1.
France
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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
2.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
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The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2017 following the rebranding of the long-term Formula One feeder series, GP2 Series. On Friday, drivers have a 45-minute free practice session and a 30-minute qualifying session, the qualifying session decides the grid order for Saturdays race which has a length of 180 kilometres. During Saturdays race, each driver has to make a pit stop in which at least two tyres have to be changed, on Sunday there is a sprint race of 120 kilometres. The grid is decided by the Saturday result with top 8 being reversed, so the driver who finished 8th on Saturday will start from pole position, therefore, the maximum number of points a driver can score at any round will be 48. Overall weight is 688 kg including driver, the F2 Championship currently uses 2011 specification GP2 car has been designed by Dallara Automobili. Currently, Dallara GP2/11 are the current chassis since debut in 2011, the price of Dallara GP2/11 FIA Formula 2 Championship cars are approximately up to €1.5 million-€2 million per car. FIA Formula 2 Championship officials have confirmed that the series continue to use the current fleet of Dallara GP2/11 chassis through end of 2017 season. In 2018 the championship will adopt the Dallara F2/18 chassis as a cost control method, the new specification also improved safety, lower noses and wider-lower rear wing. The 4. 0-litre normally-aspirated electronic indirect fuel-injected Mecachrome V8 engine features internal, cartographic and software designed to improve performance. The engine produces 612 hp and 500 Nm of torque @8000 rpm, FIA Formula 2 Championship engines are rev-limited to 10000 rpm and need a rebuild after 4000 to 4500 km. The valve train is an overhead camshaft configuration with four valves per cylinder. The Mecachrome V8 engine weight is 326 lb, the crankshaft is made of alloy steel, with five main bearing caps. The pistons are forged aluminum alloy, while the rods are machined alloy steel. The electronic engine management system is supplied by Magneti Marelli, firing a high-power inductive ignition system, the engine lubrication is a dry sump type, cooled by a single water pump. The price of Mecachrome FIA Formula 2 Championship engines are approximately €150,000 per engine unit, Mecachrome came to the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2005, and by the same year Mecachrome was clearly the dominant engine manufacturer as of 2017. During that time, since the FIA Formula 2 Championship had only one manufacturer, Mecachrome still focusing on minimizing engine failure. As such, the engines were moderately de-tuned, the engines proved themselves to be quite durable—there had been no engine failures at all F2 tracks from 2005 to present, which also lowered the number of crashes. Most of the engines, including those used for the Monaco race, are used for races and were intended to last 1,100 miles between rebuilds
3.
Formula E
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Formula E, officially the FIA Formula E Championship, is a class of auto racing that uses only electric-powered cars. The series was conceived in 2012, and the championship started in Beijing on 13 September 2014. The series is sanctioned by the FIA, alejandro Agag is the current CEO of Formula E. The Formula E championship is contested by ten teams with two drivers each. Racing generally takes place on temporary street circuits which are approximately 2 to 3.4 km long. Currently, only the Mexico City ePrix takes place on a road course, all events begin with two practice sessions in the morning, an opening 45-minute session followed by a further 30-minute session. Drivers each have two cars at their disposal with 200 kW available throughout, the qualifying session normally takes place at noon and lasts one hour. The drivers are divided into four groups of five, with each group having six minutes to set their best lap, full power of 200 kW is available throughout with drivers only able to use one car. Since the second season, the five fastest drivers then go out again, one-by-one, the race itself lasts for approximately 50 minutes with drivers making one mandatory pit stop to change cars. Tire changes, unless caused by a puncture or damage, are not permitted during this pit stop, in race mode the maximum power is restricted to 170 kW. Points are awarded using the standard FIA system, for each race, fans can vote for their favourite driver via various social media channels to give them an extra power boost. Voting starts about two weeks prior to an event and is open during the opening six minutes of the race. The three winning Fanboost drivers each receive an extra 100 kJ of energy to be used in a window between 180 kW and 200 kW. Points are awarded to the top ten drivers using the standard FIA system, three points are also awarded to the driver securing the pole position, while the driver setting the fastest lap receives an additional point. The championship consists of both a drivers’ and teams’ championship, a drivers end of season total is made up a drivers best results. A teams total is made up by counting both drivers throughout the season. For the first season, all teams were supplied an electric racing car built by Spark Racing Technology, the chassis was designed by Dallara, with an electric motor developed by McLaren, a battery system created by Williams Advanced Engineering and a Hewland five-speed gearbox. Michelin was the tyre supplier
4.
