Daim's gunning to be S'pore's first Formula 1 driver

He's 11, and is Singapore's brightest motor racing prospect.

Daim Hishammudin dreams of becoming the first Singaporean to pilot a Formula 1 car.

His father Hishammudin Hassan is now looking to arrange a meeting with the Ministry of Defence to discuss his future National Service schedule."I want Daim to drive under the Singapore flag because we are Singaporeans," said the 40-year-old Nestle senior manager, who has been based in Kuala Lumpur with his family since 2004."I have to sit down with Mindef very soon as Daim must serve NS when he is 18. That age is prime for any sportsmen and a break in his regimen could have dire consequences. My discussion with Mindef will point the way for Daim.

"With hordes of drivers all over the world setting their sights on Formula 1, competition for the handful of seats that open up every year is extremely keen.

Those who do get the nod are usually in their late teens or early 20s. That would obviously affect Daim if he is in NS.

He first made his mark in 2008 when he won Malaysia's Yamaha SL Cup for young rookie karters. Later that year, he resolved to become a Formula 1 driver after meeting McLaren-Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton before the inaugural SingTel Singapore Grand Prix. The youngster received valuable tips from the Englishman, who went on to win the world championship. In 2009, the Singaporean raised his stock when he clinched the Malaysia Challenge and the Rotax Asia Max kart series for 8 to 12-year-olds.Earlier this month, Malaysia's former Formula 1 driver, Alex Yoong, signed Daim to drive for his karting team, Axle Motorsport. He will compete in the Yamaha SL Cup Series across the Causeway and the Asian Karting Open Championship. Yoong also has plans to take him to Europe for competition.

The youngster's talent has caught the eye of a corporate giant in Malaysia, who want to finance his racing career. The announcement of the deal with the young driver will be made here on Wednesday.Said Daim: "I want to race in Formula 1 and I have been training hard for this. I am more than prepared to give all my time up for racing to get there. "But my dream is to race for Singapore and I want to do National Service because I think it will be quite fun.

"Dad Hishammudin wants to work with Mindef to find a way for his son to fulfil his NS obligations without disrupting his racing career."I spent the first seven years of my working life as a professional soldier and an officer in the SAF and I loved every minute of it. I believe very strongly that every male Singaporean should do National Service," he said."For now I have some ideas based on my own experience in the army because I believe at this moment in time Singapore and Mindef are ready to recognise contributions (from athletes), because we do want to excel in sports."

Ian De Cotta

F1 Community salutes Jenson Button

The world of Formula 1 has paid tribute to Brawn GP's Jenson Button as the Englishman won the 2009 world drivers' championship in Brazil.
Button started from 14th on the Interlagos grid and weaved his way through the field with a scintillating drive to finish fifth in Sao Paulo.
He now has an unassailable 15-point advantage going into the season's final race in Abu Dhabi on 1 November.
Button also helped his Brawn GP team to become the first Formula 1 team to win the constructors' championship in their debut season.



Former F1 driver and BBC pundit David Coulthard:
"Anyone who doubts he's worthy of being world champion just needs to watch that. It was an attacking drive, a really great drive."



Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello:
"I am pleased for Jenson, as a friend, and as a great champion, and if I didn't win, he should have won it, so well done to him.
"Jenson deserved to do it, but he won it on the first six races, and I think the second half of the championship was mine.
"It is a hell of a team that deserves to win and we will have a great night tonight. I feel part of this, especially the constructors' championship."
Brawn GP team principal Ross Brawn: "Jenson's drive today was the the drive of a world champion."
"He's a fantastic racer. Today he had a great race; he knew what he had to do."
"We've lost a little bit of pace in the car over the last few races and he's stuck with it and he's deserved everything he's got."



Red Bull driver Mark Webber:
"JB is such a consistent driver and, unfortunately for us, this year he was also blisteringly quick at the start of the year as well, and he got the results.
"Brawn and Button came out running really well at the start of the season, he was on top of the car and that is where he put a big hit into the championship.
"We pushed hard and other teams arrived in the middle and the back end of the season, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in particular, which made it hard for him to close the deal. But he is a deserved champion."



McLaren's 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton:
"Big congratulations to Jenson, I have to say incredible job to him and I am really happy for him and his family.
"I can't take anything away from Jenson he did the better job this year, but I plan on taking it back at some stage, who knows when, but I really hope that we can give it a good challenge next year from the start."



BBC Formula 1 pundit Eddie Jordan:
"Why should we not be in total homage to Jenson Button?"
"He has the most points and he did that before the end of the season with a race to go, he is a totally deserving world champion, never in question."
Formula 1 legend and three-time world champion Niki Lauda: "When you are world champion there is nothing to criticise. He is one of the world champions now and he did a perfect job.
"He was very conservative in the middle of the season, trying to protect his lead, and he did manage to protect it.
"He drove a really aggressive perfect race in Brazil, so he can do both sides. You have a really good world champion back in England again."



Jenson's mother Simone Lyons:
"I'm just cried out! I was just crying and sobbing as he was crossing the line, and those last three laps were the longest ever. I always believed he'd do it and I expect he did as well because he knows the effort he puts into it."



Prime Minister Gordon Brown:
"I want to send my warmest congratulations to Jenson Button for clinching the Formula 1 drivers' championship today in Brazil, on the same circuit that Lewis Hamilton won the drivers' championship last year.
"We can be proud that Jenson is the 10th British driver to win the title.
"His performances over the season with the new Brawn team have excited Formula 1 fans in Britain and across the world, and we look forward to his continuing success in the seasons ahead."



Sir Jackie Stewart, three-time F1 world champion:
"I know the feeling, and to win your first world championship is always a bigger thrill."
"He came through the field magically actually. I mean, he picked up nine places, there were a few accidents that helped him on his way, but he got through those without a scratch and without damaging the car.
"I'm thrilled for him because it's the first time in 40 years that we've had a British champion back-to-back, first Lewis Hamilton and now Jenson Button. It's great."



Brawn GP chief executive Nick Fry:
"As the chief executive I have to do the tough job of contract negotiating and I think Jenson's share price has gone up a bit today. He is making my life even more difficult!"



BBC F1 analyst and former driver Martin Brundle:
"Jenson answered any critics he might have without any doubt with that drive today. He is the world champion with one race to spare.
"It's a bit of a British thing, we like to knock ourselves, but we should pump ourselves up a little bit. Jenson Button is a very worthy world champion."



Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP race engineer Jock Clear:
"It is all about Jenson Button, and what he did on the track today.
"Everyone complains about not enough overtaking, but Jenson won a championship by overtaking today, and that's what we all want to see.
"It was a brilliant, brilliant drive from him. I take my hat off to him."

