1.
Lyon
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Lyon or Lyons is a city in east-central France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, about 470 km from Paris and 320 km from Marseille. Inhabitants of the city are called Lyonnais, Lyon had a population of 506,615 in 2014 and is Frances third-largest city after Paris and Marseille. Lyon is the capital of the Metropolis of Lyon and the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the metropolitan area of Lyon had a population of 2,237,676 in 2013, the second-largest in France after Paris. The city is known for its cuisine and gastronomy and historical and architectural landmarks and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lyon was historically an important area for the production and weaving of silk. It played a significant role in the history of cinema, Auguste, the city is also known for its famous light festival, Fête des Lumières, which occurs every 8 December and lasts for four days, earning Lyon the title of Capital of Lights. Economically, Lyon is a centre for banking, as well as for the chemical, pharmaceutical. The city contains a significant software industry with a focus on video games. Lyon hosts the headquarters of Interpol, Euronews, and International Agency for Research on Cancer. Lyon was ranked 19th globally and second in France for innovation in 2014 and it ranked second in France and 39th globally in Mercers 2015 liveability rankings. These refugees had been expelled from Vienne by the Allobroges and were now encamped at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers, dio Cassius says this task was to keep the two men from joining Mark Antony and bringing their armies into the developing conflict. The Roman foundation was at Fourvière hill and was officially called Colonia Copia Felix Munatia, a name invoking prosperity, the city became increasingly referred to as Lugdunum. The earliest translation of this Gaulish place-name as Desired Mountain is offered by the 9th-century Endlicher Glossary, in contrast, some modern scholars have proposed a Gaulish hill-fort named Lugdunon, after the Celtic god Lugus, and dúnon. It then became the capital of Gaul, partly due to its convenient location at the convergence of two rivers, and quickly became the main city of Gaul. Two emperors were born in city, Claudius, whose speech is preserved in the Lyon Tablet in which he justifies the nomination of Gallic senators. Today, the archbishop of Lyon is still referred to as Primat des Gaules, the Christians in Lyon were martyred for their beliefs under the reigns of various Roman emperors, most notably Marcus Aurelius and Septimus Severus. Local saints from this period include Blandina, Pothinus, and Epipodius, in the second century AD, the great Christian bishop of Lyon was the Easterner, Irenaeus. Burgundian refugees fleeing the destruction of Worms by the Huns in 437 were re-settled by the commander of the west, Aëtius. This became the capital of the new Burgundian kingdom in 461, in 843, by the Treaty of Verdun, Lyon, with the country beyond the Saône, went to Lothair I
2.
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
3.
Formula One
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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
4.
1994 FIA Formula One World Championship
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The 1994 Formula One season was the 48th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on 27 March 1994, the season is remembered as one of the most tragic and controversial seasons in the sports history. Schumacher had built up a championship lead, winning six of the first seven races. British constructor Williams-Renault won the Constructors Championship, however, the 1994 season will also be remembered for the deaths of three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna and Austrian rookie Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix. Forty-six drivers competed in the 1994 World Championship, including fourteen who made their F1 debut, mercedes-Benz also returned to the sport for the first time since 1955 as an engine supplier to Swiss team, Sauber. The season also saw the first win for Ferrari since 1990 – whilst McLaren failed to win a race following the departure of Senna. The following teams and drivers competed in the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship, ^1 With the retirement of reigning champion Alain Prost, car number 1 was not assigned, Damon Hill ran with number 0. Ayrton Senna was among several observers who said that, with such features removed,1994 also saw the reintroduction of refuelling during the race for the first time since 1983. After Sennas fatal crash at Imola, several changes were introduced to slow the cars. In Spain, front wing endplates and rear diffusers were reduced in size, for the following race in Canada, the effectiveness of the airbox was reduced by means of holes cut into the engine cover, resulting in less power. Wear was permitted on the plank up to 1mm by the end of the race, after winning in Belgium, Michael Schumacher would be disqualified after the plank on his Benetton was deemed to have excessive wear. It was commonly thought that Sennas move to Williams was a factor behind Prosts retirement, Williams retained Damon Hill to partner incoming Ayrton Senna. Test driver David Coulthard would replace the Brazilian following his fatal accident, nigel Mansell took over the car alongside Hill in France and the final three races of the season. McLaren, having lost iconic driver Ayrton Senna to Williams, promoted Mika Häkkinen to team leader, following a year with customer Ford power, the team had works Peugeot engines for 1994. Benetton kept Michael Schumacher on board, pairing him with JJ Lehto, the teams Dutch test-driver, Jos Verstappen, and Johnny Herbert also drove for the team during the season. Ferrari retained their 1993 driver line-up of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger, Jordan retained their final line-up of 1993 with Rubens Barrichello and Eddie Irvine. Larrousse, now powered by Ford HB engines, signed Olivier Beretta to partner Érik Comas, tyrrell retained Ukyo Katayama and replaced Andrea de Cesaris with Mark Blundell. Footwork faced a year, having lost the Footwork sponsorship
5.