GP2 Series
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The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, in 2010 the GP3 Series class was launched, as a feeder class for the GP2 series. In the 2017 the series was rebranded as the FIA Formula 2 Championship, many drivers have used GP2 as a stepping stone into Formula One. 2009 GP2 champion Nico Hülkenberg moved up to a Williams F1 race driver in the 2010 Formula 1 season, in addition, Heikki Kovalainen, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Lucas di Grassi —all runners up— became Renault test drivers the following year. All three earned F1 seats, but have since been replaced, karun Chandhok, Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov were also granted an F1 seat in 2010. For 2011 Pastor Maldonado was granted the hot seat at Williams and this meant that Nico Hülkenberg was deposed by Williams. Sergio Pérez was given the drive alongside Kamui Kobayashi, another former GP2 driver and GP2 Asia Series winner, jérôme dAmbrosio got his Virgin Racing drive for the 2011 season. However, some drivers have reached Formula One without competing in GP2, for example Paul di Resta, Daniel Ricciardo, Jean-Éric Vergne, Valtteri Bottas, and Kevin Magnussen. During 2011, it was announced that in 2012 the GP2 and GP2 Asia Series would combine to make a single, current Formula One drivers that have come from GP2 racing include Lewis Hamilton, Romain Grosjean, Stoffel Vandoorne, Jolyon Palmer and several more. At the end of the 2016 season, nine of the champions were able to secure a seat in Formula 1. On Friday, drivers had a 45-minute free practice session and a 30-minute qualifying session, the qualifying session decides the grid order for Saturdays race which has a length of 180 kilometres. During Saturdays race, each driver has to make a pit stop in which at least two tyres have to be changed, on Sunday there is a sprint race of 120 kilometres. The grid was decided by the Saturday result with top 8 being reversed, so the driver who finished 8th on Saturday have started from pole position, 2005–2011 Pole for Saturday races,2 points Fastest lap,1 point in each race. Driver recording fastest lap has to drive 90% of race laps, the driver must now also start the race from his allocated grid position and as of 2008 must finish in the top ten of the race to be eligible for the fastest lap point. With this points system, the most number of points anyone can score in one round is 20 by claiming pole position, 2012-2016 From the 2012 season the GP2 series changed its scoring system. Therefore, the number of points a driver can score at any round will be 48. Overall weight is 688 kg including driver, the 2011 specification GP2 Series car has been designed by Dallara Automobili. The 2006 GP2 car featured a rear wing, with the triplane rear wing used in previous seasons only to be used at the Monaco race
5.
GP3 Series
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The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, is a single seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 follows the entire European leg of the Formula One series, in 2012, the series visited the Monaco street circuit after 2 years of attempts, as they were always unable to beforehand due to lack of room. 2011 champion Valtteri Bottas did not follow suit however, and instead joined Williams F1 as a reserve driver. Meanwhile, James Calado, Rio Haryanto, Simon Trummer, Tom Dillmann and Nigel Melker all joined GP2 for the 2012 season.5 Series in 2011 and Lewis Williamson in 2012. In the series history, nine drivers have gone on to compete. These include former champions Gutiérrez, Kvyat, Bottas and Ocon for Sauber, Red Bull Racing, Williams and Manor respectively, Jean-Éric Vergne, the GP3 Series car is a standardised car used by all of the competing teams. For the 2010-2012 seasons, the GP3 series used the GP3/10 chassis, chassis The car had been designed and built by Dallara, who currently produces the GP2 chassis. Engine The GP3/10 used a four-cylinder 2. 0-litre turbocharged 280-400 hp engine developed by Renault Sport, the wastegate was included due to turbocharger rules. Gearbox The GP3/10 used a 6 speed longitudinal sequential Hewland gearbox, tyres Pirelli supplied the tyres for GP3 from 2010 to 2012, same supplier for the GP2 Series. Chassis The car was designed and built by Dallara. Engine The GP3/13 used a naturally aspirated 3. 4-litre V6400 hp engine, gearbox The GP3/13 used a 6 speed longitudinal sequential gearbox developed by Hewland. Tyres Pirelli continued to supply the tyres for GP3 from 2013 onwards, chassis The car has also been designed and built by Dallara. Engine The GP3/16 uses a naturally aspirated 3. 4-litre V6400 hp engine, developed by Mecachrome, gearbox The GP3/16 will again use a 6 speed longitudinal sequential gearbox developed by Hewland. Tyres Pirelli will continue to supply the tyres for GP3 from 2016 onwards, the qualifying session is a straight fight for the fastest laptime, and determines the order of the grid for Saturdays Race 1. The grid is decided by the Saturday result with top 8 being reversed, so the driver who finished 8th on Saturday will start from pole position and the winner will start from 8th place. The distance of race is decided prior to the event, however. With this points system, the most number of points anyone can score in one round is 20 by claiming pole position, no driver ever did manage to get maximum points with this system. Valtteri Bottas at the 2011 Hungarian round achieved pole position and won the feature race, with this points system, the most number of points anyone can score in one round is 48 by claiming pole position, winning both races with the fastest lap in each race
6.
World Series Formula V8 3.5
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The series came out of the Spanish Formula Renault Championship, which ran from 1991 to 1997. The World Series was founded as Open Fortuna by Nissan in 1998, and was based in Spain. The organization was handled by RPM Comunicacion, founded by Jaime Alguersuari Tortajada, the series changed name a number of times, usually adopting the name of its main sponsor, but was also known by other common names such as the unofficial Formula Nissan. In its early years, the series used chassis built by Coloni, the series slotted in between Formula Three and Formula 3000. In 2002, it adopted a new format, with supplied by Dallara. The series also became international, with more than half of the race calendar held outside Spain. Renault started the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup in 2003, as a series in Eurosports Super Racing Weekends. The series ran with Tatuus chassis and a Nissan 3.5 L V6 engine. In 2005, Renault left the Super Racing Weekend and started the World Series by Renault, the Dallara chassis was retained, while the Renault V6 was improved to 425 PS. Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and the Eurocup Mégane Trophy also joined the series in 2005 to support the main FR3.5 series. At the end of July 2015, Renault Sport announced it would be withdrawing its backing to the Formula Renault 3.5 from 2016 onwards, handing the control of the series to co-organiser RPM. However, Renault Sport also said it would continue the World Series by Renault with the Renault Sport Trophy, as a result of this, the series name was changed to Formula V83.5. In December 2016, the name was changed again to World Series Formula V83.5. From 2008–2011, the chassis for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series is a Dallara built carbon fibre monocoque, the gearbox is a 6 speed semi-automatic supplied by Ricardo with steering wheel paddle shift. Total weight of the car is 600 kg, starting from 2012 season, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series adopted a new chassis, the Dallara T12, powered by a 3.4 litre V8 engine producing 530 BHP at 9250 rpm developed by Zytek. The cars have 50 more horsepower than previous season and lost 15 kg of weight, in addition, a Drag Reduction System is used, which operates in a similar way to the one in use in Formula One
7.