BBC.com

Jet sellers, party hosts try to rev up Singapore F1

The race for tickets and views for Singapore's Formula One grand prix has slowed this year after the country's worst recession, but restaurants along the street circuit are still putting the champagne on ice.
Investment banks in the Asian financial center have scaled back parties for clients for the September 25-27 race after seeing earnings battered by the financial crisis.
Tickets for practice runs and the race have yet to sell out, with the buzz from the sport's first ever night street race in Singapore in 2008 not evident this time, though the event is attracting attention from a scandal over last year's result.
Singapore officials are confident the allegations will not hurt the event, and marketers hope rich fans will still show up.
The Annix Group is organizing an exhibition that will showcase goods including 70 watches worth over S$15 million ($11 million), as it targets 35,000 high net-worth individuals expected to attend, the event's marketing director Prita Leenheer told Reuters.
The F1 will see the launch of a invitation-only club called "O" -- half of whom will be Lamborghini owners and others will be picked from among models, designers, movie stars and royalty.

MillionaireAsia magazine's private aviation show will be returning to Singapore, after $150 million worth of aircraft orders and sales generated by last year's show during the F1.
"As we prepare to exit the economic crisis, we hope that the show will help increase jet sales by at least 10 percent," the magazine's managing editor Brian Yim said.
But banks such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, which sponsors the Williams F1 team and has been part-nationalized by the British government, will be significantly cutting its hospitality this year, said its country executive Muhammad Aurangzeb.
Restaurants in the center of town near the floodlit course, which weaves through the business district and historic landmarks, are ramping up efforts to revive last year's race fever, with F1 themed cocktails, champagne buffets and parties.

Gourmet restaurant Le Saint Julien, located at a bend on the circuit, is again offering a package including free flow of champagne -- but at prices half last year's.

Hotel Ritz Carlton will play host to party The Podium Lounge, auctioning a Fernando Alonso autographed replica F1 vehicle.
Last year's Grand Prix in Singapore, won by Renault's Fernando Alonso after a pitstop blunder finished the chances of rival Ferrari's Felipe Massa, is still a talking point.

Nelson Piquet sacked from ING renault F1 team

Piquet, sacked by Renault, attacks Briatore

Nelson Piquet has been sacked by Renault after failing to pick up any points for the French team this season, the 24-year-old Brazilian announced on his personal website on Monday.
Nelson Piquet has been sacked by Renault after failing to pick up any points for the French team this season, the 24-year-old Brazilian announced on his personal website on Monday.
Piquet, without a win in 28 races, said in a strongly worded statement that he was disappointed at losing the drive and criticised his treatment by Renault supremo Flavio Briatore.
He described his time with Renault as the worst period of his career and said he now wanted to start afresh and prove his driving credentials with a new team.
"I want to say thanks to the small group who supported me and that I worked together at Renault F1, although it is obviously with great disappointment that I receive such news," Piquet, whose father won the world championship three times, said.
"But, at the same time, I feel a sense of relief for the end of the worst period of my career, and the possibility that I can now move on and put my career back on the right track and try to recover my reputation of a fast, winning driver.
"I am a team player and there are dozens of people I have worked with in my career who would vouch for my character and talent, except unfortunately the person that has had the most influence on my career in Formula 1."
Piquet was making reference there to Briatore, his team boss and manager.
Piquet accused the flamboyant Italian of unfair behaviour in his time driving alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.
"On numerous occasions, fifteen minutes before qualifying and races, my manager and team boss (Briatore) would threaten me, telling me if I didn't get a good result, he had another driver ready to put in my place.
"I have never needed threats before to get results. In 2008 I scored 19 points, finished once on the podium in second place, having the best debut year of a Brazilian driver in F1."
Piquet said that despite promises from Briatore that things would be different in 2009, nothing changed.
"Unfortunately, the promises didn't turn into reality again," he claimed, going on to call some of the situations he has had to deal with in the past two years as "strange".
In a final swipe at Briatore he concluded: "I always believed that having a manager was being a part of a team and having a partner. A manager is supposed to encourage you, support you, and provide you with opportunities. In my case it was the opposite. Flavio Briatore was my executioner."

Sebastien Bourdais to leave Red Bull

Toro Rosso will confirm tomorrow that the Frenchman Sébastien Bourdais has left the team, with Jaime Alguersuari poised to become the youngest driver in Formula One history.
Since entering into Formula One after winning four successive ChampCar titles in the United States from 2004-2007, Bourdais has struggled, winning just six points from the 27 grands prix in which he competed.
Bourdais was overshadowed last year by Sebastian Vettel, who provided a largely uncompetitive team with victory in last season's Italian grand prix. This season Bourdais again found himself second best to the Swiss rookie Sébastien Buemi, who out-qualified his more experienced team-mate in seven of the season's nine races thus far.
In his last race for Toro Rosso, Bourdais was forced to retire from the German grand prix at the Nürburgring yesterday with a hydraulic failure. Although the Toro Rosso team principal, Franz Tost, refused to confirm Bourdais's departure after the race, the reserve and test driver Alguersuari is expected to replace him for the rest of the season.
Alguersuari is the British Formula Three champion and another product of the Red Bull young driver development programme. The Spaniard will take his place in the record books at the Hungarian grand prix in a fortnight by becoming the sport's youngest driver at the age of 19 years and 126 days, which would beat the New Zealander Mike Thackwell's record by 57 days set in the 1980 Canadian grand prix.

F1 Teams Association walks out of FIA meeting

The eight members of the Formula 1 Teams Association (Fota) walked out of a meeting with the sport's governing body, the FIA, on Wednesday.
The meeting, at Germany's Nurburgring, was held to discuss next year's rules and Fota's proposed changes to them.
But the Fota teams left when told they had not entered the 2010 championship and therefore had no voting rights on technical and sporting regulations.
A Fota statement said the row "puts the future of Formula 1 in jeopardy".
It is the latest incident in a bitter, long-running argument between Fota and the FIA over planned budgetary and technical changes which has threatened to tear the sport apart.
The eight Fota teams - Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP - insist they have entered the 2010 championship.

"It will be remembered all eight active Fota members were included on the 'accepted' entry list as endorsed by the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) and communicated by FIA press statement on 24 June," said Fota.
The association added that because it was now being claimed they had not entered, they had "requested a postponement of today's meetings".
Fota continued: "This was rejected on the grounds no new Concorde Agreement would be permitted before a unanimous approval of the 2010 regulations was achieved.
"However, it is clear to the Fota teams that the basis of the 2010 technical and sporting regulations was already established in Paris.
"As endorsed by the World Motor Sport Council and clearly stated in the FIA press statement of 24 June 'the rules for 2010 onwards will be the 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to 29 April, 2009'.
"At no point in the Paris discussions was any requirement for unanimous agreement on regulations change expressed.
"To subsequently go against the will of the WMSC and the detail of the Paris agreement puts the future of Formula 1 in jeopardy.

