Super Aguri

Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from 2006 to 2008. The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan but operated from the former Arrows factory in Leafield, UK. The cars were referred to as Super Aguri Hondas, with the team functioning to some degree as an unofficial Honda 'B'-team. In Japan, public pressure persuaded Honda to help its former driver Takuma Sato to continue to compete in Formula One. This was influential in the creation of Super Aguri's F1 project and the engine supply from Honda. After participating in the championship for 2 years and 4 months, the team withdrew from F1 part-way through the 2008 season due to financial difficulties.

Team creation
The team faced a daunting challenge merely to be ready for the first race of the season. Initially, it notified the FIA on November 1 (ahead of the governing body's November 15 deadline) of its intention to enter. However, the FIA's official press release of the entry list for 2006 confirmed that it had not approved Super Aguri's entry: this was reported to be due to the team's failure to produce the required $48 million entry bond on time.However, the team re-applied for entry in 2006, and continued to prepare cars for the upcoming season.Having missed the initial registration, the team needed to convince the existing ten teams to unanimously agree to its entry. It appeared that the Midland team was blocking on the grounds of potentially reduced TV revenue, but it was eventually granted the necessary unanimous agreement and the team's entry was confirmed by the FIA on 26 January 2006.Super Aguri kept their 2007 drivers Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson, following the acquisition of an unspecified portion of the team by the Magma Group.- Luca Filippi was once linked to a drive in 2008 however he has since signed to the GP2 Team ART Grand Prix partnering Romain Grosjean. On January 8 2008 the team announced that the SA08 would be lauched in Barcelona, Spain.[17] On February 12 Super Aguri postponed the SA08 launch and did not announce for how long due to their uncertainty of the future of the team.The team has since said that although it has cancelled its attendance at the final pre-season tests because some parts had not arrived, it expects to compete at the first race of the 2008 season in Australia. However, Magma have pulled out of their proposed takeover leaving Super Aguri's future in doubt again. The Super Aguri F1 Team travelled to Barcelona and competed in the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, allegedly aided by financial support from F1 supremo, Bernie Ecclestone. On arrival at the Istanbul Park for the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix, Super Aguri's trucks and motorhomes were denied entry to the circuit, because Honda Racing CEO Nick Fry reportedly told the race organizers that Super Aguri would not be taking part.On May 6 2008, team founder and principal Aguri Suzuki announced that they are to withdraw from the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship with immediate effect due to financial problems, citing the breach of contract by the promised partner SS United Group Oil & Gas Company resulting in the loss of financial backing as putting the team into financial difficulties. It was confirmed on 7th May that Super Aguri have gone into administration after a team of corporate recovery partners was appointed to seek a buyer for the operation.

Force India

Force India F1 is a Formula One motor racing team. The team was formed in October 2007, when a consortium led by Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for € 88 million. Force India F1 represents increased Indian participation within Formula One, with Delhi set to host the first ever Indian Grand Prix in 2010. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile confirmed the change in name from Spyker to Force India on 24th October 2007.
Colin Kolles will remain as team principal into 2008. Michiel Mol is director of F1 racing, and Mike Gascoyne is the Chief Technology Officer.

Force India will use the VJM-01 chassis, an updated version of the previous year's Spyker car, for the first part of the 2008 season. The team will be using customer Ferrari engines in 2008, with the team's existing deal with Ferrari running to 2010. The team will also be using the Indian flag in its team logo from 2008. Former Spyker sponsor Etihad Airways have a contract with the team until 2009, and have yet to announce any changes to this arrangement. Force India will construct their own cars as Spyker did, rather than using customer chassis. Force India has a contract with Adrian Sutil for 2008. In November 2007 the team invited Vitantonio Liuzzi, Christian Klien, Giancarlo Fisichella, Ralf Schumacher, Franck Montagny and former Spyker test drivers Giedo van der Garde and Roldan Rodriguez to take part in winter tests along with Sutil. Giancarlo Fisichella was reported to have taken the second seat at Force India after being replaced at Renault F1 by Fernando Alonso. On January 10, 2008, Force India confirmed Giancarlo Fisichella as first driver and Vitantonio Liuzzi as a test driver. Adrian Sutil had already been confirmed and took the second driver Role. Former Spyker test drivers Roldan Rodriguez and Giedo van der Garde have been confirmed as test drivers for Force India F1.

