14th Annual Hagley Car Show

The Hagley Museum is a celebration of the old and the grand. Located on the site of the gunpowder works founded by E.I. du Pont in 1802, it consists of 235 acres worth of beautifully preserved lawns and stately buildings, including the mansion where du Pont lived. For fourteen years now, Hagley has been holding an annual car show on its Wilmington, Delaware grounds.

Winding through the long, picturesque drive through Hagley towards the show field, it becomes immediately apparent how difficult it would be to find a more suitable venue for an antique car exhibition. It takes only a touch of imagination to picture regal Pierce-Arrows and Packards traversing the very same path nearly a century ago.

Given the air of grandeur surrounding Hagley, it seemed only fitting for this year's event to feature cars of the Brass Era. The Brass Era is the name given to the earliest period of automobile production. Also called 'horseless carriages,' vehicles of the Brass Era were produced until about 1916. The time period's designation is a reflection of the prominent brass trimmings fitted to most automobiles of the era. With their penchant for grand proportions and ostentatious brightwork, the vehicles of Hagley's 'Pre-1916 Rarities' feature gave spectators the chance to admire some of the earliest examples of the American auto industry in a charmingly appropriate environment.

  New Hope Automobile Show

Now in its 52nd year, the New Hope Automobile Show has long been one of the best car shows local to the eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey areas. For the last several years, the show has been held at the New Hope-Solebury High School in New Hope, PA. Even with fewer cars and shrinking levels of attendance, the show has maintained a tradition of gathering some of the finest cars around. The vast majority of attending vehicles are from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but the quality of machinery far exceeds the standards of a grassroots local show.

Now, that's not to say that New Hope isn't a grassroots local show. Organizers are from the nearby area, and, with a wide range of vendors selling household items and services often far outside the realms of the automobile, the event has become as much a community get-together as a prestigious car show. But the long history of New Hope's annual event has given it the chance to develop further than most other regional shows.

Spread out over two days, New Hope offers a wide variety of automobiles. From a 1904 curved dash Oldsmobile to the brand new cars displayed by the area's premium dealerships, New Hope provides show goers with the chance to see the evolution of the car industry over more than a century.

  Waterfest 15

Waterfest was founded fifteen years ago as an annual refuge for an up and coming group of car enthusiasts. As its name proudly announces, the show was for water-cooled Volkswagens only. Long before Waterfest, air-cooled Volkswagens and the people who drove them had created an entire culture of car mania. VW Bugs, Buses, Things, Ghias, and others were frequently gathered in parking lots for makeshift exhibitions. Supremely fast Volkswagens sat next to slammed lowriders. Substance and style, both of a distinctly unique variety, intermingled in a group of diverse cars with individuality on their minds and air in their hearts.

The air-cooled fanatics clung to their lifestyle and to the culture they had founded. As air-cooled cars were phased out by Volkswagen in the U.S., owners of the outdated autos continued to flaunt their pride in large and loyal displays of antifreeze-free gatherings.

As all this was happening, a new generation of water-cooled Volkswagens was discovered by a new legion of fans. Realizing that Volkswagens were still great and unique cars, these new enthusiasts bought up Rabbits, Foxes, and GTIs, caring for them and modifying them as thoroughly as the air-cooled crowd. Looking for venues to showcase their vehicles, the water-cooled folks brought their cars to air-cooled VW shows.

  Harry Schell

Racing can be infectious. Harry Schell's mother was not immune to its effect. It helped that she descended from a wealthy family as racing is also an expensive infection. Harry and his mother moved from America to France. It was in France that Harry's mother met Laury Schell and soon the two of them became quite invested in auto racing, specifically rallying. Born in 1928, Harry grew up watching his parents race cars. The infection spread.

Shortly before World War II, Harry's parents were involved in an accident that killed Laury and severely injured his mother Lucy. As the 'Blitz' rolled through western Europe, and the Germans came to occupy France, Harry and his mother left France and returned to America. Harry had already served in the war with the Finnish Air Force in 1939. However, upon returning to America Harry was given a commission in the U.S. Tank Corp.

Upon cessation of hostilities Harry returned to Europe and to racing. Schell drove Coopers in Formula 3 and Formula 2. When the Formula One Championship began in 1950, Schell was there. Schell's first race came during the Championship's second round, the Monaco Grand Prix. Harry arrived with his little Cooper T12 (See Cooper T12 article).

Harry, under the team name Horschell Racing Corporation, qualified in the 20th spot for the Monaco Grand Prix; with no time. The race unfortunately did not go any better. Schell was unable to complete even one lap after being involved in a collision at the harbor chicane. Harry, along with the majority of the field, was knocked out of the race.

Schell skipped the next event, the Indianapolis 500, but showed up at the event after, the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten. Harry arrived under another team name. Instead of Horschell Racing Corporation, Schell ran under his new team name Ecurie Bleue. Harry also arrived with a different car. Harry chose to drive a Talbot-Lago T26C for the Swiss Grand Prix. (See the article Talbot-Lago T26C).

Harry had a new team name and a new car, but despite this, qualifying didn't fare any better. He ended up qualifying 18th, dead last, some 29 seconds off the pace. The race, however, did bode better. Schell was able to come up through the field and ended up the race finishing in the 8th spot, beating out the likes of Louis Chiron, Johnny Claes and Toni Branca. Schell also beat out other top drivers, such as Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari, who suffered mechanical failures.

  Raymond Sommer

Rushes of adrenaline can be addicting. Soon, adventure and speed become such a way of life, such an addiction, that it can become a generational experience. The norm just isn't exciting when raised in an environment of adventure. And if raised in a home with means, addictions, such as grand prix racing, can become an outlet that feeds the addiction.

Raymond Sommer was born into a wealthy family from Sudan, France in 1906. Raymond likely developed his need for speed and adventure from his father, who in 1909, broke the Wright brothers record for the longest flight. However, Raymond waited until he was twenty-five before he let his adrenaline addiction overtake him.

In 1931, Sommer began entering motoraces. He started out using a Chrysler Imperial. But this wasn't just some kid with money deciding to go racing. Instead, he proved his talent and determination the very next year.

In his second year of motoracing, he entered and won the 24 hours of Le Mans. This victory was an achievement in and of itself. However, the fact the victory came as a result of Sommer having to drive over 20 of the hours solo because his driving partner became ill only demonstrated his desire, his will to win. Raymond was just one of many 'gentlemen racers'. But, because of his desire, Sommer would achieve the next level. Even despite winning the 24 hours of Le Mans it would be easy to pass this guy off, but the fact this 'rich kid' would win it again the very next year only cemented Sommer's reputation as a legitimate racer.

To say Sommer was a legitimate racer though is a bit of an understatement. Raymond would go on to lead every 24 hours of Le Mans up until 1938. Sommer was a dominant force in the 24 hour race despite only winning twice. The records are really a poor indicator of Raymond's dominance. One year in particular, the records show that Raymond did not win, and this is what most people go by—results. What might be overlooked was the fact that until his car broke he had a lead of over 12 laps—that's dominance.

If one were to consider racing to be an art then Sommer would have qualified as a freelance artist, especially when it came to grand prix racing. Raymond did race quite a few grand prix races for the likes of Ferrari and Talbot-Lago's factory team. Yet, despite having the talent to drive for some of the major teams of the day, Raymond often decided to run in privately entered cars. This choice would do more to hurt Sommer's chances in grand prix racing then it would to help.

  Scuderia Ambrosiana

Grand pix racers like to go it alone; there is no room for anybody else in a single-seater. When it comes to starting teams, grand prix racers like to go it alone; no ego struggle concerning who knows best how to run the team. Competitive juices lead to individual racers shying away from joining forces with other racers to create a team. However, when racers apparently believe in something higher than themselves it is quite possible a union could be forged. And in the case of Giovanni Lurano, Luigi Villoresi and Franco Cortese, their apparent belief in something higher led to the creation of Scuderia Ambrosiana.

Named after the patron saint of Milan, Saint Ambrose, Lurano, Villoresi and Cortese were placing their trust in the patron saint to deliver supernatural results. However, life and the lure of self interests attack unions and can reduce what could have been supernatural to nothing more than just average. And it's these occurrences, when there seems to be so much unfulfilled promise, that a person is left always asking the question, 'What could have been?'

Born in 1905, Giovanni Lurano became an engineer and a racer. Lurano competed in the Mille Miglia almost a dozen times and won three times. After taking part in the second Italo-Abyssinian War, Giovanno started Scuderia Ambrosiana with Villoresi and Cortese in 1937. While racing a Maserati 4CM at Crystal Palace in 1938, Lurano suffered a hip injury which led to his retirement from single-seat competition.

Villoresi, nicknamed 'Gigi', was born in 1909 and was the older brother of the talented Emilio Villoresi. The brothers would compete in races together during the early parts of their careers. In 1936, the brothers, who were from a rather wealthy family, ended up purchasing a Maserati that the two of them would take turns racing in different events. Emilio would end up being signed by Scuderia Ferrari, but while testing the Alfa Romeo chassis Emilio crashed and it ended up costing him his life. In 1937, Luigi joined forces with Lurano and Cortese driving a Maserati chassis. At the time, the main competition was the German Silver Arrows. Luigi would end up winning the South African Grand Prix in 1939, just prior to the outbreak of World War II. After the war, Villoresi went back to racing. He would continue driving Maserati cars, but would end up switching to Ferrari come 1949. He would end up taking part in Formula One's first season, but not for the team he helped found.