International Formula 3000
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Formula Two had become too expensive, and was dominated by works-run cars with factory engines, the hope was that Formula 3000 would offer quicker, cheaper, more open racing. The series began as a specification, then tyres were standardized from 1986 onwards, followed by engines. The series ran annually until 2004, and was replaced in 2005 by the GP2 Series, Formula 3000 replaced Formula Two, and was so named because the engines used were limited to 3000cc maximum capacity. Initially, the Cosworth DFV was a choice, having been made obsolete in Formula One by the adoption of 1.5 litre turbocharged engines. The rules permitted any 90-degree V8 engine, fitted with a rev-limiter to keep power output under control, as well as the Cosworth, a Honda engine based on an Indy V8 by John Judd also appeared, a rumoured Lamborghini V8 never raced. In later years, a Mugen-Honda V8 became the thing to have, eclipsing the DFV, costs, not unlike the senior series, were getting out of control. The first chassis from March, AGS and Ralt were developments of their existing 1984 Formula Two designs, although Lolas entry was based on and looked very much like an IndyCar. The form book was rewritten in 1988 with the entry of the ambitious Reynard marque with a new chassis. Dallara briefly tried the series before moving up to Formula One, at least one unraced F3000 chassis existed—the Wagner fitted with a straight-six short-stroke BMW. This was converted into a car, however. The series was not without controversy, definitive rules for the 1985 season did not appear until the championship was well under way. In 1987 questions were asked about the ability of some of the drivers, in 1989 the eligibility of the new Reynard chassis was challenged - it was raced with a different nose to the one that had been crash tested. This season also saw problems with driver changes - the cost of F3000 was escalating to the point that teams were finding it difficult to run drivers for a whole season. A badly implemented two driver changes per car per season rule meant that cars had to sit idle while drivers with budgets could not race them. In 1991 the performance of some Italian teams attracted attention - they had started using Agips jungle juice Formula One fuel, worth an estimated 15 bhp—giving their drivers a significant advantage. Formula 3000 races during the open chassis era tended to be of about 100–120 miles in distance, held at major circuits, the jewel in the crown of the F3000 season was traditionally the Pau Grand Prix street race, rivalled for a few years by the Birmingham round. Most major circuits in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, in 1996, new rules introduced a single engine and chassis, to go along with tyre standardization introduced in 1986. The following year the calendar was combined with that of Formula One, the series grew dramatically through the late nineties, reaching an entry of nearly 40 cars - although this in itself was problematic as it meant many drivers failed to qualify
8.
American Le Mans Series
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The American Le Mans Series was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the American Le Mans headquarters was in Braselton, Georgia, adjacent to Road Atlanta. In 2014, the merged with the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series to form the United SportsCar Championship. The series was created by Braselton, Georgia-based businessman Don Panoz, Panoz created a partnership with the Automobile Club de LOuest, the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to begin a 10-hour race in the spirit of Le Mans, dubbed the Petit Le Mans. The inaugural Petit Le Mans took place in 1998 as a part of the Professional SportsCar Racing series, for 1999, the series changed its name to the American Le Mans Series, and adopted the ACOs rulebook. The partnership with the ACO allowed ALMS teams to earn automatic entries in the Le Mans 24 Hours. This was a practice that began with the inaugural Petit Le Mans, a practice that continues today, the ALMS race at Adelaide in 2000 also received automatic entries. Invitations were extended to the series beginning in 2003, for the 2004 race. The ACO has always given high consideration to teams competing in ALMS races, the series began with eight races in 1999, beginning with the 12 Hours of Sebring, and ending at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The schedule expanded to 12 races in 2000, including two races in Europe, and one in Australia, in subsequent years, the European races disappeared, with the creation of the short-lived European Le Mans Series, and later the Le Mans Series. The series also began to move away from the rovals, road courses in the infield of large superspeedways, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, and Texas Motor Speedway. Lately, the series has visited more temporary street courses, many in conjunction with the Indy Racing League, at such as St. Petersburg, Florida and Long Beach. The series has raced at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Mosport, Road Atlanta, from 2011 until the series folded, ALMS competed on a street circuit through the Inner Harbor coinciding with the Grand Prix of Baltimore, Maryland over the US Labor Day weekend. In 2010 the American Le Mans Series signed its first title sponsorship agreement, the American Le Mans Series used essentially the same rules as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, there were 3 primary classes, the former GT1 category was abandoned after 2009 season. In 2012, the Le Mans was dropped from the names of the prototype categories, each car is driven by multiple drivers, and all cars compete together simultaneously. P1 generally contains factory teams while P2 contains privateer teams, in ACO-sanctioned racing all of the drivers are professional in GTE-PRO, while in GTE-Am,1 or 2 amateurs are allowed to race with a professional driver in support. However, since ALMS uses only one GTE category and combines the PRO/AM classes, the two Challenge classes were formula-based, and were designed for privateers or rookies to have an easier time entering the series
9.