Toro Rosso

Scuderia Toro Rosso (Italian for Red Bull Racing Team) is a Formula One racing team owned in a 50/50 partnership between the drinks company Red Bull and former F1 driver Gerhard Berger. It made its racing debut in the 2006 Formula One season, after Paul Stoddart sold his remaining interest in the Minardi team at the end of 2005. Scuderia Toro Rosso is the sister team of Red Bull Racing, with the aim of developing the skills of promising drivers for the senior team.

For the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Toro Rosso will be using Ferrari V8 engines, taking over the contract that their senior team broke from at the end of 2006. The team principal is Franz Tost, formerly of BMW's motorsport division. Its latest car, the STR2 is nearly identical to the Red Bull RB3, as both were designed by Adrian Newey.
The team's set 2008 driver lineup is Sebastian Vettel, third driver for BMW-Sauber in 2006 before switching to a race seat at the team midway through the 2007 season, and Sebastian Bourdais, the four-time winner of the Champcar World Series.

Minardi had competed in Formula One from 1985 to 2005. Despite having a large fan base, they had been one of the least competitive teams in the sport, due to a relatively restricted budget. Owner Paul Stoddart claimed to have had 41 approaches to buy the team, but preferred to sell it to someone who could 'take it further' than he could and who would maintain it in its traditional base in Italy.[1] Included in the terms of the deal with Red Bull was the clause that the team must keep its headquarters in Faenza, Italy until at least the 2007 season.

Whilst Red Bull have abandoned the Minardi name in line with their own sponsorship and marketing plans, the use of the Italian language in the name is intended to hint at the team's Italian heritage. Red Bull changed the name of the team immediately after taking control of the team on 1 November 2005. It was initially reported as 'Squadra Toro Rosso' but then changed because 'squadra' in Italian depicts a 'squad' like a football team, to 'Scuderia Toro Rosso'. Many Minardi fans were upset by this move, and over 15,000 signed an online petition to keep the Minardi name.

Williams

WilliamsF1, the trading name of Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd., is a Formula One (F1) motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head. The team was formed in 1977 after two earlier and, compared with WilliamsF1's achievements, unsuccessful F1 operations, Frank Williams Racing Cars and Walter Wolf Racing. All of WilliamsF1 chassis are called "FW" then a number, the FW being the initials of team owner, Frank Williams.
Williams' first race was the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix, and Switzerland's Clay Regazzoni won Williams' first race at the 1979 British Grand Prix. At the 1997 British Grand Prix, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve won the team's 100th race, making Williams one of only three teams in Formula One, alongside Ferrari and fellow British team McLaren, to win 100 races. Williams won nine Constructor's titles between 1980 and 1997. This stood as a record until Ferrari surpassed it in 2000.

Many famous racing drivers have driven for Williams, including Finland's Keke Rosberg; Britain's Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill; France's Alain Prost and Brazil's Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna, and Canada's Jacques Villeneuve, each of whom, with the exception of Senna, have captured one Drivers' title with the team. After Senna died in a Williams car in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Frank Williams, Patrick Head and designer Adrian Newey were all accused of manslaughter. The trial finally closed in 2005, when Williams, Head and Newey were all cleared of any wrongdoing.

Williams have worked with many notable engine manufacturers, most successfully with Renault: Williams won five of their nine constructors' titles with the French company. Along with Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault (formerly Benetton), Williams is one of the "Big Four" teams that have won every constructors' championship since 1979 and every driver's championship since 1984. Williams remains the only one independently owned, as the other three are "factory teams" either setup or bought out by major auto manufacturers.

