than once to defend his position, forcing Kobayashi into evasive action. This resulted in a drive through penalty for the Frenchman, handing the win to Kobayashi, however, he only finished in the points on one further occasion, restricting him to sixteenth in the championship. Another successful GP2 Asia campaign followed over the months of 2008 and 2009. Kobayashi could not repeat his form in the series, finishing sixteenth again. On November 16,2007 it was confirmed that Kobayashi would replace the departing Franck Montagny as the Toyota F1 teams third driver and he was the teams test and reserve driver during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. At the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix, Kobayashi competed in the first two practice sessions in place of Timo Glock, who was ill. Glock recovered in time to part in the third free practice session and qualifying. Kobayashi made his Formula One debut at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix and he qualified 11th in a chaotic session that lasted for over two and half hours and was red-flagged twice due to accidents caused by torrential rain
Kamui Kobayashi
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Kobayashi at the
2010 Malaysian Grand Prix
Kamui Kobayashi
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Kobayashi driving for
DAMS at the
Nürburgring round of the
2009 GP2 Series season
Kamui Kobayashi
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Kobayashi deputising for
Timo Glock during practice for the
2009 Japanese Grand Prix
Kamui Kobayashi
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Kobayashi driving for
Sauber at the
2010 Malaysian Grand Prix
10.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
Finland
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Hakkapeliitta featured on a 1940 Finnish stamp
Finland
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Flag
Finland
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Now lying within Helsinki,
Suomenlinna is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of an inhabited 18th century sea fortress built on six islands. It is one of Finland's most popular tourist attractions.
Finland
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Pioneers in Karelia (1900) by
Eero Järnefelt
11.
Heikki Kovalainen
–
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish racing driver. He raced in Formula 1 between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus and Lotus F1 teams. He was supported by the Renault Driver Development programme early in his career, during which he won the World Series by Nissan championship. Renault signed him on as a full-time Formula One test driver for 2006 and he gained his first podium by finishing second in the Japanese Grand Prix that year. He moved to McLaren for the 2008 season, where he partnered Lewis Hamilton and his second season saw him achieve his first pole position at Silverstone and his first victory at Hungaroring, becoming the 100th driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. He remained with the team for the 2009 season, in 2010, he moved to the newly created Team Lotus where he also remained for 2011 and 2012, with the team renamed Caterham F1 for 2012. 2012 was his last full season in Formula One, Kovalainen competed in the last two races of the 2013 season for Lotus F1 as a short-notice stand-in for regular driver Kimi Räikkönen. In 2015, Kovalainen moved to Japan to compete in Super GT in the GT500 class, born in Suomussalmi, Finland, Kovalainens career began in kart racing, much like that of many other Formula One drivers. He competed in karting from 1991 to 2000, during which time he finished runner-up in the Finnish Formula A championship in 1999 and 2000. Kovalainen began his car racing career in the British Formula Renault Championship, Kovalainens apprenticeship in the junior categories of motor sport was more conventional, but he used Renault power at every step along the way. He finished fourth in the championship with two wins, two positions, five podiums and three fastest laps, earning the Rookie of the Year award. He also took part in the Formula Three Macau Grand Prix, Kovalainen attracted the support of the Renault Driver Development programme and in 2002 moved up to the British Formula 3 Championship with Fortec Motorsport who used Renault engines. He became one of the most competitive drivers on the grid by the half of the season. With three pole positions and three fastest laps, Kovalainen finished third overall in the championship behind Robbie Kerr and James Courtney and he also demonstrated strong form in the international non-championship rounds, with second place in Macau and fourth place at the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort. Kovalainen moved into the Renault-owned World Series by Nissan in 2003 –, Montagny had already spent two seasons in the World Series and had won the championship in 2001. Montagny won the 2003 title with nine wins to Kovalainens one, Kovalainen continued in the series in 2004, but moved to Pons Racing, where he won the championship ahead of Tiago Monteiro, with 192 points and six wins. With Kimi Räikkönen finishing seventh in Formula One and Marcus Grönholm fifth in the World Rally Championship, in 2005, Kovalainen entered the GP2 Series, the new feeder series for F1 and the successor to Formula 3000. Driving for the Arden International team, Kovalainen began the season with results by winning the first round of the championship in Imola
Heikki Kovalainen
–
Kovalainen at the
2012 British Grand Prix
Heikki Kovalainen
–
Kovalainen at the 2002
Macau Grand Prix
Heikki Kovalainen
–
Kovalainen testing for
Renault F1 in 2006, at
Valencia
Heikki Kovalainen
–
Kovalainen at the
2007 Australian Grand Prix, leading
Nico Rosberg
12.
Russia
–
Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
Russia
–
Kievan Rus' in the 11th century
Russia
–
Flag
Russia
–
The
Baptism of Kievans, by
Klavdy Lebedev
Russia
–
Sergius of Radonezh blessing
Dmitry Donskoy in
Trinity Sergius Lavra, before the
Battle of Kulikovo, depicted in a painting by
Ernst Lissner
13.
Vitaly Petrov
–
Vitaly Aleksandrovich Petrov is a Russian racing driver who drove in Formula One for Caterham in 2012 and Renault in 2010 and 2011. Born in Vyborg, he is known as the Vyborg Rocket in Russia and he was the first Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship. Unlike most top drivers, Petrov did not begin his career in karting and he began competing in motorsport in 1998, when he took part in rally sprints and ice races. Afterwards he began competing in the Russian Lada Cup in 2001 and he remained in the series for 2002 dominating the championship, winning each round to amass the maximum points total of 500. In 2003, Petrov began racing in the Formula Renault championships and his main campaign was in the Italian Formula Renault Championship for Euronova Racing, finishing 19th overall. He also made his debut in Euro Formula 3000 at Cagliari, in 2004, Petrov turned his attention to the inaugural season of the Russian Lada Revolution championship. He started every race from pole position, but finished as runner-up and he also made selected appearances in Formula Renault and Euro F3000. Petrov remained in Russia for 2005, winning the Lada Revolution Championship with ten wins, in 2006, Petrov raced in Euroseries 3000 with Euronova Racing. He finished third in the standings, scoring nine podiums in eighteen races including four wins at Hungaroring, Mugello Circuit, also he participated in the Brno round of the 2006 F3000 International Masters season, where he took a pole position. During the 2006 season Petrov made his debut in the GP2 Series for David Price Racing and he replaced French driver Olivier Pla, who lost his sponsorship from Direxiv in the team from the German round onwards. In 2007 he moved to Campos Grand Prix, where he joined Giorgio Pantano and he scored five point-scoring positions from 21 races and took his first victory at Valencia on his way to finishing 13th in the standings. He competed in several Le Mans Series races throughout the year, the car completed 198 laps before retiring from the race, being classified in 38th. Petrov finished in position with one win at Sepang International Circuit in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series season for Campos, behind champion Romain Grosjean. In the main series Petrov remained with the Campos team and he finished seventh in final standings, taking a win at the Valencia Street Circuit. He finished fifth, with a win in the Sepang sprint race, Petrov was linked to joining Sauber, Renault F1 and Campos for the 2010 season. He was announced as a Renault driver on 31 January and thus he has become the first Russian driver in the Formula One World Championship and he was signed for a one-year deal, with an option for a further two. He was very close to signing for Campos but he felt Renault was the best option for him and he also mentioned that he had no major sponsors from Russia backing him just his dad and some of his friends. Petrov stated that his goal is to start scoring points by mid-season and his teammate for his debut season was Robert Kubica, who like Petrov – who stands at 185 cm tall – is one of the tallest drivers on the grid
Vitaly Petrov
–
Petrov at the 2011
Goodwood Festival of Speed
Vitaly Petrov
–
Petrov took his first win of the
2009 GP2 Series season at the
Turkish round.
Vitaly Petrov
–
When Petrov drove for
Renault at the
2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, it was the first time a
Russian had driven in the
Formula One World Championship.
Vitaly Petrov
–
Petrov driving for
Renault at the
2010 Canadian Grand Prix.
14.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
15.
Charles Pic
–
Charles Pic is a professional racing driver, who drove in Formula One for two full seasons in 2012 and 2013, racing for Marussia F1 Team in the first season and then for Caterham in the second season. Born in Montélimar, France, Pic entered karting at an age of 13 years. With the help of his godfather Éric Bernard, Pic achieved strong results in Italian, in 2006, Pic made his Formula Renault debut, racing for La Filière. He finished the season as third and also became the rookie champion, for 2008 Pic moved to Tech 1 Racing to contest the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He was partnered by Julien Jousse and finished sixth in the thanks to two wins at Circuit de Monaco – having dominated the entire weekend with pole position and fastest lap –. He remained with Tech 1 for the season and won twice more, at Silverstone and the Nürburgring. In 2009 he was also a member of the Renault Driver Development, at the end of 2009 Pic switched to the 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series season with Arden International, and remained with the team into the 2010 GP2 Series season. Pic won on debut with the British outfit during the Asia Series season-opener at Bahrain and he eventually finished 10th in the drivers standings. For 2011 Pic moved to the Barwa Addax squad alongside future Formula 1 team-mate Giedo van der Garde. Despite failing to score any points in the preceding Asia Series campaign, another victory, this time on the streets of Monaco, helped move him up to third place in the drivers championship. In November 2011 Pic made his debut at the wheel of a Formula One car, driving for Marussia Virgin Racing at the young driver test held at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. He was due to drive for a day and-a-half of the test, during the test, several news sources reported that Pic had agreed a deal to race with the team in the 2012 season. After the conclusion of the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix it was confirmed that Pic would indeed partner Timo Glock at the renamed Marussia F1 in 2012 and it was also confirmed that Pic would be mentored by ex-F1 driver and fellow countryman Olivier Panis. It was reported at the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix that a feud was brewing between Pic and his team-mate after Pic blocked Glock during qualifying and he made his debut in the Australian Grand Prix finishing 15th. He however, retired in three races in Bahrain Grand Prix, Spanish Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix. In the next race, the Canadian Grand Prix, Pic finished 20th, in the British Grand Prix, Pic was given a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox. In the season Pic was overtaken 70 times, which is a F1 record, modenas Brabham, the previous record holder, was overtaken no fewer than 68 times in 1989. Pic made his Caterham debut at the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, finishing in 16th place, Pic would equal his season-best result at the Korean Grand Prix, taking the chequered flag in 14th spot and within striking distance of Williams drivers Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas
Charles Pic
–
Pic at the 2013
Race of Stars
Charles Pic
–
Pic competing at the
Silverstone round of the
2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.
Charles Pic
–
Pic at the
2012 US Grand Prix
Charles Pic
–
Pic driving for
Marussia at the
2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.
16.
Formula One
–
Formula One is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile. The FIA Formula One World Championship has been the form of racing since the inaugural season in 1950. The formula, designated in the name, refers to a set of rules, the F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held worldwide on purpose-built F1 circuits and public roads. The results of each race are evaluated using a system to determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers, one for constructors. The racing drivers are required to be holders of valid Super Licences, the races are required to be held on tracks graded 1, the highest grade a track can receive by the FIA. Most events are held in locations on purpose-built tracks, but there are several events in city centres throughout the world. Formula One cars are the fastest road racing cars in the world. Formula One cars race at speeds of up to approximately 375 km/h with engines currently limited in performance to a maximum of 15,000 RPM, the cars are capable of lateral acceleration in excess of five g in corners. The performance of the cars is very dependent on electronics – although traction control and other driving aids have been banned since 2008 – and on aerodynamics, suspension, the formula has radically evolved and changed through the history of the sport. F1 had a global television audience of 425 million people during the course of the 2014 season. Grand Prix racing began in 1906 and became the most popular internationally in the second half of the twentieth century. The Formula One Group is the holder of the commercial rights. Its high profile and popularity have created a major merchandising environment, since 2000 the sports spiraling expenditures and the distribution of prize money favoring established top teams have forced complaints from smaller teams and led several teams to bankruptcy. On 23 January 2017 it was confirmed that Liberty Media had completed its $8 billion acquisition of Delta Topco, the Formula One series originated with the European Grand Prix Motor Racing of the 1920s and 1930s. The formula is a set of rules that all cars must meet. Formula One was a new formula agreed upon after World War II during 1946, the first world championship race was held at Silverstone, United Kingdom in 1950. A championship for constructors followed in 1958, national championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Non-championship Formula One events were held for years, but due to the increasing cost of competition
Formula One
–
Juan Manuel Fangio 's
1951 title-winning
Alfa Romeo 159
Formula One
–
Formula One
Formula One
–
Stirling Moss 's
Lotus 18 at the
Nürburgring during
1961
Formula One
–
Nigel Mansell 's
Williams FW10 from
1985
17.