"As a result of these statements, the Fota representatives at the subsequent Technical Working Group were not able to exercise their rights and therefore had no option other than to terminate their participation.
"The Fota members undertook the Paris agreement and the subsequent discussions in good faith and with a desire to engage with all new and existing teams on the future of Formula 1."
The FIA insisted in a statement of its own that it had wanted to discuss proposals for 2010.
The FIA added: "Unfortunately, no discussion was possible because Fota walked out of the meeting."
The long-running row between Fota and the FIA appeared to have been resolved in June, when an agreement was reached between F1's governing body and the Fota teams to prevent a breakaway series.
Under the terms of that deal a proposed budget cap was postponed and the teams won significant concessions on rule changes and the governance of the sport, while Max Mosley agreed not to stand for re-election as president of the FIA.
Wednesday's truncated meeting was attended by Williams and Force India, who are suspended from Fota after applying for unconditional entries to race in 2010 at the height of the budget cap crisis.
Formula 1's three new teams, Campos Grand Prix, Manor and US F1, also attended the meeting at the Nurburgring ahead of Sunday's German Grand Prix.

Brawn Dominates Monaco Grand Prix

After achieving pole position on Saturday, Jenson led the race from the front to secure his fifth win of the 2009 Formula One season with team-mate Rubens Barrichello taking second place for the team's third one-two finish of the year. Rubens made an excellent start from third on the grid to take second place from Kimi Raikkonen before the first corner.

"I had a really good start on the option tyre and was able to get ahead of Kimi before the first corner which put me in a great position to challenge Jenson" said Rubens.

Both starting on the softer option tyre, Jenson and Rubens drove composed two-stop strategies, using the prime tyre for their second and third stints.

"Rubens had a great start to get ahead of Raikkonen and was showing excellent pace before his first set of rear tyres began to grain heavily as a result of following Jenson so closely" confirmed Ross Brawn regarding the first stint of the race.

Rubens put up a strong fight to hold off the Ferrari of Raikkonen and maintain his second position whilst Jenson took the chequered flag at the end of the 78-lap race for his first victory around the streets of Monte Carlo, a dream come true for the British driver. "Wow! Winning the Monaco Grand Prix is something that you dream about as a child and as a racing driver and the reality of taking that victory just feels awesome.

With Rubens taking a superb second place, a one-two finish for the Brawn-Mercedes team in Monaco is fantastic. The race felt like it went on forever and you feel that the barriers are getting closer and closer as the end of the race approaches. But for the last couple of laps, I was able to relax and really enjoy the moment. It's been an unbelievable day, capped with my impromptu sprint down the pit straight to the podium. I can tell you it's a very long way but it was amazing to get such a fantastic reception from the crowd and I hope the fans enjoyed what was a great race for the team. The car felt good today but we didn't have the best of starts to the weekend so it makes this victory even more of an achievement. For the team, for Mercedes-Benz and for my family who were here in Monaco watching the race this weekend, today has to be the high-point of what has been an exceptional season.

" After six rounds of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, Brawn GP leads the Constructors' Championship with 86 points with Jenson leading the Drivers' Championship with 51 points and Rubens in second place with 35 points.

"Fantastic drives from Jenson and Rubens, outstanding pit stops from the team and the performance of our Mercedes-Benz engine secured an amazing one-two victory for Brawn GP here in Monaco" declared Ross Brawn.

"The Monaco Grand Prix is an incredibly special race and to win here means so much to everyone here at the track, at the factory in Brackley and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth. Special congratulations to Mercedes-Benz for supplying an engine that has now won three Grands Prix, a modern day record in Formula One."

SHOCKED DEATH IN F1 WORLD

The son of Max Mosley, president of Formula One's governing body, has been found dead at his home in London, a police source said on Wednesday.

Alexander Mosley, 39, a respected economist, was discovered by a relative on Tuesday at his house in the Notting Hill area of west London, the Sun newspaper said on its website.
"I can confirm that a man in his late 30s was found dead yesterday at an address in W11," a London police spokeswoman said. "He was pronounced dead at the scene. We are not treating this as suspicious." A police source confirmed the dead man was Mosley's son.

Max Mosley, 69, is the son of the 1930s British fascist leader Oswald Mosley.
"The FIA extends sincere condolences to the Mosley family on the sad news of the death of Alexander Mosley," the International Automobile Federation said in a statement.

"Our thoughts are with Alexander's family and friends, and we would request that the media respect the Mosley family's privacy at this difficult time."

A post mortem to confirm the cause of death was taking place.
Eddie Jordan, a former Formula One team boss, said he was "devastated" by the news.

"Max and Alexander particularly were very close," the founder and former owner of the Jordan team told Sky News.

He said the father and son shared "a great intellect," describing Alexander as a "hugely clever and talented computer expert."

"It's totally tragic, he was such a bright boy. I'm devastated for them."

Last year Mosley, the FIA president, won 60,000 pounds in damages from a newspaper which breached his privacy by publishing details of his part in a sado-masochistic orgy. During the court case, Mosley revealed that neither his wife of almost 50 years nor his sons knew about his interest in sado-masochism until the newspaper article.

Ticket Price Review for Singapore GP

TICKET prices for this year’s Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix will reflect the current economic climate.

Singapore GP gave the assurance yesterday, and already in the pipeline are offerings like “early bird” packages, which will offer significant savings compared to last year’s prices in many popular areas.
“We are committed to cater to the demands of all race fans,” said a Singapore GP spokesman. “In the early bird phase we will also extend the popular one-day ticket on Friday with the lowest price ever to experience the Grand Prix.”

While the ticket prices for the public have still to be finalised, all corporate tickets except for the Paddock Club went on sale yesterday. The organisers are confident that premium corporate suites around the 5km street circuit for the Sept 27 race will still be able to fetch top dollar, which is why the price for the Stamford Suite, for example, has gone up. They now range from $5,000-$7,000, an increase of $1,500 and $2,500, respectively.
Said the spokesman: “Prices for some were raised because they were not realistic. The Stamford Suite, for example, had the same menu and two viewing spots, compared with other premium locations around the track, but were priced lower. It just wasn’t realistic.”
Singapore GP will offer a lower entry price point for this year’s race to attract corporate clients.
“We have introduced an option with The Green Room at Turn 3 at $3,388, much lower than the Sky Suite, which remains at $6,500,” said the company’s spokesman.

Singapore GP also revealed yesterday that they have been given the green light to make adjustments to the circuit.
Turn 1, after the Start/Finish line, and Turns 13 and 14, in front of the Fullerton Hotel and Esplanade, respectively, will be modified to provide more overtaking opportunities, while the entry and exit points of the pitlane will be repositioned, after drivers complained during last September’s race that the current design could cause accidents.