Bennetton

Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001. The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for the 2001 season. In 2002 the team became Renault F1.
The Benetton Group entered in Formula 1 as a sponsor company for Tyrrell in 1983, then Alfa Romeo in 1984 and 1985 and finally Toleman in 1985. Benetton Formula Ltd. was formed at the end of 1985 when the Toleman team was sold to the Benetton family. The team began with BMW engines and then later switched to Ford.

The team was managed by Flavio Briatore from 1990 until 1997. Rocco Benetton, the youngest son of Luciano Benetton joined the team as aerodynamics engineer in 1998 and fired Briatore. He replaced him with Prodrive boss David Richards, who lasted only for a year when he too was fired, due to a disagreement with the Benetton family about future strategy. Following Richards' departure, Rocco Benetton managed the team for three years until its sale to Renault. Rocco Benetton successfully managed to achieve an unheard of salesprice in F1 terms.

The Benetton team is best known for its success with Michael Schumacher, who accounts for 19 of the team's 27 career victories and their 2 drivers' championships. After switching to Renault engines, they also won the constructor's championship in 1995 with Schumacher and Johnny Herbert. After 1995, Schumacher moved to Ferrari along with Ross Brawn, Nigel Stepney, Rory Byrne and 11 other key figures from his two championship winning seasons with Benetton. From this point, the Benetton team was never what it once was.

Benetton's last Formula One car, the B201.On March 16 2000, the team was sold to Renault for $120 million US. As part of their restructuring, Renault brought back Flavio Briatore as team manager. During their final season in 2001 the drivers, Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella, were often on the back two rows of the grid. This was in part attributed to the new 110-degree wide angle engine. But as the Renault era approached, the cars' performance lifted. Towards the end of the season, Giancarlo Fisichella recorded a fine podium finish behind Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard. Continued development allowed Benetton to leave Formula 1 on somewhat of a high.

Renault

Renault F1 is the Renault company's Formula One racing team. Renault has a long if intermittent history of involvement in motor racing, including Ferenc Szisz winning the first French Grand Prix, usually regarded as marking the birth of Grand Prix motor racing. Renault has competed in Formula One (originally via subsidiary Renault Sport), both as an engine supplier and as a constructor from the late 1970s to the present day, with several breaks. Renault introduced the turbo engine to Formula One when they debuted their first car, the Renault RS01 at Silverstone in 1977. Although the Renault team won races and competed for world titles, it was as a supplier of normally aspirated engines to the Benetton and Williams teams in the 1990s that Renault first tasted world championship success. Renault returned to the category as a constructor in 2001 by taking over the Benetton team, which was renamed Renault in 2002. Their first championship as a constructor was achieved in 2005; the same year that they won their first drivers' championship with former test driver, Fernando Alonso, repeating that feat in 2006.
Renault F1 is coordinated from the team's UK base at Enstone, Oxfordshire where the chassis are designed and built. Engines are manufactured at Renault's facility at Viry-Châtillon outside Paris. As well as their championship wins in 2005 and 2006, Renault also contributed to 5 driver's world championships (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997) and 6 constructor's world championships (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997) as engine supplier for Benetton and Williams.

Currently, Renault F1 is responsible for Renault's involvement in Formula One; Renault's other motorsport activities are conducted through Renault Sport. Renault confirmed Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen as their race drivers for 2007 with Nelson Piquet Jr. and Ricardo Zonta as test drivers. The car for 2007, the R27, was unveiled on 24 January 2007, and bore a new yellow, blue, orange and white livery in deference to the corporate colours of ING. Renault engines are also being used by Red Bull Racing team, while the Ferrari engine contract held by Red Bull Racing was passed on to Scuderia Toro Rosso (otherwise known as the second "development" Red Bull team).