2012 Australian Grand Prix
–
The 2012 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 March 2012 as the opening round of the 2012 Formula One season. The 58-lap race was won by McLaren driver Jenson Button who took his victory at the Albert Park Circuit. Reigning double World Champion Sebastian Vettel, driving for Red Bull Racing, finished in place, while polesitter. Australian Mark Webber was fourth, his best result in his home Grand Prix and it was also the first Grand Prix to feature six current and former Formula One World Champions taking part in the race. It was the first Australian Grand Prix to feature two Australians on the grid, after using one Drag Reduction System zone in 2011, the circuit featured two zones for the 2012 race. Other modifications to the circuit included the introduction of thicker, spongier astroturf on the exit of several corners to discourage drivers from driving beyond the limits of the circuit. Mercedes were the subject of an investigation by the scrutineers over the use of a rear wing concept on the F1 W03. Charlie Whiting, the FIAs technical delegate, examined the car on the Thursday before the race, HRT experienced problems with the #22 chassis to be driven by Pedro de la Rosa on Thursday. The team requested a delay to the process, with the FIA agreeing and allowing HRT until 11am local time to work on the car before presenting it to race stewards. The team ultimately passed scrutineering, allowing de la Rosa to take part in practice and the race, several drivers made their Formula One debut along with others taking part in their first Australian Grand Prix as full-time drivers. The French duo of Charles Pic and Jean-Éric Vergne made their Formula One debut driving for Marussia, Ricciardo had never raced at his home Grand Prix. The first hour of the first practice session saw very little running, as the circuit was considered too wet for slick tyres, consequently, most drivers only completed installation laps in the first hour, before emerging later in the session once a dry line began to appear. With de la Rosas car not yet ready to take to the circuit, Jenson Button finished the session fastest, with a late lap from Lewis Hamilton enough for second, and Schumacher half a second slower in third. Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel ultimately finished the session eleventh overall, the Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers were the first out, gathering data on the performance on wet tyres. A dry line began to appear after forty minutes, and it was Sergio Pérez who set the first representative time of the day. The final fifteen minutes of the session were dominated by running on the soft tyres. Several drivers, including Heikki Kovalainen, Mark Webber and Pastor Maldonado went off the circuit, but the session passed without interruption. Kamui Kobayashi spun at the corner and narrowly avoided the wall, whilst Narain Karthikeyan once again came to a halt on the circuit
2012 Australian Grand Prix
–
Mark Webber came into his home Grand Prix hoping to finish higher than his personal best of fifth place.
2012 Australian Grand Prix
–
2012 Australian Grand Prix
2012 Australian Grand Prix
–
Marussia had not run either of their cars prior to the season;
Charles Pic (pictured) made his first Formula One start in Australia.
2012 Australian Grand Prix
–
Michael Schumacher spun off at Turn 9 in the final practice session.
18.
Renault in Formula One
–
Renault are currently involved in Formula One as a constructor, under the name of Renault Sport Formula One Team. They have been associated with Formula One as both constructor and engine supplier for various periods since 1977, in 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One in its first car, the Renault RS01. In 1983, Renault began supplying engines to other teams, although the Renault team won races and competed for world titles, it withdrew at the end of 1985. Renault continued supplying engines to other teams until 1986, then again from 1989 to 1997, Renault returned to Formula One in 2000 when it acquired the Enstone-based Benetton Formula team. In 2002 Renault re-branded the team as Renault F1 Team and started to use Renault as their constructor name, for the 2011 Formula One season the team competed under the name Lotus Renault GP but retained the Renault constructor name. In 2012, the changed their constructor name to Lotus and operated as Lotus F1 Team until the end of 2015. Renault has also supplied engines to teams, including Red Bull Racing, Benetton Formula. In addition to its two own F1 World Constructors Championships and two Drivers Championships, as a supplier, Renault has contributed to nine other World Drivers Championships. It has collected over 160 wins as engine supplier, ranking third in Formula One history, Renaults first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport subsidiary. Renault entered the last five races of 1977 with Jean-Pierre Jabouille in its only car, the Renault RS01 was well known for its Renault-Gordini V61.5 L turbocharged engine, the first regularly used turbo engine in Formula One history. The first race the team, under the name Equipe Renault Elf, entered was the 1977 French Grand Prix, the round of the season. The teams début was delayed until the round, the British Grand Prix. The cars first qualifying session was not a success, and Jabouille qualified 21st out of the 30 runners and 26 starters,1.62 seconds behind pole sitter James Hunt in the McLaren. Jabouille ran well in the race, running as high as 16th before the turbo failed on lap 17. The team missed the German and Austrian Grands Prix as the car was being improved after its British disappointment and they returned for the Dutch Grand Prix, and the qualifying performance was much improved as Jabouille qualified tenth. He had a start, but ran as high as sixth before the suspension failed on lap 40. The teams poor qualifying form returned in Italy, as Jabouille qualified 20th and he ran outside the top 10 until his engine failed on lap 24, continuing their awful run of reliability. After this, Renault did not travel to the finale in Japan
Renault in Formula One
–
Renault 1.5 litre turbo engine
Renault in Formula One
–
In 1979, the Renault RS10 became the first
turbocharged car to win a Grand Prix.
Renault in Formula One
–
Derek Warwick qualified third for Renault at the
1984 Dallas Grand Prix, but spun off after 10 laps.
Renault in Formula One
–
Members of the Renault F1 pit crew in 2002.
19.
Pole position
–
The game was designed by Tōru Iwatani, who had also designed the Gee Bee games and Pac-Man. It was the most popular arcade game of 1983. Pole Position was released in two configurations, an upright cabinet, and an environmental/cockpit cabinet. By 1983, it had become the highest-grossing arcade game that year in North America and it was the most successful racing game of the classic era, spawning ports, sequels, and a Saturday morning cartoon, although the cartoon had nothing in common with the game. The game established the conventions of the game genre and its success inspired numerous imitators. Pole Position is regarded as one of the most influential games of all time. In this game, the controls a Formula One race car. After qualifying, the player races against seven other CPU-controlled cars in a championship race, the player must also avoid going off the road so that he or she will not crash into the billboards. Pole Position was the first racing game to feature a track based on a real racing circuit. It was also the first game to feature a qualifying lap, once the player has qualified, they must complete the race in the time allowed, avoiding collisions with CPU-controlled opponents and billboards along the sides of the track. The games publisher Atari publicized the game for its unbelievable driving realism in providing a Formula 1 experience behind a racing wheel, for manufacture and distribution in the United States, Namco approached Bally Midway with a choice of two games in 1982. Bally Midway chose Mappy while Atari was left to publish Pole Position, the game ran on the Namco Pole Position hardware, which was the first to use 16-bit microprocessors, with two Zilog Z8002 processors. It was also capable of displaying up to 3840 colors, the game was an early example of product placement within a video game, with billboards around the track advertising actual companies. Other billboards appeared in both versions, the game was also featured in a TV commercial shown only on MTV. It was part of a series of TV spots that Atari created in the 1980s exclusively for MTV and they also praised the sound effects and solid, realistic graphics, stating it has very rich color images and dimensional depth to the graphics. They also praised the graphics and breathtaking scenery as well as the two-heat format for the race itself. Computer and Video Games also reviewed the version in 1983. They compared it favorably with Turbo, stating that, while Turbo featured better landscapes, it cant match the speed, thrills and skill behind this new race game
Pole position
–
Arcade flyer
20.
2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
–
The 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race that was held at the Yas Marina Circuit on 23 November 2014. The race was the nineteenth and final round of the 2014 season, the 916th World Championship race, double points were awarded for the first time at this race. This change to the system was not well received in the months leading up to the race. The series would revert to the 25–18–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1 system in use since 2010 for all races, the race determined the World Drivers Championship between Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, with the latter winning both the race and the title. For the first time in the history of Formula One, teams, the FIA implemented this in order to maximise focus on the championship until the end of the season. Originally Bernie Ecclestone wanted double points for the last three races of the season, but the teams decided to have double points for only the last race of the season. The rule change was received by teams and drivers. As a result of the double points offered for the race, under the regular points structure he would have only needed to finish sixth to guarantee the title. Marussia did not contest the Grand Prix as a bid to save the team from collapsing failed in the week before the Brazilian Grand Prix and they had made a last-minute attempt to race in Abu Dhabi, with rumours that they were being sought after by a potential investor. However, those negotiations fell through, ending their chances of making a return to the grid, although Caterham retained Kamui Kobayashi for the race, Marcus Ericsson had terminated his contract with Caterham a week and a half before the race, forcing Caterham to hire another driver. 24 Hours of Le Mans winner André Lotterer, who drove for Caterham in the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix, was originally linked towards the role. Will Stevens, a former Marussia test driver, took the drive instead, for the first time since Pirelli became the sole tyre provider, they supplied the yellow-banded soft tyre as the prime compound, while the red-banded supersoft was the option selection for the event. The previous three seasons saw the medium and soft selections used, the version tested in Abu Dhabi, however, was not preferred to that tested at the preceding United States and Brazilian Grands Prix. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton topped the first and second practice sessions, while teammate and championship contender Nico Rosberg topped the third, Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in Q1. He set the fastest time again in Q2, posting a time 0.539 seconds faster than championship rival Nico Rosberg after his teammate had scruffy laps. The situation was reversed in Q3, with Hamilton having two scruffy laps, and Rosberg took pole position with a time of 1,40.480, with their times disallowed, both drivers were relegated to the back of the grid. The team was forced to change their front wings so as to make their cars legal for the race – a parc fermé violation – and were further penalised. Romain Grosjean received a series of penalties for exceeding his quota of power unit components
2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
–
2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
21.
2012 Formula One season
–
The 2012 Formula One season was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The championship was contested over twenty rounds, which started in Australia on 18 March, the 2012 season saw the return of the United States Grand Prix, which was held at the Circuit of the Americas, a purpose-built circuit in Austin, Texas. After being cancelled in 2011 due to protests, the Bahrain Grand Prix also returned to the calendar. The early season was tumultuous, with seven different drivers winning the first seven races of the championship, a record for the series. It was not until the European Grand Prix in June that a driver, Ferraris Fernando Alonso, won his race of the year. Alonso maintained his hold on the lead for the next seven races, taking his third win in Germany and finishing on the podium in the United Kingdom, Italy. Vettel entered the race of the season with a thirteen-point lead over Alonso. In the World Constructors Championship, Red Bull Racing secured their third consecutive title when Sebastian Vettel finished second at the United States Grand Prix, in addition to seeing seven drivers win the first seven races, the 2012 season broke several records. The calendar for the season included twenty races, breaking the record of nineteen. The following twelve teams and twenty-five race drivers competed in the 2012 Formula One World Championship, the FIA published a provisional entry list on 30 November 2011, and the grid was finalised on 17 February. Renault changed its name to Lotus after Lotus Cars expanded its title sponsorship program to include teams in Formula One and support series GP2. Virgin became Marussia, following increased ownership of the team by Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia Motors. As a result of the changes, Team Lotus and Lotus Renault GP declared that their ongoing dispute over the use of the Lotus name was over after they had reached an amicable conclusion. Although the exact terms of the settlement were confidential, the joint statement detailed the transfer of the rights to the Lotus. Williams announced that they would be using Renault engines for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Renault had previously supplied engines to Williams from 1989 to 1997, when the team won four World Drivers Championships and five World Constructors Championships. Likewise, Marussia underwent a restructuring, splitting with Wirth Research mid-season after a review by Marussia Motors. The team also announced a partnership with McLaren that granted them access to McLarens testing facilities as well as the purchase of Wirth Research facilities. In the week before the 2011 Indian Grand Prix, Force India announced that the Sahara Group had purchased a 42. 5% stake in the team, valued at US$100 million
2012 Formula One season
–
Sebastian Vettel became a three-time World Champion with
Red Bull Racing.
2012 Formula One season
–
Fernando Alonso finished second in the World Drivers' Championship, three points behind Vettel.
2012 Formula One season
–
Kimi Räikkönen finished the season in third place, driving for
Lotus F1.
2012 Formula One season
–
The
Red Bull RB8 is the car entered by defending
World Constructors' Champion Red Bull, and which won the World Constructors' Championship in 2012.
22.