FIA GT Championship
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The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile. The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia, at the end of 2009, the championship was replaced by the FIA GT1 World Championship, which morphed into the FIA GT Series for 2013. FIA currently defines several categories of GT cars with the top two specifications being GT1, or Grand Touring Cars, and GT2, or Series Grand Touring Cars, each category has an annual driver champion, team champion, and manufacturer champion. Both categories are based on road car designs, which must be produced in a minimum quantity of 25 examples to qualify. For the 2006 season, the FIA created a new class called GT3, GT3 cars are even closer to their production counterparts and are very simply racetrack prepared with the essentials. All cars are performance balanced together via different weights, restrictors and this car must be able to be used perfectly legally on the open road, and adapted for racing on circuits or closed courses. The new manufacturers built homologation specials, racing-bred cars that took advantage of the new rules. Chrysler, Lister and Marcos, not wanting to accompany the cost escalation and this proved to be the wisest move, as Mercedes completely dominated the new category and the other manufacturers pulled out after the end of the 1998 season. This left Chryslers Viper to become the car in the series, with the aging Porsche 993 GT2. However, there was no lower inexpensive category for drivers. While the manufacturer field in the main class blossomed, the new category became swamped with Porsches and Ferraris, but lower running costs meant both classes enjoyed a balanced number of entries. In order to boost the status, the SRO added the 24 Hours of Spa, previously a touring car race, to the calendar. The FIA also banned official manufacturer involvement, although certain teams had preferential treatment, after the end of the 2004 season, the FIA renamed the classes GT1 and GT2, and somewhat liberalized the GT1 regulations, allowing supercars. While this was made to accommodate the Saleen S7, the biggest beneficiary was the purpose-built Maserati MC12, however, thanks to a weight penalty system, the fight for the championship is protected from more domineering cars. The level of competition remains tight, with drivers managing to fight for the wins with professional drivers. Following the 2009 season, the SRO announced that the FIA GT Championships two categories, GT1 and GT2, would break off into separate series, the GT1 category became a world championship with rounds across the world. Cars which fit the GT1 class were eligible to only in the FIA GT1 World Championship, as the ACO banned the cars from the event. This meant that the category that once was eligible to race not only in the FIA GT, Le Mans Series and this meant that the San Luis round of the 2011 season was the last ever time GT1 cars contested in international motorsport
10.
A1 Grand Prix
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A1 Grand Prix was a single make open wheel auto racing series. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, as such, it was often promoted as the World Cup of Motorsport. The series was ratified by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile and races were held in the traditional Formula One off-season, the nation-based A1GP concept was founded by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum of Dubai, initially in 2003. After a successful first season of A1GP, it was announced on 29 September 2006 that Maktoum was to sell his position as Chairman & Director of A1GP, the transfer of his share in the organisation of A1 Grand Prix to RAB Capital was finalized in December 2006. Tony Teixeira took control of the series in 2006, leading it to liquidation by 2009, the nation-based A1GP concept was founded by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum of Dubai, initially in 2003. Thirty franchises were made available, twenty-three of them were restricted to specified nations, the first season was planned for 12 rounds, however the cancellation of a race scheduled for Curitiba, Brazil in January 2006 reduced this number to 11. Nelson Piquet, Jr. won the race of the series for A1 Team Brazil. Their winning form was not to continue, wins at Estoril and Malaysia saw A1 Team France build up a sizeable gap. By the start of the break, France had run away with the lead with A1 Team Switzerland 28 points behind. At the final race of the season in Shanghai, A1 Team France were crowned the first-ever A1 Grand Prix world champions with 172 points, Switzerland were second with 121 points and A1 Team Great Britain third with 97 points. Katherine Legge was the first woman to drive A1 Grand Prix cars during test session in December 2005 on Dubai Autodrome, changes were made for the 2006–07 season to race durations and distances to improve the spectacle for attendees and TV viewers. The 2006–07 schedule was released on 7 July 2006, with the first race at Circuit Park Zandvoort on 1 October 2006, New teams Team Singapore and Team Greece joined the competition but Team Turkey failed to secure funding for the season. Team Austria, Team Japan, Team Portugal and Team Russia did not return for the second season, however, after securing funding Team Portugal competed in the final four rounds of the second season in South Africa, Mexico, China and Britain. Team Germany won the series with 128 points,35 points lead ahead of Team New Zealand, the 2008–09 season was the first season in which the new Powered by Ferrari A1GP car was used. According to 2007–08 champion Neel Jani, 90% of teams in the paddock warned Teixeira ahead of time that this car change was untimely and an inefficient use of funds. Rule changes included shorter qualifying sessions, a pit-stop during the now longer Sprint Race, removal of limits on Friday test drivers, and reduced Sprint Race points scoring. The opening round of the season, scheduled as part of the well established Nikon SuperGP race meeting, was cancelled five days before practice was due to begin. The event was underwritten by the Queensland state government, who have mentioned the possibility of taking legal recourse against A1 Grand Prix
11.
Formula BMW
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Formula BMW was a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It was positioned at the bottom of the career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category. Like Formula Ford, it was intended to function as the young kart racing graduates first experience of car racing, the new formula was created by BMW Motorsport in 2001, with the first of its championships being inaugurated in Germany in 2002. Selected competitors from each series meet in the World Final at the end of each season, from 2011 onwards BMW ceased to support the Pacific and Europe series, in favour of the Formula BMW Talent Cup. The Talent Cup, which was the final Formula BMW championship in existence, BMW has prior experience of junior formula racing, as a successful engine supplier in Formula Two and, more briefly, Formula Three in the 1970s. Its European F2 Championship program, which ran from 1973 to 1981, the company ended its participation prior to its first entry into Formula One in the 1980s. BMW returned to the categories in Germany in 1991, as the engine supplier to the Formula ADAC championship. The first champion was Christian Abt, the new formula made its debut at Hockenheim in April 2002. The team took Rosbergs son, Nico, to the 2002 championship title in his rookie year, by 2006, Nico Rosberg had progressed to Formula One. Formula BMW then expanded to four championships across three continents. The German series was followed by a south-east Asian championship in 2003, and series in the United Kingdom, the UK and German championships merged into a new pan-European series in 2008. The centres provided courses in driving, chassis setup, fitness and nutrition, media management. To be eligible to compete in Formula BMW, drivers had to be at least fifteen years old and they must have held an International racing license no higher than Grade C. Competitors must take part in a Licensing Course at one of the Racing Centres, BMW also provided an annual scholarship for five young drivers in each championship, between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, who were chosen through a selection process. It provides each driver with a budget of £35,000 in the UK, US$50,000 in Asia, and US$40,000 in the USA. The best drivers from each championship were invited to the Formula BMW World Final, the 2006 event was held at Valencia. It is composed of a series of elimination heats followed by a final race, the winner was awarded a Formula One test with BMW-Sauber. Formula BMW was what is referred to as a slicks and wings formula
12.
