 Kimi Raikkonen |
Number of Grand Prix: 122 |
Kimi Räikkönen was born to race. From the first time he sat in a pedal kart at only three years old, he showed a love for racing and speed. Kimi’s talents are not limited to a Formula One car, he often hits top speeds in Ferrari road cars, snowmobiles and even on a pair of skis! Born in Finland in 1979, Kimi spent years accumulating experience with karts. In 1999 he competed in various Formula Championships, winning the Formula Renault Winter Series and the following year, the British racing series.
In 2000 Kimi made the leap to Formula One, becoming a test driver for Sauber and scoring points at his first race in Australia 2001. Kimi moved to McLaren-Mercedes in 2002, where he achieved nine wins, 36 podiums and 19 fastest laps. After five years at McLaren-Mercedes, it was time for a move and Scuderia Ferrari welcomed the Finn with open arms. Signing a three year contract with the most successful team in history, Kimi hopes to fulfil his dream of becoming World Champion. Let’s hope he doesn’t have to wait too long!
How do you relax after a race?
After a race it is important to relax, but I also have to look after my health and fitness. I go to the gym and do exercises to cool down and lots of stretching to relax me and prepare for the next day. Because I am away from home a lot, I like to spend time with my family and friends and go out and enjoy myself.
Which track do you find most challenging? Why?,
For sure Monaco is very frustrating for a driver as it is very difficult to overtake. It is hard to know that you are in a better car but you cannot overtake the backmarkers. It is very important to qualify well in Monaco so that you can get the best race position.
What has been your proudest moment in Formula One?
I think winning at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2003. As a driver you never forget your first win. I started from seventh position on the grid, it didn’t seem possible that two hours later I would be standing on the top of the podium. It was a good race.
Can you describe your first Formula One weekend?
My first Grand Prix race weekend was Australia 2001. I had been a test driver before this race, but it is not the same. I am always calm before a race and my first race was no problem really.
 Michael Schumacher |
Active Years: 1991-2006 |
Some say that Michael Schumacher is the best driver to ever race in Formula 1. And looking at the statistics it would be hard to disagree. As it happens Schumacher's Formula 1 career began almost by accident, when Bertrand Gachot's prison sentence left Jordan without a driver. Benetton were keen and signed the German in time for the next race. Schumacher was on the pace of ex-champion team-mate Nelson Piquet. He scored points in 1991, before taking wins for the team in 1992 and 1993.
In 1994 Benetton were ready to mount a serious title challenge, and the championship came down to the final race in Adelaide. In the red corner was Michael Schumacher. In the blue corner; Damon Hill. Schumacher led, but Hill was right behind putting the German under immense pressure. Schumacher ran wide, hit the wall and bounced back onto the track. Hill attempted to go down the inside at the right-hander which followed, but Schumacher turned in on him. Schumacher skated into the barriers and retirement, but fortunately for him Hill also sustained damage. Schumacher was champion.
1995 once again saw Schumacher take the title from Hill, this time without the controversy of the previous year. For '96 however the German decided to move to Ferrari. But the Scuderia weren't as fast as Williams and Hill took the title. Schumacher took three wins and finished third in the title race, behind the other Williams of Jacques Villeneuve. The following year Ferrari were a lot closer to Williams, and Michael was once again in a title fight in the last race, Jerez. This time the challenger was Jacques Villeneuve. As the Canadian lunged to overtake Schumacher, Schumacher once again turned in, only to find himself beached in the gravel trap. Villeneuve was undamaged and went on to take the title. The FIA found Schumacher guilty of deliberately trying to take Villeneuve out of the race and he lost all of his championship points for 1997.
McLaren were the form team of 1998 and 1999, and Schumacher lost both titles. The 1998 title came down to a showdown in Suzuka where Schumacher had a disastrous race. Having qualified on pole, he stalled the car, forcing him to start from the back. Having got up to fourth position he ran over debris left from a crash between Toranosuke Takagi and Esteban Tuero, causing his tyre to explode and thus ending his championship. In 1999 Schumacher looked a favourite for the title, but it all went wrong at Silverstone. A heavy crash resulted in him breaking his legs, leaving him out of action for several months. Although he returned to help Ferrari take the constructors title in Malaysia he could only finish fifth in the title race and Mika Hakkinen took the glory again.