2014 Formula One season
–
The 2014 Formula One season was the 68th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The season started in Australia on 16 March and concluded in Abu Dhabi on 23 November, in the nineteen Grands Prix of the season, a total of eleven teams and twenty-four drivers competed for the World Drivers and World Constructors championships. It was the first Formula One season since 1994 to see an accident with ultimately fatal consequences as Jules Bianchi succumbed to the injuries he sustained during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix and he died on 17 July 2015 after spending nine months in a coma following the accident. The Indian Grand Prix was put on hiatus, whilst the Korean Grand Prix was removed from the schedule entirely, Sebastian Vettel started the season as defending World Drivers Champion having secured his fourth consecutive Drivers title the previous season at the 2013 Indian Grand Prix. Rosberg also won the inaugural FIA Pole Trophy having amassed a total of 11 pole positions over the course of the season, Mercedes secured their first World Constructors Championship in Russia, and finished the season with 701 points,296 points ahead of Red Bull Racing. The season also saw the first three wins of Daniel Ricciardo, who finished third in the championship for Red Bull Racing, the following teams and drivers took part in the 2014 season. Cosworth elected not to build an engine to fit the 2014 generation of regulations and this decision prompted Marussia, the only team using Cosworth engines during the 2013 season, to seek out a new engine supplier. They joined Ferraris customer programme with Ferrari providing the team with both engine and powertrain for 2014 and beyond, Scuderia Toro Rosso secured an agreement with Renault for engines in 2014, ending their seven-year arrangement with Ferrari. Williams parted ways with Renault after two seasons, switching to Mercedes power in what the team described as a long-term deal, the deal came after Renault publicised their intentions to reduce their engine supply to three teams in 2014, before the French manufacturer ultimately settled on supplying four. However, the programme was eventually suspended in July 2012 due to problems regarding funding. Felipe Massa left Ferrari at the end of the 2013 season after eight years racing for the team and he moved to Williams, alongside Valtteri Bottas. Pastor Maldonado, having been replaced at Williams by Massa, moved to Lotus F1, Räikkönen returned to Ferrari, the team he raced for from 2007 to 2009. The partnership of Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso marked the first time since 1954 that Ferrari contested a season with two World Drivers Champions in the team, mark Webber retired from Formula One after twelve seasons, the last seven with Red Bull Racing. He moved to the FIA World Endurance Championship, Daniel Ricciardo left Scuderia Toro Rosso to fill his seat, becoming the second driver to graduate from the teams young driver programme to their premier racing team. Toro Rosso chose 2013 GP3 Series champion Daniil Kvyat as Ricciardos replacement, Sergio Pérez left McLaren after a single season with the team. He was replaced by 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 champion, Pérez moved to Force India, where he was joined by Nico Hülkenberg, who returned to the team after one year with Sauber. As a result of the Hülkenberg and Pérez deals, Paul di Resta, Sutil went on to secure Hülkenbergs vacant seat at Sauber, while di Resta left Formula One entirely and returned to the DTM series, the series he competed in prior to joining Formula One. Kamui Kobayashi returned to Formula One with Caterham, after spending the 2013 season competing in the World Endurance Championship and he was partnered with GP2 Series regular Marcus Ericsson, who became the first Swedish driver in Formula One since Stefan Johansson retired from the sport in 1991
2014 Formula One season
–
Lewis Hamilton, the 2014
World Drivers' Champion
2014 Formula One season
–
Nico Rosberg finished second in the Drivers' Championship, 67 points behind Hamilton. He also won the inaugural Pole Trophy.
2014 Formula One season
–
Daniel Ricciardo finished third in his first season with
Red Bull.
2014 Formula One season
–
Caterham (top) and
Marussia (bottom)—both seen here at the
Singapore Grand Prix —went into
administration late in the season.
23.
Caterham Cars
–
Caterham Cars is a British manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars established in Caterham, Surrey, with their headquarters in Crawley, Sussex. Their current model, the Caterham 7, originally launched in 1973, is an evolution of the Series 3 Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman. In the 1990s the company made the Caterham 21, a soft top alternative to the MGF. A track-only car, the SP/300. R, a joint project with Lola was released for testing in 2010 and was scheduled for release in 2013. On 27 April 2011, Team Lotus owner Tony Fernandes announced that he had purchased Caterham, Colin Chapmans Lotus Cars launched the Series 1 Lotus Seven in 1957. The car was immediately embraced by enthusiasts as a low-cost, lightweight sports car, revised Series 2, Series 3 and Series 4 versions were subsequently launched in 1960,1968 and 1970 respectively. Caterham initially restarted manufacture of the Lotus Seven Series 4, however, in 1974, under the name of Seven Cars Limited, Caterham built 20 production cars with chassis numbers 1-20 and one prototype, with chassis number 0. The Lotus/Caterham 7 is widely regarded by car enthusiasts and the media as one of the sports cars of the 20th century. With 2007 marking the 50th year of production, the Seven still enjoys strong support. Since 2006 Caterham Cars has been run by a management team led by Ansar Ali. In June 2012 Ansar Ali announced he was to leave Caterham Cars, as with its Lotus Seven precursors, Caterhams are constructed of aluminium sheet attached to a tubular steel chassis. Nosecone and wings are either GRP or carbon fibre depending on specification, all Sevens are front engined with rear-wheel drive and two seats. Their extremely high performance is achieved through light weight rather than particularly powerful engines, Chapman and Lotus helped to pioneer the British kit car industry. The Lotus Seven was offered in kit form to allow buyers to avoid new car tax in the UK, subsequently Caterham continued offering cars in complete knock down kit form as the tradition of hand building your own Seven was well established amongst enthusiasts. Today, all Caterham Sevens are still offered in kit form in the UK except the CSR model, modern Caterham kits differ from the majority of kit cars as all parts are supplied ready to assemble, not requiring a donor car, fabrication or any special skills. As a result, the combinations, specifications, pricing. In the past in the United States Caterhams were sold as only, lacking some modern safety features required of manufacturers. Buyers could either choose to construct the cars themselves or pay their regional dealers or local builders to assemble them, typically the engine and transmission are sourced separately as a unit - often from Caterham - but all other components were provided in kit form
Caterham Cars
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Caterham 7 Roadsport near Caterham South showroom
Caterham Cars
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Caterham 21
Caterham Cars
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Classic Caterham
Caterham Cars
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Caterham 7 Superlight R300
24.
Caterham Group
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The Caterham Group was formally announced on 27 November 2011 at the Brazilian F1 Grand Prix. Graham Mcdonald is new Group CEO taking over Riad Asmat position, the team was sold in October 2014 to Status Grand Prix. Created in 2011, Caterham Technology and Innovation is part of the Caterham Group of companies and based at the Caterham Technology Centre in Hingham, Norfolk. Mike Gascoyne formerly involved in setting up the F1 Team became CEO of Caterham Technology in early 2012 as well as his role as CEO of Caterham Composites. The company’s chief executive Graham MacDonald is said to have taken the decision to shut down its engineering, in 2007, the Managing Directors Phil Hall and Duncan Bell founded the Hall & Bell GbR in Cologne after leaving Toyota Motorsport GmbH. Having worked with Mike Gascoyne in the past, the company worked on the Lotus Racing T127 beginning in 2009 resulting in the acceptance of Lotus Racing F1 into FIA F1 Championship 2010, the following year the company became a legal entity as Composite Designs EU GmbH. In November 2011 Caterham Group purchased the company and since then Composite Designs EU GmbH trades as Caterham Composites, from the central-European base in Cologne, Caterham Composites have put together a team with a cross-section of nationalities, experiences and interests. Projects so far have included the development and production of the T127, the company offers consultancy, part-projects, full projects, across all sectors and industries. Caterham Cars is part of the Caterham Group and a manufacturer of specialist lightweight Sports Cars currently based in Crawley, Sussex and their best known model, the Caterham 7, is a direct evolution of the Series 3 Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman and originally launched in 1973. In 1994 the Caterham 21 was launched to celebrate 21 years of Caterham, the most recent model is the SP/300. R produced in conjunction with Lola Cars and launched in 2011. In June 2012, Ansar Ali announced he was to leave Caterham Cars, in January 2013, Caterham Cars announced the launch of a one-make kart series for 2014 through its motorsport division. The Caterham F1 Team was the groups Formula One, based at Leafield, the team competed as Caterham for the first time in the 2012 Formula One season, following the renaming of the outfit that raced as Team Lotus in 2011. This followed the acquisition of British sportscar manufacturer Caterham Cars by team principal Fernandes, cyril Abiteboul joined as new CEO from Renault Sport F1, later extending his role to team principal. In July 2014, Fernandes sold the outfit to a group of Swiss, advised by Colin Kolles, under the terms of the sale the team continued to race as Caterham F1 and remained based at Leafield. Team principal Abiteboul returned to Renault, replaced by former Dutch F1 driver Christijan Albers, Caterham Group Caterham Cars Caterham Composites Caterham Bikes Caterham Cycling
Caterham Group
–
Caterham Group
25.
2014 United States Grand Prix
–
The 2014 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit of the Americas on November 2,2014. As both the Marussia and Caterham teams were under administration, they did not participate in the Grand Prix and this is the smallest field entered into a Grand Prix event since the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix. The race was won by Lewis Hamilton, Jean-Éric Vergne scored his last ever World Championship points at this race. Caterham and Marussia were each granted permission to miss the Grand Prix after both teams were afflicted with financial problems and placed into administration. With the grid limited to eighteen cars, the procedure was revised. Instead of the six slowest cars being eliminated after the first and second rounds, the third and final round of qualifying remained unchanged to determine the final top ten spots on the grid. Its aim is to drivers to reduce their speed by about 35% in an accident zone. Drivers have agreed it is a system that, however. Three practice sessions were held before the race, two 90-minute sessions on Friday and one lasting an hour on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton was fastest in all three practice sessions, with his teammate Nico Rosberg second fastest in all three sessions. Hamilton went fastest in Q1, setting his best time on the soft tyres, Rosberg, who had set his best time on the medium tyres, was second fastest. Rosberg set the fastest time in Q2, Hamilton was struggling with braking, locking up multiple times on each of his laps and ended the session second fastest. Rosberg was fastest again in Q3, securing his ninth pole of the season ahead of teammate Hamilton, following the initial pitstop phase, Lewis Hamilton overtook Nico Rosberg at turn 12 on lap 24. Rosberg briefly regained the lead on Hamiltons second stop, but again relinquished the top spot during his own stop, Hamilton would go on to win the race comfortably, with Rosberg four seconds adrift in the runner-up position. Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the podium in what he would describe as the best possible result he could achieve after starting the race from 5th, the Williams drivers of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas both ran a fair pace for the entire race, finishing 4th and 5th, respectively. Fernando Alonso continued to push the Ferrari to its limit, ultimately finishing in 6th place, however, he would then immediately switch back to medium tyres on the next lap after running over debris. Vettel would use a late race pitstop for a set of soft tyres to push his way through the field. Despite pitting four times, he would go on to finish in 7th place after a final lap pass of Kevin Magnussen, Jean-Éric Vergne made a furious push towards the end of the race, making contact with fellow Frenchman Romain Grosjean under heavy braking into turn 1. This promoted Pastor Maldonado to 9th, scoring his only points of the season in the Lotus, notes ^1 — Jenson Button qualified 7th but dropped five places on the starting grid due to a gearbox change to his McLaren
2014 United States Grand Prix
–
2014 United States Grand Prix
26.
2014 Brazilian Grand Prix
–
The 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, in São Paulo, Brazil on 9 November 2014. The race was the round of the 2014 season. As in the race, Marussia and Caterham missed the Grand Prix. Mercedess Nico Rosberg won the race from pole position, rosbergs tenth pole of the season secured him the inaugural FIA Pole Trophy. Before the event, the circuit was completely resurfaced, with a smoother surface. The pit exit was moved away from the circuit to allow for a run-off area on the outside of turn 2. Pirelli originally nominated the orange-banded Hard and white-banded Medium tyres, as it has for the event since 2012, however, following the Russian Grand Prix one month prior, many drivers criticized the low level of grip and wear shown on the new tarmac of the Sochi Autodrom. Since Autódromo José Carlos Pace was completely repaved following the 2013 race, along with unanimous agreement from all eleven teams, Pirelli ultimately decided to bring the Medium and yellow-banded Soft tyres to the event. Sergio Pérez received a grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident with Adrian Sutil on the opening lap of the United States Grand Prix. Daniil Kvyat received a grid penalty to complete the ten-place penalty he received for exceeding the six-component quota of power unit parts in the previous race. During the race Felipe Massa and Sergio Pérez both received a 5-second stop-and-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane, changes made to this system, relative to the version first tested in the United States, satisfied the drivers. Notes, ^1 — Daniil Kvyat received a grid penalty to complete the ten-place penalty that he received at the previous race. ^2 — Sergio Pérez received a grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident in the previous race. Bold text indicates who still had a chance of becoming World Champion
2014 Brazilian Grand Prix
–
2014 Brazilian Grand Prix
27.
