McLaren were one of the power teams of the 1980s, Niki Lauda winning the 1984 title by half a point from his teammate Alain Prost.
1981. It remains in place to this day and stipulates how the sport and business should be run, including the distribution of prize money. On the racing front, the 1984 McLaren with its Porsche-built TAG-funded V6 was almost unbeatable. Niki Lauda and Alain Prost won 12 races that year, and Lauda beat Prost by just half a point to the championship. A driver named Ayrton Senna made his F1 debut in 1984, as did another talented newcomer named Stefan Bellof.
One of Jacques Villeneuve’s victories during his title-winning season was GP number 600.
team in 1996 and won four races. In 1997 he won seven of the 17 races, including the 600th F1 race in Argentina where he led all but six laps, and he won the world championship. Ironically, Villeneuve would never win another F1 race. On the driver front, Michael Schumacher had left Benetton at the end of 1995 after winning two championships and joined Ferrari. But it would take a lot of time and work to turn the famous Scuderia back into a winner. The fastest combo as the 1990s came to an end was Mika Hakkinen and McLaren-Mercedes. He was world champion in 1998 and 1999.
RACE 500
1990 Australian Grand Prix
Pole winner: Ayrton Senna – McLaren-Honda MP4/5 Race winner: Nelson Piquet – BenettonFord B190 1990 World Champion: Ayrton Senna – McLaren BERNIE ECCLESTONE maintained that Europe would become a third world economy and the future of F1 was elsewhere in the world. By 1990, Australia, Japan and Mexico were part of the 16-race schedule. In 1986, Ecclestone had also sorted out Hungary, the first F1 race behind the Iron Curtain. The 1990 season finale was in Adelaide where F1 celebrated its 500th race. Ayrton Senna won the pole and set a blistering pace, breaking the lap record, but crashed out handing Nelson Piquet victory over Nigel Mansell. Senna’s misfortune mis handed the Benetton driver back-to-back ba victories. vic A major story of th the late 1980s and
RACE 700
2003 Brazilian Grand Prix
Pole winner: Rubens Barrichello – Ferrari F2002 Race winner: Giancarlo Fisichella – Jordan-Ford E13 20 2003 World Champion: Michael Sc Schumacher – Ferrari
Giancarlo Fisichella got a nice surprise after he took victory in the 700th Grand Prix (above), but the champagne still tasted sweet (right).
early 1990s was the feud between Senna and Alain Prost. They had collided during the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix and Prost secured the championship. A year later in Japan Senna took Prost off the track and clinched the title. There had also been a huge shift in the rules in 1989 when turbos were banned and the engines were now 3.5-litres and normally aspirated.
Australia A u hosted race number 5500 0 and a Nelson Piquet win on tthe h streets of Adelaide.
26 AutoAction
RACE 600 1997 Argentine Grand Prix
Pole winner: Jacques Villeneuve – Williams-Renault FW19 Race winner: Jacques Villeneuve – Williams-Renault FW19 1997 World Champion: Jacques Villeneuve – Williams THE WORLD of F1 had changed forever during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Roland Ratzenberger died in an accident during qualifying, and the next day Ayrton Senna was killed in the race. FIA president Max Mosely immediately instituted plans for sweeping changes to improve safety across the board from circuits to cars. Engine capacity was reduced to 3-litres in 1995. To reduce cornering speeds, the ugly grooved dry weather tyres were introduced for 1998. Bernie Ecclestone, meanwhile, had engineered getting Williams to sign IndyCar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve. He joined the
RA NUMBER three of the 2003 RACE 16 16-race season had a bizarre finish. Ra Rain, spins and crashes, including o one for Aussie Mark Webber, caused th the Brazilian Grand Prix to be red flflagged. By that time pole winner R Rubens Barrichello, who had led his h home Grand Prix, had retired with a ffuel system fault in the Ferrari. There w was confusion about the finishing order at the red flag, and originally the victory was awarded to McLarenMercedes driver Kimi Räikkönen. It was several days later that the FIA ruled that the actual winner was Giancarlo Fisichella in his Jordan-Ford. The early 2000s was the era of the Michael Schumacher and Ferrari super team. Schumacher won five consecutive drivers’ world championships between 2000 and 2004. Ferrari earned the constructors’ crown six times between 1999 and 2004. Schumacher set records that many believed would never be broken. But now Lewis Hamilton is on his own record-setting spree. No driver and team can keep winning forever, and the Schumacher/Ferrari combo lost its edge in 2005 and 2006. The new kid on the block was Fernando Alonso, who won the championship both years with Renault. Schumacher made his first retirement from F1 at the end of 2006.