Cortese, another Italian born racer, was born in 1903 near Turin. Franco started racing in 1926 with Itala and would end up competing in the Mille Miglia a record 14 times. Cortese drove for some of the most famous teams, as well as, drove some of the most famous chassis in racing history. Franco drove for Scuderia Ferrari in 1930, but also had the privilege of driving cars from Alfa Romeo and Bugatti. Then, in 1937, Cortese began voiturette racing with Maserati. Cortese, however, is most remembered for his years with Ferrari, which produced several victories, including the 1947 Grand Prix of Rome and the 1950 Grand Prix of Naples.

Despite the force these drivers, together, represented, none of them were with the very team they founded when Formula One came into existence. In fact, on a team founded by Italian drivers, by 1950 and the start of Formula One, Scuderia Ambrosiana was comprised totally of United Kingdom drivers. Reg Parnell and David Hampshire were from Derby, England. David Murray was from Edinburgh, Scotland.

  Ecurie Belge

In 1950, there were many independent teams that took part in Formula One's inaugural season. These teams were comprised more of one driver and his own car, more than anything else. Often times, gentleman of society would form teams to go race. One of those teams was the Ecurie Belge team.

Octave John 'Johnny' Claes was born of a Scottish mother and Belgian father and was educated in England. After World War II, Johnny decided to get involved in grand prix racing. This desire, however, didn't start on a whim. In 1947 Claes served as an interpreter for British drivers at the French Grand Prix. This exposure to grand prix racing birthed a passion within Claes. The very next year Johnny made his debut.

Johnny bought his own Talbot-Lago T26C (see article on the Talbot-Lago T26C) and raced under the Ecurie Belge name that Johnny himself founded. After competing throughout 1948 and 1949, Claes never scored a victory, but Johnny remained very active in grand prix racing. Despite his lack of success, Claes competed in every event of Formula One's first season.

At Formula One's first race, the British Grand Prix, Claes qualified dead last for the race at Silverstone. Johnny would end up the race finishing 11th, 6 laps behind the winner Farina. Claes was the last car in the field still running.

The Monaco Grand Prix was the next race. Johnny ended up qualifying in the 19th spot. This was an improvement, but little consolation since the other two drivers that started worse did not have a qualifying time. Johnny made it through the melee on the first lap that claimed many of the other teams. Once again, Johnny would be the last car still running. But that consistency netted Johnny a 7th place finish at the prestigious race.

After the Indianapolis 500, the Formula One season moved on to Switzerland for the Swiss Grand Prix held at the 4.5 miles course in Bremgarten. Claes made an improvement in qualifying. Claes would end up starting the race from 14th on the grid, almost 17 seconds off of Juan Manuel Fangio's pace. In the race, Johnny would not be the last car still running. Claes drove a steady race, showing improvement as a racer. Johnny would end up finishing 10th, only four laps behind winner Farina.

  Scuderia Achille Varzi

If success lay in a name then Scuderia Achille Varzi had more than enough opportunity to become one of the powerhouse teams in Formula One, at least in the series' early years. If success truly lay in a name then Scuderia Achille Varzi would also have no excuse for failure. However, Scuderia Achille Varzi offers proof that success does not lay in a name but in the talent and hard work of talented individuals within a team.

Achille Varzi started out racing motorcycles when he was rather young and became quite successful. At the age of 19 Varzi won the 350 Italian Championship. In 1926, Achille made his four-wheel debut racing a Bugatti. In that race the Bugatti would fail Varzi and forced him to retire. This provided Varzi with just a taste of what would eventually become an illustrious four-wheel racing career despite the non-illustrious beginning.

From 1927 through 1930 Varzi would continue to race motorcycles. He would continue to win races throughout this period. However, in 1928 Achille joined the Bianchi race team, which featured Nuvolari as one of its drivers. Soon Nuvolari started his own team. Varzi went and joined Nuvolari's team. Nuvolari and Varzi started out by racing Bugattis. Interestingly, Varzi hired Guido Bignami as his mechanic. Bignami would later become even more famous when he would go on to be Juan Manuel Fangio's mechanic. Wanting to gain an edge, Varzi would buy and race Alfa Romeos. He also started his own race team. But he wouldn't stop there. Varzi would end up buying a Maserati too and would race both the Alfa and the Maserati. With these machines, Achille was able to win the Italian Championship in 1930.

Varzi's first major victory would come just a little while later in 1930 in the Targa Florio. Starting well back, Varzi was able to make up the difference and take the lead. Varzi would end up holding onto the lead despite fighting a fire throughout the last couple of laps.

One of Achille's other high points was a victory at the 1933 Monaco Grand Prix in a Type 51 Bugatti after a hard fought battle with Nuvolari that lasted almost the entire race distance. That same year, Varzi would also win the Tripoli Grand Prix amidst allegations the race had been fixed.

In 1934 Achille switched back to Alfa Romeo and would end up winning 9 races in the P3. This all helped him to be able to win the Italian Championship for the second time. From 1935 to 1937 Varzi raced for the Auto Union team. However, victories were much harder to come by. Although Achille would end up winning the Tripoli Grand Prix for the third time he was rather overshadowed by his teammate Bernd Rosemeyer. After these couple of dismal seasons Varzi seemed to drop out of sight, and then, World War II broke out.

  FortuneSport

America has long been known for its muscle cars. For several golden years beginning in the 1960's, the U.S. developed a wonderful knack for cramming big power into relatively small packages. With these testosterone-infused machines, a new genre was born. Quickly developing a reputation for their devastating speed, raw power, and brash good looks, muscle cars were the most coveted vehicles the U.S. had to offer a generation of Steve McQueen wannabes. Their popularity couldn't last forever, though.

Fuel crises, power-sucking emissions standards, and progressive safety legislation all spelled the end for the genuine muscle car. Americans traded in their barges for dinghies, making the Mustangs and Camaros that once looked so small next to their land yacht counterparts seem bloated and fat. The American performance car was dying.

Some of the only vehicles to survive this mass extinction were Ford's Mustang and Chevrolet's Corvette. All others vanished, leaving a void in the hearts of American muscle diehards. A reemergence had come of late, though, brining back such legendary names as Challenger, Charger, and Camaro. Carroll Shelby has once again injected his racetrack-borne steroids into the Mustang, and a reverence for the American performance heyday has brought back many great designs for a new line of 'retro' muscle cars clearly inspired by their old namesakes.

  Equipe Simca-Gordini T15

It is the battle between champion and underdog that creates real drama and a sense of worth for what it is that is being fought over. A battle between two dominant forces really makes the prize of victory all but worthless. But the very same prize of victory, when contested between contenders of varying ability immediately boosts victory's value.

Even from year one, Formula One has had its dominant forces. Those forces may change from year-to-year or by decade-by-decade, but nonetheless, there is always a couple of teams that victory is all but assured. But if we look, it's always the teams not expected to be there that gets the crowd and makes people come back. 'Perhaps this team will be able to go from back-marker to champion', we think. We look with anticipation to see who just might surprise us.

Unlike today, where each team is responsible for its own design, there was more of a mix of teams and options back during Formula One's first season. There were the big manufacturers, but there were also customer cars able to be bought for a specific entrant or team. But then there were the small privateer teams, the smaller underdog manufacturers who claimed more success from a mere finish than victory. One of those small manufacturers that flavored F1's early years was Equipe Simca-Gordini. Of course in many cases, success is more a matter of timing than anything else. In the years after World War II, Simca-Gordini was able to build itself into a potent force. The war effectively leveled the playing field, but only for a short time. However, by the time Formula One came into existence the gaps began to widen once again and the Simca-Gordini team had really no answer for any team from Italy. By Formula One's inaugural season, the likes of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati had become the favorites. Despite its short foray into Formula One, Simca-Gordini; however, proved it was one underdog that could be a threat.

  ERA

It had been since 1923 and the French Grand Prix when a British car last had seen victory in a grand prix. Armed with the desire to bring an end to the drought, Humphrey Cook, Raymond Mays, and Peter Berthon bought a lot in 1933 behind the home of Mays and established English Racing Automobiles (ERA). In 1933 governments began investing in the likes of Alfa Romeo and other teams making the costs of competitive grand prix racing rather high. As a result of this, the three men of ERA quickly became disenchanted with their chances in grand prix racing. Instead, the men decided to enter competitive racing through another door, a door through which ERA would become popular for its customer cars. This move would later result in many ERA models filling the field and making an assault for Formula One's first ever title.

Cook, Mays and Berthon gave up on grand prix racing right away in favor of entering the very competitive 'Voiturette' ('small car' in French) class. To be as competitive as possible early model ERAs were designed with a wide range of engines from 1.1 and 1.5 liter supercharged engines to a 2.0 liter normally aspirated engine. Although teams and manufacturers, like Mercedes Benz, were competing in the top grand prix classes, ERA would have no easy go of it in the Voiturette class with companies like Maserati around.

In 1934 ERA entered their first race at Brooklands, and though not as successful as say…Maserati and their debut performances, by the end of the season ERA had scored some rather impressive victories. ERA continued its success in 1935. The most memorable race of that year for ERA had to be at the Nurburing in Germany when ERA machines scored 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th place finishes. From 1935 till before the outbreak of World War II ERA proved to have dominant chassis in Voiturette racing.