Crowdfunding
–
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and of alternative finance, in 2015, it was estimated that worldwide over US$34 billion was raised this way. Although the concept can also be executed through mail-order subscriptions, benefit events, Crowdfunding has a long history with several roots. Books have been crowdfunded for centuries, Authors and publishers would advertise book projects in praenumeration or subscription schemes, the book would be written and published if enough subscribers signaled their readiness to buy the book once it was out. The subscription business model is not exactly crowdfunding, since the flow of money only begins with the arrival of the product. The list of subscribers has, though, the power to create the necessary confidence among investors that is needed to risk the publication, war bonds are theoretically a form of crowdfunding military conflicts. A clearer case of modern crowdfunding is Auguste Comtes scheme to issue notes for the support of his further work as a philosopher. The Premiere Circulaire Annuelle adressée par l’auteur du Systeme de Philosophie Positive was published on 14 March 1850, the cooperative movement of the 19th and 20th centuries is a broader precursor. In 1885, when government sources failed to provide funding to build a base for the Statue of Liberty. Crowdfunding on the internet first gained popular and mainstream use in the arts and they subsequently used this method to fund their studio albums. In the film industry, independent writer/director Mark Tapio Kines designed a website in 1997 for his then-unfinished first feature film Foreign Correspondents. By early 1999, he had raised more than US$125,000 on the Internet from at least 25 fans, in 2002, the Free Blender campaign was an early software crowdfunding precursor. The campaign aimed for open-sourcing the Blender 3D computer graphics software by collecting $100,000 from the community while offering additional benefits for donating members, Crowdfunding gained traction after the launch of ArtistShare, in 2003. Following ArtistShare, more crowdfunding sites started to appear on the web such as IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, however, Sellaband, started in 2006 as a music-focused platform, initially controlled the crowdfunding market. This can be contributed to creators and funders, who perceive the platform to be more valuable with more members, later, Kickstarter gained popularity for its wide-ranging focus. However, Sellaband offered revenue sharing, a type of equity crowdfunding and it was later controlled by a German company and heightened security restrictions. The phenomenon of crowdfunding is older than the term crowdfunding, according to wordspy. com, the earliest recorded use of the word was in August 2006. Equity crowdfunding, the backer receives shares of a company, usually in its early stages, reward-based crowdfunding has been used for a wide range of purposes, including motion picture promotion, free software development, inventions development, scientific research, and civic projects
Crowdfunding
–
Basic investment types
28.
Yas Marina Circuit
–
The Yas Marina Circuit is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, and is situated on Yas Island, about 30 minutes from the capital of the UAE, Yas Marina is the second Formula One track in the Middle East, with the first being in Bahrain. A two-day GP2 Asia Series test was held to open the circuit. It also hosted the event for the Australian V8 Supercars series. Outside motorsport the circuit was used for the stage of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Tour cycle race in 2015. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license, the marina-based development includes a theme park, a water park, as well as residential areas, hotels and beaches. The circuit has five areas and part of its pit lane exit runs underneath the track. It also houses a building behind the pit building, Media Center, Dragster Track, VIP Tower. Additionally, one of the gravel traps runs underneath the West grandstand. Seating Capacity –41,093 Area –161.9 ha Length –5.5 km Longest straight –1140 metres The circuit was built by main contractor Cebarco-WCT WLL, under contract from developer Aldar Properties. The circuit was constructed with a permanent lighting system provided by Musco Lighting, Yas Marina Circuit is the largest permanent sports venue lighting project in the world, previously that title was held by Losail. The surface of the track is made of aggregate, shipped to Abu Dhabi from a Bayston Hill quarry in Shropshire. The surface material is highly acclaimed by circuit bosses and Formula One drivers for the level of grip it offers. The same aggregate material is used at the Bahrain International Circuit for the Bahrain Grand Prix, on 7 October 2009, the circuit was granted final approval to hold Formula One races by the FIA. Bruno Senna was the first driver to complete a test run on the circuit, gP3 visited Abu Dhabi for the first time at the end of the 2013 season. Force Indias Adrian Sutil rated the circuit as being better than Formula Ones other night race in Singapore as he felt there was too much light at Marina Bay. Not all of the drivers were complimentary, with Giancarlo Fisichella expressing a dislike of the pit exit. Although the pit exit remained free of incidents for the practice sessions
Yas Marina Circuit
Yas Marina Circuit
–
Yas Marina Circuit
29.
2010 Formula One season
–
The 2010 Formula One season was the 64th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. In doing so, Vettel became the youngest World Drivers Champion in the sports sixty-year history and this was Bridgestones final season as the sole tyre supplier in Formula One as the company announced that it would not renew its contract at the end of the season. After several months of deliberation, Pirelli was chosen as the supplier for the 2011 season at the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Geneva. The points system was changed, with 25 points being awarded for first place,18 for second,15 for third, the technical and sporting regulations applicable for the season were the subject of much debate. The 2010 season saw the return of the most successful driver in Formula One history, the seasons first race was held on 14 March in Bahrain and the season concluded on 14 November in the United Arab Emirates after 19 motor races held in 18 countries on five continents. The following teams and drivers competed in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, with the withdrawal of BMW and Toyota, engine diversity in Formula One dropped to a 30-year low, with just four engine producers powering the entire grid, the lowest since 1980. Four new teams joined the grid, Mercedes, Lotus Racing, Virgin Racing, the existing F1 teams, under the FOTA organisation, are understood to have agreed a system of technical support to assist new teams. This compromise proposal would involve the supply of parts and design knowledge to the new entrants, following the withdrawal of BMW Sauber, Lotus Racing was accepted to the grid. Experienced sports car and touring car entrant Ray Mallock Limited had intended to submit an entry bid, of the most interest to the media was Stefan Grand Prix, created by Zoran Stefanovic and hailed as Serbias first Formula 1 team. Stefan claimed to have acquired the remains of Toyotas abandoned TF110 chassis and engine and had access to Toyota Motorsports former headquarters in Cologne, Stefan was finally rejected on 4 March when the FIA stated that it was not possible to issue entries so close to the season opener. BMW announced on 29 July 2009 their withdrawal from Formula One at the end of the 2009 Formula One season, after a failed buy out from Qadbak Investments, the team was sold back to Peter Sauber. The FIA officially accepted the team to the 2010 grid under the name BMW Sauber on 3 December, Toyota withdrew from Formula One on 4 November 2009, due to economic hardship. After announcing they would not sell the team on, their grid slot went to the Sauber team, then, Stefan Grand Prix claimed that they had acquired rights to the Toyota Motorsports former headquarters in Cologne and the TF110 that was renamed Stefan S-01. Scuderia Toro Rosso became an independent constructor in 2010, after having their chassis supplied by the Red Bull Technologies design studio for the first years of racing and this had allowed the team to purchase customer chassis, despite the concept being banned by the FIA. Daimler AG, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, bought a 75. 1% controlling stake in the 2009 champions Brawn GP, renaming the team Mercedes Grand Prix. Mercedess former 40% stake in the McLaren Group will be purchased back by McLaren, although Mercedes will continue to supply McLaren engines and sponsorship until the end of the 2014 season. Mercedes signed a deal with Petronas, with the Malaysian petroleum company ending its association with BMW Sauber. Renault had sold Gerard Lopez and his Genii Capital investment company a 75% majority shareholding, the team will continue to operate under the Renault name and the engine department remains under full Renault ownership
2010 Formula One season
–
Sebastian Vettel won the first of his four consecutive
World Championships, eclipsing Lewis Hamilton as the youngest World Champion in Formula One history.
2010 Formula One season
–
Fernando Alonso placed second in the Drivers' Championship
2010 Formula One season
–
Mark Webber, Vettel's teammate, finished third in the Drivers' Championship
2010 Formula One season
–
Bruno Senna made his dеbut with the new
Hispania team.
30.
Lotus Cars
–
Lotus Cars is an English company that manufactures sports cars and racing cars with its headquarters in Hethel, Norfolk, England, and is a subsidiary of Malaysian automotive company Proton. Notable Lotus cars include the Esprit, Elan, Europa and Elise sports cars, Lotus Cars is based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and it also owns the engineering consultancy Lotus Engineering, which has facilities in the United Kingdom, United States, China, and Malaysia. Lotus is owned by DRB-HICOM through its subsidiary Proton, which acquired it following the bankruptcy of former owner Romano Artioli in 1996, the company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineers Colin Chapman and Colin Dare, both graduates of University College, London, in 1952. The four letters in the middle of the stand for the initials of company founder. When the logo was created, Colin Chapmans original partners Michael and Nigel Allen were led to believe that the letters stood for Colin Chapman, the first factory was situated in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London. Team Lotus, which was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994, the Lotus Group of Companies was formed in 1959. This was made up of Lotus Cars Limited and Lotus Components Limited, Lotus Components Limited became Lotus Racing Limited in 1971 but the newly renamed entity ceased operation in the same year. The company moved to a purpose built factory at Cheshunt in 1959 and since 1966 the company has occupied a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel and this site is the former RAF Hethel base and the test track uses sections of the old runway. In its early days Lotus sold cars aimed at privateer racers and its early road cars could be bought as kits, in order to save on purchase tax. After the elegant but delicate Lotus Elite of the 1950s, Lotus found critical, Lotus was notable for its use of fibreglass bodies, backbone chassis, and twin cam engines, initially supplied by Coventry Climax but later replaced by Lotus-Ford units. Lotus worked with Ford on the Lotus Cortina, a sports saloon. The Lotus Seven, originating in the 1950s as a simple, Lotus then sold the rights to produce the Seven to Caterham, which has continued to produce the car since then. The mid engined line continued with the Lotus Esprit, which was to one of the companys longest lived. Lotus developed its own series of four cylinder DOHC engines, the Lotus 900 series, and later a V8, variants of the 900 series engine were supplied for the Jensen Healey sports car and the Sunbeam Lotus hot hatchback. In the 1980s, Lotus collaborated with Vauxhall Motors to produce the Lotus Carlton, by 1980, Group Lotus was in serious financial trouble. Production had dropped from 1,200 units per year to a mere 383, in early 1982, Chapman came to an agreement with Toyota to exchange intellectual property and applied expertise. This initially resulted in Lotus Engineering helping to develop the Mk2 Toyota Supra, secondly it allowed Lotus to launch the new Lotus Excel to replace the ageing Lotus Eclat
Lotus Cars
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Lotus final assembly
Lotus Cars
–
Lotus Cars Limited
Lotus Cars
–
Lotus 77
Lotus Cars
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Lotus 72
31.
Proton (automobile)
–
PROTON Holdings Berhad, is a Malaysia-based corporation active in automobile design, manufacturing, distribution and sales. Proton was established in 1983 as the national badged car company until the advent of Perodua in 1993. The company is headquartered in Shah Alam, Selangor, and operates facilities at Proton City. PROTON is a Malay acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional, Proton was originally a manufacturer of rebadged Mitsubishi Motors products in the 1980s and 1990s. Since the 2000s, Proton has produced several locally engineered models, Proton cars are currently sold in at least 10 countries, the majority of which are in Asia. Proton was originally owned in majority by HICOM, with minority stakes being held by Mitsubishi Group members, by 2005, Mitsubishi had divested their stake in Proton to Khazanah Nasional, and in 2012, Proton was fully acquired by DRB-HICOM. Proton has been the owner of Lotus Cars since 1996, the National Car Project was approved by the Cabinet in 1982, leading to the founding of Proton on 7 May 1983. It was wholly owned by the government of Malaysia through Khazanah Nasional at its creation and it was headed by its founder, Dr. Mahathir. Proton approached Mitsubishi Motors between 1983 and 1984 and brokered a joint venture between both companies for the production of the first Malaysian car, the result of the collaboration was the Proton Saga, which launched on 9 July 1985. It was based on the second generation 1983 Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore 4-door saloon, the first Proton Saga to roll off the production line in Shah Alam is preserved in the Muzium Negara as a symbol of the beginning of the Malaysian automotive industry. Sales of the new Saga outstripped supply and Proton struggled to meet the growing demand, later in October 1987, a hatchback variant called the Proton Saga Aeroback was launched and featured a more powerful 1. 5L Mitsubishi 4G15 engine and a redesigned rear-end. Protons sales declined during the late 1980s as a result of the economic recession. Kenji Iwabuchi, a former Mitsubishi Motors executive, was appointed as the director of Proton in 1988. In the decade that followed, there were significant developments both domestically and globally, on 15 August 1992, the Proton Saga Iswara was launched. It shares the older Mitsubishi platform used in the original Proton Saga, the Saga Iswara was widely used as taxicabs in Malaysia during the 1990s and 2000s, and many continue in service. On 21 May 1993 the Proton Wira was introduced, a car which was better equipped, the Wira is based on the fourth-generation 1991 Mitsubishi Lancer and was sold in a four-door saloon guise at launch. The Proton Wira Aeroback, a hatchback variant featuring a Proton-designed rear-end joined the range in 1994. The Wira saloon and hatchback shared six different engines by 1996, all of which were sourced from Mitsubishi Motors
Proton (automobile)
–
The original
Proton Saga. More than 1.2 million units were sold between 1985 and 2008.
Proton (automobile)
Proton (automobile)
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Proton Saga Iswara saloon, widely used as Malaysian taxis in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Proton (automobile)
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Proton Wira saloon. Over 952,216 units were sold in around 65 countries worldwide.
32.