GP2 Asia Series
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The GP2 Asia Series was a form of open wheel motor racing based on the GP2 series. The series was announced during the weekend of the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix. GP2 series organiser Bruno Michel commented that It is of importance that the GP2 Asia Series maintains a strong. Our inclusion as the races on the programme of Asian Grands Prix in 2008 is an essential key in this new venture. The first season ran during the main GP2 series off season, January–April and it ran alongside the new Speedcar Series, and the events in Malaysia and Bahrain acted as support races for the Formula One championship. In effort to promote motor racing in Asia, each team is encouraged to have at least one driver whose passport does not come from Western Europe or the Americas, for the avoidance of doubt, Turkey and Russia are not included in the list of European countries. In 2011, it was announced that the GP2 Asia Series would be merged with the European series after the 2011 season, pole for Saturday races,2 points Fastest lap,1 point in each race. Driver recording fastest lap has to drive 90% of race laps, the driver must also start the race from his allocated grid position and finish in the top ten of the race to be eligible for the fastest lap point. With this points system, the most number of points anyone can score in one round is 20 by claiming pole position, list of GP2 Asia Series drivers GP2 Series GP3 Series Formula One Formula 3000 Formula Three Formula Two GP2 Series official website GP2 Asia Series official website
13.
Auto GP
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Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series, and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, is a European formula racing series. The series roots can be traced back to 1999, and the Italian Formula 3000 series, organised by Pierluigi Corbari, the teams used the Lola T96/50 in the first two years. At the beginning nearly all races were held in Italy, the series became European Formula 3000 in 2001. The next three years saw the Lola B99/50 in use, for 2005, Coloni Motorsport established an Italian national-level championship, using the Italian Formula 3000 name. In 2006, Coloni expanded this to form a new European championship named Euroseries 3000 with the Lola B02/50, the Italian series continued to run as part of Euroseries races. In 2009, the announced that the first-generation A1 Grand Prix cars were allowed alongside the Lola F3000 chassis. The championship itself was rebranded for the 2010 season, with it adopting the Auto GP name, as well as that, the championship will offer a €200,000 prize fund at each of its six rounds. Teams only score from their two highest placed cars,48 points is the maximum possible haul for one driver in a race weekend. Official Auto GP World Series site Official website for Euroseries 3000 F3000 history at Unofficial F3000
14.
Le Mans Prototype Challenge
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The Le Mans Prototype Challenge is a spec sports prototype formula created by the Automobile Club de lOuest, organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sports car constructor Oreca. Initially launched as an independent racing series known as the Formula Le Mans Cup in 2009, the American Le Mans Series used the title Le Mans Prototype Challenge since its inception. The Le Mans Series used the name Formula Le Mans until 2011, all ACO series will adopt the name Le Mans Prototype Challenge in 2012. The Formula Le Mans car is built by French manufacturer Oreca, the chassis is based on Courages LC75 LMP2 chassis, while the cars carbon fiber and kevlar bodywork is a simplified version of the LC75s design. All FLM09s use a production-based General Motors small block LS3 V8 which produces approximately 430 horsepower, transmissions are supplied by Xtrac and feature a six-speed sequential transmission operated by paddle shifters. Engine management is regulated by Magneti Marelli, reinforced carbon-carbon disc brakes are supplied by Brembo. When the Formula Le Mans category was introduced in 2009, it was initially a series for many races in the Le Mans Series in Europe as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Most races were one hour in length with a pit stop to allow teams to change drivers. The series, which is exclusively at the Circuit Paul Ricard, France, combines Formula Le Mans cars with competitors from the GT2. The three race season includes two races of thirty minutes and one race of an hour in length, in the 2010 season the Formula Le Mans Cup was integrated into the Le Mans Series, becoming one of five categories within the series. The inaugural season, Formula Le Mans cars participated in four of the Le Mans Series European races, teams will be required to have at least one amateur driver in order to further driver development. Championships will be awarded for drivers, amateur drivers, and teams. In 2012, the class adopted the Le Mans Prototype Challenge name, the class utilizes the Formula Le Mans ruleset similar to the Le Mans Series, and competes in all nine American Le Mans Series events
15.