Very soon, the men decided to try and make a go against the bigger competition in grand prix racing. Focus shifted, from that point on, to making an all-new competitive chassis. Yet while ERA shifted its focus to one specific chassis, by the time of the first ever Formula One race in 1950, there would be no fewer than 4 or 5 different ERA models that would race into Formula One's history.

Alta GP

A major focus of Formula One today is to stem the tide of the exorbitant price tag it costs teams just to compete, let alone be successful. The high prices has forced many smaller teams to try and make a splash, but ultimately sink into the annuls of Formula One's back-markers. This, however, is not a new problem. In fact, this is a problem Formula One faced from its very first season. The Alta Car and Engineering Company was one of those privateer teams that had an appearance in Formula One's history but really ended up disappearing behind the dominance of bigger and more well funded race teams. However, Alta represents the competitive heart that helps make Formula One what it is.

Alta was one of the true privateer teams in F1's history. Most privateer teams, throughout the history of Formula One, designed and built perhaps a portion of their cars but still relied on components designed and built by other teams or companies to help finish the car. Often times, due to the costs involved, a team will be supplied engines by another, larger, team. Very few teams have ever done everything 'in house' so to say. Alta, however, did it all. Based in Surbiton, Surrey, England, Alta started out making racing machines. But unlike many other smaller companies, Alta built all its own components for its racing machines, including the engine.

Founded by an engineer by the name of Geoffrey Taylor, Alta's first ever automobile was a 1.1 liter sports car produced in 1929. Although produced in 1929, Taylor's sports car employed some rather impressive technology. The car utilized an aluminum block engine with shaft-driven twin overhead camshafts, all of which Taylor designed himself. The car was offered in a couple different forms. The car could be purchased in a normally aspirated model or in a supercharged version. The small 1.1 liter engine developed 49bhp in the normally aspirated arrangement, but was capable of producing 76bhp when supercharged. The addition of the supercharger made the car capable of touching 120mph and could go 0-60mph in around 7 seconds. The available power and the choice between a 4 speed non-synchromesh or pre-selector gearbox helped Alta to have steady but not impressive sales.

  1950 Maserati 4CLT

It is true that failure can lead to success. By Formula One's first season in 1950, Maserati was Maserati in name only. Financial trouble led to the brothers selling the company and moving on. But when a person's hand is applied to what the person is born to do there will be an impact. And in this case, the whole band of Maserati brothers were born to build racing machines. Yet, while having to sell and ultimately leave their namesake, their final designs would still play an important role in grand prix racing and Formula One's inaugural season.

In 1914, Alfieri and Ettore Maserati decided to establish their own race-tuning business. Almost as soon as they started they had to suspend activity due to World War I starting. Upon cessation of hostilities, in order to promote their work, the brothers would tune their own cars and then would race them. This caught the eye of the Diotto company. Diotto then approached the Maserati brothers, which by this time included another brother Ernesto, about designing grand prix cars. The brothers agreed and, in 1925, went to work. However, the design the brothers would create would end up never being built. Very soon, the brothers decided to start their own company and only design and build cars of their own. And so, one of Maserati's first cars would be the design Diotto decided not to have built. The Maserati brothers ended up building the car and would enter it in the 1926 Targo Florio.

Not too many teams start out at the top. Often times, teams will compete for years and have to settle with top-ten or top-five finishes. But when someone is meant, or destined, for something, the norm changes. When it is a whole family of brothers focused on one thing, special events can take place and the 1926 Targo Florio was no exception. While the Maserati brothers may have been confident about their first chassis bearing the family name there was still an aura of uncertainty that surrounded the untested entity. Yet, in its first ever race the car would go on to win. And for Maserati, as a team, that was one race entered, one win—100% efficiency. And so it began. To fund their racing endeavors the brothers would design and build custom cars, but always with the intent of being able to get back on the track and compete.

  Ferrari 125F1, 275F1, 340F1, 375F1

Ferrari is the most successful constructor in Formula One's history, but it all started rather humbly. Despite being an elite, high-profile automaker and racing team, Ferrari performed rather unobtrusively in Formula One's first season. Success rarely comes overnight, but the waiting period is dramatically shortened when you have already designed a dominant product in which to take and build off. Enzo Ferrari and Gioacchino Colombo both came into being after helping Alfa Romeo ascend to the top of the grand prix world. This knowledge and experience would help Ferrari be immediately competitive in grand prix racing, but still not enough to break the grip the Alfa 158's had in 1950. Though Ferrari performed well in Formula One's first season, the dominance and the records would have to wait. Ferrari used 1950 to tweak their designs to break Alfa Romeo's hold on the championship and to begin the Ferrari/Formula One legacy.

Ferrari would turn to its model 125 for Formula One's first season. Designed in 1949, the 125 was Ferrari's first single-seater designed specifically for grand prix racing. However, much of the internals of the car had been taken from the 125S sports racer which was designed and built in 1948. The 125F1, as it became known, closely resembled one of Colombo's chassis designs—the Alfa Romeo 158. Of course, the 158 had already proven itself and obviously would have made a good basis for any team looking to be competitive right away and with aspirations for more.

There were only two engine options the FIA allowed. Either a team chose a supercharged engine with a maximum displacement of 1.5 liters, or, the team would have to choose a normally aspirated engine that had a maximum of 4.5 liters. Ferrari decided to go the route of Alfa Romeo and used a twin-stage Roots-type supercharger to boost the power of their 1.5 liter V12 engine. Designed similar to an aircraft fuselage, the 125 consisted of a tube-frame chassis with longitudinal and cross members to help with strength while not gaining too much weight. The wide upside-down U-shaped nose was ever so slightly angled back and gently sloping. Of course, the nose was dominated by the radiator inlet to provide cooling for the 1.5 liter V12 that was hidden in the long, rounded nose. Just aft of the radiator inlet was a shapely scoop that protruded into the airstream through which air would pass and would be able to enter the supercharger. The addition of the supercharger would boost the engine's horsepower from what was around 118hp in the 125S to somewhere around 230hp. By 1949, another revision to the engine happened that boosted power up to around 280hp. This was still short from where the Alfa Romeo 158s were by close to 100hp. Still, this boost is what made Ferrari competitive straight-away. And though not alone, at the time, Ferrari used a five-speed gearbox to match their higher-revving V12. Most teams were utilizing only four-speed gearboxes.

  Talbot-Lago T26C

Obscured by the haze of the Alfa Romeo 158's dominance of the first three places in Formula One's first season was a car from France that made its statement from the other side of the spectrum. While the 158s of the Alfa Romeo SpA team would utilize their superior horsepower and disappear into the distance, the Talbot-Lago exercised a different strategy reminiscent of the tale 'The Tortoise and the Hare'. Although often overlooked because it didn't have the power of many other cars it competed against, the Talbot-Lago T26C forced teams to think beyond power and speed. In its own way, the T26C helped define what a successful race car was and is.

It is the philosophy of most automakers that investing, if able, in motoracing will also benefit production cars. This was the viewpoint of Anthony Lago when he took over SA Automobiles Talbot. In that day and age, building a car and then entering it in some races to be tested and beat up was the equivalent of today's car companies and their vast proving grounds. In fact, Lago used his experiences designing and building grand prix cars to then apply that technology to the company's road cars. Lago started out building and designing the grand prix cars around the parts and features that worked or showed promise.

Using Talbot's existing 3 liter, 6 cylinder engine, Lago was able to improve upon this base and produced a 4 liter version for competition purposes. This engine would be widely used throughout the 30s. After World War II, Lago, helped by a new designer Carlo Marchetti, developed a 4.5 liter version of the 6 cylinder, but this engine was only able to produce 165bhp. This engine was later revised and able to produce around 240bhp. One interesting aspect of the design of the Talbot-Lago engine was that the pushrods that operated the valves were shorter due to the lateral camshafts located about midway up the engine block. This helped efficiency.

  Alfa Romeo SpA 158/50

The last couple of years I have been detailing the new cars for the Formula One season. Quite often in motorsports it is easy to look at new technology as exactly that…new. But often, the new technologies are based upon past innovations. At other times, old innovations actually re-appear as though brand-new, but actually only redesigned, improved upon, or utilized in a different way to make it seem new.

Each year it is the focus and the goal of each team to improve upon the previous year, but each year is the result of lessons learned and improvements upon technologies over the years. And so, I will start a new series of articles that will take a look back into the history of Formula One with the goal of detailing the teams and the innovations of the past and how they were employed and influenced subsequent chassis designs. To start, I will look at the team and the car that swept the top three spots in the 1950 World Championship, the first official year of Formula One.

At the time, the World Championship was composed of seven races. Yet, there were many other races that were run during that year but that didn't count. The seven race calendar, at this time, included the Indianapolis 500 and, interestingly enough, was the only race on the schedule not won by the dominant Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta and the Alfa Romeo SpA team. Johnnie Parsons was able to take the checkered flag at Indy to break up what was sheer dominance by two drivers of the same team—Giuseppe 'Nino' Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio.

  Toyota TF108

If there is one team in Formula One that is the most paradoxical it would have to be the Toyota team. Year after year Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes throw hundreds of millions of dollars into their team and prove to be an almost unbeatable one-two punch. Toyota invests probably as much or more, and yet, a celebration like no other breaks out when the team merely gets on the podium. Toyota has proven to be the worst return on investment—amazing given the company's passenger cars. Toyota has been the exception—money doesn't translate into success. This has to be the most confusing thing. It isn't that they don't have the resources. The problem has to lie someplace else.