Then began the glory years for Schumacher and Ferrari, as he won five titles in a row. Dominance in 2002 to 2004 were the highlights of this impressive time. The 2000, 2001 and 2003 title fights were a lot closer, but Ferrari's superiority along with their favouritism for Schumacher helped them to glory. 2005 has been a disappointment for the team, with their only win coming in the farcical Indianapolis race. Ferrari and Schumacher improved towards the end of the season, and yet more rule changes could level the playing field ahead of next year. Some say Michael's lost his motivation, but 2006 will see once and for all whether thats the case. 2006 would become the last season of Schumacher's racing career. Although he did better than in 2005, it still was not enough and Alonso claimed the championship in the last race of the season. His performance at the last race (at Brazil), of his career was classified in the press as an "heroic display", a "utterly breath-taking drive" and a "performance that (...) sums up his career".
Year On Year along Michael Schumacher's Career
1984 - German Kart Junior Championship
1985 - German Kart Junior Championship runner-up
1986 - German Kart Championship: 3rd & European Championship: 3rd
1987 - German and European Kart Champion
1988 - Formula Konig: German Champion Formula Ford 1600: German Championship: 4th Formula Ford 1600: European Championship: 2nd
1989 - Finishes 3rd in F3 German Championship behind Karl Wendlinger and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
1990 - WSPC/Sauber-Mercedes, 5th (1 win)Formule 3: Winner German Championship, Winner F3-GP Fuji
1991 - F1: Jordan-Ford (debut at Spa, Belgium) F1: Benetton-Ford
1992 - F1: Benetton-Ford, 3rd. His first full F1 season, winning is maiden Grandprix at Spa, Belgium.
1993 - F1: Benetton-Ford, 4th.
1994 - F1: Benetton-Ford, World Champion. Wins his first Drivers' Championship in controversial style after a collision with nearest rival Damon Hill puts both drivers out of the final race with Hill threatening to pass.
1995 - F1: Benetton-Renault, World Champion.
1996 - F1: Scuderia Ferrari, 3rd (despite a series of mechanical failures).
1997 - F1: Scuderia Ferrari. He was excluded from the World Championship by the FIA after collision with Jacques Villeneuve in the final race of the season (Europian GP) in Jerez.
1998 - Drives for Ferrari. Unfortunately may be remembered more for his rage in the pits at Spa, and his stall on the grid in Suzuka, than his valiant but ultimately unsuccessful challenge for the title.
1999 - F1: Ferrari, 5th, Absent for 7 races due to broken leg in the British Grandprix.
2000 - F1: Ferrari, World Champion (first Ferrari driver's championship since 1979)
2001-04 F1: Ferrari, World Champions
2005 - F1: Ferrari had put their head down due to failures after a long series of championships, when Alonso didn’t put a foot wrong to come champion.
2006 - F1: Ferrari & Schumi gave a touch fight with thier F2006 to Renault's Fernando Alonso for thier run for the World Championship & Constructors Title. This would be the Last year for Schumi as a Driver in Ferrari.
Personal Facts
Height/Weight - 1.74 m - 73 kgp
Date and Place of Birth - January 3rd, 1969, Hürth-Hermülheim
Residency - Vufflens-le-Château (Schweiz)p
Marital Status - Married since August 1995
Family - Wife Corinna, Daughter Gina Maria (born in February 1997), Son Mick (born in March 1999), Father Rolf, Mother Elisabeth, Brother Ralf
Education - 10 yrs. of School, Certified Car-Mechanic
Hobbies - Karting, Soccer, Cycling, Rock-climbing, Skiing, Tennis
Favourite Food - Pasta, “Kaiserschmarrn” (Scrambled Pancakes with Raisins)
Favourite Drink - Apple-juice with Soda)
Favourite Music: - Rock & Dance
 Jody Scheckter |
Active Years: 1972-1980 |
Jody Scheckter, (Born: January 29th 1950, South-African) earned a place in the cockpit of a McLaren F1 car only 18 months after arriving in the UK. One of the most promising young drivers of his era, he dazzled the racing fraternity with terrific car control and considerable bravery. Unfortunately, Jody's early F1 career was punctuated by a massive accident at the end of the opening lap of the 1973 British Grand Prix. He ran wide onto the grass coming out of Woodcote corner and spun back across the circuit, triggering a multiple pileup which eliminated half the field and brought the race to a halt.