Porsche Supercup
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The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is the international motor racing series supporting the FIA Formula One World Championship organized by Porsche AG. Porsche Supercup drivers compete in identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, on average,24 race cars take part in each race. Most circuits visited by the series are European, although circuits in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, in the Porsche Supercup the 911 GT3 Cup type 991 is used - a car based on the Porsche 911 GT3. All vehicles are identical,460 hp, sequential six-speed paddle-shift gearbox, aero pack. Two sets of slick tires may be used per car and weekend, the number of wet tires is unlimited. The tires are identical for all competitors and are not permitted to be pre-warmed or chemically treated, to receive points a driver must compete in multiple races per season. Since 2008, there have been two points awarded for the driver who secures pole position in qualifying. The points of the two best drivers of each team are added up, at the end of the season Porsche rewards the three best placed teams with prize money. In 2006 and 2007, Porsche AG pays around 820,000 euros to drivers, per race the winner receives 9,000 euros, the runner-up 7,500 euros and the third placed driver 6,500 euros. For a 15th place 1,400 euros are paid, additionally, the 2006 or 2007 champion receives a Porsche road car. The driver with the fastest laps will be given a watch from Porsche Design. In 2015, Porsche says it pays more than 730,000 Euros in prize money to drivers, in addition, the overall winner receives a special prize. The winner of the rookie classification receives a prize of 30,000 Euros providing he/she reregisters for the following year’s Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Dutch driver Patrick Huisman is the most successful driver in the series, fellow Dutch racer Jeroen Bleekemolen and British Richard Westbrook have won two titles each. The reigning champion is the New Zealand driver Earl Bamber, who won the championship in 2014, at the Grand Prix circuits during 2006 an average of 125,000 spectators witnessed the action from the grandstands at each round. According to Porsche AG races attracted 22 million TV viewers worldwide, Porsche also runs regional and national one-make series called the Porsche Carrera Cup
16.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
17.
Nico Prost
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Nicolas Jean Prost is a French professional racing driver, son of 4-time Formula One champion Alain Prost, currently racing in the FIA Formula E Championship. He is also a racer in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Lotus Rebellion Racing. He also competes in the Andros Trophy and he was a driver for Lotus F1. Like his father, Prost was a golfer, winning tournaments when he was at Columbia University in New York, in 2006, he joined Racing Engineering to contest in the Spanish Formula Three Championship. He won one race and had six podiums, which earned him 4th place in the championship as well as the best rookie title, in 2007, he finished third in the Spanish Formula Three Championship with 2 wins,1 pole and 7 podiums. In 2008, he joined Bull racing and won the Euroseries 3000 championship in his first year with one win, for A1 GP season 3, Nicolas was the rookie driver for Team France. For A1 GP season 4, Nicolas was still the rookie driver and he was promoted to racing driver for the end of the season and showed that he had the pace to fight on top. The team issued in a statement at the end of the seasons that he should be driving the entire 2009–2010 season, in 2007, he competed with Team Oreca in a Saleen S7-R with Laurent Groppi and Jean-Philippe Belloc and finished 5th in his category. In 2009, he raced for the first time in the LMP1 category and he drove a great race, especially on Sunday morning with a stunning quadruple stint which moved the car from 8th to 5th. Unfortunately, a problem later dropped the car to 14th. After a difficult year in 2010, where he drove the fastest lap of rebellion cars. Prost and his teammates Jani and Bleekemolen finished 6th and 1st in the unofficial petrol class, Prost drove the last stage of the competition. In 2009, he participated in the European Le Mans Series for Speedy Racing Team Sebah alongside Marcel Fässler, the trio finished 5th in the championship. Since 2010 he is racing in the European Le Mans Series for Rebellion Racing alongside Swiss racing driver Neel Jani, in 2012 and 2013, Prost competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Rebellion Racing in a LMP1-class Lola B12/60 Toyota. With his mate Neel Jani, they won 9 races in two years in the LMP1 privateer category. He will race the new Rebellion R-One in the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season, Prost has won the first four races of 2014 in the LMP1-L Category and has already clinched the title in the category. Prost clinched back to back victories at Petit Le Mans in 2012 and 2013 and he also finished 3rd in the Sebring 12 Hours in 2013. During the 2009–2010 winter, Prost participated to the famous Andros Trophy ice racing series in the car category
18.
Thailand
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
19.
Alexander Albon
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Alexander Albon is a Thai racing driver. He became a part of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2012, Albon was born in London, England. His father is a former BTCC and Porsche Carrera Cup driver, Nigel Albon, Albon started racing in karts, competing in different series in Europe and Asia in 2004-2011 and then made his debut in Formula Renault 2.0 in 2012. Since the 2012 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup series season as his race he was first race for EPIC Racing. EPIC Racing From karting Albon graduated to the Formula Renault 2, in 2015, Albon switched to European Formula 3, racing with Signature. He finished seventh overall, with two positions,5 podiums and 187 points overall. In December 2015, Albon partook in post season testing with ART Grand Prix, in 2016, Nyck de Vries confirmed Albon as racing in the 2016 season. ART signed Albon later that week and he claimed four wins, in February 2017, Albon graduated to the series, reuniting with ART. Alexander Albon on Facebook Alexander Albon career summary at DriverDB. com
20.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
21.
