Formula One

. Based out of Indianapolis, they include an experienced membership available for discussion and advise on Indy 500 memorabilia trading and Indy 500 questions in general. They are expected to sign former BAR driver Takuma Sato to drive for their team, their engines would be supplied by Honda, and as of November 2005 they are in negotiations with former Minardi chief Paul Stoddart to buy chassis for their cars, which would be the 2002 Arrows model^[14]. Many people promote and share information about the Indy 500 and its memorabilia collecting.The National Indy 500 Collectors Club is an independent active organization that has been dedicated to support such activities. The team is named after its founder, Aguri Suzuki, who was a Formula One driver himself and participated in 88 races. The winner has been given one of the pace cars, or a replica of it if the pace car is not street legal, since 1936. Another team, Super Aguri F1 is set to join the F1 course in 2006, after gaining the unanimous agreement of the ten existing team ^[13]. However prior to that, for decades, winners usually had a relica made for them.

In 2006, the Faenza-based team will be run as a junior team named Scuderia Toro Rosso (initially known as Squadra Toro Rosso), although technically the team is a separate entity to Red Bull Racing. A smaller replica of this trophy has been officially presented to the winner after the race since 1988. Arguably, the final small team disappeared with the September 2005 purchase of Minardi by Red Bull. A bas-relief sculpture of the winner's face, along with his name, average speed, and date of victory is added to the Borg-Warner Trophy. The Williams team will cease their partnership with BMW as a result, instead opting to run Cosworth engines for 2006. Among Indycar drivers, Emerson Fittipaldi is infamous for drinking orange juice after his 1993 victory, before he drank the customary milk. In June 2005, BMW bought a majority stake in Sauber and intends to run the team as a factory entry in 2006. This practice first began in 1936 after victor Louis Meyer asked for a glass of buttermilk, his favorite drink, and afterward became ritual as milk companies became sponsors of the race purse and handed a bottle of milk to the winner to promote their product, a sponsorship of currently $10,000 now paid out by the American Dairy Association.

For 2006, Jordan will be rebadged as Midland F1. A long-standing tradition of the Indianapolis 500 is for the victor to drink a bottle of milk immediately after the race. Jordan then signed deal to use Toyota engines, while Minardi continued to use Cosworth engines under Cosworth's new owners. Having called the race since 1946 on the public address system, he is best known for his lines, "He's on it!" (signalling the start of a qualifying attempt), "It's a new track record!" (when a driver surpasses either a one- or four-lap track record in qualifications), and "He's slowing down on the backstretch!". Jordan and Minardi both relied on Ford's Cosworth engines. Tom Carnegie is the track announcer for the race. Jaguar Racing was sold to Red Bull and is now known as Red Bull Racing. The cars begin the race three cars to a row in a rolling start.Most other automobile races have two cars in a row.

The Ford Motor Company's decision to pull out of Formula One at the end of 2004 exposed the vulnerabilities of some small teams. In 2004, the restart of the race after a rain delay was given by longtime announcer Tom Carnegie. Drivers must make a final choice of dry-weather compound ahead of qualifying. On occasions when rain has forced delay or postponement of the race after either the race has begun or the initial command has been given (1967, 1973, 1986, 1997, 2004), an amended command, "restart your engines," has been given; in 1986, this restart command was given by Tony George. Drivers also have access to slightly more tyres than in 2005 - seven sets of dry-weather, four sets of wet-weather and three sets of extreme-weather. Her daughter, Mari Hulman George did it in 1981, and has now done so since 1997. Also,the 2006 season will see the return of the tyre changes during the pitstops.The thinking behind this is that the reduced engine size will offset any performance gain. From 1978-1980 and 1982-1996, the call was made by his widow Mary Fendrich Hulman, who died in 1998 at the age of 93.

