[FAQ] Frequently asked questions to rec.autos.sport.f1.moderated - Part 1 of 2

[FAQ] Frequently asked questions to rec.autos.sport.f1.moderated - Part 1 of 2

$Revision: 2.139 $, $Date: 2008/01/17 00:21:02 $

This FAQ is posted approximately twice a month. (The subject should be
the same; if you do not want to retrieve it, kill the subject.) Between
postings you can find a reasonably current copy at
http :// www .alumni.caltech.edu/~mjackson/rasf1m.html. For more information
about the operation of this newsgroup, and a nicely-formatted version of
this FAQ, see the rec.autos.sport.f1.moderated website at
http :// www .rasf1m,net /.

*NOTE* The FAQ has been split into two parts to avoid it being too long
for some people's rules.

This FAQ originated on rec.autos.sport.f1, where it was ably maintained
through mid-2001 by Stephen M Baines. Special thanks to him, and
thanks also to the following people who, amongst others, have had
contributions culled to make the FAQ:

Kim Andrews, Paul B, Sven Baumer, David Betts, Sergiusz Boron, Alessio
Bragadini, Lord Tim Brent, Stênio F. Campos, Simon "Bumble Bee Boy"
Cossar, Andrew Cosstick, Emma Crawley, GD, BF Dehay, Doug Farrow,
Pete Fenelon, Ken Fletcher, Mark J Frusciante, Tony Gartshore, Alan Gauton,
GD, Thomas Gmuer, Lutz Goerke, Paul Harman, Ian Hill, Mark Jackson, Jak,
Alan Jones, Brian Lawrence, Jeff "Eskimo Joe", Olav K. Malmin, Julie Miles,
Ciro Pabón, Dave Parker, Jon Petersson, Barry Posner, Rob, Duncan Rollo,
Rui Pedro Mendes Salgueiro, Martin Schmidt, Peter Scoular, Johan V,
Mike Whooley, Paul Winalski.

Apologies to anyone whose name was missed - it's not deliberate!

The FAQ may not have answers to everything you need - it is just a
collection of *frequently* asked questions and their answers, not the
answers to everything ;-)

Corrections and additions are especially welcome. I do try to keep up
with the newsgroup, but to make sure of something being considered for
the FAQ mail me at mjackson@alumni.caltech.edu.

The FAQ is divided into several sections.

This introduction (Part 1)
1. Rules, regulations and governing body (Part 1)
2. The teams and cars (Part 1)
3. The drivers (Part 2)
4. The races (Part 2)
5. The circuits (Part 2)
6. Television (Part 2)
7. Sponsors (Part 2)
8. Manufacturers (Part 2)
9. Technical stuff (Part 2)
10. Miscellaneous (Part 2)


1. Rules, Regulations and Governing Body
==========================================
Q: Who is the governing body of Formula 1?
A: The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), headquartered
in Paris (F) and whose president is currently Max Mosley. In 1904
various national motor clubs organized the Association Internationale
des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) to run international motor sport
(reserving control of national events for themselves). The AIACR first
issued an international sporting calendar and regulations in 1908, and
in 1922 formed a Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) to formalize
the oversignt of Grand Prix and other forms of international racing.

The term Formula 1 came into use in 1947, when the AIACR reorganized
itself as the FIA. The World Championship of Drivers was begun in 1950.

Q: Where can I find the regulations to Formula 1?
A: The FIA's web site has the technical and sporting regulations; see
http :// www .fia,com /sport/Regulations/f1regs.html.

Q: What are the main changes for 2008?
A: In March 2006 the World Motor Sport Council, anticipating the
expiration of the Concorde Agreement (see below), approved
far-reaching changes to the sporting regulations for 2008.
Proposed changes to the technical regulations followed; after
considerable struggle some modifications were put in place
and most provisions were brought forward to 2007. During 2007
further changes were announced from time to time by the FIA,
some of which seem to have been invalidated by agreements
reached with the teams in early 2008. Here are the major
points believed to be in effect so far:

An FIA-standard engine control unit (ECU) will become mandatory,
enabling enforcement of a ban on launch and traction control
systems. Gearboxes will have to last for four events, with a
five-place grid penalty for early replacement. Engine development
frozen for 5 years (reduced from 10 years) through a homologation
scheme. "Customer" cars - one team using another's chassis - were
supposed to be legalized, but the use of such cars in 2007 by
Toro Rosso and Super Aguri triggered litigation; this led to the
abandonment of Procar's planned 2008 entry of a customer McLaren
chassis. (At this writing it looks like the customer car
initiative will be abandoned by 2010, with Toro Rosso and Super
Aguri grandfathered in for the two interim years - but this
is far from certain.) The third qualifying period has been
shortened from 15 to 10 minutes and refueling afterwards has
been banned, which should eliminate the laps currently spent
burning off fuel. (What was introduced to give the spectators
more track time to watch is now judged unacceptably eco-hostile!)
Other proposed limits on the use of wind tunnels and aerodynamic
track testing, and further restrictions on resources dedicated to
computational fluid dynamics (CFD), rig testing, other technical
development areas, and the number of personnel brought to races
have run into strong opposition and seem to be off the table for
now. In their place a budget cap is being seriously considered,
although Ferrari is known to be opposed.