2011 GP2 Series
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For the Asian-based series, see 2011 GP2 Asia Series. The 2011 GP2 Series season was the season of the pan-European motor racing series for single specification open wheel GP2 cars. Thirteen teams competed over a nine event series that run from May 7 at Istanbul Park in Turkey to September 11 at Monza in Italy, the championship was won by reigning GP2 Asia champion Romain Grosjean at the penultimate round of the series. Following a three-year cycle, the previous GP2 chassis was replaced by a new car. The series will change tyre supplier from Bridgestone to Pirelli for 2011–13, the 2011 season saw the addition of two new teams to the grid, Carlin and Team AirAsia. Meanwhile, DPR was not selected to continue in the series, on November 22,2010 it was announced that Renault would no longer badge their Mecachrome GP2 Series engines, instead of Mecachrome would run its own engine program from 2011 onwards. All GP2 Series cars had a reverse gear for the first time in the series and this section lists drivers who competed in the regular season. For the drivers who competed in the race in Abu Dhabi. Changed teams Sam Bird will move to iSport International after competing in his season for ART Grand Prix. He will partner Marcus Ericsson, who moves over from Super Nova Racing, johnny Cecotto Jr. will move from Trident Racing to Ocean Racing Technology, having competed for Trident in the first eight meetings of the 2010 season. Max Chilton will move from Ocean Racing Technology to be part of Carlins inaugural GP2 pairing, rodolfo González will return to Trident Racing after a season with Arden International. González drove for Trident at the German round in 2009, after driving for DPR for most of his GP2 career to date, Michael Herck will move to Scuderia Coloni. After driving for Super Nova Racing in his season, Josef Král will move to Arden International. Fabio Leimer will move from Ocean Racing Technology to Rapax, charles Pic will move from Arden International to partner Giedo van der Garde at Barwa Addax. Luiz Razia will switch from teams champions Rapax to debutants Team Air Asia, Davide Valsecchi will move from iSport International to be his team-mate. Stefano Coletti will return to the series with Trident Racing, having competed in two rounds in 2009 for Durango, fairuz Fauzy will return to the series with Super Nova Racing, the team that Fauzy competed with in 2006 and also in the 2008 Asia Series. GP3 Series champion Esteban Gutiérrez will move up to GP2 with Lotus ART, Julián Leal will make his debut in the series with Rapax, having finished 20th in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for International DracoRacing. After a part season in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, FIA Formula Two Championship runner-up Jolyon Palmer will join Arden International
22.
2012 GP2 Series
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The 2012 GP2 Series season was the eighth GP2 Series season and the first season after merging with the GP2 Asia Series. The championship was expanded to include rounds in Malaysia, Bahrain and Singapore, the series adopted the points system used by Formula One for the feature race, with points awarded to the top ten drivers and twenty-five points on offer for victory. The points awarded in the sprint race were changed, with the winner receiving fifteen points. Further changes mean that drivers must use two compounds of tyres over a weekend, as is the case in Formula One. The points awarded for position and the fastest lap of the race were doubled as well. The title was won by Italian Davide Valsecchi, driving for DAMS, changed teams Ocean Racing Technologys Johnny Cecotto Jr. and Arden Internationals Josef Král both joined Barwa Addax Team. Stefano Coletti switched from Trident Racing to Scuderia Coloni, having driven for the team in the 2011 GP2 Final, after competing with Trident, Rodolfo González moved to Caterham. Fabio Leimer left Rapax to join Racing Engineering, julián Leal moved from Rapax to Trident Racing, having competed for Trident at the 2011 GP2 Final in Abu Dhabi. Jolyon Palmer switched from Arden International to iSport International, luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi both moved from Caterham Team AirAsia to Arden International and DAMS respectively. Giedo van der Garde switched from teams champions Barwa Addax Team to Caterham Racing, he also joined parent team Caterham F1 as test, entering/Re-entering GP2 Series French driver Nathanaël Berthon, who finished 13th in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, joined Racing Engineering. After finishing runner-up in the GP3 Series with Lotus ART, British driver James Calado joined the Lotus ART GP2 squadron, replacing Jules Bianchi. After competing at three rounds in 2010 with David Price Racing, Fabrizio Crestani returned to the series with Venezuela GP Lazarus, tom Dillmann, who finished 14th in the GP3 Series, joined Rapax. Dillmann competed for iSport at the 2011 GP2 Final in Abu Dhabi, rio Haryanto, who finished seventh in both the GP3 Series and Auto GP in 2011, joined Marussia Carlin. Haryanto competed for DAMS at the 2011 GP2 Final in Abu Dhabi, Auto GP race winner Jon Lancaster signed with Ocean Racing Technology. Dutch driver Nigel Melker, who finished third in the GP3 Series, Melker had previously competed in the 2011 GP2 Final with DAMS. British Formula 3 champion Felipe Nasr joined DAMS for 2012, Italian Fabio Onidi, who finished fifth in Auto GP, signed with Scuderia Coloni. He competed in the 2011 GP2 Final with Super Nova Racing, venezuelan Giancarlo Serenelli, a three-time LATAM Challenge Series champion, joined Venezuela GP Lazarus. Ricardo Teixeira, who competed in GP2 in 2009 with Trident Racing, after competing for MW Arden in the GP3 Series, Swiss driver Simon Trummer joined Ardens GP2 team for 2012
23.
Renault Sport Series
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The Renault Sport Series is a motor racing series. The series consists of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, the F4 Eurocup 1.6 was made part of the World Series in 2010, but was then dropped for 2011. The flagship Formula Renault 3.5 Series became the World Series Formula V83.5 in 2016, Renault started the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup in 2003, as a support series in Eurosports Super Racing Weekends. The series ran with Tatuus chassis and a Nissan 3.5 L V6 engine. In 2005, Renault left the Super Racing Weekend and started the World Series by Renault, the Dallara chassis was retained, while the Renault V6 was improved to 425 PS. Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and the Eurocup Mégane Trophy also joined the series in 2005 to support the main FR3.5 series. At the end of July 2015, Renault Sport announced it would be withdrawing its backing to the Formula Renault 3.5 from 2016 onwards, handing the control of the series to co-organiser RPM. However, Renault Sport also said it would continue the Renault Sport Series with the Renault Sport Trophy, World Series by Renault Renault Sport Series
24.