Ian De Cotta
ian@mediacorp.com.sg

Ferrari unveils New F60 for 2009 Season

World Championship runner-up Felipe Massa described the new Ferrari F60 Formula One car as 'cute' after it was unveiled on the company's official website on Monday.
Massa, who missed out on the world title to Britain's Lewis Hamilton on the final corner of the final race in Brazil last season, was the first to test the 2009 Ferrari model - successor to the F2008 - which has been radically adapted to comply with new International Automobile Federation (FIA) stipulations aimed at encouraging overtaking.
"I feel emotional but I'm also happy to take it out on track for the first time," said the Brazilian.
"With all the new rules I was expecting a different type of car, like 10 years ago with big wings so I was surprised.
"The new F60 seems tiny, very compact and cute."

The car is named F60 in reference to the number of championships Ferrari have participated in and becomes the 55th different F1 car designed by the Italian manufacturer.
Most of the design changes have been imposed by the FIA in order to increase overtaking in a sport often lacking in excitement due to the difficulties in passing the car in front.



A shorter front wing, a thinner but higher and more compact rear wing and standardised central chassis are all modifications introduced by the FIA's Overtaking Working Group (OWG).
Other changes include an improvement to the suspension to make handling in difficult conditions easier, while slick tyres will be re-introduced this year.
The Kers system to recuperate kinetic energy has also been installed on the engine while the transmission has been redesigned to improve aerodynamic efficiency.
Massa took the F60 for a spin around the famous Mugello circuit just outside Florence with Ferrari having changed the original location from Fiorano, their usual test track near their base at Maranello close to Bologna, due to icy conditions there.
Ferrari, the reigning constructors' world champions, are the first team to unveil their new F1 car but will be followed this week by Toyota on Thursday and Hamilton's team and main title rivals McLaren a day later.
The Renault team of former double world champion Fernando Alonso and Williams unveil their cars next Monday with BMW Sauber following a day after that.
Red Bull, however, will not announce there's until February 9.

It is Ferrari and McLaren, though, who are expected to lead from the front again this season and Massa says he is ready to try to go one better than last season, when only a single point separated him from Hamilton following the Briton's late overtaking of Timo Glock in Brazil.
"Every year you feel stronger, better prepared psychologically and physically," said Massa.
"But I feel stronger from the point of view of experience. I feel ready for a great battle.
"Right now it's difficult to say who will be the main rivals but for sure McLaren will make life the most difficult but there's also BMW, Renault and maybe other surprises.
"We don't know how good the Ferrari will be, we've worked very hard but there's still a long way to go before the first race."
The new F1 season opens in Melbourne on March 29 with the Australian Grand Prix, which last year was won by eventual world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Albert François Cevert Goldenberg (February 25, 1944 in Paris– October 6, 1973 at Watkins Glen) was a French racing driver, who took part in the Formula One World Championship. Cevert was the son of a Paris jeweler and brother-in-law of Grand Prix driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise.

The son of Charles Goldenberg (1901-1985), a successful Parisian jeweller, and Huguette Cevert, François Cevert was born in Paris in early 1944. His father was a Russian-Jewish emigre who had been brought to France as a young boy, by his parents, to escape the Russian Revolution of 1905. During World War II, with France occupied by the Nazis, as a registered Jew Charles Goldenberg joined the French Resistance to avoid forced deportation to Poland. In order not to draw the authorities' notice to his continuing presence in the heavily controlled capital, Charles and Huguette's four children were all registered with her surname rather than his. Some years after the liberation of France, Cevert's father wanted to rename his children Goldenberg, but the family objected as by now they had become known as Cevert.

François Cevert began his motorsport career on two wheels, rather than four, initially racing his mother's Vespa scooter against friends, before graduating to his own Norton at the age of 19. After completing his National Service, Cevert switched his attention to cars. In 1966 he completed a training course at the Le Mans school, before enrolling at the Magny-Cours racing school. At the same time he registered for the Volant Shell scholarship competition, which offered the top finisher the prize of an Alpine Formula Three car. Cevert duly qualified for the final race and won.

His first season in F3, at the wheel of his prize Alpine, did not go well. He lacked the funds and experience to properly set up and maintain his car. After finding sponsorship for the 1968 season, Cevert traded in his Alpine for a more competitive Tecno car. With his new mount Cevert finally started to win races, and by the end of the season he was French Formula 3 Champion, just ahead of Jean-Pierre Jabouille.
After winning the French Formula 3 Championship, Cevert joined the works Tecno Formula Two team in 1969, and finished third overall, as well as driving in the F2 class of the 1969 German Grand Prix. At the time, Formula Two was an ideal training ground for ambitious drivers, as many top Grand Prix drivers also competed in the F2 class, when their Formula One schedules permitted. When Jackie Stewart had a hard time getting around Cevert in an F2 race at Crystal Palace the same year, Stewart told his team manager Ken Tyrrell to keep an eye on the young Frenchman. This personal recommendation was to pay off in 1970, as when Tyrrell needed a new driver at short notice Stewart's recommendation was still in his mind. Tyrrell later commented on the reason for Cevert's appointment to the Formula One team that "everybody said it was [French oil company and Tyrrell sponsor] Elf, but it was really what Jackie said about him."

When Johnny Servoz-Gavin suddenly retired from the Tyrrell Formula One team three races into the 1970 season, Tyrrell called upon Cevert to be his number two driver, alongside defending World Champion Stewart. Over the next four seasons, Cevert became the veteran Stewart's devoted protégé. After making his debut at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in Tyrrell's second customer March-Ford, he increased his pace and closed the gap to Stewart with virtually every race. He earned his first World Championship point by finishing sixth in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
In 1971, with the Tyrrell team now building their own cars, Cevert finished second in France and Germany, both times behind team leader Stewart. Then, in the season-ending United States Grand Prix at the newly-extended Watkins Glen race course, the Frenchman earned his first and only Grand Prix win:
Having started from fifth spot, Cevert took the lead from Stewart on lap 14 as the Scot's tires began to go off in the 100° heat. At about half-distance, Cevert finally began to struggle with the same understeer that had plagued Stewart much earlier. Jacky Ickx was closing, and his Firestones were getting better as the race went on. On lap 43, Ickx set the fastest lap of the race, and the gap was down to 2.2 seconds. Then, on lap 49, the alternator on Ickx's Ferrari fell off, punching a hole in the gearbox and spilling oil all over the track! Denny Hulme's McLaren hit the oil and spun into the barrier, bending his front suspension. Hulme was standing beside the track when Cevert came by and also slid off and hit the barrier, but he kept going, now 29 seconds in the lead! Cevert coasted home, taking both hands off the wheel to wave as he crossed the line.
Cevert became only the second Frenchman to win a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix (Maurice Trintignat won at Monaco in 1955 and 1958), and it was the high point of his career, helping him take third place in the 1971 Driver's Championship behind Stewart and Ronnie Peterson.

