Welcome to Forgotten F1 Teams – a mini series from Sidepodcast chronicling the rise and fall of teams that couldn’t stay the distance. This is the fourth show, we’ve already looked at Simtek, Pacific and Forti, but today we’re talking about Arrows.
Arrows Grand Prix came to life in 1977, founded by previous Shadow employees, Franco Ambrosio, Alan Rees, Jackie Oliver, Dave Wass and Tony Southgate – the surnames of whom spell out Arrows… sort of. Based in Milton Keynes, their Formula 1 entry was a bit of a rush job, with their first ever car being produced in just 53 days. Riccardo Patrese was brought on board to steer the car and the early signs were promising. They finished tenth in their first race in ‘78, almost won their second, and picked up some points in their third Grand Prix.
Unfortunately, the team didn’t have an easy start to life with some early controversies. Founder Franco Ambrosio had to leave the team after being found guilty of financial misconduct in Italy, and sent to prison. The team were then sued by Shadow for copyright on their chassis, which was upheld by the court. However, this didn’t stop them, as while the decision was being made over the the copied chassis, Arrows had built a brand new car, which then took to the track without them having to miss a race.
Hello, and welcome to the fourth instalment of F1 People, a series from Sidepodcast bringing you a biography of the important names in Formula 1. Today, it’s Michael Schumacher’s turn.
Michael Schumacher was born January 3rd 1969 in Germany. At an early age, his father modified a pedal kart to include an engine, and at the age of six he had won his first karting club championship, despite being the youngest member.
His parents took on extra jobs at the karting circuit to be able to afford their son’s hobby, but when the expenses got to much, Schumacher found investment from several businesses. In Germany, you have to be 14 to get a karting licence, so a 12 year old Schumacher obtained his from Luxemburg instead. A few years later he was legal in Germany, and winning karting championships easily.
He left school in 1987 to work as a mechanic, and graduated to single seater racing the next year. Of course he was brilliant at it, and spotted by Willi Weber’s Formula 3 team.
Weber financed him for a couple of years, and was rewarded when Schumacher won in 1990. His next move would usually have been to progress to Formula 3000, but Schumacher decided to join the junior Mercedes team in the World Sportscar Championship. He did take part in one Formula 3000 race, in 1991 and won it. He won several races in the Sportscar Championship. People were beginning to sit up and take notice.
Schumacher’s Formula 1 debut came with the Jordan-Ford team in 1991, as a one off replacement driver. Mercedes paid Eddie Jordan to let Schumacher drive, and Jordan immediately signed him up, because he showed promise. He qualified brilliantly, but retired from the race. Despite the potential deal, and subsequent court injunctions by Jordan, Schumacher was snatched up by Bennetton for the rest of the season.
His first podium came in 1992, at the Mexican Grand Prix, and his first victory was the same year in Belgium.
1994 was Schumacher’s year and despite the death of Ayrton Senna at Imola, Schumacher proved himself to be a worthy, if controversial, rival. He won six out of the first seven races, but endured a three race ban for ignoring a black flag, and completed the title race by pushing Damon Hill off the road.
He retained his title the next year, and then switched allegiance to the Ferrari team. He continued to fight to clear up his damaged reputation, only to lose it again with a similar “run off the road” incident with Villeneuve.
A heavy accident early on in 1999, resulted in a broken leg for Schumacher that sidelined him for much of the season, but he returned to championship winning form in 2000. Thus began the Ferrari dominance, and the record breaking that continued until 2004.
Most driver titles. Longest reign as champion. Most wins. Most pole positions. Most podiums. The list is endless.
In 2005, the pairing of Fernando Alonso and Renault brought Schumacher and Ferrari’s winning streak to an end. Schumacher’s only win that year came at the tarnished US GP, when only six of the twenty cars took part.
2006 was better, but Alonso took the championship again. The controversial moments were back, with a parking incident at Monaco and some conveniently placed penalties for other teams.
Schumacher confirmed his retirement at the Italian Grand Prix post-race press conference. There had been much speculation and continued to be so for his next move, but Ferrari retained his services as an advisor on the pit wall for some races in the 2007 season.