2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series
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The 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in 3.5 litre Formula Renault single seat race cars that conformed to the regulations for the championship. The 2014 season was the tenth Formula Renault 3.5 Series season organized by Renault Sport, the season began at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on 12 April and finished on 19 October at Circuito de Jerez. The series formed part of the World Series by Renault meetings at seven double header events, with events held at Monza. Carlos Sainz Jr. clinched the title with seven race wins, after his compatriot. Sainz, Jr. also became the first Red Bull Junior Team driver to win the championship. Merhi was the other driver to score more than two wins, but he lost the runner-up position to Pierre Gasly – another Red Bull backed driver – after retiring in the second Jerez race. Fortec Motorsports driver Oliver Rowland won races at Alcañiz and Jerez and his teammate Sergey Sirotkin completed the top five with a win on home soil at Moscow Raceway. Changed teams After two seasons with Pons Racing, Zoël Amberg switched to the AVF team, william Buller, who raced a part-season with Zeta Corse in 2013, moved to Arden Motorsport. Pietro Fantin, who drove for Arden Caterham in 2013, switched to International Draco Racing, jazeman Jaafar changed teams from Carlin to ISR. Nikolay Martsenko switched from Pons Racing to Comtec Racing, carlos Sainz Jr. who raced a part-season with Zeta Corse in 2013 alongside his GP3 Series campaign, moved to the DAMS team. Sergey Sirotkin switched from ISR to Fortec Motorsports, Lotus F1 test driver Marco Sørensen moved to Tech 1 Racing after two years with Lotus. Oliver Webb, who raced with Fortec Motorsports in 2013, returned for the Monza round of the series with Pons Racing, Webb competed with the team in 2011. Entering/Re–Entering FR3.5 Pierre Gasly, the 2013 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion, Formula Renault 2.0 Alps runner-up and sporadic Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 racer Luca Ghiotto made his Formula Renault 3.5 début with International Draco Racing. Eurocup Formula Renault driver Roman Mavlanov and DTM driver Roberto Merhi moved to the championship with Zeta Corse, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 runner-up Oliver Rowland joined British team Fortec Motorsports. Auto GP driver Meindert van Buuren graduated to the series with Pons Racing, Matthieu Vaxivière, who finished tenth in the 2013 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, entered the championship with Lotus. Beitske Visser, who raced in ADAC Formel Masters, made her début in the series with AVF, leaving FR3.5 Riccardo Agostini, who raced for Zeta Corse in one meeting in 2013, moved to the European Formula 3 Championship with EuroInternational. 2010 champion Mikhail Aleshin, who drove for Tech 1 Racing in 2013, moved to the IndyCar Series for 2014, antónio Félix da Costa, who finished third for Arden Caterham in 2013, joined the DTM series with BMW
25.
Olivier Panis
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Olivier Panis is a French professional racing driver. Panis drove in Formula One for ten seasons, scoring one win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for the Ligier team, as of 2016, he is the last French driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. He is the father of racing driver Aurélien Panis, born in Oullins, Lyon, Panis, like many Formula 1 racing drivers, raced karts early in his career. After graduating from karts, Olivier raced several years in a number of junior series before racing in French Formula 3 and he won a championship in Formula Renault in 1989 and finished second in French Formula 3 in 1991. He eventually found himself in Formula 3000, and he won the championship there in 1993. The 27-year-old Panis earned an F1 drive in 1994 for the French-based Ligier team and he made his debut at Brazil, finishing eleventh. He earned a second place that season at Hockenheim ahead of teammate Éric Bernard. He finished every race except France and he was however disqualified in Portugal for illegal skid block wear. Panis took a win in the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. Starting 14th on a wet track, Panis passed other rivals on the circuit, including Martin Brundle, Mika Häkkinen and Johnny Herbert. He overtook Eddie Irvine at the Lowes Hairpin and was running in place before the Williams-Renault of Damon Hill. One of only 3 cars to finish the race, Panis held off a charge from Coulthard to win. The race finished on 75 of the 78 scheduled laps due to the time limit being reached. Panis victory was the Ligier teams first victory in 15 years, however, it was the only highlight to his 1996 season, and he otherwise failed to do any better than 5th place in Hungary. Panis had the potential for a big season in 1997 while driving for Alain Prost, on Bridgestone tyres, he took the tyre companys first podium at Brazil. He was running second in Argentina before retirement, after 6 races, he stood third in the championship thanks to another podium finish with second place in Spain. A win could have been possible in that race had he not been held up lapping backmarkers for seven laps, at the 1997 Canadian Grand Prix, he broke both legs in a high-speed accident, causing him to miss the next seven races of the season. His place in the team was taken by Jarno Trulli, until he returned for the three races of the season
26.
Jean-Christophe Boullion
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Jean-Christophe Jules Boullion is a French professional racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Sauber team. Born in Saint-Brieuc, near Côtes dArmor, Boullion started karting in 1982 and he started racing in Formula Ford 1600 in 1989. The following year he won the French title and moved to Formula 3, in 1993 he entered Formula 3000 and won the FIA International Championship in 1994. Although he was signed to test for Williams, he was loaned to Sauber to replace Karl Wendlinger for much of the 1995 season, scoring points twice, the following year he returned to his testing role at Williams, and he later tested for Tyrrell. In 2000 he turned to car racing with some success. He earned a place in the 200724 Hours of Le Mans, along with Emmanuel Collard. After a stint with Rebellion Racing, he returned to Pescarolo Team for 2012, motorsport interview ESPN profile Driver Database entry
Nicolas Prost
Sébastien Buemi
Oliver Rowland
Nicholas Latifi
David Brabham
Johnny O'Connell
Marc Goossens
José María López
Davide di Benedetto
Fairuz Fauzy
Kazuki Nakajima
Ho-Pin Tung†
Pål Varhaug
Felipe Nasr
Marcus Ericsson
Stéphane Richelmi
A1 Team Mexico
A1 Team South Africa
Pastor Maldonado
Kevin Magnussen
Carlos Sainz, Jr.
Nyck de Vries
Tatiana Calderón