Great expectations for Cevert, Stewart and Tyrrell were not fulfilled in 1972 as Emerson Fittipaldi and Lotus won the Driver's and Constructor's Championships. Cevert finished in the points only three times, with second places at Belgium and the US, and a fourth at his home race in France at the Clermont-Ferrand circuit. One bright spot in a disappointing year for Cevert was his second place finish at the 24 hours of Le Mans, driving a Matra-Simca 670 with New Zealand's Howden Ganley.

In 1973, the Tyrrell team was back on top in Formula One and Cevert showed he was capable of running with Stewart at almost every race. He finished second six times, three times behind Stewart, who acknowledged that, at times, the Frenchman had been a very "obedient" teammate. As Cevert began to draw even with Stewart's driving abilities, the Scot was secretly planning to retire after the last race of the season in the United States. For the 1974 season, Cevert would be Tyrrell's well deserving team leader.
Tragically, at Watkins Glen, with Stewart having already clinched his third World Championship, Cevert was killed during Saturday morning qualifying, while battling for pole position with Ronnie Peterson. In the fast right-left uphill combination called "The Esses" Cevert's car was a little too much toward the left side, getting a bump from the kerbs described by Niki Lauda in his book The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving as unbelievably dangerous (the kerbing at the circuit was not changed until 2005 when the Indy Racing League began racing at the circuit). Due to the bump, Cevert's car swerved too much to the right-hand side of the track, where it touched the track's signature powder blue safety barriers causing the car to spin and crash into the barriers on the other side of the track at a near 90° angle, uprooting and lifting the barrier. Cevert died instantly of massive injuries inflicted by the barrier.
Jackie Stewart was one of the first on the scene of Cevert's accident and said later "They had left him in the car, because he was so clearly dead." When practice resumed, Stewart went out on the track in his car on a personal fact-finding mission. His conclusion was that his preference was to take The Esses complex in fifth gear in the Tyrrell, hence he would be at the low end of the engine's rev range. Cevert however preferred to use fourth gear and be at the top end of his engine's power range: it was always something of a compromise because of the need to accelerate through the combination of corners. Stewart noted that the Tyrrell always felt jumpy through this section of the Watkins Glen track owing to its short wheelbase; he felt that this was somewhat counteracted by driving in the higher gear even though this meant a time penalty if he got his line wrong through the corner. Thus Cevert's driving technique may have been a contributory factor in the accident. Stewart did not run his final race because of Cevert's death.
Cevert was 29 years and 224 days old. François Cevert is buried in the Cimétière de Vaudelnay in the village of Vaudelnay, Maine-et-Loire. His grave is covered with a brass of fine black marble and a black relief attached to the wall behind showing his portrait.

All photos with permission from www.f1-photo.com Mr paul Henri Cahier

French F1 Drivers, Eric Bernard

Eric Bernard ( Left)

Eric Bernard

Éric Bernard was born August 24, 1964 in Martigues, near Marseille, France and is a retired Formula One racing driver, who drove for the Ligier, Larrousse and Lotus teams.

He started karting in 1976 and in the seven years that followed, won four French titles. In 1983 he attended racing school at Paul Ricard and was one of the finalists at the Volant Elf competition. He beat Jean Alesi and Bertrand Gachot to the prize, earning himself a fully-sponsored drive in Formula Renault for 1984. He finished sixth in the series, but won the following year, and entering French Formula 3 in 1986. He won the series the following year, finishing in second place for the championship, behind his old rival, Alesi. In 1988 he entered Formula 3000.
In 1989, he was called up to the French Larrousse team for the French Grand Prix, replacing Yannick Dalmas. On an assured debut, he ran as high as 5th place, and was still in 7th when his Lamborghini V12 engine failed a few laps from the end. Bernard stood in again at the following British Grand Prix, before returning to his Formula 3000 commitments with DAMS.
He was rewarded with a full-season drive for Larrousse in 1990. There, he attracted many positive notices for his smooth style and set-up skills, with several observers likening him to a young Alain Prost. He took his first point for 6th place at the Monaco Grand Prix, and his best result would come at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix, where he took 4th place.

A flying lap with Eric

Bernard elected to stay on at Larrousse for the 1991 season, but the team were in trouble, losing their Lamborghini engines to the quasi-works Modena team, having their 1990 points stripped by the FIA and also losing sponsors. Bernard would take 6th place in the Mexican Grand Prix, which was the last points finish for Larrousse with Lola Cars, but slipped back down the field, failing to qualify for the first time in his career at the Italian Grand Prix - partially due to a bereavement. Worse was to come, however, when Bernard broke his leg in the first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix
Bernard fought back to fitness, and for the 1993 season his old sponsors Elf managed to get him into a test driver seat for the Ligier team. The two-year testing contract would pay off, as a team backer was jailed for fraud before the 1994 season, and the reduced budget saw Bernard promoted to a race seat, alongside rookie Olivier Panis. Sadly for Bernard, Panis would largely outpace him, and the team's Renault V10 engine was counterweighted by the team using a "B"-spec version of the 1993 JS39 chassis - by this time a very unusual practice in Formula One which greatly harmed competitiveness. Bernard would take third place in the high-attrition German Grand Prix, but by the European Grand Prix he was dropped in order to accommodate Johnny Herbert.

3rd Place in Germany

He was engaged by Herbert's previous team, Team Lotus, to fill the seat at the European GP, but it was to be his last F1 drive, with Mika Salo taking over later in the season.
For 1995, he was linked to a return to Larrousse, but the team folded before the season began. Bernard would move to sportscars, enjoying considerable success in GT and ALMS series.

French F1 Drivers, Jean-Pierre Beltoise

Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise was born April 26, 1937 in Paris, France and is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams.
Beltoise won 11 national motorcycle titles in three years. He competed in international Grand Prix motorcycle racing from the 1962 to 1964 seasons in the 50, 125 and 250 cc classes. His best finish was a sixth place in the 1964 50 cc World Championship.

He made his four-wheel debut at Le Mans in 1963, winning the Index of Performance, but a year later his career was nearly ended when a horrendous accident at Reims left him with burns and multiple injuries, the most serious of which was a left arm so badly broken that its movement was permanently restricted. Nevertheless he was back in 1965 racing the F3 Matra (the aerospace company having taken over the René Bonnet concern) and scored a great first win for the marque at Reims. His pre-eminence in this formula was later to be confirmed when he won the 1966 Monaco F3 race, and all four rounds of the Argentine Temporada series early in 1967. This success encouraged Matra to continue with their racing activities, and Beltoise was the spearhead of the team's Formula 2 programme from 1966, winning the F2 class of the German GP and later the European F2 championship for non-graded drivers in 1968 when he won rounds at Hockenheim, Jarama and Zandvoort.
In 1969 he was recruited by Ken Tyrrell to the Matra team, driving alongside Jackie Stewart, finishing second in the 1969 French Grand Prix, while development work was undertaken on the V12 project and scored seven point-scoring finishes, but the following season he raced the new Matra MS120-V12 and was unlucky not to win the French GP when a puncture robbed him of the lead. Athough Jean-Pierre had done well enough on occasion, Matra signed Amon for 1971, frustrating the Frenchman's F1 aspirations, and it was not a happy season for Beltoise.