Team Lotus
–
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in motorsport series, including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar. The Lotus name returned to Formula One in 2010, as the name of Tony Fernandess Lotus Racing team. In 2011, Team Lotuss iconic black-and-gold livery returned to F1 as the livery of the Lotus Renault GP team, sponsored by Lotus Cars, colin Chapman established Lotus Engineering Ltd in 1952 at Hornsey, UK. Lotus achieved rapid success with the 1953 Mk 6 and the 1954 Mk 8 sports cars, Team Lotus was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954. A new Formula Two regulation was announced for 1957, and in Britain, the following year, the Lotus 12 appeared. Driving one in 1958, Allison won the F2 class in the International Trophy at Silverstone, beating Stuart Lewis-Evanss Cooper. As the Coventry Climax engines were enlarged in 1952 to 2. 2-litres, Chapman decided to enter Grand Prix racing, running a pair of Lotus 12s at Monaco in 1958 for Graham Hill and these were replaced later that year by Lotus 16s. By then, the success had caused it to expand to such an extent that it had to move to new premises at Cheshunt. The first Formula One victory for Team Lotus came when Innes Ireland won the 1961 United States Grand Prix, a year earlier, Stirling Moss had recorded the first victory for a Lotus car at Monaco in his Lotus 18 entered by the independent Rob Walker Racing Team. There were successes in Formula Two and Formula Junior, the road car business was doing well with the Lotus Seven and the Lotus Elite and this was followed by the Lotus Elan in 1962. In 1963 Clark drove the Lotus 25 to a remarkable seven wins in a season and won the World Championship. The 1964 title was still for the taking by the time of the last race in Mexico but problems with Clarks Lotus, however, in 1965, Clark dominated again, six wins in his Lotus 33 gave him the championship. While very innovative, Chapman also came under criticism for the fragility of his designs. In Dave Friedmans book Indianapolis Memories 1961–1969, Dan Gurney is quoted as saying and we had several structural failures in those cars. But at the time, I felt it was the price you paid for getting something significantly better, a switch to the new Ford Cosworth DFV, designed by former Lotus employee Keith Duckworth, in 1967 returned the team to winning form. Although they failed to win the title in 1967, by the end of the season, the Lotus 49, however, for 1968 Lotus had lost its exclusive right to use the DFV. The season-opening 1968 South African Grand Prix confirmed Lotuss superiority, with Jim Clark and it would be Clarks last win
Team Lotus
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Lotus
Team Lotus
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A 1955 Lotus MkIX
Team Lotus
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Lotus Eleven cars for Le Mans 24 hours, 1956
Team Lotus
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Lotus 49
33.
Lotus F1
–
Lotus F1 Team was a British Formula One racing team. The team competed under the Lotus name from 2012 until 2015, Lotus F1 Team was majority owned by Genii Capital and later the French car manufacturer Renault. Lotus F1 Team was named after its branding partner Group Lotus, the team achieved a race victory and fourth position in the Formula One Constructors World Championship in their first season under the Lotus title. The team was back to Groupe Renault on 18 December 2015, Lotus F1 was officially dropped on 3 February 2016. The teams Formula One history started in 1981 as the Toleman Motorsport team, based in Witney, Oxfordshire, in 1986, the team was renamed to Benetton Formula, following its purchase in 1985 by the Benetton family. In 1992/3, the team moved a few miles to a new base in Enstone, michael Schumacher won the Drivers Championship with the team in both 1994 and 1995. In 1995, the also won the Constructors Championship, with Johnny Herbert driving alongside Schumacher. Renault purchased the Benetton team in 2000, and in 2002, in both 2005 and 2006, Fernando Alonso won the Drivers Championship with the team, and the team won the Constructors Championship. Starting with the Lotus E20, the team has recognised these achievements by placing three gold stars in the livery of their car, located just forward of the cockpit, at the end of 2009, Renault sold a majority stake in the team to Genii Capital. Since 2011, Lotus Cars became involved with the team and the team was renamed, first to Lotus Renault GP for 2011 season, and then to Lotus F1 Team for 2012 season. Team Lotus, a company of Lotus Cars, competed in Formula One between 1958 and 1994, winning seven constructors titles and six drivers titles between 1963 and 1978. The Lotus name returned to Formula One in 2010 through Tony Fernandess Lotus Racing team, Group Lotus later terminated the licence for the 2011 season, but Fernandes acquired the privately owned Team Lotus name and used it. For 2012, Team Lotus changed their name to Caterham F1 Team, on 9 December 2011 the team announced that GP2 Series champion and 2009 Renault F1 driver Romain Grosjean would race alongside Räikkönen. At the start of the season, the team was involved in a protest over the use of a rear wing concept on Mercedes AMGs Mercedes F1 W03. The dispute was not settled until the race in China when the stewards unanimously rejected their formal protest. Lotus started the season strongly with Grosjean qualifying third in Australia, in China Räikkönen was running in second until his tyres fell off the cliff pushing him out of the points for the only time of the season. In Bahrain, Lotus achieved their first podium of the season with Räikkönen very close to the winner Vettel, in Monaco Grosjean was involved in another first lap incident but in Canada he worked a one-stop strategy perfectly to take second position, his best Formula One finish. A race later in Valencia Grosjean was running in second until a mechanical problem put him out of the race after a safety car period leaving Räikkönen to take another podium for second, in Germany, Hungary and Belgium Räikkönen took 3 podiums in a row
Lotus F1
–
Romain Grosjean in FP1 of the
2012 Canadian Grand Prix race weekend; he would later claim his second podium.
Lotus F1
–
Lotus-Mercedes
Lotus F1
–
Kimi Räikkönen driving the
Lotus E21 during pre-season testing at Catalonia.
Lotus F1
–
Kimi Räikkönen racing during the
2013 Italian Grand Prix.
34.
Jarno Trulli
–
Jarno Trulli is an Italian racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1997 to 2011, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Lotus Racing and Team Lotus. His best result in the World Drivers Championship was sixth place in 2004, throughout his Formula One career, Trulli was renowned for his skill in qualifying, regularly achieving far better grid positions than rivals with superior cars to his own. He was also known for his driving style which allowed him to successfully hold off quicker drivers. Trulli was slated to compete in the 2012 Formula One season, in 2014–15 he competed in the inaugural season of the FIA Formula E Championship, driving for Trulli GP, a team he founded himself. His parents were fans and named their son after Jarno Saarinen. In 1997, Trulli made his debut in Formula One with Minardi, after 7 races he replaced the injured Olivier Panis at Prost and impressed immediately, finishing fourth in Germany and even leading in Austria, looking set to finish second until his engine blew. He stayed at the Prost team for the two seasons and eventually scored his first podium in wet conditions at the 1999 European Grand Prix. However, this was a highlight in a race few of the main front-runners finished. In 2000 he moved to the Irish squad, but the team was no longer the force it had been in the late 1990s, in his two years with Jordan, Trulli failed to score a podium, but did impress with a series of brilliant qualifying displays. During this period suggestions were made that Trulli was more of a qualifying specialist than an out-and-out fast race driver, under long-term contract to personal manager Flavio Briatore, Trulli secured a contract with the Anglo-French squad for 2002. Alongside Jenson Button, he often outqualified his British teammate, but was shaded in races. Regardless of Buttons improved pace that season, it was Trulli who stayed at Renault for 2003 to partner promoted test-driver Fernando Alonso, the 2003 Renault was a strong car and in Alonsos hands won in Hungary. Trulli struggled to attain similar results, but did achieve a podium in Germany, mindful of how much Alonso had outperformed him in 2003, Trulli improved markedly the next year. For the first half of the season he was the better of the two Renault drivers, racking up points and podiums. At Monaco he finally took his first victory after a brilliant display from pole position, having performed so well, the Italian was eager to stick with the team for 2005, but his relationship with team-boss Briatore soured. A last corner error which allowed Ferraris Rubens Barrichello onto the podium in France enraged the team and he did not score any points after the French Grand Prix and was consistently off the pace during races. He later accused the team of favouring Alonso, but the reasons why his 2004 season deteriorated have never properly identified
Jarno Trulli
–
Trulli at the
2010 Malaysian Grand Prix
Jarno Trulli
–
Trulli driving for
Prost at the
1999 Canadian Grand Prix
Jarno Trulli
–
Trulli leads the midfield on the first lap of the
2001 Canadian Grand Prix.
Jarno Trulli
–
Jarno Trulli driving for Renault at the
2003 United States Grand Prix at
Indianapolis.
35.
2012 FIA Formula One World Championship
–
The 2012 Formula One season was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The championship was contested over twenty rounds, which started in Australia on 18 March, the 2012 season saw the return of the United States Grand Prix, which was held at the Circuit of the Americas, a purpose-built circuit in Austin, Texas. After being cancelled in 2011 due to protests, the Bahrain Grand Prix also returned to the calendar. The early season was tumultuous, with seven different drivers winning the first seven races of the championship, a record for the series. It was not until the European Grand Prix in June that a driver, Ferraris Fernando Alonso, won his race of the year. Alonso maintained his hold on the lead for the next seven races, taking his third win in Germany and finishing on the podium in the United Kingdom, Italy. Vettel entered the race of the season with a thirteen-point lead over Alonso. In the World Constructors Championship, Red Bull Racing secured their third consecutive title when Sebastian Vettel finished second at the United States Grand Prix, in addition to seeing seven drivers win the first seven races, the 2012 season broke several records. The calendar for the season included twenty races, breaking the record of nineteen. The following twelve teams and twenty-five race drivers competed in the 2012 Formula One World Championship, the FIA published a provisional entry list on 30 November 2011, and the grid was finalised on 17 February. Renault changed its name to Lotus after Lotus Cars expanded its title sponsorship program to include teams in Formula One and support series GP2. Virgin became Marussia, following increased ownership of the team by Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia Motors. As a result of the changes, Team Lotus and Lotus Renault GP declared that their ongoing dispute over the use of the Lotus name was over after they had reached an amicable conclusion. Although the exact terms of the settlement were confidential, the joint statement detailed the transfer of the rights to the Lotus. Williams announced that they would be using Renault engines for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Renault had previously supplied engines to Williams from 1989 to 1997, when the team won four World Drivers Championships and five World Constructors Championships. Likewise, Marussia underwent a restructuring, splitting with Wirth Research mid-season after a review by Marussia Motors. The team also announced a partnership with McLaren that granted them access to McLarens testing facilities as well as the purchase of Wirth Research facilities. In the week before the 2011 Indian Grand Prix, Force India announced that the Sahara Group had purchased a 42. 5% stake in the team, valued at US$100 million
2012 FIA Formula One World Championship
–
Sebastian Vettel became a three-time World Champion with
Red Bull Racing.
2012 FIA Formula One World Championship
–
Fernando Alonso finished second in the World Drivers' Championship, three points behind Vettel.
2012 FIA Formula One World Championship
–
Kimi Räikkönen finished the season in third place, driving for
Lotus F1.
2012 FIA Formula One World Championship
–
The
Red Bull RB8 is the car entered by defending
World Constructors' Champion Red Bull, and which won the World Constructors' Championship in 2012.
36.
Arrows Grand Prix International
–
Arrows Grand Prix International was a British Formula One team active from 1978 to 2002. For a period of time, it was known as Footwork. Team sponsor Franco Ambrosios initials were used in the name of Arrows first car, Shadow sued for copyright infringement, claiming that the FA1 was a copy of the Shadow DN9. Arrows designed a revised car, the Arrows A1, in 52 days. It was shown the day after the High Court of Justice in London upheld Shadows claim, ambrosio left the team in early 1977 when jailed in Italy for financial irregularities. Arrows driver Riccardo Patrese who scored points in the third race. For the teams first season in Formula One, the team had signed Swede Gunnar Nilsson to be their first driver, however, he would never get to drive the car, since he contracted a fatal case of testicular cancer and died later that year. In September 1978, in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Patrese was wrongly accused of causing the accident and then subsequently banned from racing at the following event by his fellow drivers. In 1981, Patrese scored the teams only Formula One pole position in Long Beach, Arrows finished joint eighth in the Constructors Championship that year. In 1984 with BMW M12 turbo engines and sponsorship from cigarette company Barclay things got much better and that year they were ninth in the Constructors Championship and eighth in 1985. At the 1985 San Marino Grand Prix, Thierry Boutsen finished third behind Alain Prost, however, after the race, Prost was disqualified because his car was 2 kg underweight, giving Boutsen the second place. While 1987 and 1988 were Arrows best years in F1, they were also the cause of frustration for the team and its drivers Warwick and Cheever. At the start of 1987 the sports ruling body mandated that all turbo powered cars were to use a valve in order to restrict turbo boost. This was done not only to slow the cars down for safety reasons, the problem for Arrows was that the valve would regularly cut in lower than the set limit. This meant that the Megatron engines were not producing their full power, although Cheever and Warwick finished the race in 3rd and 4th respectively, it was too little too late as the turbo era ended after the 1988 season. Warwick and Cheever stayed with the team for 1989 and drove the Ross Brawn designed Arrows A11 which was powered by the Ford DFR V8 engine, the teams best finish came at the United States Grand Prix in Cheevers home town of Phoenix. There the American scored his final finish by finishing 3rd. Ultimately though Cheever struggled in the A11 and he failed to qualify at the British
Arrows Grand Prix International
–
Thierry Boutsen during practice for the
1985 European Grand Prix
Arrows Grand Prix International
–
Arrows
Arrows Grand Prix International
–
At the
1997 British GP, Hill scored his first point for the Arrows team.
Arrows Grand Prix International
–
Heinz-Harald Frentzen and
Enrique Bernoldi deliberately failed to qualify per instruction of the Arrows Grand Prix team at the
2002 French Grand Prix as the team's financial problems worsened.
37.