[12]. Tony Hulman himself did it from 1955-1977. These changes will be applicable for the 2006 season. Wilbur Shaw, President of the Speedway from 1946-1954, was probable coiner of the phrase and recited the command during those years. For the final period, lasting 20 minutes, the cars will be arranged on the grid in positions one to ten in the order of their times, the fastest occupying pole position. The call for engine start is made by stating "Gentlemen, start your engines!" When women drivers are competing, the call is amended to "Lady and Gentlemen" or "Ladies and Gentlemen". The times for the ten remaining cars will be reset for the next session. Jim Nabors sings Back Home Again in Indiana, accompanied by the Purdue Marching Band.

These cars will make up the grid in positions eleven to fifteen in the order of their times, the fastest occupying 11th position. In remembrance of Memorial Day, the Purdue University All American Marching Band plays "Taps", and aircraft from the United States military do a fly-by.When multiple aircraft are used, they often execute the missing man formation. At the end of the second 15-minute period the slowest five cars can take no further part in qualifying. start, because of Indiana moving to daylight savings time, the gates will open at 6 a.m. The times for the fifteen remaining cars are reset for the next session. However, in 2006, with the race being moved to a 1 p.m. These cars will make up the last five grid positions in the order of their times, the fastest occupying 16th position. to signal the opening of the grounds to spectators.

At the end of the first 15-minute period the slowest five cars can take no further part in qualifying. An explosive is set off, traditionally, at 5 a.m. All cars are permitted on the track. Due to the longevity of the Indianapolis 500, a number of traditions have developed over the years.For many fans, these traditions are almost as important as the race itself, and they have often reacted quite negatively when the traditions are changed or broken. Also, in 2005-10-24, the Formula One commission decided to switch the competition to the "KO" system. Stewart is the only driver to complete the full 1100 miles (1770 km) for 600 laps in both races on the same day. [11]. For 2005 the start of Indianapolis was pushed up to improve national television air-time, thus preventing NASCAR drivers to be able to compete at Indy and Lowe's on the same day; Indiana moving to the statewide use of Daylight Savings Time means that the starting times of the races are likely to remain too close for drivers to compete in both races on the same day in the foreseeable future.

These changes are due in 2007. Jones in his car and finished the Indianapolis 500, receiving no drivers points as Jones started the race but getting owners points. In 2005-10-05, the FIA proposal of enhancing overtaking won the support of the teams by agreeing about the new rear wing concept -that would eliminate the current single rear wing and replace it with two box-like wings, one behind each rear wheel. Gordon, being a team owner, just placed P.J. Over the coming years, radical changes will be made to the rules. In 2000 Gordon missed the start of the Coca-Cola 600, which started pace laps when the Indianapolis 500 finished. In the long run, the FIA intends to introduce greater restrictions on testing and the introduction of standardised electronic units and tires. Gordon has done it the most number of times; in 2004 the rain caused him to have to hand over driving duties to fellow driver Jaques Lazier.

However, some teams will be allowed to continue using the V10 with a rev limiter in order to cut costs. Stewart competed double duty in 1999 and 2001, but contract limits restricted him from doing so in 2004. Beginning with the 2006 season, engine displacement will be decreased, a 2.4L V8 replacing the current 3.0L V10. Notable drivers include Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, and John Andretti. Both the teams and the drivers are still unhappy with the qualifying system, however, and several alternative formats have been suggested for use from 2006 onwards.^[10]. In order to make it on time, drivers usually caught a helicopter directly from the Speedway to take them to the Indianapolis International Airport, flew into Concord Regional Airport, and even then they barely make it in time to race. This was ditched after complaints from spectators, who felt that the Saturday session was meaningless, and broadcasters, who did not want to broadcast so much Formula One on a Sunday. Prior to 2005, a few NASCAR drivers would be able to compete double duty racing the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, which takes place the same day, just after the race.