In 1971, racing in the Matra sports car team, he was involved in the accident which killed Ignazio Giunti in Buenos Aires, and his international racing license was suspended for some time. In 1972 he joined the BRM team and won what turned out to be BRM's final Formula One victory at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix under heavy rain.

Monaco 1972

He finally retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 1974 season.

An established member of the Matra squad, Jean-Pierre enjoyed a tremendous year in sports car racing, winning four championship rounds (the Nürburgring, Watkins Glen, Paul Ricard and Brands Hatch) but at season's end he was looking for work on two fronts. With Matra out of endurance racing, Beltoise was forced to scratch around for drives and the prospect of an F1 return with Ligier in 1976 evaporated when the seat went to Laffite. Jean-Pierre was involved with both the Ligier and Inaltera sports car projects before successfully switching to the French touring car scene, where he was to drive and gain much enjoyment for many years.
He won the French title twice for BMW before entering rallycross in an Alpine-Renault with which he won the French title. In 1981 he returned to touring cars and raced for Peugeot throughout the 1980s. He is also a regular ice racer.

He has two sons who are both race drivers.

In fiction, Beltoise frequently appeared in the Michel Vaillant series of comic books, amongst others being part of the winning Vaillante Le Mans team.

French F1 Drivers, Paul Belmondo

Bertrand Gachot leads Paul Belmondo as the dynamic Pacific duo take on the Aida track.

Paul Belmondo

Paul Belmondo was born April 23, 1963 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine and is a French racing driver who raced in Formula One for the March and Pacific Racing teams. He is the son of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and grandson of sculptor Paul Belmondo. Around 1981, Paul gained publicity for becoming the lover of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

Through 1987 he participated in Formula 3 and Formula 3000, although he was never a top 10 championship finisher in either. In 1992 he joined the March F1 team as a pay driver, getting a ninth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but only qualifying 4 more times before he ran out of money and was replaced by Emanuele Naspetti. Two years later he became a member of the uncompetitive Pacific Grand Prix team, where he only qualified for two races and was usually behind team-mate Bertrand Gachot.

Thereafter he concentrated on GT racing, at the wheel of a Chrysler Viper GTS-R. He started his own team, Paul Belmondo Racing which raced in the FIA GT Championship and Le Mans Endurance Series championship before folding in 2007.

A not so happy Paul, going in the sand

French F1 Drivers, Jean Behra

Jean Behra


Jean Marie Behra was born in Nice, France, February 16, 1921 - was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams.
Behra was small in stature, stocky, and weighed 178 pounds. Behra had big shoulders and was scarred from 12 crashes. In 1955 he had an ear torn off from a collision. He sometimes drove magnificently and at others he drove with a lack of enthusiasm.

He raced motorcycles for Motor-Guzzi prior to changing to sports cars and Grand Prix racing. Behra began driving cars competitively in 1952. Joakim Bonnier claimed that he learned the majority of his racing skill from Behra. Although he never achieved victory in a World Championship Formula 1 race, he managed an unquenchable thirst for motorsport, being considered a formidable competitor to the day he died. He hit the headlines when he won the non-title 1952 Reims Grand Prix. Between then and 1959 he scored many victories, but none in Formula 1 championship races.

Behra @ French GP 1959

Gordini
Behra was in a Gordini in the Pan-American road race in the Mexican state of Oaxaca in November 1952. He won the first stage of the five-day race from Mexico's southern border to the United States border at Ciudad Juárez near El Paso. He started 19th and finished with a time of 3 hours, 41 minutes, and 44 seconds. On the second day of competition Behra crashed his car on a curve approximately fifty miles from Puebla. In April 1954 Behra passed the leader in the last ten minutes on his way to victory in the Grand Prix of Pau, France. He finished 180 m ahead of Maurice Trintignant after having to make many pit stops due to mechanical trouble. Behra drove a six cylinder Gordini.

Monaco 1955

Maserati
Behra finished first at the Grand Prix de Pau for a second consecutive year, this time at the wheel of a Maserati.

Grand Prix de Pau 1955

Alberto Ascari led until the 19th lap but dropped back after brake failure. A crowd of 50,000 watched as only eleven of sixteen starters finished the race. Behra and Luigi Musso were teammates in the 1,008 kilometer super-Cortemaggiori Grand Prix at Monza, Italy. The two Italians shared a 3,000 cubic centimeter Maserati that won and established course and lap records for 6.3 kilometer track.
Behra had surgery on his leg in June 1956, forcing him to miss a 1,000 kilometer Monza Grand Prix. He earned the pole position for a Grand Prix at Rouen, France in July 1956. His Maserati was clocked at an average speed of nearly 155.46 kilometers per hour. Behra drove a Maserati to capture the Grand Prix of Rome, a 2,000 cubic centimeters sports car event, in October 1956. His winning distance was 166.030 kilometers. He covered one lap in 2 minutes, 16.9 seconds, to average 174.003 kilometers an hour. This established a record for the Catelfusano track.

Grand Prix France at Reims 1956

In April 1957 Behra turned in the quickest time for the Pau Grand Prix. He circuited the 2.77 meter course in 1 minute 35.7 seconds, which was a half second slower than his lap record time. The race covered a distance of 304.6 kilometers or about 310 km. Behra won the race which was run through the streets of Pau, with an average speed of 100.9 km/h. Behra was injured while testing a car for the Mille Miglia in May 1957. He recovered and entered a Maserati in the 24 hours of Le Mans on June 22. He was again triumphant in a Maserati at Kristianstad, Sweden in August 1957. He drove in a Swedish 6-hour Grand Prix at the Rabelov, 6,537 meter, asphalt track. He followed this with a win in the Grand Prix of Modena, Italy in September.
In 1957 he was cast as number two to Fangio, but still had his moments, none more memorable than the British GP when he left them all - Fangio, Hawthorn, Moss and Collins - in his wake until his Maserati's clutch failed.

Behra (46) @ Monaco 1957

Porsche
Behra drove a Porsche to victory in the 6th Rouen Grand Prix. He bested the British drivers, Graham Hill and Alan Stacey. Behra took 4th place at Oporto in the 1958 Portuguese Grand Prix, driving for British Racing Motors BRM. He drove a Porsche to achieve first place in the Grand Prix of Berlin, Germany held in September. He navigated the twenty circuits of the 8.35 km track with a time of 206.3 km/h. in 48 minutes, 14.8 seconds. Altogether he scored wins in 8 straight European races in 1958. In each sports car event he piloted a Porsche Spyder. In Formula 1 he drove exclusively for BRM that year. Behra finished 4th at Riverside International Raceway in a small Porsche RSK, in October 1958. He made a quick exit and took an airplane to Europe, where he left for the Grand Prix of Morocco at Casablanca. He was in such a hurry that he left Riverside, California in an ambulance to make his flight.