Q: Are further changes planned?
Hard to be sure since the 2009 technical regulations haven't
been updated. Over the past couple of years the FIA has floated
various proposals, which have successively emphasized the
absolute need for cost reduction, then more overtaking, and lately
an eco-friendly profile if the sport is to survive. With the
freeze on engine development any eco-friendly advances before
2013 will have to come from elsewhere; mandated for 2009 is an
as-yet-undefined Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) for
which open choice of technology is (so far) promised. Waste
heat recovery systems have also been mooted for later years.

There is some possibility that the grooved dry-weather tires
used for several years will be replaced by slicks in 2009.

Q: What is the Concorde Agreement?
A: The original Concorde Agreement (so-called because it was signed
at the FIA headquarters on the Place de la Concorde in Paris)
was between the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA)
and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA).

FISA, reorganized from the old CSI by Jean-Marie Balestre after
he became its chair, was the arm of the FIA involved in
sanctioning motor sport and had direct sanctioning responsibility
for F1. FOCA was, as its name implies, an organization
representing most of the F1 teams (but not all of them--Tyrrell
and, I think, Ferrari were not FOCA members). Its president was
Bernie Ecclestone, then owner of the Brabham F1 team.

Through the 1970s the FIA had gradually allowed FOCA to
take a greater hand in the financial, promotional, and
organizational aspects of the F1 Championship. By 1980
FOCA was organizing the races and the FIA's role was limited
to rules-making and officiating. When Balestre took over
as head of the CSI he set about trying to get control of F1 back
from FOCA. FOCA baulked at some of Balestre's proposed rule
changes, particularly the ones limiting ground effects, and
a very ugly dispute ensued that threatened to split the sport.
(One race was boycotted by the FOCA teams; another, organized
by FOCA, was excluded from that year's Championship.)
The sponsors and manufacturers (engines, tires, fuel) had the
last say and forced both sides to hammer out the Concorde
Agreement, which covers the whole financial and organizational
side of F1 racing, rules stability, collection and distribution
of monies, etc.

FISA is no longer, its duties now being performed by the FIA's
World Motor Sports Council. FOCA has evolved into Bernie's
complex of companies; see "Who owns F1," below. Since the
original Concorde Agreement there have been several revisions
to it. In recent years the CA has required unanimous consent
from the teams (almost impossible to obtain) or a couple of
years' notice in order to change the regulations.

The current, three-party version (FIA, Bernie, the F1 teams)
expires at the end of 2007. In mid-January 2005 the FIA,
Ferrari, and Bernie announced the signing of a revised Concorde
Agreement, giving signatory teams a larger share of revenues,
effective 2008-2012. Bernie gave the other teams an
end-of-February deadline to sign on, which was ignored.
Instead the remaining teams signed a memorandum of
understanding with Bernie covering financial arrangements in
mid-May 2006. Agreement between manufacturers and the FIA
over governance and technical objectives was claimed by Mosley
and BMW in November, and this was touted as having cleared the
way for a fresh 3-way Concorde Agreement. However as of late
2007 such had yet to be signed; if instead the current pact
is extended the controversy over customer cars will probably
continue into 2008. Another possibility, however, is that the
FIA will choose to regulate the sport unfettered by such an
agreement, leaving Bernie and the teams to divide the loot.

Q: Where can I see the Concorde Agreement?
A: You can't. It's secret, although some of its known or suspected
provisions are described in this FAQ. More detailed speculation,
and pointers to an alleged copy of the 1997 agreement divulged
in 2005 by a certain motorsport newsletter, can be found at
http :// www .concordeagreement,com .

Q: How much do the teams get for winning races?
A: The FIA doesn't get involved in money, which is controlled by
Bernie through what used to be called FOCA. I believe that the
Concorde Agreement describes the "prize money" for each race,
and I think there are payments for the leading teams at quarter,
half, three-quarter and full distance. Maybe something for most
laps led too?