The current qualifying format, a single flying lap on race fuel, replaced one which was used for the first part of the 2005 season (until the 2005 European Grand Prix) which involved two separate sessions, one on Saturday and a second on Sunday morning, with the starting grid drawn up according to the fastest aggregate time of each driver. CART went bankrupt shortly following, with its rights and infrastructure purchased by remaining car owners. These two issues, safety and cost, are paramount in all rule-change discussions, and the FIA has made public its intention to continue to modify the rules with these goals in mind. In 2003 Honda and Toyota switched their engine supply from CART to the IRL. In an attempt to reduce costs, a new rule requires each engine to be used for two consecutive races. For 2002, Penske and Ganassi became permanent entrants in the IRL, with many other former CART teams joining them in switching sides. In the interest of safety, the FIA instituted a number of rule changes at the start of the 2005 season, including restrictions on the changing of tyres. A year later, Roger Penske, historically CART and Indianapolis' most successful team owner, also came back to Indianapolis and won.

These newer circuits, however are generally agreed upon to meet the safety standards of modern Formula One better than the older ones. Yet the real winner was George, who had brought back one of the CART teams, and its sponsor, to race with the IRL cars. His redesign of the Hockenheim circuit in Germany for example, while providing more capacity for grandstands and eliminating extremely long and dangerous straights, has been frowned upon by many who argue that part of the character of the Hockenheim circuits were the long and blinding straights into the Black Forest. The defeat was somewhat humiliating for the IRL teams, with the Ganassi team's advantage primarily being pit stops that were frequently several seconds quicker than their main rivals. Several of the new circuits in F1, especially those designed by Herman Tilke, have been criticized as lacking the "flow" of such classics as Spa-Francorchamps and Imola. On race day Montoya put on a dominating performance, leading 167 of the 200 laps to win. The US Grand Prix has been offically scheduled to occur again at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 2, 2006. In 2000 Chip Ganassi, while still racing in the CART ChampCar World Series, made the decision to return to Indianapolis with his drivers, the 1996 CART champion Jimmy Vasser, and the 1999 CART champion Juan-Pablo Montoya.

The future of the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is also in doubt after only six cars started the 2005 race due to concerns about the safety of the supplied Michelin tyres. While this situation allowed many American drivers to participate in an event they might otherwise have been unable to afford, the turbulent political situation and the absence of the many of the top IndyCar drivers, the big-name sponsors and faster CART-spec cars casting something of a shadow over the race; it was certainly arguable that to the average fan the replacement of at least fairly-well-known foreign drivers by almost-unknown American ones was not perceived as a real gain. The inaugural Turkish Grand Prix took place in 2005 in IstanbulPark, and Ecclestone has asserted publicly that F1 will return to South Africa within five years.^[7] He has also expressed interest in a Russian Grand Prix in Moscow or St Petersburg in the near future.^[8] The European Union's ratification of laws prohibiting tobacco advertising went into effect on July 31, 2005, providing another incentive for the heavily tobacco-sponsored sport to find venues outside of Europe.^[9]. For the next few years almost all of the CART teams and drivers did not compete in the race. As of 2005, this expansion has resulted in the disappearance of only one race, the Austrian Grand Prix, which was last held in 2003; however, several teams have expressed their preference for a shorter calendar^[6], and the future of such races as the British, European and San Marino Grands Prix has recently fallen into doubt. In 1997 George made his next move and specified new technical rules for less expensive cars and "production based" engines that outlawed the CART-spec cars that had been the mainstay of the race since the mid-1970s. In the interest of making the sport truer to its designation as a World Championship, FOM president Bernie Ecclestone has initiated and organized a number of Grands Prix in new countries and continues to discuss new future races. Finally, in 1998, IRL's calendar once more fell into sync with the rest of the automotive world.

The sport's rapid expansion into new areas of the globe also leaves some question as to which races will be cut. This marathon season coming right after the three-race 1996 season did not help IRL's image as a bunch of amateurs and beginners. At present, the FIA has been taxed with the responsibility of making rules to combat the spiralling costs which affect the smaller teams and to ensure that the sport remains as safe as possible. Therefore in September, the IRL changed their season back again to the standard early-spring-through-late-fall; however, since the 1996 season was now officially concluded and the 1997 season had already officially begun, this caused the 1997 season to run for 17 months, from the New Hampshire race in July of 1996 through the Las Vegas 500K race in November of 1997. However, viewing figures are seeing some signs of recovery due to the varied 2005 season, with the Canadian Grand Prix attracting the third largest global TV audience of any sporting event in 2005, behind only the Super Bowl and the UEFA Champions League final.^[5]. However, this confused fans who were used to the universal early-spring-through-late-fall season used by almost all motorsports organizations; worse, it did not meet the needs of corporate sponsors, whose budget sheets ran on the fiscal year. Viewing figures dropped, and fans expressed their loss of interest due to the dominance of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. The next race, in New Hampshire in July, began the 1997 season.