In 1974 Scheckter joined the Tyrrell team in the wake of Jackie Stewart's retirement and the death of Francois Cevert at the end of the previous season. He stayed with Tyrrell until the end of '76, during which he drove their P34 six-wheeler, giving this strange car its only victory in the Swedish Grand Prix, and coming a good third in the Championship. He then joined the emergent Wolf team to finish runner-up in the 1977 title chase behind Niki Lauda.
In 1979 he joined Ferrari and, confounding all the critics, got on famously with the Italian team and won the World Championship. Quick, shrewd and blessed with a dry sense of humor, Jody Scheckter was one of the most popular F1 exponents of his time. After his retirement in 1980 he went to the United States and began a business called FATS, designing and building simulation equipment for firearms training. He later the sold the company for a large fortune and turned his attention to overseeing the racing careers of his two sons.
 Niki Lauda |
Active Years: 1971-1979, 1982-1985 |
Niki Lauda, (Born: February 22, 1949 in Vienna, Austria) is an entrepreneur, former F1 racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. Born into a wealthy family, Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. He joined the fledgling March team as a Formula 2 (F2) driver in 1971 and drove in both F1 and F2 for them in 1972 before joining BRM in 1973. His big break came when his BRM team-mate Clay Regazzoni rejoined Ferrari in 1974 and team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke favourably of Lauda, so Ferrari promptly went and signed him.
Lauda retired from racing in the middle of the first practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal in September. He left immediately for Long Beach, California & negotiated with airplane manufacturer McDonnell Douglas. Lauda was now know as "THE RAT". In 1982 he came out of retirement and joined McLaren for 4 years. He won the 1982 Long Beach Grand Prix. IN 1984, driving a Tag Porsche Turbo V6, Lauda won his 3rd World Championship title with victories in South Africa, France, Great Britain, Austria & Italy winning by 1/2 points over team mate Alian Prost.
His airline business now flew from Vienna to far east Australia. He has had only one plane crash of a Boeing 767 over to AUSTRALIA. Thailand in 1991. Niki Lauda was one of the Best Formula One Drivers to ever Drive in the sport and he still visits the odd Grand Prix Race today. He was in Italy for the 600th Ferrari Start Celebration at Monza in 1998.
 Phil Hill |
Active Years: 1958-1964, 1966 |
Hill, (Born: April 20, 1927 in Miami, Florida USA) is the only American-born driver to win the Formula One driving championship.
Raised in Santa Monica, California, where he still lives, Phil Hill began racing cars at an early age, going to England as a Jaguar trainee in 1949 and signing with Enzo Ferrari’s team in 1956. He made his debut in the French Grand Prix at Reims France in 1958 driving a Maserati. That same year, he won the 24 hours of Le Mans with Belgian team mate Olivier Gendebien (1924-1998), driving for most of the night in horrific rainy conditions. He and Gendebien would go on to win the famous endurance race two more times.
In 1961, Phil Hill won the 24 hours of Le Mans again and the Formula One driving championship for the Ferrari team, although somewhat due to the death of his teammate and main championship contender Wolfgang Von Trips. After leaving Ferrari at the end of 1962, he continued in Formula One for a few more years until he switched to sports car racing with Ford and Jim Hall’s Chaparral racing cars. Phil Hill has the distinction of having won the first and last races of his driving career, the final victory driving for Chaparral in the "BOAC 500" at Brands Hatch in England in 1967.