Since the debut of the team back in 2002 and until 2007 the team has only been able to amass 163 points. Now of course there have been teams that have been around for longer in Formula One's history that would have loved to have scored that many points. But to truly get an idea how justified Toyota's critics are some more numbers are needed to put things in the correct perspective.

Granted, both McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari have been around for much longer and that pays dividends when developing a winning team. However, Toyota is throwing as much money at their team, if not more, than these two championship winning teams. So, it only takes a comparison of Toyota to McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari during the period of 2002—2007 to get an idea of how bad things really are. From 2002—2007, Toyota, as a team, has accounted for a total of 163 points. During that same period McLaren-Mercedes earned 568, with the 2007 points total being thrown out due to a cheating scandal. To really put things in the proper perspective Toyota has only to be compared with Ferrari. From 2002—2007, Ferrari has amassed a total of 1,146 points! Clearly, money helps make any team successful. But, it's how that money is invested that makes all the difference.

  Red Bull Racing RBR4

In 2004 the Austrian based Red Bull company bought the beleaguered Jaguar Cosworth team. From 2002 through 2004 the Jaguar team was only able to amass 36 points. Clearly, Jaguar was mired down in the mud, unable to perform at a level to substantiate the costs associated with Formula One. But, when Red Bull took over in 2005 things immediately turned around and got off to an impressive start. Red Bull's marketing tagline reads, 'Gives You Wings'. Red Bull basically tweaked the Jaguar's Cosworth engine and mated it to a chassis that merged new designs with that of the former Jaguar team. And all of a sudden, the former languished Jaguar team was given new wings as Red Bull Racing. And in its first season Red Bull Racing took off, achieving almost as many points as Jaguar had its prior three seasons combined.

After Red Bull's impressive first year the team suffered from incredible lows with a few highs as though suffering from their sponsor's product. In 2006, the team suffered with their first all Red Bull designed chassis. The team was only able to achieve 16 points, less than half the amount the team achieved in its first year. However, despite all of the poor results throughout the season David Coulthard was able to finish third at Monaco, truly one of only a few highlights of the 2006 season.

Toward the end of the 2006 season, however, Red Bull took another step toward being a major player among the tops teams in Formula One when it was able to coax designer Adrian Newey to come over from McLaren-Mercedes. Right away Adrian went to work designing an all-new car to improve upon the disappointing RBR2 chassis. The result was the RBR3, a radical departure from its previous predecessors. In fact, the RBR3 appeared to descend more from a concept from a sci-fi movie than from any racing pedigree. Immediately, however, the design proved to be more successful than the RBR2 despite some teething problems. Many possible good results were hampered by the car's poor reliability, including some strange mechanical failures. At one race, David Coulthard had a possible high points scoring result aborted by a broken driveshaft while Mark Webber's suffered poor performance during another race due to the fuel door sticking up into the airflow when the hydraulics failed to close the door. The highlight of 2007, and proof Red Bull were sorting out their issues, came at the European GP. In a race marked with constantly changing climatic conditions Mark Webber was able to make his way through the heavy rain to a third place finish, while teammate David Coulthard was able to come home a solid fifth.

The improvement of the RBR3 chassis and the disqualification of McLaren-Mercedes helped propel Red Bull to a fifth place finish in the Constructor's title race; the best ever result for the team. Given the solid fifth place in the Constructor's race, and that it was only Adrian Newey's first year as head designer, Red Bull could be excited about the future. The RBR3 proved to be stable and powerful. Quite often the Red Bull chassis seemed up to the task of challenging the Renault team, who supply Red Bull its engines. Given its performance, it was obviously Red Bull had a promising chassis in which to build upon, and this would be very important for 2008 given the loss of driver aids, such as traction control (see BMW Sauber F1.08 article).

There is an old saying, 'Why reinvent the wheel' and it appropriately applies when it comes to Red Bull's new RBR4. It is not surprising that at the time of the RBR4's launch it bore much similarity with its predecessor with only a few disparities in design. At the time of the launch, the RBR4 was fitted with a front wing with a more minimal scoop than that of the RBR3, and yet, the leading edge on the 2008 chassis is much more contoured. The front wing still boasts the same tri-deck design as that on the RBR3. However, the new chassis has incorporated a full upper profile wing that spans over the nose from endplate-to-endplate. This was absent on the RBR3 at the time of its launch but was incorporated later on in the season. Speaking of the endplates, they are dramatically contoured to help the airflow going alongside the endplates to enter the scoop that collects the cooler flowing air and directs it to help cool the brakes.

The nose design remains rather unchanged from the RBR3 to the RBR4. The same platypus-style nose remains, though perhaps more pronounced. The same goes for the twin-keel design. This concept allows for the clear flow of air under the nose as the suspension wishbone arms attach, not under the nose, but to bargeboard-style attachments that also help with controlling airflow flowing between the front wheels and the nose. One of other changes on the 2008 chassis is the addition of wheel shields to the front tires. This is meant to help extract heat from the brakes. This feature was missing last season and was the focus of some controversy when Ferrari introduced them. The argument was that they perhaps helped with aerodynamics, but they have become widely accepted, and thus adopted by many of the teams.

  58th PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS d'ELEGANCE NAMES 1938 ALFA ROMEO ‘BEST OF SHOW'

More than 200 Classic Cars from 12 Countries are Showcased During Competition Along California's Monterey Coast

A 1938 Alfa Romeo owned by Jon and Mary Shirley of Medina, Wash., was named 'Best of Show' at the 58thth fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links®. Proceeds from raffles, auctions, sponsorships and gate receipts helped contribute more than $1.3 million to charity for the third consecutive year.

Jon Shirley, the former president and chief operating officer of Microsoft who resides in Medina, Wash., purchased his 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta four years ago. The 8C 2900B was Alfa Romeo's most prestigious grand touring car of the 1930s. Only 33 examples were ever completed for road use, and most were bodied by Carrozzeria Touring. The body on this car is unique; one of six privately commissioned Berlinettas, it was used in several advertisements by Alfa.

  BMW Sauber F1.08

In 2006, the newly formed team of BMW and Sauber was able to achieve an impressive fifth place in the constructor's championship title. Then, in 2007, the team looked good early on with either Nick Heidfeld or Robert Kubica coming in fourth place each of the first four races. These performances caused McLaren-Mercedes boss Ron Dennis to publicly announce he thought the team's performance was more the result of racing on lighter fuel loads than merely the team's improvements. Yet, out of those fourth place finishes there was one that made the Formula One world sit-up and take notice, and that took place at the Bahrain grand prix. In the late stages of the race Heidfeld pulled off an impressive pass on two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in his McLaren-Mercedes. And with that, BMW Sauber officially entered the title picture. The question stands, however, how high can BMW Sauber get and how fast?

Coming into 2008 there are many changes with which teams have to contend. Could these changes help BMW or could they prove to be a hindrance to the team's plan of being F1's best? The challenges that faced the team appeared daunting. Traction control is banned for 2008, as well as, many other electronic aids that have helped the cars stay glued to the track. With wheel slippage back in play for this season it was paramount BMW gave their drivers a well balanced and fast car to give the team any chance of fighting for any title. However, given last year's on-track performance it was obvious BMW would have a good platform to improve upon. Therefore, it is not inconceivable that this year's car would have minor only changes over last year's chassis.

Right away, the design team's tweaking can be seen. The design team has retooled a chassis with a narrower nose than the F1.07. The front wing is an area that constantly undergoes changes throughout the season, and so, it is not surprising that the F1.08 has a differently shaped front wing than that appeared on the F1.07 at its launch or at any time throughout last season. Last season's wing was more contoured with a more shapely spoon under the nose. This year's car has more of a box design incorporated into the front wing under the nose. The F1.07 was introduced last year with half-length upper-profile wings but was later dropped during the season. On top of this, at the time of the F1.07's launch, the front wing was only made up of a double-deck design. This too was abandoned during the season for the more popular tri-deck front wing design. Given the box-shaped spoon under the nose the leading edge on the F1.08 has a more pronounced gull-wing look. The tri-deck design has remained on the car's front wing. However, the most radical design feature found on the F1.08, and any other F1 car this season for that matter, is the addition of the 'wings' to the top of the nose. The team reshaped the camera housings on both sides to help direct the airflow toward these 'wings', which in turn, help direct airflow toward the radiators and the rear of the car. These 'wings' help with the stability of the car while not adding anymore downforce, and thus, drag.

  Honda RA108

After the 2006 season it was widely believed Honda would be Formula One's dark horse for 2007. However, for most of 2007 Honda looked more like the black sheep of the F1 fraternity. In 2006 Honda was competitive, regularly competing with the top teams for the higher championship points. However, in 2007, even the now defunct back-marker team, Spyker, would challenge Honda for positions at the back-end of the field. In fact, for the first half of the season it seemed as though Honda and Spyker were merely a four-car team.

Perhaps the performances were all political. Perhaps Honda was merely trying to make a point. The all-black paint scheme with only the earth painted on it was meant to raise awareness of humanity's need to take action and to take care of the planet. It could have been that Honda's performances were meant to be a metaphor for just how bad things apparently have become here on earth. But whatever the reason was, the fact was Honda was not becoming more competitive like BMW Sauber. The fact was, things went bad and fast. 2008 would not be that year of being on the cusp of being a title contender. 2008 would be, in all respects, a rebuilding year.