1999 FIA Formula One World Championship
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The 1999 Formula One season was the 53rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on 7 March, Ferrari won the Constructors Championship, which paved the way for the Michael Schumacher era of Ferrari dominance beginning in 2000. However, Schumachers participation in the 1999 championship was cut due to injury at the British Grand Prix. He returned for the last two races of the season in order to assist Irvine in his championship run and this ensured that Irvine had the title lead before the final race and if Schumacher won in Japan, as low as fourth would be enough to seal Irvines title. Schumacher took pole but lost the start to Häkkinen who then drove away at the front never being troubled for position by Schumacher in spite of him running close all race. Had Ferrari switched their cars Irvine would have still lost the title on countback due to Häkkinens five wins compared with Irvines four, in the end Irvine finished a distant third and fell short in his only championship title bid. The championship saw the introduction of a new event, the Malaysian Grand Prix, Ferrari won their ninth Constructors title, the first since the 1983 season. The following teams and drivers competed in the 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship, † All engines were 3.0 litre, V10 configuration. The Mecachrome engines used by Williams in 1998 were rebadged as Supertec units, goodyear, who had supplied Williams, Ferrari, Jordan, Sauber and Tyrrell throughout 1998, left Formula One at the end of the season, leaving Bridgestone as the only tyre supplier. The grooved tyres introduced in 1998 now had four grooves on all tyres, wheels also were required to be tethered to the chassis in order to prevent them flying off in a crash, a feature which remains in place as of 2016. Williams entered the season with an all-new driver pairing, in the meantime, the Italian had won the 1997 and 1998 CART titles for Chip Ganassi Racing. Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed a straight swap with the younger Schumacher, taking the vacant seat at Jordan alongside 1996 champion Damon Hill, frentzens 1998 teammate, the 1997 World Drivers champion Jacques Villeneuve, moved to the newly founded BAR team, who also utilised a completely new lineup. Villeneuve was partnered with the 1998 McLaren test driver and FIA GT1 champion Ricardo Zonta, pedro Diniz left Arrows to sign for Sauber. Johnny Herbert, whose Sauber seat was taken by Diniz, joined Rubens Barichello at Stewart. A wrist injury to Badoer meant that Prost test driver Stéphane Sarrazin made his F1 debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship comprised the following 16 races. The Malaysian Grand Prix was added to the calendar, held at a newly built circuit in Sepang, the first round of the championship was in Australia and unsurprisingly, the two McLarens of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard started 1–2 ahead of Ferraris Michael Schumacher. Schumacher, for the second race, stalled on the parade lap. The McLarens were first and second into the first corner, and this left Eddie Irvine in the second Ferrari to take his first ever career win ahead of Jordans Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher in the Williams
6.