Super Aguri F1
–
Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from 2006 to 2008. The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan, the cars were referred to as Super Aguri Hondas, with the team functioning to some degree as an unofficial Honda B-team. In Japan, public pressure persuaded Honda to help its former driver Takuma Sato to continue to compete in Formula One and this was influential in the creation of Super Aguris F1 project and the engine supply from Super Aguris parent company Honda. After participating in the championship for 2 years and 4 months, throughout the teams time in the sport, it scored 4 points. All of these were scored by Sato, and all were in the 2007 season, talks to start the team began in February 2005, but it was not until September that plans started to take shape. The team registered its intention to enter the Formula One World Championship to the FIA, Formula Ones governing body, the team re-applied for entry in 2006, and continued to prepare cars for the upcoming season. Having missed the registration, the team needed to convince the existing ten teams to unanimously agree to its entry. In 2006, the cars were powered by Honda engines, the chassis, SA05, was based on the 2002 Arrows A23, bought from ex-Minardi principal Paul Stoddart who purchased them when the Arrows team went into receivership. The team had announced plans to produce a new in-house chassis later on in the 2006 season, possibly for the European races, instead, the team updated their older chassis to become the SA06 – a change which was visible from the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, onwards. Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide were the race drivers for the team in the 2006 season. The team made it onto the grid for the start of the season, in its debut race at Bahrain Sato successfully completed the Grand Prix while Ide retired on lap 35 with a mechanical failure and after nearly running over his pit crew. Suzuki deemed this race to be a good test for the team as the car had only done a maximum of 10 laps during pre-season testing, the teams second race was little better, with again only Sato finishing the race. Super Aguris third race, the 2006 Australian Grand Prix, saw significant improvement, Ide said This is the first time that both Taku and I have finished a race, so I am happy about that. For the European Grand Prix, Ide and Montagny swapped roles within the team, at the request of the FIA and this was mostly due to a collision between him and Midland driver Christijan Albers at the San Marino GP. As of 10 May 2006 the FIA Permit Office revoked Ides Super Licence, Montagny raced until and including the French Grand Prix, and on 8 June 2006 Sakon Yamamoto became Super Aguris third driver. Montagny and Yamamoto swapped roles for the 2006 German Grand Prix, when the updated car was first raced in the German Grand Prix, it managed to impress, with decent qualifying positions, although failing to finish the race. The teams cited the fact that the Concorde Agreement mandated a car may not use any parts designed or constructed by another manufacturer of Formula One cars, Super Aguri seemed to be in violation about this. The FIA however did not have the authority to act on the Concorde Agreement without the matter already being resolved in court, however, Super Aguri stated that they were in compliance with the sports regulations, though the matter was still of great contention
Super Aguri F1
–
Takuma Sato driving for Super Aguri at the
2006 United States Grand Prix.
Super Aguri F1
–
Super Aguri
Super Aguri F1
–
Franck Montagny at the
2006 French Grand Prix.
Super Aguri F1
–
Sato at the
2007 British Grand Prix.
38.
Caterham CT01
–
The Caterham CT01 is a Formula One racing car produced by the British-based Caterham F1 Team which competed in the 2012 Formula One season. The CT01 was the first car launched for the 2012 season, when an online launch initially planned for 26 January, was cancelled, the car was driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov, who replaced Jarno Trulli after the first test at Jerez. The CT01 is the first car the team has built that features KERS, the team started the year in Australia where Kovalainen and Petrov qualified the new CT01 in 19th and 20th respectively, albeit, over two seconds off the pace of the Q1 pacesetter. About halfway through the race, Petrov retired the car with steering issues on the start/finish straight causing a safety car period, the car appeared to have made some gains on the midfield too, with Kovalainen only 0.02 seconds behind Toro Rosso driver Jean-Éric Vergne in qualifying. After a race full of rain, safety cars periods and a red flag. For the third race in a row, in China, Kovalainen, Petrov managed to bring the car home in 18th while Kovalainen finished as the last of the cars still running,2 laps down on his team-mate. Petrov qualified in 20th place for the time in the first four races before finishing the race in 16th. Kovalainen finished one place behind this after a first lap due to a collision with Daniel Ricciardo. The two cars were initially in 19th and 20th again in Spain, but both gained a place due to Lewis Hamiltons penalty, Petrov out-qualified Kovalainen for the first time in the season. Kovalainen achieved a race result than Petrov as the pair finished the race in 16th and 17th places. At Monaco, the team were hoping that the lack of straight line speed on the circuit would help their chances at getting the teams first points. Kovalainen and Petrov qualified in 18th and 19th respectively due to Sergio Pérez not setting a time, on lap 16 Petrov pulled into the pits for a routine tyre change but retired with electrical failure. Kovalainen was twelfth in the race, attempting to hold off Button and he only lost one place and still achieved the teams best result of the season so far with thirteenth. The result put the back into tenth in the Constructors standings ahead of Marussia. Meanwhile, Petrov qualified down in 20th, the team relished a highly competitive race pace for the race itself with Petrov running in tenth for a good deal of the race and Kovalainen not far behind. Kovalainen managed to continue after pitting for a new set of tyres while Vergne retired, wet practice sessions, however, provided difficulty in finding useful results to analyse. They team qualified in 19th and 20th much like the rest of the year, much work was done on the car but it was eventually decided that he would be unable to start the race. This left Kovalainen the sole Caterham on track, where he managed to finish in 17th just behind Maldonado, at the German Grand Prix round in Hockenheim, the team had again brought additional updates to the car after Britain, but the practice sessions were run in similar conditions
Caterham CT01
–
Caterham CT01
Caterham CT01
–
Petrov during FP1 in
Malaysia.
Caterham CT01
–
The CT01's cockpit.
Caterham CT01
–
Kovalainen during a wet Free Practice at the
2012 British Grand Prix.
39.
Kinetic energy recovery system
–
A kinetic energy recovery system is an automotive system for recovering a moving vehicles kinetic energy under braking. The recovered energy is stored in a reservoir for use under acceleration. Xtrac and Flybrid are both licensees of Torotraks technologies, which employ a small and sophisticated ancillary gearbox incorporating a continuously variable transmission, the CPC-KERS is similar as it also forms part of the driveline assembly. However, the whole mechanism including the flywheel sits entirely in the vehicle’s hub, in the CPC-KERS, a differential replaces the CVT and transfers torque between the flywheel, drive wheel and road wheel. The first of these systems to be revealed was the Flybrid and this system weighs 24 kg and has an energy capacity of 400 kJ after allowing for internal losses. A maximum power boost of 60 kW for 6.67 seconds is available, the 240 mm diameter flywheel weighs 5.0 kg and revolves at up to 64,500 rpm. Maximum torque at the flywheel is 18 Nm, and the torque at the connection is correspondingly higher for the change in speed. The system occupies a volume of 13 litres, already in 2006, a first KERS system based on supercapacitors has been studied at EPFL in the framework of the development of the Formula S2000. A 180kJ system has developed in collaboration with other institutes. Two minor incidents were reported during testing of various KERS systems in 2008, the first occurred when the Red Bull Racing team tested their KERS battery for the first time in July, it malfunctioned and caused a fire scare that led to the teams factory being evacuated. The second was less than a week later when a BMW Sauber mechanic was given a shock when he touched Christian Kliens KERS-equipped car during a test at the Jerez circuit. Formula One has stated that they support responsible solutions to the environmental challenges. Teams began testing systems in 2008, energy can either be stored as energy or as electrical energy. With the introduction of KERS in the 2009 season, only four teams used it at point in the season, Ferrari, Renault, BMW. Eventually, during the season, Renault and BMW stopped using the system, vodafone McLaren Mercedes became the first team to win an F1 GP using a KERS equipped car when Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 26,2009. Their second KERS equipped car finished fifth, at the following race, Lewis Hamilton became the first driver to take pole position with a KERS car, his team mate, Heikki Kovalainen qualifying second. This was also the first instance of an all KERS front row, on August 30,2009, Kimi Räikkönen won the Belgian Grand Prix with his KERS equipped Ferrari. It was the first time that KERS contributed directly to a victory, with second placed Giancarlo Fisichella claiming Actually
Kinetic energy recovery system
–
A Flybrid Systems kinetic energy recovery system.
Kinetic energy recovery system
–
Kimi Räikkönen took the lead of the
2009 Belgian Grand Prix with a KERS-aided overtake and subsequently won the race.
Kinetic energy recovery system
–
A KERS flywheel.
40.
Mike Gascoyne
–
Michael Mike Gascoyne is a British Formula One designer and engineer. Gascoyne was born in Rackheath, Norfolk, England and he lived in Sprowston and went to Sprowston Junior School and before moving to Old Catton. He went to Wymondham College from 1974 to 1981, although he gained admission to study for a Ph. D. in fluid dynamics at Cambridge University from 1982 to 1988, he gaining a series of degrees but started working before graduating with a PhD. He was, however, active in his college Boat Club, after leaving Cambridge in 1988 he briefly worked for Westland System Assessment Limited, part of Westland Helicopters, but maintained a keen desire to work in motor sport. Postlethwaites stay with the Sauber team was short, but Gascoyne remained for the first season, in late 1993 Postlethwaite returned to Tyrrell and invited Gascoyne to become Deputy Technical Director responsible for the design of the teams 1994 car. Gascoyne accepted and remained with the team for four years, although lack of money severely limited his ability to produce a racing car. In June 1998 Gascoyne joined Jordan Grand Prix as Technical Director, the season was the teams most successful in its history, finishing third in the Constructors Championship and taking two race victories. Shortly before the start of the 2001 season he moved to Benetton, Gascoyne’s two-and-a-half seasons with Benetton, and later Renault, saw a marked improvement in the teams fortunes, culminating in victory at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. By now however, the highly rated Technical Director had already placed on gardening leave by his French employers pending a move to Toyota F1 for an undisclosed financial settlement. In December 2003 Gascoyne made his move to the Cologne base of Toyota, gascoynes aim for 2006 was high and the teams first victory and the championship were the next two steps. The early stages of the 2006 season proved to be average, with the team struggling with the switch to Bridgestone tyres. Many observers had predicted race wins and possibly even a title challenge, Gascoyne disliked the corporate way the teams management operated while team management were unimpressed by the TF106 car Gascoyne had produced and he was duly dismissed. On 6 April Gascoyne and Toyota parted company amicably, pascal Vasselon became temporary Technical Director with immediate effect. In September 2006 Gascoyne was signed by Spyker F1 as Chief Technology Officer and he took up his new position in November 2006. An updated version of the F8-VII chassis was introduced at the 2007 Turkish Grand Prix and it was the first Spyker car designed by Gascoyne and he stated the new car could be up to three quarters of a second per lap faster than the original F8-VII. In 2008, Spyker became the Force India team after its sale to Vijay Mallya, Gascoyne continued as Chief Technology Officer. On 7 November 2008 it was announced that Gascoyne would no longer any formal role at the team. In 2009 Gascoyne was part of plans by the Litespeed F3 team to enter Formula One in 2010 and they failed to gain entry, but Gascoyne continued to work on the plans and got backing from the Malaysian government to form Lotus Racing
Mike Gascoyne
–
Gascoyne in 2011
Mike Gascoyne
–
Gascoyne driving a
Tyrrell 023 in the BOSS GP series
Mike Gascoyne
–
Damon Hill 1999 Canada
Mike Gascoyne
–
Renault R202
41.