The revenue from TV rights is partially distributed to teams using
a points system derived from historical performances. As I understand
it points are awarded for:

* Placing in the constructor's championship (last 3 years)
* Number of years in F1 (1 year = 4 points, 10 years = 165 points
[Ferrari 50 yrs = 1200 points])
* Constructor's titles (25 points each)
* Constructor's championship points (last 2 years x 2)
* " " 2 (all-time / 10)
* Number of wins (last 2 years, 10 points each)
* All-time number of wins (1 point each)

Teams with points get a proportional share of the money. There is
also a separate pool of money distributed based on the previous
years constructor's championship. The *size* of the total payout
(reportedly 47% of TV revenues, nothing from the sanctioning fees
and other income realized by Bernie) was one of the issues behind
the breakaway manufacturers' movement (see next question).

Q: Who owns F1?
A: The FIA owns Formula 1, but licensed the commercial rights
through 2110 (yes, for over a century) to a complex of companies
effectively controlled by Bernie Ecclestone. The actual structure
is Byzantine; in discussing it /The Economist/ has used the words
"complex tax-avoidance scheme."

The key elements have been:
* Formula One Management (FOM), owned by the Jersey company Petara
* Formula One Administration (FOA), which owns Petara and is in turn
owned by Formula One Holdings (FOH)
* SLEC Holdings, a Jersey company (evidently named for Bernie's wife
Slavica, who controls Petara) which owns FOH.
* Bambino Holdings, another Jersey company controlled by the
Liechtenstein-based Bambino Trust (whose beneficiaries are members
of the Ecclestone family).

A few years ago Bernie sold 75% of SLEC for a very large sum,
while retaining a 25% stake through Bambino Holdings - as well
as effective control through arcane directorship arrangements at
FOM and FOA. Due to financial difficulties ownership of this 75%
passed through the hands of German media companies EM.TV and Kirch
and, following the latter's default, to three creditor banks.
The banks were unhappy with the return on their unwilling
investment and lack of the control that usually comes with 75%
ownership; legal actions followed.

In November 2005 Ecclestone and the British private equity firm CVC
Capital Partners agreed to form a new company, Alpha Prema, which
was to reunite the bank and Bambino holdings with
Ecclestone continuing as chief executive of the F1 group. Details
were then worked out with the banks, conditional approval was
granted by the European Commission (CVS being required to divest
itself of its interest in MotoGP), and in March 2006 the purchase
was completed. As of that date:
* the Formula One Group is still 100% owned by SLEC
* SLEC is 75% owned by Speed Investments (the former bank holding
vehicle); and 25% by Alpha Prema UK
* 100% of Speed is held by Alpha Prema UK
* Alpha Prema UK is 100% owned by yet another Jersey-based holding
company, Alpha Topco
* Alpha Topco is 75% owned by CVC Fund IV and 25% by Bambino Holdings.

2. The teams and cars
====================
Q: When was the last time a privateer won a race?
A: The last privateer to win a GP was either Jo Siffert in the Walker
Lotus-Ford at Brands Hatch in 1968, or Jackie Stewart in the Tyrrell
March-Ford in Spain in 1970. (Although Tyrrell bought both chassis
and engine that season some feel that the support he was receiving from
Ford, Elf, and Goodyear place him at least among the semi-works ranks.
It's a judgement call, there being no official body empowered to bless
privateership.)

There has never been a privateer World Champion. Moss came closest in
the Rob Walker-entered Cooper in 1959 when he finished third. Walker
was the first privateer entrant to win a World Championship Grand Prix
with Moss in a Cooper-Climax, in the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix.

The Mugen-Honda engine used by the 2000 Jordan was a factory engine
in all-but-name. The last World Champion to use an off-the-shelf
engine was Keke Rosberg (1982, Williams-Ford).

Q: Who owns which team?
A: BMW Sauber - The former Sauber was restructured, if not
fully renamed, in 2006 as the factory team for
BMW, which holds the controlling stake. Credit Suisse
will continue as a shareholder until 2008, and as
sponsor through 2008.
Ferrari - Piero Lardi Ferrari 10%, the FIAT Group 85%, and 5%
by the government-owned Mubadala Development Co. of
Abu Dhabi.
Honda - Honda.
McLaren - TAG McLaren is 40% owned by Daimler A. G., 30% by
the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, and 15% each
by Ron Dennis and TAG Group S.A. (Mansouer Ojjeh).
Red Bull - (formerly Jaguar, neé Stewart) Dietrich Mateschitz's
Red Bull energy drink company.
Renault - Renault.
Scuderia Toro Rosso (formerly Minardi)
- Dietrich Mateschitz's Red Bull energy drink company
50%; Gerhard Berger 50%. Persisten