Schumacher has received many awards for his achievements, most notably the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. He has won twice, and been nominated four times – another record he holds.
Michael lives in Switzerland with his wife Corinna and children Gina-Maria and Mick. His younger brother Ralf is also a racing driver, although much less successful in Formula 1. That is hardly surprising though, when the fans and the statistics proclaim Schumacher to be the greatest driver in the world.
Thank you for listening to F1 People, and don’t forget to join me tomorrow for another famous face.
Welcome to Sidepodcast’s History of F1. So far, the development of the Formula 1 World Championships has been pretty much about the cars, with a few squabbles between drivers along the way. The 1990s saw some real star talent emerging, with personalities both loveable and not so much.
The 1990s were a year of change, innovation, tragedy and triumph. Team Williams introduced the first car, designed by Patrick Head, to have a semi-automatic gearbox and traction control, but reliability was still a major problem. Eventually, Williams managed to conquer their mechanical troubles, and added more computer-control to the car, leading to success in the next couple of years. Williams took the championship in ‘92 and ‘93, with Nigel Mansell and then Alain Prost, who had just returned from a season off.
Michael Schumacher joined the Formula 1 circuit in 1991, qualifying 7th on his debut for Team Jordan, although he didn’t get past the first lap. Just one race later, he defected to Benetton. With the major players of previous seasons now retired, Schumacher was the main rival for Ayrton Senna, but it was not going to be easy.
The points system changed in 1990 so that all Formula 1 races were included in the championship and a win would gain you 10 points rather than 9 points. The FIA also declared that the driver aids, such as traction control, were having a negative impact on the impression of F1. Where was the driver skill? So, the aids were banned, despite Formula 1 getting more and more exciting. With the rule changes having a huge impact on car specifications, it was always going to be a risky few years.
Ayrton Senna was in fine form in 1993, when he won the European GP at Donington Park, making up five places in the first lap, in the rain. But, the 1990’s are not dominated by Ayrton Senna for his victories, but for his tragic death. The San Marino GP, 1994, saw too many accidents. First Roland Ratzenberger was killed - the first death for 12 years in the sport - and then Rubens Barrichello was hospitalised. Senna sat at Barrichello’s bedside and decided to withdraw from qualifying. He did not want to race. But a racing driver lives to be out on the track, and Senna changed his mind. He took pole position and raced for seven laps, before his car missed the corner and struck the wall at more than 180mph. He was pulled from the wreckage, taken to hospital by helicopter, and later died from massive head injuries.
The accident shook the entire F1 community, but the racing did not stop. The FIA passed immediate rules to step up safety, including pit speed limits, and easier access to the cars. Damon Hill replaced Senna at Williams, but Michael Schumacher took his role as champion.
Nigel Mansell returned to McLaren after retiring and perhaps gaining a little weight. The car was redesigned so that he could fit, but it didn’t make the impact they had hoped for. Jacques Villeneuve joined Williams, and hoped to continue the legacy of his father, Gilles. Schumacher transferred to Ferrari for the largest paycheck of the time and the team was rewarded with victory after victory.
Schumacher was not without controversy, being shown a black flag at Silverstone in 1994 for ignoring a penalty for overtaking on the parade lap. He also ignored the flag and gaining a two race ban. He was disqualified later in the season for an illegal car floor, but in all races he showed the twinkle of genius that would gain him many more driver titles.
The later seasons of the ’90s were dominated by rivalries from a new David Coulthard, Villeneuve, Eddie Irvine and Mika Hakkinen. But really, it was all about Michael Schumacher, as he took win after win to lead him into the new century as one of the most successful drivers to ever race.
That’s all for this episode of Sidepodcast’s History of F1, and really that’s all of the history. The next and last episode will be about the first few years of the 21st century and what can be expected in the future.
Another one bites the dust: industry stalwart PC Magazine will print its last paper issue this coming January, according to an announcement from Editor-in-Chief Lance Ulanoff. Increased print and delivery expenses contributed to the decision to move away from the print edition of the magazine, which has been around for 27 years.