Formula One went through a difficult period in the early 2000s. Since the IRL had decided that their "crown jewel" should be the climactic last race of the season, the 1996 IRL season consisted of only three races; the Disney World 200 in January, the Phoenix race in March, and the Indy 500 in May. Whilst circuit safety is of prime importance, this can often be achieved without the reduction of the modern circuit to parade route status. 500 never generated much in the way of fan interest or TV ratings associated with a "big-time" race; it was moved from being directly opposite the Indianapolis 500 on the same day and then discontinued altogether. An ongoing complaint of long time F1 fans is the emasculation of the world's greatest circuits in order to satisfy sometimes arbitrary demands from the FIA. The U.S. These were mostly aimed at better matching the speed of a car with both the available space to slow down in before reaching a barrier and the ability of those barriers to safely absorb the energy of a crash. 500 and Indianapolis 500 ended in something of a tie; relative unknown American Buddy Lazier, a driver who had however qualified for the race five years previous, won a competitive but crash-marred Indianapolis, while the CART race had to be delayed when the front-row drivers collided at the start and triggered a mass pile-up, somewhat spoiling their carefully chosen public pose as the "old pros".

This is an ongoing task – after the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola during the 1994 season, the FIA mandated further changes to circuits. Nevertheless, the showdown between the U.S. Whereas in the 1950s a driver was lucky to find a strategically placed bale of straw to absorb an impact, modern Formula One circuits feature large run-off areas, gravel traps and tire barriers to reduce the risk of injury in crashes. 500, to run on the same day as Indianapolis. Circuit design to protect the safety of drivers is becoming increasingly sophisticated, as exemplified by the new track in Bahrain, designed – like most of F1's new circuits – by Hermann Tilke. CART's reaction to this move was to announce a competing race, the U.S. Three-time World champion Nelson Piquet famously described racing in Monaco as "riding a bicycle around your living room.". Both pundits and fans alike predicted success for CART and failure for the IRL, but the IRL played its hole card, the "25 and 8" rule; George announced that 25 of the 33 starting positions at Indianapolis would be reserved for the top 25 cars in the IRL points race, effectively leaving only eight entries for teams who had not competed in the first two IRL races.

The glamour and history of the Monaco race are the primary reasons why the circuit is still in use, since it is thought not to meet the strict safety requirements imposed on other tracks. In its first season in 1996, the IRL attracted mainly little known and inexperienced drivers, smaller teams, slower cars, and widespread ridicule as "replacement players". Several other circuits are also completely or partially laid out on public roads, such as Spa-Francorchamps. This last point was symbolized by the IRL holding its first-ever race at the new oval track at Disney World, but the event was slightly marred by the clearly audible agony of Eliseo Salazar, whose leg had been pierced by a suspension arm broken when he crashed during the race. The only real street circuit is the Circuit de Monaco, used for the Monaco Grand Prix, although races in other urban locations come and go (Las Vegas and Detroit, for example) and proposals for such races are often discussed – most recently for London. With an eye towards the skyrocketing popularity (and profitability) of NASCAR, the IRL was to share some of that series' emphasis on capital-A Americana, with more up-and-coming American drivers and fewer imported established champions, more oval races and fewer road courses (and especially fewer city street races, with their lack of revenue-generating grandstands), less technical sophistication and expense, and more positioning as a racing series for the whole family to enjoy. Most of the circuits currently in use are specially constructed for competition. Opinions varied on his motivations, with his supporters sharing his disapproval of Indy's lack of status within CART when it was obvious that it was the series' flagship, the increasing number of foreign drivers with big bank accounts forcing professional American racing drivers away, and the decreasing number of oval-track races in the series, while his detractors accused George of throwing his weight around and playing politics with the race and its heritage just for a power play furthering his own interests at the expense of the sport overall.