It's tough to design a car for the 2008 season though. Some of the parts of the 2007 car were dropped in favor of its older 2006 design. So instead of building upon last year's car, Honda, for all intents and purposes, would basically have to start all over with a totally new design. It becomes even more difficult when the regulations for the 2009 season will require even more all-new designs from each team. So the time Honda has to get the 2008 car up to competitive form is very short, if not impossible.

To be competitive, it all starts with the car. If the car isn't balanced and cannot react well to changing environments then it really doesn't matter who the driver is—the car just won't work. To help provide a balanced car the design team went to work throwing out, adjusting and redesigning aspects on the new car. And when looking at the RA108 there is very little the same between the pokey 2007 chassis.

Affecting many of the changes in the 2008 design besides last year's performance is this year's newest sporting regulations. Gone this year are many driver aids. Traction control is gone. Electronic control of the car has been greatly diminished, and therefore, stability and traction take on a higher priority. What was lost due to traction control had to be made up through downforce and design elements to make the car as stable as possible for the driver. Much of Honda's woes in 2007 were due to stability issues, the car's inability to apply power to the pavement and to efficient control airflow. So Honda had to go to work overcoming their failures with last year's car.

At the team's launch the changes were immediately noticeable. The RA108's nose was substantially different from its 2007 predecessor. The nose itself sits higher. The nose design appears to be a marriage between the higher design that was on the RA106 and the wider pillar placement that was designed into the RA107. Then, when the team tested at Barcelona in April the hood-ornament 'wings' appeared, a design feature that has remained an integral part of the RA108's design much of the season.

  Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes MP4-23

After everything, they should have painted it red and adorned it with a horse rearing up into the air. Then it would have been seen whether people had a sense of humor.

Last year was filled with controversy, a level greater than that of the era when Prost and Senna were teammates if that were possible. Things looked very promising and very quickly began to unravel into utter turmoil. After a winless 2006 season for McLaren (which was the first time in over a decade that happened), things were looking brighter. Gone were both Raikkonen and Montoya who just could not unify the team and make the car better. McLaren was able to secure Fernando Alonso, the two-time and reigning world champion. And oh yeah…there was this other driver named Lewis Hamilton. Yes, this Lewis guy may be an unknown, but the team still had Alonso. And yet, things changed...fast.

Initially it all looked good. Despite the dominant win by Raikkonen in Melbourne, Alonso was able to come home second with Hamilton amazingly following in short order. Hamilton kept pace with Alonso, in fact outpaced Fernando many times. But this competitiveness should have been a warning sign to the team. Soon frustrations toward the new hotshot began to well up within the reigning world champion. Alonso began to feel slighted by the team. It seemed the number one was being treated the same as number one hundred and one. And then there was 'spygate'. Those technical Ferrari team files found on a McLaren-Mercedes team computer signaled McLaren's end in the fight for the Constructors championship, but not the Drivers'. Despite all these distractions, McLaren-Mercedes reemerged from the grave.

The MP4-22 appeared bullet-proof and very competitive. Each driver only suffered one DNF apiece and those were the result of driver error and not a mechanical problem with the car. The team would also go on to grab eight poles out of the possible seventeen races. But after the many disagreements between Alonso and Ron Dennis, the pure frustration within the team, and then finally the disqualification of the team from the Constructors title chase, it seemed as though the wheels were coming off of the proverbial wagon. But the really interesting thing about all of this is that all of these struggles really had nothing to do with the car; nothing at all.

The MP4-22 of a year ago was probably the most radical of any car on the grid. The McLaren chassis was adorned with more sculpted curves, winglets and turning vanes than most experimental aircraft. Truly, only the aerodynamicist could have looked at and loved the MP4-22. And yet, it captured the eye. But of course, more importantly, it worked. The car was quick, stable and reliable. There then was at least a good foundation in which to build upon for 2008. However, that foundation has been rocked again, but by the new FIA regulations (see Ferrari F2008 article).

These changes have literally altered the approach every team has had to take in the design of their car. And while many of these new rule changes have impacted what's found under the skin of these Formula One cars, the McLaren-Mercedes design team went to work redesigning the outside of the car in an attempt to counter the effect of the loss of many of the electronic aids that helped make last year's MP4-22 such a great car.

  Ferrari F2008

They must have realized low-key works too! As Kimi Raikkonen walked around the garage at the Ferrari facility at Fiorano, the Finnish driver flashed some smiles; the only real evidence of this stoic driver being the world champion. In a ceremony fit for their subdued world champion, Ferrari quietly (at least in the Formula One world) unveiled its challenger for the 2008 season. The F2008 is the team's hope to solidify the return of the Ferrari dynasty.

Much like their world champion driver, Ferrari's car unveilings (since Schumacher left) have been all business-like, with really no flash at all. In fact, the unveiling of the F2008 seemed more like a mid-season design update than an unveiling of a brand new design. The F2008 was revealed to the world at Ferrari's facility just like the F2007 was last year. The extent of the light show was a mere turning on of the overhead lights within the facility.

Formula One is an ever-changing world, even for the driver's and constructors champions. Every team, every year tweaks designs, abandons them all-together or applies designs of other teams (not necessarily a jab at McLaren-Mercedes after last season's problems) in an effort to continue to maintain that performance edge. And yet surprisingly, the F2008 boasts of some features that truly depart from the designs seen throughout most of this decade. Within the team there is a shift in personnel and apparently a shift in design concept.

All of the changes made are in that constant effort to increase on-track performance. But of course the changes that will have the biggest impact on the track are not chassis design changes. No, the design changes that will have the biggest on-track effect for 2008 are regulatory in nature. And many aspects of the design are the results of the team's efforts to compensate for, or to minimize the loss of the 'comforts' the new rules took away.

Gone for 2008, and probably for the foreseeable future, is traction control. No longer will the driver be able to just step on the gas peddle once he reaches the apex of the corner. With the loss of traction control, which prevented wheel slippage, the driver has to be more careful with the gas peddle to ensure the car doesn't swap ends.

In conjunction with the departure of traction control, launch systems have been outlawed as well. Teams had been able to write software so that when the clutch was held in with the paddle on the steering wheel it would rev the engine to an optimal point to help prevent wheel slippage while providing maximum torque for a quick getaway at the start.

  The Ferrari 248 F1

In 2005 the prancing horse pulled up lame. Were it not for Michelin's embarrassment and subsequent withdraw of the teams they supplied with tires, Ferrari may not have even scored a single victory. The once dominant Michael Schumacher seemed to have to do all he could to even place. At the beginning of the 2006 season the Ferrari 248 F1 looked like a young thoroughbred; there were bursts of speed and some flickers of former glory. By the middle-to-late part of the season not only did the prancing horse come of age, it may very well have been the most dominant car on the track.

The 2006 chassis carried on many of the traditions of Ferrari styling that started back in 2001. And while the 248 F1 would undergo many refinements throughout the season it still bore many similarities to its predecessors. Most obvious of those carry-over designs was the styling of the nose. The wide nose and slope seemed almost unchanged from the 2005 design but a closer look revealed many major refinements to those familiar Ferrari lines. Of course, one of the more obvious changes occurred in the cockpit rather than to the outside of the car. Rubens Barrichello departed Ferrari to drive for BAR Honda. So to drive the second car Ferrari hired Brazilian Felipe Massa to be Michael Schumacher's teammate.

At the time of the launch, the biggest concern in design centered around the V-8 fitted under the hood instead of the V-10 that normally had to be compensated for. At the time of the launch the 248 also carried the extra box wing attached to the underside of the front wing directly under the nose just like it did during the 2005 season. While the overall look seemed similar there were quite a few other drastic (in Formula One terms) changes. The nose sat a little higher. And while the width of the nose seemed about the same as the F2005, the nose was thinner giving the 248 F1 a sharper beak. The front wing had minor changes to it. But from the wheels back there were some wholesale changes.

  Spanish Grand Prix Highlight: The Old Bull is Awakened

Ornery old bulls can still put up a fierce fight. Nothing gets David Coulthard more ornery than being reminded of his age. And this is one Red Bull driver that still can be fiercely competitive and can be extremely dangerous when tangled with.

Coming into Spain, David Coulthard's performances had gone relatively unnoticed, and justifiably so since Coulthard had been unable to finish any of the first three races. However, if Coulthard had been behind the wheel of the McLaren-Mercedes once again things might have been looked at differently. People probably would have been saying, 'Bad luck' while speaking praises at the same time. But David isn't behind the wheel of the McLaren anymore. He is behind the wheel of the Red Bull Renault RBR3. And so far, the car's performances, and more so its reliability and stamina, have appeared more akin to the short-lived buzz the title sponsor's energy drink provides.

In the race for the championship and for the hearts of the fans results are paramount, not the 'good' drive. However, if a person was able to look past the results for a moment, he or she would have noticed some fantastic performances by the old, seemingly 'Out to Pasture' Red Bull driver. To the casual observer, it all came together in Spain, and one fantastic drive was the result. But ironically, while Spain produced David's best finish of the year to date, it may not have been his best race.