2012 Chinese Grand Prix
–
The 2012 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 15 April 2012 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. It was the running of the Chinese Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship. The 56-lap race was the round of the 2012 Formula One season. Rosberg became the first German driver to win a Grand Prix driving a German car in Formula 1 history, the win was also the first win for an official Mercedes-Benz team since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, after which Mercedes departed from Formula One for 55 seasons. Rosberg led home the McLaren pair of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton by over twenty seconds, the race itself was characterised by intense battling throughout the field and by high reliability with 23 of 24 starters finishing the race. This race was also HRTs thirty-ninth race start, setting the record for most Grand Prix starts without scoring a single point and this was the first race since the 2009 Italian Grand Prix that was not won by Red Bull, McLaren or Ferrari. On the Thursday before the race, Lotus F1 filed a formal protest against the front wing design, the stewards later unanimously rejected the protest and Lotus has since confirmed that they will not appeal against decision. On the Thursday before the race, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was given a grid penalty after the team was forced to change his cars gearbox for the race. The FIA confirmed that the Drag Reduction System zone will be unchanged from 2011, with the point located at Turn 12. Qualifying for the race of the season began at 2 pm local time under cloudy and overcast conditions with an ambient temperature of 21 °C. The first session begun with Force India driver Paul di Resta posting the first timed lap of the session, other drivers followed soon after, all on the harder medium prime tyre. The difference between the medium and the compounds was predicted around 0.8 seconds per lap. Leaving their run late, eight minutes into the both the Red Bull and Mercedes cars had yet to post timed laps. Sebastian Vettels engineer was heard saying that the lap time he did of 1,36.9 would be enough to make Q2. With Felipe Massa in 16th after his run on the prime tyre and his teammate Fernando Alonso followed suit soon after. Surprisingly Jenson Button undertook a lap on the tyres during Q1 even though looking like comfortably progressing to Q2. At the end of the session, Jean-Éric Vergne, for the second consecutive race, in fact, all the eliminated cars in Q1 were in identical positions from the Malaysian Q1 qualifying session. Caterhams Heikki Kovalainen led teammate Vitaly Petrov and Timo Glock led the Marussias, while at the rear were the HRTs of Pedro de la Rosa, for the second session, the two Saubers and Kimi Räikkönen were first to set timed laps
2012 Chinese Grand Prix
–
Shanghai International Circuit
2012 Chinese Grand Prix
–
2012 Chinese Grand Prix
2012 Chinese Grand Prix
–
Sergio Pérez
2012 Chinese Grand Prix
–
Kimi Räikkönen
42.
2012 Bahrain Grand Prix
–
The 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 April 2012 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the first time Formula One returned to Bahrain after the 2011 race was cancelled due to ongoing anti-government protests, the race, the eighth running of the Bahrain Grand Prix, was contested over 57 laps and was the fourth round of the 2012 Formula One season. Sebastian Vettel started the race from pole position, leading into the first corner and he was not without pressure though, as the Lotus of Kimi Räikkönen climbed the field, having started in eleventh place, and challenged for the lead before finishing second. Räikkönen passed Grosjean for second place roughly halfway through the race, Hamilton started on the front row, but pitstop errors and degrading tyres left him eighth, his McLaren teammate, Jenson Button, retired with two laps remaining. As a consequence of the race, Sebastian Vettel took the lead in the Drivers Championship from Lewis Hamilton and he became the fourth driver to top the standings from four races, and also the fourth race winner. Hamilton remained second, four points behind Vettel, whilst Webber jumped in front of Button to move into third with his fourth consecutive fourth place, Webber was just one point behind Hamilton, and Button was only five points behind him, Nico Rosberg was fifth. The Constructors Championship was now led by Red Bull, who took the lead from McLaren. Lotus F1 moved up from sixth to third in the standings after their first podium, Ferrari fell to fourth whilst Mercedes remained fifth. The decision to hold the race despite ongoing protests and violence has been described as controversial by Al Jazeera English, CNN, AFP, the Independent named it one of the most controversial in the history of the sport. After using the circuit in 2010, the series reverted to using the Grand Prix configuration for the 2012 race. As the 2011 race was cancelled, the arrived in Bahrain with no data on how the Pirelli tyres introduced for the 2011 season would behave at the Sakhir circuit. The teams were supplied with the medium and soft compounds, the selection that had been provided at the previous race in Shanghai. Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber predicted that the teams who understood the behaviour of the tyres first would be the most successful in the race. Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery predicted that teams would experience a rate of tyre degradation. Similarly, the Drag Reduction System was introduced for the 2011 season, race officials elected to place it on the start-finish straight to allow for overtaking into the first corner complex. The DRS detection point was positioned 108 metres from the apex to Turn 14, with the point located 270 metres after the final corner. Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was given a grid penalty for a gearbox change when the team discovered an undiagnosed fault in his gearbox. Under Formula One regulations, a gearbox must be used for five consecutive events, an unscheduled gearbox change results in an automatic five-place grid penalty, applied after the qualifying session
2012 Bahrain Grand Prix
–
Force India chose not to take part in the second free practice session.
2012 Bahrain Grand Prix
–
2012 Bahrain Grand Prix
2012 Bahrain Grand Prix
–
Michael Schumacher was eliminated at the end of Q1.
2012 Bahrain Grand Prix
–
Heikki Kovalainen qualified sixteenth, the first time he reached Q2 in the 2012 season.
43.
Michael Schumacher
–
Michael Schumacher is a German retired racing driver. He is a seven-time Formula One World Champion and is regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. He was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year twice and he won two titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 before moving to Ferrari where he drove for eleven years. His time with Ferrari yielded five consecutive titles between 2000 and 2004, Schumacher holds many of Formula Ones driver records, including most championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions and races won in a single season –13 in 2004. In 2002, he became the driver in Formula One history to finish in the top three in every race of a season and then also broke the record for most consecutive podium finishes. According to the official Formula One website, he is statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen, after beginning in karting, Schumacher won the German drivers championships in Formula König and Formula Three before joining Mercedes in the World Sportscar Championship. In 1991, his Mercedes-funded race debut for the Jordan Formula One team resulted in Schumacher being signed by Benetton Formula One team as their driver for the rest of that season. Establishing himself as a top driver, finishing third in 1992 and fourth in 1993, in 1995 he repeated the success, this time with a greater margin. Schumacher moved to Ferrari in 1996, Schumacher came close to winning the 1997 and 1998 titles, before breaking his leg at the 1999 British Grand Prix, ending another title run. Things then came good for Schumacher who won five consecutive drivers titles from 2000 to 2004. Schumacher retired from Formula One driving in 2006 staying with Ferrari as an advisor and he came close to an eighth title that year, but due to technical problems in the final two races he fell short to Fernando Alonso. Schumacher agreed to return for Ferrari part-way through 2009, as cover for the badly injured Felipe Massa, Schumacher returned to Formula One on a permanent basis from 2010 with the Mercedes team before retiring for a second time at the conclusion of the 2012 season. Off the track, Schumacher is an ambassador for UNESCO and a spokesman for driver safety and he has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts throughout his life and donated tens of millions of dollars to charity. In December 2013, Schumacher suffered a head injury while skiing. He was airlifted to a hospital and placed in an induced coma. He was in the coma for six months from 29 December 2013 until 16 June 2014 and he left the hospital in Grenoble for further rehabilitation at the University Hospital in Lausanne. On 9 September 2014, Schumacher was relocated to his home where he continues to receive medical treatment, Schumacher was born in Hürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, to Rolf Schumacher, a bricklayer, and his wife Elisabeth. When Schumacher was four, his father modified his pedal kart by adding a small motorcycle engine, when Schumacher crashed it into a lamp post in Kerpen, his parents took him to the karting track at Kerpen-Horrem, where he became the youngest member of the karting club
Michael Schumacher
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Michael Schumacher in
2011
Michael Schumacher
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Schumacher's title-winning German
Formula Three car from 1990
Michael Schumacher
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Schumacher driving for
Benetton at the
1992 Monaco Grand Prix
Michael Schumacher
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Schumacher drove the
Benetton B194 to his first World Championship in 1994.
44.
2012 Monaco Grand Prix
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The 2012 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took take place in the principality of Monaco on 27 May 2012. It was the round of the 2012 season, and the seventy-first running of the Monaco Grand Prix. The race was supported by the GP2, GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5 series, Mark Webbers victory created a new record for Formula One in that there had never been six different winners of the opening six Grands Prix of the season before. Like the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix, tyre supplier Pirelli brought its yellow-banded soft compound tyre as the prime tyre. It was the first time for the season that the super-soft compound made an appearance at a race weekend, the circuit underwent some extensive changes in the aftermath of Sergio Pérezs accident during qualifying for the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix. Pérez crashed heavily at the Nouvelle Chicane, suffering a concussion and he was unable to take part in the race. In response to this, the event organisers had the approach to the chicane smoothened by lowering the tarmac 20 centimetres, other changes included the widening of the pit exit and the removal of nearby trees to allow a driver re-joining the race greater visibility. TecPro barriers were added at Sainte Dévote and Piscine. Michael Schumacher was given a grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Bruno Senna during the Spanish Grand Prix. Pastor Maldonado was given a grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Sergio Pérez during the final free practice session. He then received another five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change, pics first flying lap was ruined when he was blocked by the slow-moving HRT of Pedro de la Rosa at Rascasse, forcing the Frenchman to pit. Saubers Sergio Pérez crashed heavily at the Swimming Pool, striking the outer barrier with enough force to remove a wheel, the session was red-flagged due to his crash for six minutes while the car was removed. During replays of the incident, commentators observed Pérez shouting power steering, over his radio moments before the crash. Pérezs left-front steering was damaged, leading to speculation that the crash had been a by-product of the incident with Pastor Maldonado in the free practice session. With eight minutes remaining Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher led teammate Nico Rosberg with several drivers close behind. Defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel opted for a set of super-soft tyres late in the session, both Lotus drivers waited late to set their first timed lap, both opting for soft tyres. However, while Romain Grosjean set a lap time, Kimi Räikkönen was not so quick and was only half a second ahead Caterhams Heikki Kovalainen. Räikkönen switched to a set of compounds and was able to avoid elimination
2012 Monaco Grand Prix
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Fernando Alonso (pictured in free practice) sported a special livery helmut during the race weekend.
2012 Monaco Grand Prix
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Circuit de Monaco
2012 Monaco Grand Prix
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Pastor Maldonado was one driver who had to retire following the accident in the first corner.
2012 Monaco Grand Prix
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Jenson Button retired from the race on lap 70.
45.
McLaren
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McLaren Racing Limited, competing as McLaren Honda, is a British Formula One team based at the McLaren Technology Centre, Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has competed in and won the Indianapolis 500. The team is the second oldest active team after Ferrari and they are one of the most successful teams in Formula One history, having won 182 races,12 drivers championships and eight constructors championships. The team is an owned subsidiary of McLaren Technology Group. Further American triumph followed, with Indianapolis 500 wins in McLaren cars for Mark Donohue in 1972, the combination of Prost and Senna was particularly dominant—together they won all but one race in 1988—but later their rivalry soured and Prost left for Ferrari. Fellow English team Williams offered the most consistent challenge during this period, however, by the mid-1990s, Honda had withdrawn from Formula One, Senna had moved to Williams, and the team went three seasons without a win. Ron Dennis retired as McLaren team principal in 2009, handing the role to longtime McLaren employee Martin Whitmarsh. At the end of 2013, after the teams worst season since 2004, McLaren announced in 2013 that they would be using Honda engines from 2015 onwards, replacing Mercedes-Benz. The team raced as McLaren-Honda for the first time since 1992 at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, Bruce McLaren Motor Racing was founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren. Bruce was a driver for the British Formula One team Cooper with whom he had won three Grands Prix and come second in the 1960 world championship. In 1964 and 1965, McLaren were based in New Malden, then Feltham, during this period, Bruce drove for his team in sports car races in the United Kingdom and North America and also entered the 1965 Tasman Series with Phil Hill, but did not win it. He continued to drive in Grands Prix for Cooper, but judging that teams form to be waning, Bruce made the teams Grand Prix debut at the 1966 Monaco race. His race ended after nine laps due to an oil leak. Neither car brought great success, the best result being a fourth at Monaco, for 1968, after driving McLarens sole entry for the previous two years, Bruce was joined by 1967 champion and fellow New Zealander Denny Hulme, who was already racing for McLaren in Can-Am. That years new M7A car, Herds final design for the team, was powered by Cosworths new and soon to be ubiquitous DFV engine, Hulme also won the Italian and Canadian Grands Prix later in the year, helping the team to second in the constructors championship. The year 1970 started with a place each for Hulme. After his death, Teddy Mayer took over control of the team, Hulme continued with Dan Gurney. Gurney won the first two Can-Am events at Mosport and St. Jovite and placed ninth in the third, but left the team mid-season, and Gethin took over from there
McLaren
–
The McLaren Racing team's founder
Bruce McLaren
McLaren
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The
McLaren M2B the team's first Formula One car
McLaren
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Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1974 drivers' championship with McLaren.
McLaren
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Five years after his first retirement, Lauda won his third title driving a
McLaren MP4/2.
46.