Behra @ Morroco GP 1957

Final season and death
In 1959 he moved to Ferrari where he partnered with Tony Brooks. Behra won a 320 km international race of Formula 1 cars at Aintree, in April 1959. He averaged 88.7 miles per hour in an event in which Brooks took second place, 10 seconds behind. When he retired in the French Grand Prix at Reims-Gueux after a piston failure, Behra was involved in a strong discussion in which he punched team manager Romolo Tavoni, and was instantly dismissed from the team.

Less than a month later he crashed his Porsche RSK in rainy weather in the sports car race that preceded the German Grand Prix at AVUS, in Berlin, Germany. He was thrown from his car and fatally injured when he hit a flagpole, causing a skull fracture.
The sports car race featured entries of small, under 1,500 c.c. engine capacity. After three laps Behra was third behind Wolfgang von Trips and Bonnier, who eventually finished one and two. The AVUS was unique among race tracks. It used a strip of the Autobahn 4.0 km in length. The north and south bound lanes were fifty feet apart. At one end was a hairpin turn which drivers negotiated at around 48 km/h. At the other end was a 9.1 m high, steeply banked loop. Behra lost control in the pouring rain, while going 180 km/h. The Porsche began to fishtail with the tail of the car going higher and higher up the slick, steep bank. Then the Porsche spun and went over the top of the banking, with its nose pointing toward the sky. It landed heavily on its side on top of the banking. It remained there wrecked, while the race continued on underneath. Behra was thrown out and for a fleeting moment he could be seen against the background of the sky, with his arms outstretched as though attempting to fly. He impacted one of eight flagpoles arranged at the summit of the embankment which bore the flags of the competing nations. The flagpole toppled over when Behra collided with it, about halfway to its top.
Behra came down into trees and rolled almost into a street where drivers and cars often waited in a paddock to practice. A doctor arrived from a Red Cross ambulance close by. He examined Behra briefly and shook his head. A hospital bulletin stated that Behra broke most of his ribs in addition to the skull fracture which killed him. Currently AVUS is a vital part of the German public highway system as Autobahn A 115.

Behra was buried in Nice, France six days after the crash in which he died on August 1.

3,000 mourners in Nice lined the streets from wall to wall. The first funeral service was in Berlin, followed by another in Paris.
Behra left a nineteen-year-old son, Jean Paul. Behra's demise left only Maurice Trintignant among living French drivers of fame. Trintignant comforted Behra's family and called on the young men of France to defend the colors of their country in international motor racing. Conspicuously absent among those present in the racing community was Enzo Ferrari. He dropped Behra as a factory driver ten days before his death and sent no remembrance to the funeral masses.

All photos with permission from www.f1-photo.com Mr paul Henri Cahier

French F1 Drivers, Elie Bayol

Racer 500 from Elie Bayol - 1950

Elie Bayol

Élie Marcel Bayol was born on 28th February 1914 in Marseille, who raced in Formula One for the O.S.C.A. and Gordini teams.

He started his career in 1950 racing 500cc Formula 3 DB-Panhards and progressed to Formula 2 races and hillclimbs around France. His best result was a fourth place in the Circuit de Cadours, in 1951 driving a "Rene Bonnet" 750cc, giving him a budding speedster reputation.

In 1952 he ran his own OSCA F2 car, built by the Maserati Brothers, and finished fourth at Pau.

In 1953, he ran 3 Grand prix, France, Switzerland and Italy driving an Osca with Louis Chiron.

Bayol @ Italian GP 1953

he was fourth again at Pau and obtained a pole position at Albi on the local racing calendar.

He also succeeded the same year to win the Aix les Bains Circuit du Lac Grand Prix (Formula 2).

His Formula One World Championship career consisted of entering 8 races over a 5 year span. After two years with an OSCA, he joined the Gordini team in 1954 with Jean Behra. He was fired on the spot by Amedee Gordini at the "Bordeaux GP" for failing to listen to team order asking him to let Behra take over the drive and finish the race. He then had to finish the race on foot.

In 1955,Gordini calls him back and he drives a "Gordini 16" in Argentina and Monaco. He scored his only 2 championship points with a fifth place finish in Argentina. He also finished fourth at a non-championship event at Pau.

Gordini T16

He then proceeded to race at the "24 hrs of Le Mans" until 1954 - when he suffered head injuries during practice in 1955

In 1956 he raced a few times - mainly Monaco driving a "Gordini T32" and at the "12 hrs of Rheims" - but disappeared from single-seater racing after that.

Gordini T32

He died on 25th May 1995 in La Ciotat, outside of Marseilles.

All photos with permission from www.f1-photo.com Mr paul Henri Cahier

French F1 Drivers, Marcel Balsa

Marcel Balsa


Marcel Lucien Balsa (January 1, 1909 in Creuse – August 11, 1984 in Maisons-Alfort) was a French racing driver.


His first mention in a racing event was at 38 years old in the French Grand Prix of Pau in 1939
Balsa started racing competitively after World War II, when he acquired a Bugatti Type 51 and became quite competitive in the French national events.

• in 1945 "Coupe des Prisoniers" ( Prisoner's Cup) in Paris he finishes 5th
  
• Then in 1946 at the second leg of the Marseilles GP manages to get Pole position but only finishes 5th once again.

He later built a BMW-engined Formula 2 car, being disapointed with being always left behind with his Bugatti, and had a good reputation. he manages a 4th position in the Luxembourg GP.


He then tried a Jicey-BMW developed by Jean Caillas. With it he finished third in the Grand Prix of Cadours, the same event where fellow racer Raymond Sommer was killed. Spectators could even spot his Jovial self in Paris GP starting grid in 1952. ( F2 Race)


Marcel Balsa was another one-time guest in Germany, taking part in the 1952 German Grand Prix with his special, when he retired after the 5th lap with a broken rear axle. The car is reported to have been based on a Gordini chassis with a BMW engine installed... Quite strange indeed.!

While Felice Bonetto spins his Maserati on the opening lap of the 1952 German Grand Prix, Marcel Balsa in his BMW special (110, in the foreground) and Hans Klenk in the Veritas Meteor (128) manage to avoid collision.

He was then 51 years old, making him the 9th oldest driver to ever compete in an international F1 event.

In 1953 he won a race at Montlhery facing little opposition from a few local drivers.

His last apparitions will be in Montlhery and in Cadours where he finishes 5th, in 1954.