  Spanish Grand Prix Wrap-Up

A record crowd was on hand to see their king and to show him their support. Fernando Alonso has revived Formula One in the hearts of the Spanish people. Yet despite Alonso's efforts, the crowd willing their champion on, and the apparent home-court advantage, Spain had to crown a Brazilian their king.

Formula One couldn't even be found on Spanish TV until Fernando Alonso came into the series back in 2001. But now after back-to-back driver's championships, if given the word, the people would willingly depose their king and give Alonso the title of Head of State…that is if he ever grew tired of racing.

Coming into Spain, the championship was anything but boring. So far this year Alonso has found himself caught up in a tough fight, a fight to take away his crown. And who says F1 would miss Michael Schumacher? After the last race in Bahrain there was a three-way tie for the points lead, which included Alonso, his McLaren-Mercedes teammate and rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton, and Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari.

  Bahrain GP Highlight: We Hate You Massa…We Love You Massa

In a race filled with highlights, Massa's drive of dominance is the most impressive and poignant story to have surfaced from the Bahrain grand prix. It is uncertain whether he was motivated out of a desire to kiss and make up or to snub his detractors. But one thing is certain, Massa's drive at the Bahrain GP has made all things right again with the Ferrari fans and Italian press…for now. Will the love continue? Did Massa potentially set himself up for a fall-out?

Pick your analogy: 'Being roasted over a roaring fire', or, 'Standing before a firing squad'. Whichever one chosen would have adequately described the position Felipe Massa found himself coming into the Bahrain grand prix. 'Throwing away' victory in the Malaysian grand prix made him enemy number one amongst Ferrari faithful. Massa had to do something to change that relationship. Massa had to do something that eased the call for his head. Bahrain was the opportunity presented and Felipe took advantage.

Felipe's best practice times were rather unassuming. While he was near the top he never was the 'one' to beat out or apparently worry about. In fact, it is doubtless that some thought Massa would play it safe and look for a good result. Sure he would go for a win, but a high finish in the points would have seemed of more importance. Any such thoughts changed in qualifying. In the first round of knock-out qualifying Massa topped the charts. He topped the charts again in the second round and would go on to take pole in the third round with a time some .300+seconds faster than Hamilton in second.

  Bahrain GP Wrap-Up

Some left Bahrain having made an emphatic statement. Others left frustrated but ultimately encouraged. And yet, there were others who left still scratching their heads in confusion. Where Australia proved to be a lesson in dominance and Malaysia one in reemergence, Bahrain offered up a wide variety of drama that could never be scripted; at least most of it. And while the rookie Lewis Hamilton deservedly occupied much of the headlines, Nick Heidfeld should have gotten out of his car and said loud and clear, 'Can I get an offer please!'

Leading up to the race all the attention and hype surrounded the rookie Lewis Hamilton, and rightfully so. Hamilton stood on the brink of history before the Bahrain GP. He had facing him the opportunity to get off to the best start for any rookie in F1 history. Lewis, in fact, would drive his way into the history books using his unique rookie coolness to track with Massa all day long until eventually finishing second. Hamilton showed himself to be more the seasoned aggressor than the reckless rookie and it has everybody sitting up and paying attention. In contrast, little attention was given to Heidfeld until he made an impressive pass for fourth on two-time world champion Fernando Alonso. On a whole, the Bahrain GP proved to be a drama filled and exciting race.

The drama of knock-out qualifying continued at Bahrain. David Coulthard was relegated to the back of the grid from the start when his gearbox gave him fits in the first round. And despite their normal running position during a race, Bahrain proved to be the first time all season so far a Spyker started from dead last in the field.

  All Hail Heidfeld!

While all eyes have been on the renewed battle between Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes, there is another team quietly pushing ever closer toward achieving victory. At Australia, a white and blue car snagged the fourth spot without attracting too much attention. At the Malaysian grand prix there appeared the same white and blue car crossing the line in front of the second Ferrari of Massa with its driver waving his hands frantically. No, the driver of the white and blue car was not lapped traffic motioning a 'Well done' to Massa. The car in question actually came home ahead of the Ferrari for fourth place. Then, in Bahrain, the same car again came home in fourth but this time ahead of world champion Alonso in his McLaren-Mercedes. Behind all the hoop-lah of Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes, behind all the excitement due to Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, and Raikkonen, there is another sneaking up to snatch victory away. Behold, Nick Heidfeld and BMW-Sauber.

BMW-Sauber, while in their first year as partners, finished fifth in the world championship last year. Going into this year there was much anticipation, but also, reasonable apprehension. The team believed they would be able to challenge for high scoring positions. The goal at the beginning of the year was to finish third in the constructor's championship. But it's safe to say the bar needs to be raised even higher. After the re-emergence of McLaren-Mercedes' pace and Ferrari's continual running up front many people throughout the paddock believed the first four places were a virtual lock. However, Heidfeld has proven that theory to be wrong, as well as, proven BMW-Sauber to be better than many anticipated. Some are so surprised that the team's sportsmanship has come into question.

After the first race in Australia, it was believed BMW-Sauber ran a light fuel load in an effort to get up front and virtually hold off potentially quicker cars to enable the team and Heidfeld to come home with a fourth place result. However, after three straight fourth place finishes, and stints between pit stops longer than those of Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes, BMW-Sauber has proven their pace to be a reality.

  Malaysian GP Wrap-Up

Reverse psychology can work! After the sheer dominant display Raikkonen put together in his first race with Ferrari it seemed this year's F1 season was a virtual lock for Ferrari and either Raikkonen or Massa. In fact, prior to the Malaysian grand prix, Fernando Alonso appeared to all but concede victory to the prancing horse team. Or was that a ploy? The Malaysian GP proved to be another demonstration in dominance. All of the drama ended up being behind the race winner, but the winner wasn't the driver everyone unanimously expected.

The new qualifying set-up got the blood flowing early on. Just as in the race, there have to be winners and there have to be losers in qualifying. The new qualifying system has proven to push every team to put forward their best. As a result, should there be a team that is struggling there will be some major surprises. So far this year it seems the team being roasted consistently is Honda. It is like pointing out to the world another person's flaws. Honda's flaws are out there for the world to see and it's rather embarrassing.

Barrichello failed to make it to the second round of qualifying. Button barely faired better and still was unable to out-qualify one of the B-team Super Aguri Honda cars. The trend of customer cars out-qualifying works teams also continued at the Malaysian GP as neither of the two Renault drivers Fisichella or Kovalainen could out-duel their engine customers Red Bull. Neither of the Renault drivers made it into the final round of qualifying. Red Bull, however, was able to at least have Mark Webber make it into the top ten. While the two Toyota team cars faired well, with both Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher starting out in the top ten, they were still out-done by the Toyota powered Williams car driven by Nico Rosberg who continues to impress with his speed.

  Australian Grand Prix Wrap Up - Bloody Nora, Williams-Toyota!

Though it rather appeared to be a lackluster race due to Raikkonen/Ferrari dominance, the Australian Grand Prix did offer some noteworthy highlights that could be signs of things to come. Much was made after the race about Raikkonen being able to step right into the Ferrari and win in his first attempt, but that wasn't the biggest news story that developed out the Australian Grand Prix. That honor went to Williams-Toyota.

Super Aguri came to Australia and set a pace that made people wonder if they weren't, in fact, Honda's number one works team. The confusion was well justified when Super Aguri out-qualified the Honda cars and made Honda's apparent first team cars, in the planet-earth livery, look comparatively more like expensive science fair projects then finely tuned race cars.

Red Bull showed good form despite a poor off-season testing and Coulthard making his exit from the race on top of Alex Wurz's Williams-Toyota. Yet, despite Wurz's unfortunate exit, it was the Williams-Toyota team that seemed to shine excessively bright in Australia. This is true despite McLaren-Mercedes's return to form, Lewis Hamilton's impressive debut, and BMW-Sauber impressive run to a fourth place finish with Nick Heidfeld. The fact is, after last season and the embarrassment it was, many more eyes were on Williams then many other teams like BMW-Sauber. And while many looked with questioning eyes, Williams came through.

  Scuderia Toro Rosso STR-2: Bull Cloning

People thought cloning, and the ethics involved, only concerned the biological sciences, but for the past two years Formula One has been debating the same subject, only with different animals involved. Some teams, undoubtedly feeling like the unsuspecting tourist in Pamplano, Spain on the wrong day of the year, are angry with the cars of Toro Rosso and their uncanny resemblance to either past or present Red Bull Racing car designs. Last year sparked off the debate when Toro Rosso ran a virtual copy of the 2005 Red Bull RBR-1 chassis. But if there was a debate last year, should Toro Rosso be successful this year, the fire that burned in a controlled and contained manner last year will turn into a virtual inferno.

In Formula One there are no customer cars, meaning, each team designs and builds their own car for the racing year within the dimension parameters settled on by the FIA. Therefore, while Red Bull owns 50 percent of Toro Rosso the team is still responsible for designing and building its own chassis. Now, throughout the year teams will investigate other team designs and will employ those, or similar, designs to their own cars to improve performance. This has been allowed given the fact the basis for the chassis remains similar to that the team themselves designed and built. While teams, in the past, have taken small design features and have tried to apply them to their own car, Toro Rosso is on the other end of the spectrum. Instead of trying to find the small features of other teams and applying them to their STR designs, the problem with Toro Rosso's machines, and in particular its new STR-2 chassis, is that of finding any design on the car that is unique to or originated with Toro Rosso's design team.