Also particularly lamented are the circuits at Zandvoort in the Netherlands and Kyalami in South Africa, neither of which are now used by F1. However, in 1994, IMS owner Tony George announced that he planned to remove the race from the CART series and make it the centerpiece of a new series, to be called the Indy Racing League (IRL). Many corners have become well known in their own right, such as the high-speed Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps, and before the addition of chicanes to tame it, the Tamburello corner at Imola and the Curva Grande at Monza, as well as in recent years the thirteenth turn at Indianapolis (road course configuration), known as the fastest corner in the sport. Despite the CART/USAC divide, from 1983 to 1994 the race was run in relative harmony, with CART and USAC occasionally disagreeing over the technical regulations. Those few circuits that run anticlockwise (and therefore have predominantly left handed corners) can cause drivers neck problems due to the enormous lateral forces generated by F1 cars pulling their heads in the opposite direction to normal. Although the race only payed the same points as any of the other races it was by far the highest-profile event of the championship, with the largest purse of the year. The layout of the rest of the circuit varies widely, although in most cases the circuit runs in a clockwise direction. The stand-off was eventually diffused and the race became part of the CART calendar in 1983.

The pit lane, where the drivers stop for fuel during the race, and where the teams work on the cars before the race, is normally located next to the starting grid. However, the Indianapolis 500 sided with USAC for the next several years and became the only high-level race the body still sanctioned once its own Championship series was discontinued the next year, and the race was temporarily removed from the championship calendar, although the same cars and drivers were in attendance. A typical circuit usually features a stretch of straight road on which the starting grid is situated. Due to control issues of monetary prizes and regulation amendments in the 1970s, the team owners banded together and formed CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams), which started organizing the Indycar World Series in 1978. The Bahrain Grand Prix, along with other new races in China and Turkey, present new opportunities for the growth and evolution of the Formula One Grand Prix franchise whilst new facilities also raise the bar for other Formula One racing venues around the world. At its very beginning, the race was organized under the auspices of the AAA (American Automobile Association), alongside the National Championship, but the USAC (United States Auto Club) took over in 1956, when it became the motor racing sanctioning authority in the United States, after AAA pulled out in order to concentrate on its membership program aimed at the general motoring public. One of the newest races on the Grand Prix, held in Bahrain, represents Formula One's first penetration into the Middle East with a high tech purpose-built desert track. At the end of the 1995 season, the Indianapolis 500 was transferred to its fourth regulations ruling body since its inception.

It has always taken place at Monza, with one exception in 1980 when it took place at Imola (which now hosts the San Marino Grand Prix). European-born or, at least, -bred drivers became a regular fixture of Indianapolis in the years to follow. The only other race to have been included in every World Championship season is the Italian Grand Prix. However, it wasn't until 1993 that reigning Formula One World Champion Nigel Mansell shocked the racing world by moving to the United States, winning the PPG CART IndyCar World Series title and only losing the 500 in his rookie year because of inexperience with green-flag restarts. The British Grand Prix, for example, though held every year since 1950, alternated between Brands Hatch and Silverstone from 1963 to 1986. Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi was one of American single-seater racing's most successful drivers in the 80s, but other names known from Formula One, such as Italian Teo Fabi and Colombian Roberto Guerrero, were able to obtain good outings as well. The grands prix, some of which have a history that predates the Formula One World Championship, are not always held on the same circuit every year. After foreign cars became the norm, foreign drivers started showing up at the Indianapolis 500 on a regular basis, choosing the United States as their primary base for their motor racing activities.

For example, every year two grands prix take place in Germany, one of which is known as the European Grand Prix. Ford and Chevy engines were built in the UK by Cosworth and Ilmor, respectively. If a single country hosts multiple grands prix in a year, they receive different names. Starting from 1978, most chassis and engines were European, with the only American chassis to win during the CART era being the Wildcat and Galmer chassis in 1982 and 1992. Traditionally, each nation has hosted a single grand prix that carries the name of the country. American drivers kept on filling the majority of entries at the Brickyard for the following years, but European technology had taken over. The current nineteen races are spread over the continents of Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America, and South America. This was also the last time the Offy would win a race, its competitiveness steadily decreasing until its final appearance in 1983.

