Formula 1 Driver Manager Championship - 2007 season (GP3 career)

OOC: Apologies for the longness of this post.

The Formula 1 Driver Manager Championship (F1 DMC for short) is the only championship that requires a current or previous racing driver to be the team boss of the team. According to reports, this championship has been running since 2003. The first two teams to ever enter this championship (and are still in the sport) in 2003 are run by old rivals Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher.

New teams have joined the sport later on, but only one driver has ever taken the F1 DMC title. Each team has agreed to host their profile here, whilst preparing for the greatest season in the history of the F1 DMC, with a possible giant-killing team entering with the ultimate engine of F1.

Hakkinen GP - Mercedes
Mika Hakkinen has been running his team in the F1 DM championship since it's inception in 2003. His team has always comprised of Stefan Murphy and Daniel Craven, who have won the team all of the silverware since 2003. Additionally, his partnership with top manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has benefited the team.

Team: Hakkinen GP
Engine Supplier: Mercedes-Benz (BHP 815)
Constructors Championships: 4
Driver 1: Stefan Murphy (FIN)
Driver 2: Daniel Craven (GBR)

Schumi GP - Ferrari
Michael Schumacher has also run his team since 2003. However, he has not had a single championship victory, unlike the Ferrari works team from 2000 to 2004. Charles Witt has always fought hard against Stefan Murphy, but the spoils always went to the Mercedes clan. Additionally, Dani Elms has tried his best to keep up with Craven, but his lack of pace has caused concern with the team. If he doesn’t perform in 07, he’s out.

Team: Schumi GP
Engine Supplier: Ferrari (BHP 820)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Charles Witt (MEX)
Driver 2: Dani Elms (IRE)

DC Racing – Cosworth
David Coulthard has run his team since 2005, and has had high success with his Cosworth powered outfit, with 10 podiums in 2006 alone. The team was to switch to Ferrari power for 2007, but decided that sticking with Cosworth would benefit more, considering their pull out from F1.
They are not hoping to challenge for the title this season, as they enter a transitional year, with Tetsui Antsu joining from Sato F1. Additonally, rookie driver Ricardo van Smirren has joined the team as their second driver.

Team: DC Racing
Engine supplier: Cosworth (BHP 817)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Tetsui Antsu (POR)
Driver 2: Ricardo van Smirren (NED)

Sato F1 – Honda
Takuma Sato began his team only last season, but his driver choices couldn’t have been better back then. He had managed to sign up Tetsui Antsu for 2006, but when he left, Sato was in a dilemma. His other driver, Yuji Ide, was being fired for poor performances. Therefore, he had to hire two rookies for 2007. Takim Aida and Yuji Suzuki. Both are Japanese, and like Ide, neither are good.

Team: Sato F1
Engine supplier: Honda (BHP 812)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Takim Aida (JAP)
Driver 2: Yuji Suzuki (JAP)

Zanardi - BMW
Alessandro Zanardi first raced his team in 2004. Unfortunately, he had used the old Minardi chassis and the Ford engine, which was not too good at the time. His cars finished last in every race. However, 2006 provided a small reprieve, when they finished 5th in the championship with Supertec power. Zanardi knew that the customer engines would not last another season, and found solace with BMW. Zanardi signed Nico Hulkenburg and A1 GP rookie Christian Vietoris for the team to race. The team hopes to be challenging for podiums this season.

Team: Zanardi Racing
Engine Supplier: BMW (BHP 808)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Nico Hulkenburg (GER)
Driver 2: Christian Vietoris (GER)

Prost - Renault
Alain Prost failed once in F1 due to lack of money. However, his team in the F1 DMC, which has been running since 2005, has shown potential due to their Renault engines. Unfortunately, the driver line-up has partially let down the team, who would be capable of winning races. Their driver line-up has remained unchanged, however, with Mario Boone of Australia and Belgian Koen Wijns keeping their seats.

Team: Prost F1
Engine Supplier: Renault (BHP 825)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Mario Boone (AUS)
Driver 2: Koen Wijns (BEL)

Webber GP - Holden
Mark Webber agreed to enter his team in 2006, but was unable to find drivers in time for the season opener. Thankfully, they managed to sign two drivers in time for Round 3. Unfortunately, due to the late start of the team, they were unable to make it past 7th in the championship for 2006. Michael Minarsa and Andrey Beregovei have kept their drives for 07, and hope to improve on their performance in 06.

Team: Webber GP
Engine Supplier: Holden (BHP 800)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Michael Minarsa (NZL)
Driver 2: Andrey Beregovei (FIN)

CF1 Racing - Hyundai
Alan Cho, a Korean racer, began his team in 2006, like Webber GP. Unfortunately, the team scored very little points due to lack of pace with their Hyundai engines. Aki Tianda and Heikki Aaltonen have also kept their drives, and hope to get more out of the Hyundai's compared to 2006.

Team: CF1 Racing
Engine Supplier: Hyundai (BHP 760)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Aki Tianda (KOR)
Driver 2: Heikki Aaltonen (FIN)

McNish Audi - Audi
Alan McNish's outfit is the first of the three new teams in the F1 DMC. Due to his extensive racing with Audi, he convinced them to supply his engines for the team. British rookie Daniel Falkien and South African A1GP star Alan van der Merwe are going to be the drivers for his outfit. They hope to not finish in the back end of the grid.

Team: McNish Audi
Engine Supplier: Audi (BHP 800)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Daniel Falkien (GBR)
Driver 2: Alan van der Merwe (RSA)

Alesi GP - Ford
Jean Alesi, who was tipped to be running an F1 team in 2008 until beaten by Prodrive has finally stepped into the management game. Using the 5 year chassis's left by Super Aguri (originally from Arrows) and Ford engines, the team is unlikely to make it off the back row. Spaniard Ignacio Restrepo and Holland's Nikostartos Rutten are driving the teams cars for 2007.

Team: Alesi GP
Engine Supplier: Ford (BHP 725)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Ignacio Restrepo (ESP)
Driver 2: Nikostartos Rutten (NED)

Stewart - Renault
Jackie Stewart originally sold his F1 team to Jaguar, who failed to make it shine. However, the three-time F1 champion has finally decided to return to managing a team. With F1's finest engines in the back of the car, and an all British line-up, Jackie Stewart's new outfit could be the giant killer of the season. Both Ben Parker and Dean Kittleson are willing to fight against Murphy and Craven for the title this season.

Team: Stewart F1
Engine Supplier: Renault (BHP 825)
Constructors Championships: 0
Driver 1: Ben Parker (GBR)
Driver 2: Dean Kittleson (GBR)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2007 08:38PM by Diax F1.

Alan van der Merwe is from South Africa i believe.

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"If in doubt, Flat out."

So he is. lol

Schumi GP became the first team to release their 2007 car, with resident first driver Charles Witt taking the wheel of the S2007.

After two laps with the car, Witt returned to the garage with swell news for the designers. "The car feels much better than the S2006. I hope we can win more races with this machine."

Unluckily, photographers only managed to capture one good shot of the S2007.


Charles Witt locks up his tyres at the Spitzkehre.

Many hours later, Nico Hulkenburg and Zanardi Racing unveiled the Z4 at the same location. Nico took the car out for 5 laps, then returned to the pitlane. Hulkenburg had this to say on the new car: "It is a good car to drive. I'm really pleased that the team have produced such a fantastic car. The engine is slightly lacking in comparison to other suppliers, but I'm sure the acceleration can make up for it."

Just like with the S2007, photographers only got a solitary photo for their efforts.


Nico Hulkenburg flies through the Parabolika.

Nice cars.

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