The point the other teams are essentially making is that there is no difference between the Italian Red Bull Race Team (Scuderia Toro Rosso) and Red Bull itself. Therefore, it is like four cars from one team lining up on the grid; four chances at points when each team is only allowed two. It's obvious some of the teams literally feel like they are running with the bulls. And it is as obvious that teams like Williams, Spyker, and Super Aguri feel the prospect of racing against a team comprised of essentially four cars would lead to fewer chances for precious points, and thus, survival in Formula One.

  Spyker: Automotive Legends; Formula One Infants

In 1903, while the Wright Brothers were grabbing most of the attention with their rickety innovation that would change the world, another brother combination unveiled some innovations of their own that are also still in use today. Brothers Jacobus & Hendrik-Jan Spiker unveiled a car design chocked-full of innovations never before seen. The car boasted a, then powerful, 60hp six-cylinder engine design. This was the first six-cylinder engine car produced. Their design also included such innovations as four-wheel drive and four-wheel disc brakes.

Spyker proved from the very beginning it was accustomed to innovation, and thus, have a rich history in car manufacturing. However, while Spyker may have been the source of many of the technological innovations Formula One either currently uses or has experimented with in the past, the automobile company is virtually a newborn babe when it comes to Formula One.

Spyker first entered Formula One racing the last three races last year after purchasing Midland-F1. And though Spyker began its racing career with its MF1 chassis it was, well and truly, only a Midland M16 design. Interestingly, the M16 chassis design was only a slightly refined Jordan EJ15B design, for Midland purchased and took over the team from Jordan when the team ran into financial difficulty. Unfortunately, Midland-F1 never got to design an all new car before it needed to sell to Spyker.

  AT&T Williams FW29: Down but Not Out

The saying goes, 'When you've hit bottom all you can do is go up.' AT&T Williams is definitely holding on to that axiom after a truly disappointing 2006 season. After losing BMW power, arguably one of the most powerful engines in Formula One, Williams effectively experienced a cramp and fell off the pace. However, the new FW29 and Toyota powerplant re-energizes Williams' hopes of returning to the top.

The FW29's launch near Williams' headquarters in Oxford was all business like; very little pomp, very little ego. Of course, after a disappointing 2006 season, in which the team finished eighth in the constructor's championship, what ego could the team have? Williams faced the struggles of last season very realistically and it's obvious everyone on the team is thinking about it. This was evident given the fact the team assembled a video of Formula One fans who wished the team well but wasn't afraid to speak about the team's disappointing season. But with the rather quiet and non-flamboyant unveiling of the new FW29, Williams also unveiled its quiet confidence going into this season.

One of the disadvantages Williams faced after BMW's departure was the lack of engine development, and therefore, potential horsepower. Relegated to running customer Cosworth engines, Williams faced some deficiencies. The obvious deficiency was available horsepower. The Cosworth has proven itself over the last couple of years to be a very good engine for the price. Yet, therein lay the inherent difficulty. To off-set high engine prices, Cosworth had to cut down on extravagant engine development. Therefore, though the engines were cheaper, the cost savings translated into an engine truly unable to be taken to the next level.

  Honda RA107: The Dark Horse

Appropriately unveiled in an all-black paint scheme, Honda F1 racing and its RA107 may prove to be the dark horses in this year's championship fight. Last year Jenson Button slipped through the field from fourteenth to score his first ever win. With the exception of that win, no other team besides Renault and Ferrari scored a win the entire season. And, while unveiled at Barcelona without a paint scheme, Honda hopes to keep other things besides a paint job under wraps until there is nothing the other teams can do about it.

In 2005 Honda purchased 100% of the shareholding rights between itself and partner British American Tobacco. This led to Honda fielding its first chassis since 1968. In between those moments, Honda simply concentrated on supplying powerful engines. When Honda joined forces with BAR it also took on the task of aiding in the development of the team's chassis. This primarily started as a result of needing to design the car around its engines in a manner that made the most of the powerplant. Now though the team was not new, 2006 offered something of a challenge for Honda since it took on the responsibility of developing an entire package for the world championship. Last year's RA106 provided the team with a stable and competitive platform, however, Honda believes the RA107 takes those competitive features and accents them with an entire package capable of consistent victory and points scoring ability. Honda believes the RA107 and the team's continuity will mean the team will be able to repeat its 2004 second-place finish in the constructor's championship, if not even better.

To meet those goals, Honda's engineers took the RA106 to form the basis for the RA107 but made some refinements to improve an already good chassis. With engine development frozen for the next couple of years, Honda's concentration had to be focused on aerodynamics and component development. And like with most teams, a lot of effort has been put into small changes meant to make the car the most efficient it can be. To do this, Honda has employed the use of fluid dynamics software. In fact, BAR Honda was one of the first to use fluid dynamics software when it was designing the RA106. This software enabled the team to efficiently understand changes to airflow when it passes over or around elements of a car's design. This software also aided Honda's engineers to understand the effects changes had on other parts of the car.

  Red Bull RB3: A Much Needed Lift

After coming out of the gates strong in its first season, Red Bull lost its buzz and crashed in 2006, despite a podium finish at Monaco. Being out-paced and embarrassed at times by its B-team counterparts, Toro Rosso, 2006 brought out the worst in the Red Bull team, and the RB2 took the brunt of much of the rage. While at times the RB2 showed promise, all-in-all, it appeared to be more like a drowsy patient than a wired thoroughbred. But that was all before Adrian Newey showed up. And like a new Red Bull drink with even more caffeine, the RB3 has hopes and energies running high.

The RB2 chassis achieved a third-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix, the highest finish for the Red Bull team in its short history since switching from Jaguar and Stewart. The RB2 boasted of some innovative features as well. Some of these features were only seen on one or two other teams. Some of the design features included the V-keel design, the seamless gearbox, and improved suspension. And yet, for all intents and purposes, the RB2 was a bust. But what can be expected when development on the car stopped after France? At that moment, all focus was directed toward the development of the new RB3 design of Adrian Newey (who had come over from McLaren). The new RB3 represents an all new, refreshed, attitude at Red Bull after such a disappointing 2006 season. And yet, not only does the RB3 represent an all new attitude the car itself is an all-new design, a total departure from last year's RB2. So after long last, here it comes… the apparent savior—the RB3.

After a truly disappointing season it would have been easy to figure that Red Bull's attitude would be 'all work' this year, and its ultra low-key launch would easily support that assumption. On a cool Friday morning at the track in Barcelona, void of fireworks or even a tent, the much anticipated RB3 chassis was rolled out before the assembled media for its first official presentation. Newey had already tipped people off about the car's design by saying it would be similar in appearance to the McLaren cars and he wasn't lying. Newey used the RB3 to continue design ideas he was still working on when he left McLaren, and therefore, many of those designs do bear an interesting similarity to the designs in existence on the McLarens, both past and present.

  Renault's R27: Team goes 'Orange'

To those who have ING accounts, ever wonder where the money goes when it is transferred to the big 'orange' bank? The answer is: It goes to help pay for the ING Renault F1 team. Proudly displayed as the team's title sponsor, ING looks to invest in the constructors champions for the past two seasons and hopes it will yield great profits. To achieve that return, ING and Renault invested much time and effort in its newest contender.

In the beautiful city of Amsterdam, where there quite possibly are more miles of waterways than roads, the new ING Renault team revealed its R27 chassis. Artistic and colorful dancing, as well as, an array of video and light presentations were part of the festivities leading up to the new R27 being lowered before the audience in all its new colorful majesty. Adorned in its new sponsor's colors, very little of the old yellow and blue paint scheme remains. And yet, it's not just the paint scheme that's new on the R27.

The Renault team is not just starting out 2007 with a new sponsor. There are many questions hanging in the air for the back-to-back constructors champions. Minus the talent and ability of two-time champion Fernando Alonso, it is easy to wonder whether the Renault team will remain at the top. Of course there has to be more pressure on Fisichella to pick up the mantle and take the team to victory. However, Renault believes that it has given their drivers a car capable of success.

  BMW Sauber: The Potential for More?

At the start of last season there were many questions surrounding the new BMW Sauber alliance. The question everyone, in and around Formula One, had was, 'How good could they be?' The question was asked with a genuine amount of doubt and an unsure feeling. This year, however, the same question remains but with a noted excitement, impatience, and expectation, 'How good could they be?!' BMW Sauber took the first step in building that excited anticipation when it literally blew the veil of its new F1.07 chassis in Valencia, Spain.

After a short light display to get the excitement to build, a globe-like veil was pulled away to reveal BMW Sauber's latest commitment toward the Formula One championship. Motorsports Director for BMW, Mario Theissen, admitted, however, the team was still a couple of years away from making a real run at the championship. But to compete in Formula One, and to be successful, there has to be commitment.

Only a few years ago there were only three teams truly battling for the top points scoring positions. Last year, gave further proof those days have changed and BMW Sauber's F1.06 was right in the middle of the mix. So, could the new F1.07 have what it takes to be a race winner? Mario Theissen made it clear that was the focus and aim this year. Though perhaps unable to win outright, the plan is that the F1.07 would be in close enough contention to take advantage of any mistakes or misfortunes. Undoubtedly, the BMW powerplant has what it takes to get the job done. Time will tell whether the new .07 combines the necessary aero revisions to effectively take advantage of its powerplant and be in a position to win races. And due to the new homologation rules in effect this year, more emphasis has been placed on aerodynamic tweaks and component efficiency to make up the necessary performance losses.

  Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-22

Complete with cultural and improvisational dancing, an extensive fireworks display, and a late night parade up and down Valencia's streets it wouldn't have been hard to believe royalty were present. Yet for the people of Spain, they were out to catch a glimpse of their king and champion with his new steed. And if pomp and circumstance translated into success McLaren would all but have the whole thing locked up.

Sparing no expense, Valencia welcomed its champion and his new team. It was estimated that around 150,000 people crowded along the streets to catch a glimpse of their hero. Fernando Alonso, with fellow Spaniard Pedro de le Rosa, flanked the new MP4-22 with fellow drivers Lewis Hamilton and Gary Paffet. Olympic style opening ceremonies, however, don't win championships and McLaren are coming off a year without a victory. This is the first time Team McLaren has failed to win a race during a season in a decade. Yet, the king, the reigning king, has confidence the MP4-22 will continue his term at the top, as well as, bringing McLaren back to the constructor's pinnacle.

Though considered the class of the field at the start of the season last year, the MP4-21 never achieved the results it was seemingly destined. Much has been made that the differing styles of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya played a large part in the failure. To put the problem into an analogy, it was similar to a dog with two masters and both of the masters wanting different things from the dog. The car was unable to be developed if the team wanted to please both drivers. With Fernando Alonso and the young Lewis Hamilton as McLaren's drivers line-up, the Woking, England based team believes it now has the drivers, and the car to help the whole team reach its potential.

  FERRARI'S F2007: 'Nothing's changed'

Ferrari effectively said to the world, 'What's the big deal?' Despite no Michael Schumacher, his ninety race wins, nor his seven driver's championships, the official car launch had the appearance of an informal meeting rather than a ceremony hosted by a team supposedly in transition. Ferrari's car launch on January 14th seemed to say loud and clear, 'Nothing's changed'. And yet, a lot has.

Besides not seeing Michael Schumacher clad in a Ferrari red driver's suit, the low-key ceremony this past weekend at Ferrari's home base in Maranello was also void of something else—the car. Jean Todt, now overall CEO, introduced the F2007's specs and drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. The car, in fact, did not debut to the public, sort of, until the next day at Ferrari's Fiorano track. The team did release some photos of the F2007 before the test and first impressions were that it was just the 248 of a year ago only now branded with a different identifier. However, upon further inspection, the new car's design boasts of many changes and refinements and is, in all practicality, a brand new machine.

One of the interesting things about this year's Ferrari entrant is that it is rather void of some of the aerodynamic tweaks other teams seem to be jumping to employ on their cars. As an example, the F2007 maintains a center pillar design instead of abandoning the design in favor of a pillar-less design. The cascading front wing design, developed for the 248 last year and a variation of Renault's original concept, remains on the new car. The F2007 keeps the same mirror set-up as last year's where they are placed further out on the sidepod instead of nearer the cockpit. Also, this year's Ferrari employs the controversial rear-wheel aero shrouds that Ferrari claims aids in rear brake cooling and not aerodynamic efficiency. Finally, the F2007 retains the full width wing profile attached at the back of the engine cowling that has been in use now for the last few years. Of the things that changed, the Scuderia F2007's overall appearance is the biggest. In comparison with its predecessors, the F2007 is red, definitely red. With Vodafone gone and tobacco advertising under fire, the usual sponsorship branding is gone. Therefore, the Ferrari red really stands out. Marlboro does, however, remain on the car but in a much more subliminal way.

  TOYOTA UNVIELS TF107

Were someone to seek the heartbeat of Formula One it would be to the tune of cylinders beating at over 19,000 rpms, violently propelling the most technologically advanced cars in an amazing display of high pitched resonance and electrifying speed. And it was amidst a chorus of beating drums Toyota kicked off the 2007 calendar. Well and truly the official car launches marks the beginnings of a Formula One season and in Cologne, Germany on January 12th, Toyota got things roaring with its new TF107.

Though the TF107 bears a similar resemblance to the 105 and 106B that came before it, to Toyota, this car represents something entirely 'new'. And, in many ways, 'new' goes beyond whether there are any parts or designs carried over from any previous car. This year's car represents Toyota's renewed heartbeat, its renewed drive for excellence.

The TF107 from General Manager Vasselon's team stands as the team's first chassis design built specifically for the V8 powerplant. Last year's 106B, a virtual copy of the 105 chassis, incorporated a spacer between the chassis and the engine to cope with the shorter V8 while enabling the car to maintain the same wheelbase as the TF105. This kept costs down and meant more emphasis could be spent on the car's overall aero development. And with the switch to the V8, and the subsequent homologation rules now in effect, even more of a team's attention is now directed to aerodynamic packages and other devices meant to claw back lost performance. Though the main lines of the new car obviously shares its inception in the 105 and 106B, Toyota's engineers have done their best to take what was working and combine it with ideas meant to make the car far better. In fact, these aero tweaks demonstrate the team's change from within themselves to improve upon what was a disappointing last season by their standards. And while like everything in life, some of the changes would require the 106B from last season to be placed next to this year's car to really make the differences clear. On top of that, some of the changes would require this year's car to be totally torn apart to be seen at all. However, there are those more apparent.

  Fernando Alonso: Shedding the Paradigms of a Champion

If, while watching a Formula One race, you see one car in particular losing parts, and yet, seemingly going faster, you've found Fernando Alonso. Sometimes it would appear the aerodynamically sensitive pieces, like the barge boards and diffuser strakes, only slow Alonso down. No matter what, this twenty-five year old double-world champion makes Formula One fun again. Breathtaking speeds and pieces of bodywork slung off in all directions like a sparkler on the fourth of July all add to the spectacle that is Fernando Alonso; it is what makes watching him amazing and fun.

But it isn't merely bodywork Fernando has eliminated to enable himself to go faster. In only four years of competition in Formula One Alonso has also destroyed the norms; the apparent qualifications that are necessary before a driver can be considered a viable contender for world champion. Alonso is one of Formula One's prodigies; a talent beyond his years.

After what seemed a millennium of status-quo racing, passing and excitement returned to Formula One. All throughout the period from 2000-2004 it seemed the number of on-track passes that took place could have been counted on one hand. Were it not for Fernando, Juan Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen, and to some degree, David Coulthard, each F1 race for the last few years would consist of a parade of cars only making a lot of noise. And though not alone, it would appear that the young and brash style Alonso brought to the table seemed to fit the Renault Team's style better than, say, either Raikkonen's or Montoya's at McLaren-Mercedes.

  Michael Schumacher: The Technical Champion

Despite the occasional intrigued photographer, an undisturbed red prancing horse rests patiently amidst the pandemonium of victory and the all-too familiar 'leap'. Lost in all the records Michael Schumacher has amassed is either a red horse or a flashy blue dresser. While the records point to Schumacher, the dominance they relate point to the chariots that carried the man to fame, fortune, as well as, the records. But this is the one thing all the records make clear—Michael was probably the best at getting the most out of a car and letting it do the work for him. Michael Schumacher is the greatest technical driver of all-time.

With Michael's retirement there will be, undoubtedly, many articles written concerning his accomplishments and records. The truth is that over the past 30 years there hasn't been anyone as successful or as dominant. In fact, no other driver in the history of Formula One has been as successful, period! In Michael's hands a great car would be untouchable, a good car would be a contender to win, and a poor car would be a good test bed to make the next car better.

More a product of his other racing experiences than one found from racing in Formula One, Michael used his racing history to write a whole new one for Formula One. Surely Michael Schumacher was the right person for Formula One's time. And, as a result of Formula One's changes in focus, Schumacher may have reset the bar of success so high it may not be reached by another. This is a testament to Michael's talents for sure but also to the technological regulations and cars that have perfectly suit Michael's ability and style.

  An Ominous Indy

For decades the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been breaking hearts of teams and drivers. With the waving of the checkered flag after the United States Grand Prix, the Speedway may have broken the heart of Formula One's attempt at a competitive drive in the United States. Fingers have been pointed, and Formula One and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are in jeopardy of not coming to an agreement. But beyond all of the problems, everything needed for success is already there.

The story for the past couple of years has been turn 13. Last year it was the tire and race fiasco. This year the concern was still present and even included Bridgestone in the worries, according to the German publication Auto Motor Und Sport. The trouble it has caused may force strained relationships to be beyond repair. Ironically, it was turn 13 that was to be the basis for Formula One's success in America. Now it may help undo everything. When the track layout at Indy was announced much was made of turn 13. For one thing it was part of the oval (turn 1), and for another thing, it was thought that the speeds, the banking, and the mere history of the track, as well as, the image of Ferraris and McLarens flashing through the corner would make for a truly awe-inspiring sight to behold. Initially it was a beautiful sight, but that was exactly all it ended up being—a unique photo opportunity. From a driver's standpoint it was even less inspiring. During the inaugural event, David Coulthard wrote next to turn 13 on his track map the word 'boring'. Of course turn 13 is anything but 'boring' now. Anymore, it's almost frightening.

However, turn 13 could also be the messenger carrying with it important secrets to F1's success at the Speedway and the United States. And as Tony George is in London discussing a contract extension, it would be helpful if the secret could be realized by both sides during the negotiations.