In 1991, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
 John Surtees |
Active Years: 1960-1972 |
John Surtees, (Born: February 11, 1934 Great Britain) is a English racing driver, and the only one to have become World Champion on both two and four wheels. Born in Tatsfield, Surrey, Surtees won seven world titles in motorcycle racing, winning the 350cc championship from 1958 to 1960, and the 500cc championship in 1956 and 1958 through 1960.
Surtees switched from motorcycles to cars, full time in 1960 making his Formula 1 debut racing for Lotus in the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. He moved to Ferrari and won the world championship for the Italian team in 1964. Surtees parted company with Ferrari during the 1966 season, citing excessive pressure as a factor, leaving Jack Brabham to take the Drivers' Championship. He later formed his own race team, Surtees Racing Organization, which raced in Formula One during the 1970s.
In 1996, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
 John Michael Hawthorn |
Active Years: 1952-1958 |
John, (Born: April 10, 1929 - January 22, 1959 in Great Britain) was a race car driver, born in Mexboroughr, Yorkshire, England. He was the winner of the 1958 Formula One Championship. With only one win that year against four wins of Stirling Moss, he benefited from the gentlemanship of Moss at the Portuguese Grand Prix of Porto, after being disqualified for pushing his car, against the rules. Moss interceded and so Hawthorn could keep his secon place in Porto, that contributed to his win in the championship only one point ahead of Moss. After winning the title, Hawthorn immediately announced his retirement from Formula One.
A matter of months later, on January 22, 1959, Hawthorn died in an automobile accident on the A3 Guildford by-pass. In 1955, Hawthorn was the winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans race, despite being involved in the horrible crash that killed 80 spectators. In Farnham, the town where he lived up to the time of his death, there is a street named after him, Mike Hawthorn Drive (off Dogflud Way).
 Juan Manuel Fangio |
Active Years: 1950-1958 |
Fangio will always be 'the Maestro' and justifiably so. For all his phenomenal achievements in Grand Prix racing - five World Championships and 24 wins from just 51 starts - it was as much the way he conducted himself outside the cockpit which has created an aura that exists to this day.
is origins were humble. The son of an Italian immigrant family, he grew up in Argentina in a motoring environment, working in a garage from the age of 11 to supplement the family income. He saved everything he could towards the purchase of a Model T Ford, which he raced secretly before switching to a Ford V8 special and the real beginnings of his competition career. Supported by the people of his home town, Balcarce, he acquired a Chevrolet and won the 1940 Gran Premio del Norte, a 5,900 mile road race, scoring his first major success. Throughout the next seven years he raced in these marathons with a Chevrolet, often competing with 'Los Galvez' for the top honours.
 Alberto Ascari |
Active Years: 1950-1955 |
One of F1’s first stars and the first great Ferrari driver. Born in Milan, Italy, Ascari had racing in his blood, as his father Antonio Ascari was a talented Grand Prix motor racing star in the 1920s, racing Alfa Romeos. In 1950, Ferrari team made its debut at Monte Carlo with Ascari, Villoresi, Raymond Summer in the team. Ascari finished 2nd in the race and later in the year shared a 2nd place at F1's first race in Monza. He was only 5th in the championship standings however. Ascari's Ferrari dominated 1952, winning all six races in Europe that season and recording the fastest lap in each race. He nearly scored the maximum amount of points a driver could earn, but drivers were given points for fastest laps at the time, and he had to share a half point with another driver in one race.
He won three more consecutive races to start the 1953 season, giving him nine straight wins before his streak ended when he finished 4th in France, although it was a close 4th as the race was highly competitive. He earned two more wins later in the year to give himself a second consecutive World Championship. Ascari did not continue his dominance in 1954 as he failed to finish a race in his four attempts at F1, although he made up for it by winning the Mille Miglia. His 1955 season started similarly, retiring twice more, the latter of which was a spectacular incident in Monaco where he crashed into a harbour after missing a chicane.
A week later, on May 26, he went to Monza to test a Ferrari sports car and crashed on one of the track's tight corners. He was killed in the accident, a death which is still somewhat mysterious. The corner where the accident happened now bears his name, the Variante Ascari.