Here is what his daughter had to say about him upon his death:

"C’était un homme heureux, il n’a fait de sa vie que ce dont il avait envie…, et il m’a appris à écouter un moteur."

"He was a very happy man, he only did what he loved to do..., and taught me to listen to an engine roar"

All photos with permission from www.f1-photo.com Mr paul Henri Cahier

French F1 Drivers, Rene Arnoux

Rene Arnoux

René Alexandre Arnoux was born July 4, 1948, in Grenoble and is a retired French racing driver who is a veteran of 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). In 2006 he raced in the inaugural season of the Grand Prix Masters formula for retired F1 drivers.

European Formula Two champion in 1977, René Arnoux graduated to Formula One in 1978, with the small French Martini team of Tico Martini. In an organisation with insufficient means to figure in the highest echelon of the sport, Arnoux was unable to demonstrate his abilities. Martini abandoned Formula One during the season, having run short of money. Arnoux found refuge at the end of the season at the Surtees team, but once again found himself in a team on the edge of failure.

For the 1979 season, Arnoux joined the Renault team, which entered two cars for the first time since its debut in 1977. The team's only victory of the year was taken by Arnoux's teammate Jean-Pierre Jabouille at the French Grand Prix at the Dijon-Prenois circuit, but Arnoux took the headlines due to a fierce but good-natured wheel-banging battle with Gilles Villeneuve for second place.


In the 1980 season, Arnoux took his first two Formula One victories, but a lack of reliability prevented him from playing a part in the fight for the world title, although he took three pole positions. Arnoux's situation was complicated in 1981 by the arrival of Alain Prost at Renault. Inevitably their rivalry on track flared up off the track and relations between the two men deteriorated, dividing the small world of French sport. The conflict reached its peak at the 1982 French Grand Prix at Le Castellet.

The drivers took the first one-two in Renault's history in Formula One, Arnoux finishing ahead of Prost. Prost was furious, considering that his teammate had not kept to the team orders agreed before the race, according to which he should have ceded the win to Prost, who was better placed in the championship. Arnoux replied that no orders had been given before the race and that he was free to drive his own race. He took one other win at the Italian Grand Prix at the end of the season. He was also lucky to walk away from a high speed crash after brake failure at the end of the long straight in the Dutch Grand Prix.

The pairing of Prost and Arnoux having become unsustainable, Arnoux left Renault at the end of 1982 to join Scuderia Ferrari. With three victories, at the Canadian, German, and Dutch Grands Prix, he was in contention for the world title for much of the season, but was left behind by his rivals Prost and Nelson Piquet in the championship run in.

After a less successful second season at Ferrari, during which his new teammate Michele Alboreto progressively took the initiative from him, Arnoux was suddenly dismissed after the first Grand Prix of the 1985 championship, the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Without a drive for the majority of the 1985 season, Arnoux made his return to Formula One in 1986 for the Ligier team, where he delivered several good performances. However, despite maintaining his motivation, Ligier were not competitive and Arnoux went through three seasons at the back of the grid before leaving Formula One after the 1989 season.

Towards the end of his career Arnoux attracted some controversy; he was frequently accused of blocking faster cars in qualifying and when being lapped. He finished his career with 181 World Championship points.



René Arnoux has since started an indoor karting business called Kart'in, consisting of four tracks in France, two in the Parisian area, one in the suburbs of Lyons and one near Marseille. He also owns and manages two factories, frequently appears and drives in historical events on behalf of Renault and resides in Paris.
Arnoux was one of the drivers invited to take part in the Grand Prix Masters championship in 2006 and 2007, restricted to former Formula One drivers. In 2007 and 2008 he drives for the Renault H&C Classic Team, e.g. presents and drives Alain Prost's F1 car from 1983 at World Series By Renault events.

French F1 Drivers, Phillipe Alliot

Phillipe Alliot

Philippe Alliot was born 27 July 1954 in Voves, Eure-et-Loir, France and is a former racing driver who participated in Formula One from 1984 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1994. He raced for RAM, Ligier, Larrousse and McLaren.
From a well-to-do family in Reims, Alliot watched racing when he was a child, his heroes being Chris Amon and Graham Hill, but he did not get involved in karting and it was not until he had finished his military service with the elite Chasseur Alpines regiment and was studying political science that he decided to enroll for a course at the Motul racing school at Nogaro, in the south-west of France.

He finished second in the Volant Motul competition but Motul was sufficiently impressed to give him some support in Formule Renault in 1976. At his first event Alliot won one heat while a youngster called Alain Prost won the other. But Prost's domination of the series made it difficult for Alliot and his brother Frederic, who was also racing, to survive. They struggled through the 1976 and 1977 seasons but Philippe's efforts were finally rewarded when he was offered a drive with the BP Racing team in 1978.

He won the French Formula Renault championship and graduated to French Formula 3 with BP. He finished third in his first season behind Prost and Jean-Louis Schlesser and moved to the European Formula 3 Championship in 1980 but failed to win a race but finished fifth in the series. In 1981 he partnered Alain Ferte in the Martini factory team and won at Magny-Cours and La Chatre to finish third in the series.

He stayed on in 1982 but has a less successful year, winning only one race. In 1983 he moved to Formula 2 but hit the headlines that year when he finished third in the Le Mans 24 Hours with Michael and Mario Andretti in a Kremer Porsche. After another difficult year with Martini in Formula 2 he joined the Skoal Bandit RAM Formula 1 team in 1985. He tested for Ligier that winter but went back to Formula 3000 in 1986 with ORECA and won at Spa. After Jacques Laffite was injured at Brands Hatch, Alliot joined Ligier as his replacement before getting a full-time drive with the new Larrousse Lola team in 1987. He stayed with them for three seasons but proved to be fast but rather erratic, having some spectacular accidents.

He returned to Ligier for the 1990 season but it was not a success and at the end of the year he took the opportunity to join the Peugeot Sport sportscar team for the 1991 season. This resulted in one victory in 1991 (which he shared with Mauro Baldi) but other good results enabled them to finish third in the Sportscar World Championship.

In 1992 the pair won two victories and helped Peugeot to the World Sportscar Championship. This resulted in Philippe being named as a McLaren-Peugeot driver in 1994 in F1 although he only took part in one race for the team after Mika Hakkinen was banned from taking part in the Hungarian GP.

In August that year he rejoined Larrousse for one race in Belgium but at the start of 1995 announced his retirement from racing and decided to try a career in politics. He did TV commentary work for a while and also competed in ice racing and on the Paris-Dakar Rally but then moved on to set up Force One Racing with David Hallyday, running Chysler Vipers in GT racing. The pair won the 2001 French GT title and competed internationally until 2004. They continue to race in France. Alliot has also lent his name to a karting circuit run by his brother Franck at Belleville-sur-Vie, in the Vendee region of western of France.