Jenson Button
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Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British racing driver currently under contract with McLaren-Honda, as a reserve driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship, driving for Brawn GP, Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British Formula 3 Championship. He first drove in Formula One with Williams F1 for the 2000 season, the following year he switched to Benetton, which in 2002 became Renault, and then for the 2003 season he moved to BAR. In 2004 he finished 3rd in the World Drivers Championship, with only the two Ferraris ahead of him, BAR was subsequently renamed Honda for the 2006 season, during which Button won his first Grand Prix in Hungary, after 113 races. For 2010, he moved to McLaren, partnering fellow British racer and former World Champion Lewis Hamilton, after finishing fifth for the team in 2010, Button finished the 2011 season as runner-up. In 2012 he took his first pole for McLaren at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix and he spent a fifth season with the McLaren team in 2014, his fifteenth in Formula One. From the 305 races that Button has started he has won 15, Button was born on 19 January 1980 in Frome, Somerset and brought up in nearby Vobster. He was named after his fathers Danish friend and rallycross opponent Erling Jensen and he was educated at Vallis First School, Selwood Middle School and Frome Community College. After his parents divorced when he was seven, he and his three sisters were brought up by their mother in Frome. However, after a while the boy moved to his stepmother Pippa Kerr, when Jenson was 19 years of age John Button and Pipa Kerr divorced. Button junior failed his first driving test for getting too close to a parked vehicle, in 1989, aged nine, he came first in the British Super Prix. He won all 34 races of the 1991 British Cadet Kart Championship, further successes followed, including three triumphs in the British Open Kart Championship. In 1997, he won the Ayrton Senna Memorial Cup, aged 18, Button moved into car racing, winning the British Formula Ford Championship with Haywood Racing, he also triumphed in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. At the end of 1998, he won the annual McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award and his prize included a test in a McLaren Formula One car, which he received at the end of the following year. Button entered the British Formula 3 Championship in 1999, with the Promatecme team and he won three times —at Thruxton, Pembrey and Silverstone—and finished the season as the top rookie driver, and third overall. He finished fifth and second respectively in the Marlboro Masters and Macau Grand Prix, at the end of 1999, Button had his McLaren test prize at Silverstone, and also tested for the Prost team. This made him Britains youngest ever Formula One driver, however some had misgivings about his lack of experience and ability to cope with the pressures of Formula One. Making his début in Australia, Button crashed during practice and qualified second-last on the grid, however, he performed strongly in the race and was set to score a point before his engine failed 11 laps from the finish
Jenson Button
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Button at the
2012 Bahrain Grand Prix
Jenson Button
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Button's
Williams FW22 at the
Donington Grand Prix Exhibition.
Jenson Button
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Button at the
2001 French Grand Prix driving for
Benetton.
Jenson Button
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Button behind the wheel for
BAR at the
2004 United States Grand Prix.
47.
2012 European Grand Prix
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The 2012 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain on 24 June 2012. It was the round of the 2012 championship season. It was Fernando Alonsos second Grand Prix win in Spain after the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix held at Barcelona. Michael Schumacher finished third at the age of 43 years and 173 days and it was Schumachers best result since his comeback in 2010 and the final podium finish of his Formula One career. The second DRS activation zone, located after Turn 14 in 2011, was removed for the 2012 race. Like the 2011 European Grand Prix, tyre supplier Pirelli brought its white-banded medium compound tyre as the prime tyre. Marussia driver Timo Glock decided not to part in Saturdays qualifying session or start the race because he was suffering from food poisoning. His teammate, Charles Pic, qualified in twenty-third and last place, the HRTs occupied the row in front of him on the grid, with Pedro de la Rosa out-qualifying Narain Karthikeyan. The Red Bull of Mark Webber was very out of place, the Caterham of Vitaly Petrov qualified on the same row as Webber in twentieth, whilst the Toro Rosso of Jean-Éric Vergne qualified eighteenth again. The other Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo did make it through to the qualifying session. Caterham driver Heikki Kovalainen, doing a job to make Q2, enjoyed his joint-best qualifying of the season in sixteenth. He was, however, more than a second behind Sergio Pérez of Sauber, williams driver and fellow countryman Bruno Senna qualified on the same row as Massa, in fourteenth. Just three-tenths of a second separated Romain Grosjeans fastest time of the session, the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher was the car between the Ferraris in twelfth, missing out, like Senna and Pérez, when their teammates made it into Q3. Seven teams were represented by the ten drivers in the third and it was Vettels third consecutive pole at the Valencia Street Circuit, on the tracks final appearance. It was much closer behind him though, the nine cars separated by just half a second. Lewis Hamilton accompanied him by qualifying second, his front row start of the season. Nico Rosberg took his Mercedes to sixth and Kamui Kobayashi was successful in qualifying his Sauber seventh, Rosberg claimed after the session that Hamilton had blocked him at the end of his out-lap, spoiling his final effort. The matter was looked into by the stewards, but they decided not to further action
2012 European Grand Prix
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The Valencia Street Circuit
48.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
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Scuderia Toro Rosso, commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team. It is one of two F1 teams owned by Austrian beverage company Red Bull, the other being Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso functions as a junior team to Red Bull Racing, with the aim of developing the skills of promising drivers for the senior team. Since 2010, the team has competed entirely independently of their sister team, in late November 2008, Red Bull regained total ownership of Toro Rosso after buying back Bergers share of the team. From 2007 to 2013, Toro Rosso used Ferrari V8 engines, for 2014, Toro Rosso switched to Renault engines as well, but in 2016 returned to using Ferrari power, and will switch back to Renault in 2017. The team principal is Franz Tost, formerly of BMWs motor sport division, Vitantonio Liuzzi scored the teams first point in its first season at the 2006 United States Grand Prix. The teams first and only pole position, podium and victory were scored by Sebastian Vettel at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Jaime Alguersuari took over Bourdais seat at the Hungarian Grand Prix, and kept the seat for the remaining part of the year. Both Alguersuari and Buemi raced for the team for all of the 2010 and 2011 seasons and it was announced on 14 December 2011, that Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Éric Vergne would be the teams drivers for the 2012 season. At the 2013 Italian Grand Prix it was announced that Daniel Ricciardo had been chosen to succeed Mark Webber at Red Bull Racing, for 2014, Toro Rosso retained Jean-Éric Vergne and signed newcomer Daniil Kvyat. Minardi had competed in Formula One from 1985 to 2005, despite having a large fan base, it had been one of the least competitive teams in the sport, never achieving a podium finish and only finishing as high as fourth in three races. Included in the terms of the deal with Red Bull was the clause that the team must keep its headquarters in Faenza, Italy until at least the 2007 season. Whilst Red Bull have abandoned the Minardi name in line with their own sponsorship and marketing plans, Red Bull changed the name of the team immediately after taking control of the team on 1 November 2005. It was initially reported as Squadra Toro Rosso but then changed because squadra in Italian depicts a squad like a football team, Scuderia is Italian for a stable reserved for racing horses, and is also commonly applied to Italian motor racing teams. Many Minardi fans were upset by this move, and over 15,000 signed a petition to keep the Minardi name. Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed were the 2006 race drivers of the STR1, Liuzzi had raced part-time for Red Bull Racing in 2005, while Speed entered F1 following the Red Bull Driver Search in the United States. Jani was the test driver for Sauber Petronas in 2004, the 2006 chassis was a modified version of the 2005 Red Bull Racing RB1. Some teams felt that this infringed the Concorde Agreement as each team is expected to design their own car, the team used Minardis contracted supply of rev limited and air restricted Cosworth 3. 0l V10 engines. This concession had been granted to assist less well funded teams by avoiding the cost of sourcing a new supply of V8 engines as required by the 2006 regulations. The continuation of this arrangement after the Red Bull takeover caused friction with other teams, in particular Super Aguri and Midland who felt that the engine conferred too much of an advantage
Scuderia Toro Rosso
–
Vitantonio Liuzzi at the
2006 Canadian Grand Prix
Scuderia Toro Rosso
–
Vitantonio Liuzzi driving for the team at the
2007 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
–
Sebastian Vettel leads
Sébastien Bourdais at the
2008 Japanese Grand Prix.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
–
Sébastien Bourdais and
Felipe Massa battling for position early on in the
2008 Japanese Grand Prix. They later made contact, for which the Toro Rosso driver was penalised.
49.
Mark Webber
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After some racing success in Australia driving Formula Ford and Formula Holden, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career. He also beat future F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, then 19, Webber made his Formula One debut in 2002, scoring Minardis first points in three years at his and Stoddarts home race. After his first season, Jaguar took him on as lead driver, during two years with the generally uncompetitive team, Webber qualified on the front two rows of the grid several times and outperformed his teammates. His first F1 win was with Red Bull at the 2009 German Grand Prix, by the end of 2009, Webber had scored eight podiums, including another victory in Brazil. His eight podiums in 2009 compares to only two podiums in the first seven years of his career and he added ten more podiums in 2010, including victories in Spain, Monaco, Britain and Hungary. Webber finished the 2010 season in place having led for a long period. Webber added another victory in the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix, as he once again finished third behind champion Vettel. He finished the season in sixth position, Webber was also a long-term director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, the Formula One drivers union. On 27 June 2013, Webber announced he would be retiring from Formula One at the end of the season and he began to race for Porsche in 2014, on a long-term deal, racing LMP1 Sportscars in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Webber is one of six drivers of the Porsche 919 Hybrid, the trio race with the #1 on their car in 2016. Webber was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, son of Alan Webber, a motorcycle dealer. Webber has one sister, Leanne, and two nieces. He attended Karabar High School in Queanbeyan for his secondary education and he began his relationship with sport at a young age, working as a ball boy for premiership winning rugby league team, the Canberra Raiders, during the late 1980s. However, motorsport was where his interest lay, listing Formula One World Champion Alain Prost, starting out racing motorcycles, Webber moved to four wheels in 1991, taking up karting at age 14. He won the New South Wales state championship in 1993, working as a driving instructor at Sydneys Oran Park Raceway between races, Webber finished 14th overall in his debut season. Continuing in the series in 1995, Webber scored several victories, Webber was given a test at Snetterton with the Van Diemen team, and subsequently earned a works drive for the team at the 1995 Formula Ford Festival, at Brands Hatch, where he finished third. That was good enough to prompt the team to signing him for the 1996 championship, before moving to Europe permanently, Webber won the Formula Holden race at the 1996 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. During the 1996 British Formula Ford Championship, he took four victories on his way to second place overall and he also won the Spa-Francorchamps race of the Formula Ford Euro Cup, taking third in the series despite competing in only two of the three rounds
Mark Webber
–
Webber in 2012
Mark Webber
–
Webber driving for Minardi at the
2002 French Grand Prix
Mark Webber
–
Webber's 2003 helmet design
Mark Webber
–
Webber driving for
Jaguar at the
2004 United States Grand Prix
50.
2012 British Grand Prix
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The 2012 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England on 8 July 2012. It was the round of the 2012 Formula One season, the 63rd time the event had been a round of the Formula One World Championship. The 52-lap race was won by Red Bull driver Mark Webber, the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, who started the race in pole position, finished 3.0 seconds behind Webber, in second. Webbers teammate, Sebastian Vettel, completed the podium by finishing in third position, as a consequence of the race, Webber narrowed Alonsos lead in the drivers standings to 13 points. Webber himself was 16 points ahead of Vettel, who had moved ahead of Lewis Hamilton into third in the standings on 100 points, Red Bull extended their lead in the constructors standings to 64 points. Ferrari moved up from fourth place to second whilst McLaren did the reverse, all three teams stayed within 10 points of each other. This would prove to be Webbers final career F1 victory, Jean-Éric Vergne was given a ten-place grid penalty for the race after causing an avoidable collision with Heikki Kovalainen during the previous race. Kamui Kobayashi took a five-place grid penalty for the same offence, after out-qualifying Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo in Valencia, Caterham announced plans to bring several upgrades for the CT-01 chassis to the race. Test driver María de Villota was involved in an accident while carrying out a straight-line aerodynamic test of the upgraded MR01 chassis in the week preceding the race at Duxford Aerodrome. She was removed from the car with life-threatening injuries, including skull fractures, like the 2011 British Grand Prix, tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder prime tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound tyre as the softer option tyre. Dani Clos replaced Narain Karthikeyan at HRT for the first practice session, valtteri Bottas took Bruno Sennas seat at Williams, while Jules Bianchi drove Nico Hülkenbergs car for Force India for the duration of the session. Romain Grosjean was the fastest driver in the first session, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso and the Force Indias of Paul di Resta and Jules Bianchi elected not to set lap times in the face of the difficult conditions. The second session was washed out and saw limited running as teams tried to preserve their wet-. Hamilton was fastest, leading Kamui Kobayashi and Michael Schumacher as Grosjean elected not to set a time. Bruno Senna brought out a red flag that resulted in a stop to the session when he hit a patch of standing water at Becketts. Fernando Alonso also encountered trouble, spinning and hitting the wall late in the session, but the Ferrari driver was able to return to the pits. The third and final session was declared dry, but was run under the threat of rain, Charles Pic stopped on the circuit after twenty minutes, forcing the temporary suspension of the session while his car was removed. Pic later returned to the circuit, but stopped once again, Alonso ended the session fastest overall
2012 British Grand Prix
–
The wet conditions in Friday's practice sessions saw limited running.
2012 British Grand Prix
–
Silverstone Circuit
2012 British Grand Prix
–
Kimi Räikkönen qualified his
Lotus in sixth position.
2012 British Grand Prix
–
Fernando Alonso started the race in pole position and finished in second place after being overtaken by
Mark Webber near the end of the race.
Marcus Ericsson
Giedo van der Garde
Kamui Kobayashi
Heikki Kovalainen
Vitaly Petrov
Charles Pic
André Lotterer
Will Stevens