Renault struggled in comparison to their form in recent seasons in Australia, with Giancarlo Fisichella finishing the race in 5th place. Rookie Heikki Kovalainen struggled even more than the Italian, spinning his car as he chased Toyota's Ralf Schumacher and ending up in 10th place. Results didn't improve until the start of the European season, although both drivers finished in the points in the next race at Malaysia. Heikki Kovalainen struggled in Bahrain too, although the gap between himself and Fisichella at the end of the race was not as great as was seen at Melbourne, with Fisichella finishing only 8th. The team's pace began to pick up in Barcelona, with both drivers making it into Q3, setting competitive lap times in the race (4th fastest lap for Kovalainen) and looking set for 5th and 8th, only to be hampered by an identical problem on both fuel rigs, forcing both drivers to make extra pitstops which dropped them back to 7th and 9th.

On November 8, 2007 the FIA have accused Renault F1 of having McLaren F1 technical information in their possession.[5]
According to the charge, the information in hand "included the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren car as well as details of McLaren's fuelling system, gear assembly, hydraulic control system and suspension".

The hearing on this matter has taken place in Monaco on December 6, 2007. The charge faced by Renault F1, breaching of article 151c of the Sporting Regulations, is the same charge that had been put on McLaren's desk earlier on in 2007 in the espionage controversy involving Ferrari & McLaren. The FIA found Renault F1 in breach of article 151c and have decided not to penalize the team.

Red Bull

Red Bull Racing is one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Red Bull. (The other is Scuderia Toro Rosso). The team is managed by Christian Horner, boss of the Arden International GP2 Series team. The team is now competing with an Austrian licence having previously competed under the British flag.

Origins
Jaguar Racing was put up for sale in September 2004 when Ford decided "it [could] no longer make a compelling business case for any of its brands to compete in F1."Red Bull, a large energy drinks company, agreed its purchase of Jaguar Racing on the final day of the sale, 15 November 2004.BBC Sport reported that Ford asked bidders for a symbolic US$1 in return for a commitment to invest US$400 million in the team over three grand prix seasons. The team continued to have access to the Cosworth engine developed for their 2005 chassis, and the operation continued under the new title.
Red Bull Racing was not the start of Red Bull's involvement in motorsport. Setting up a Formula One team of its own meant that Red Bull had to end its long-term partnership with the Sauber Formula One team. The drinks company also runs a young drivers programme, Red Bull Junior Team, whereby Red Bull sponsors promising young drivers. High-profile drivers who have received this backing include Enrique Bernoldi, Christian Klien, Patrick Friesacher, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed. Red Bull also sponsors many drivers and teams competing in the GP2 Series, Formula One's "feeder" series.

Red Bull Racing was one of only four teams (the others being Ferrari, Midland F1 and WilliamsF1) to have signed the Concorde Agreement starting in 2008, guaranteeing its long-term involvement in Formula One. However, more recently further teams have submitted entries securing the future of Formula One.
2008 season . David Coulthard driving for RBR at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.
Red Bull will continue with the same drivers in 2008 and will have numbers 9 and 10 on their cars after finishing 5th in the 2007 constructors championship. Red Bull presented the RB4 at the Jerez circuit on January 16 and announced that Sébastien Buemi would be their test and reserve driver for 2008 combining it with his GP2 drive with the Arden International GP2 team.
In the first six races of 2008, Mark Webber has continued to star for the team, recording 15 points, including fifth place in Spain, and fourth place in Monaco. Melbourne too looked good for Webber, who was in fine form all weekend until brake failure haulted him in qualifying, and a minor collision on the opening lap forced him into retirement.
Webber notched up his 50th top ten grid position at the Spanish Grand Prix, an impressive stat given he has started 107 Grands Prix, mostly in mid-field cars. That makes his top ten start ratio to Grands Prix entered close to 50%. David Coulthard had a tougher start to the 2008 campaign due to poor qualifying, but a podium finish in Canada gave Red Bull their first podium since the 2007 European Grand Prix.