2001 FIA Formula One World Championship
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The 2001 Formula One season was the 55th season of FIA Formula One racing. It featured the FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on 4 March 2001, Michael Schumacher won the Drivers title with a record margin of 58 points, after achieving nine victories and five second places and Ferrari won the Constructors award. The season marked the reintroduction of traction control, with the FIA permitting its use starting at the Spanish Grand Prix, traction control had been banned since 1994. Schumacher also broke the all-time Formula One Grand Prix wins record during the season, future world champions Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen made their grand prix debuts in Melbourne, for Minardi and Sauber respectively. Colombian former CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya also made his F1 debut at Williams, there were new beginnings for French companies Renault and Michelin. At the other end of the spectrum fellow French company Peugeot withdrew from the sport after six years since 1995 following a season in 2000 as engine supplier to Prost. The assets of Peugeots Formula One programme were purchased by Asia Motor Technologies France, at the end of the season, double world champion Mika Häkkinen announced his intention to take a one-year sabbatical in 2002, eventually this became full-time retirement. Also racing for the last time in 2001 was Jean Alesi, veteran British commentator Murray Walker gave his final commentary at the United States Grand Prix. The championship was won with ease by Michael Schumacher, who finished 58 points clear of David Coulthard in second place and it was Schumachers fourth world championship, equalling Alain Prosts total. With Michael Schumachers team mate, Rubens Barrichello, tallying 11 podiums throughout the season, unlike the previous title-winning season, Schumacher was very consistent throughout the campaign and scored his nine wins more spread evenly out through the season. His title was sealed with four races remaining after a win in Hungary. Coulthards title challenge looked strong early on, winning two of the first six races and being neck and neck with Schumacher for the title lead and he also qualified on pole position in Monaco, only to stall on the grid. With Schumacher winning the race and Coulthard recovering only to fifth, Coulthard would not win again for the rest of the year and had dropped off massively by mid-season as Schumacher kept either winning or finishing second with few exceptions all season. Williams drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya both scored their maiden wins in the sport, at San Marino and Italy respectively. The younger Schumacher added victories in Canada and Germany, giving the four wins in total. The Schumacher brothers also scored historic family 1–2 finishes in Canada, McLaren secured four wins during the season. These were shared equally among their drivers, Häkkinen winning in Britain, the following teams and drivers competed in the 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship. † All engines were 3.0 litre, V10 configuration, Ricardo Zonta lost his BAR drive to Panis, and took up the position of test driver with Jordan
7.
2004 FIA Formula One World Championship
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The 2004 Formula One season was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship, which was contested over an eighteen event series which ran from 7 March to 24 October 2004, also notable were the success of BAR and Renault, and the relatively poor performance of Williams and McLaren. Michael Schumacher won 12 of the first 13 races and eventually scored 13 race victories, breaking his own record of 11 race wins in a season, set in 2002. He also won a record seventh Drivers Championship with his teammate Rubens Barrichello winning two of the last four races and finishing second in the title. Jenson Button, though failing to win a grand prix, secured ten podium finishes, along with Japanese team mate Takuma Sato, Button delivered BAR an impressive second place in the Constructors Championship behind Ferrari. Four of the ten teams, Ferrari, Renault, Jaguar, Williams and McLaren, both privately owned teams, had engine supply agreements with major car companies, BMW and Mercedes-Benz respectively, and Honda produced engines for BAR. The other three teams, Jordan, Sauber and Minardi, were privately owned but received little substantial sponsorship. Sauber received Ferrari engines badged under the Petronas name, and also received sponsorship from the Malaysian oil and this season saw the Minardi team score their first points since 2002, with Zsolt Baumgartner finishing 8th at the 2004 United States Grand Prix. The 2004 Canadian Grand Prix was a dramatic race. First, Timo Glock replaced Giorgio Pantano in this race, due to personal circumstances for Pantano, then, Williams and Toyota were excluded from the race due to an irregularity in the brake ducts. That meant the Jordan team was the beneficiary of the disqualifications, with Nick Heidfeld. Immediately before the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, Giorgio Pantano was dropped by the Jordan team, Ralf Schumacher had a difficult season. He suffered an accident during the 2004 United States Grand Prix and was out of action for 6 races. Marc Gené and Antônio Pizzonia replaced him during his absence, Jarno Trullis relationship with the Renault team deteriorated after his first victory at the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix. He left the team after the 2004 Italian Grand Prix, which was also Pantanos last race for the Jordan team, former world champion Jacques Villeneuve replaced Jarno Trulli at Renault for the final 3 races. Trulli missed the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, but he returned in the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix and that meant the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix was Jarno Trullis first race with the new team. Cristiano da Mattas string of disappointing results during the season led to his replacement by test driver Ricardo Zonta from Hungary onwards except the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix, Da Matta did not race for Toyota again and in 2005 he returned to Champ Car racing. This was Olivier Paniss last season as he decided to retire from the seat after 2004 Japanese Grand Prix
8.
Equipe Ligier
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Equipe Ligier is a motorsport team, best known for its Formula One team that operated from 1976 to 1996. The team was founded in 1968 by former French rugby union player Guy Ligier as a car manufacturer. After retiring from racing following the death of his friend Jo Schlesser, the Cosworth-powered JS1 took wins at Albi and Monthlery in 1970, but retired at Le Mans and from the Tour Automobile de France. For 1971, Ligier had the JS1 developed into the JS2, the JS2 was homologated for road use and used a Maserati V6 engine, while the JS3 was an open-top sports-prototype powered by a Cosworth DFV V8 engine. The JS3 won at Monthlery in 1971 but failed to finish the distance in Le Mans. Therefore, it was retired, and Ligier installed the Cosworth DFV in the JS2 road car, Guy Ligier then switched his efforts into Formula One. Following the acquisition of the Matra F1 teams assets, Ligier entered Formula One in 1976 with a Matra V12-powered car and this is generally considered to have been the first all-French victory in the Formula One World Championship. The deal with Matra ceased in 1979 and Ligier built a Cosworth-powered wing-car, the JS11 began the season winning the first two races in the hands of Laffite. However, the JS11 faced serious competition when Williams and Ferrari introduced aerodynamically modified cars, the rest of the season was less successful for the French marque. The JS11 and its successors made Ligier one of the top teams through the early 1980s, despite substantial sponsorship from Talbot and public French companies - mainly SEITA, Gitanes and Française des Jeux) - the competitiveness of the team began to decline around 1982. Around this time, they were testing a Matra V6 turbocharged engine, thanks to the political support of Ligier long-time friend François Mitterrand, in the mid-1980s, the team benefitted from a free Renault turbo engine deal. This, along with sponsorship from companies such as Loto and Elf Aquitaine, made the more competitive. When Renault left the sport in 1986, Ligier was left without a bona fide engine supplier, an abortive collaboration with Alfa Romeo was followed by customer engine deals with Megatron, Judd and Cosworth and then works contracts with Lamborghini, Renault and Mugen-Honda. Surprisingly, the team was more competitive during this period, in part due to the talents of aerodynamicist Frank Dernie. They scored eight podium finishes over the four years, contrasting sharply with their failure to secure a single top three position between 1987 and 1992. In the last years Ligier had little support and lacked funds. In 1995, de Rouvre sold the team to Flavio Briatore, the Mugen Honda-powered JS43 turned out to be a well balanced car, if not on par with the Williams entries. It became a winner as well, with the team taking the chequered flag with Olivier Panis at the Monaco Grand Prix, albeit in a race of heavy attrition
9.
Prost Grand Prix
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Prost Grand Prix was a Formula One racing team owned and managed by former world champion Alain Prost. The team participated in five seasons from 1997 to 2001, Alain Prost completed the purchase of the Ligier team in early 1997, and immediately changed the name to Prost. An exclusive contract for Peugeot engines was announced for 1998, as there was no time before the season started to design and build a new car, the team simply used the Ligier JS45 designed by Loïc Bigois and renamed it the Prost JS45. Podium finishes in Brazil and Spain for Olivier Panis promised much, with its lead driver forced to miss much of the season, Prost struggled with novices Jarno Trulli and Shinji Nakano until Paniss return at the Luxembourg Grand Prix. 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve later remarked that in the year of his title victory, had Panis completed the full year, Prost may well have won a race. After such a promising 1997, things took a turn for the worse in the following seasons, to back this up, Panis had been fastest in Spain, and was running right behind Villeneuve in Argentina when his car gave up on him. He was close to winning in Canada too as his Bridgestone tyres were better equipped than the Goodyear tyred cars around him, after serious gearbox problems in testing, the team almost did not start the 1998 season-opener as their car still had to pass a crash-test. They made it to the Australian Grand Prix, but the season proved to be a failure, only Trullis sixth at Spa kept the team from last in the standings. 1999 saw an improvement, several points finishes achieved and a second place coming by way of Trullis strong drive at the Nürburgring, in the first few races, the team also ran with X-wings. At times the car looked genuinely competitive with strong qualifying displays, yet the results often failed to materialise. At Magny-Cours Panis had started third, but was unable to capitalise, Trulli was under contract for 2000, but the teams relative lack of success enabled him to leave for Jordan. Panis was dropped and went on to become McLarens tester, in 2000 the team began its sharp decline into oblivion. Veteran racer Jean Alesi, Prosts former teammate at Ferrari in 1991, was signed to the team, the team also signed up rookie F3000 champion Nick Heidfeld for 2000. Despite a promising driver lineup, Prost finished last in the Constructors Championship, Heidfeld was disqualified from the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring for his car being two kilos underweight. At the Austrian Grand Prix their two drivers crashed into other, putting them both out of the race. The relationship between Prost and Peugeot collapsed, in 2001 the cars now ran with Acer-badged Ferrari engines. It was his best finish with the team, a fallout after the British Grand Prix, however, saw Alesi walk out after the German Grand Prix. For his final race with Prost, Alesi scored another point in that race of attrition
French
Marcel Fässler