Asia (Japan in 1976) and Oceania (Australia in 1985) followed. Offenhauser too would join forces with a European maker, McLaren, obtaining three wins for the chassis, one with the Penske team in 1972 with driver Mark Donohue, and two for the McLaren Works team in 1974 and 1976 with Johnny Rutherford. Argentina hosted the first South American grand prix in 1953, and Morocco hosted the first African World Championship race in 1958. Racing a mid-engined car, Scotsman Jim Clark was second in his first attempt in 1963, dominating in 1964 until suffering suspension failure on the 47th lap, and completely dominating the race in 1965, a victory which also interrupted the success of the Offy, and offering the 4.2 litre Ford V8 its first success at the race. The F1 championship gradually expanded to other non-European countries as well. In 1963, technical innovator Colin Chapman brought his Team Lotus to Indianapolis for the first time, attracted by the large monetary prizes, far bigger than the usual at a European event. Six of the original seven races took place in Europe; the only non-European race that counted towards the World Championship in 1950 was the Indianapolis 500, which, due to lack of participation by F1 teams, since it required cars with different specifications from the other races, was later replaced by the United States Grand Prix. In fact, it wouldn't be until the Indianapolis 500 was removed from the calendar that Europeans made their return, with Australian Jack Brabham driving his slightly modified F1 Cooper in the 1961 race.

Though the number of races had stayed at sixteen or seventeen since the 1980s, it reached nineteen in 2005. With the 500 having been a part of the World Drivers' Championship between 1950 and 1960, Ferrari made a discreet appearance at the 1952 event with Alberto Ascari, but European entries were few and far between during those days. Only seven races comprised the inaugural 1950 season; over the years the calendar has more than doubled in size. In the meantime, European manufacturers, gone from the Indianapolis 500 for nearly two decades, made a brief return just before World War II, with the competitive Maserati 8CM allowing Wilbur Shaw to become the first driver to win consecutively at Indianapolis in 1941. The number of Grands Prix held in a season has varied over the years. This motor was forever connected with the Brickyard's history with a to-date record total of 27 wins, in both naturally-aspirated and supercharged form, and winning a likewise record-holding 18 consecutive years between 1947 and 1964. Jochen Rindt has the distinction of having been the only posthumous World Champion. However, in 1935, Miller's former employees, Fred Offenhauser and Leo Goosen, had already achieved their first win with the soon-to-become famous 4-cylinder Offenhauser or "Offy" engine.

Michael Schumacher holds the record for having won the most Drivers' Championships (seven) and Ferrari holds the record for having won the most Constructors' Championships (fourteen). The engines then won another seven races until 1938 (again two of them, 1930 and 1932, in Miller-designated chassis), then ran at first with stock-type motors before later being adjusted to the international 3.0 liter formula. As privateer teams quickly folded in the early 1990s, numbers were frequently shuffled around, until the current system was adopted in 1996. Miller then created his own automobiles, which shared the 'Miller' designation, and which were powered by in turn by supercharged versions of his 2.0 and 1.5 litre (122 and 91 in³) engine single-seaters, winning four more races for the engine up to 1929 (two of them, 1926 and 1928, in Miller chassis). For many years, for example, Ferrari held numbers 27 & 28, regardless of their finishing position in the world championship. In the early 20s, Miller built his own 3.0 litre (183 in³) engine, inspired by the Peugeot Grand Prix engine which had been serviced in his shop by Fred Offenhauser in 1914, installing it in the back of Jimmy Murphy's Duesenberg and allowing him to win the 1922 edition of the race. Before 1996, only the world championship winning driver and his team generally swapped numbers with the previous champion – the remainder held their numbers from prior years, as they had been originally set at the start of the 1974 season.
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The number 13 has not been used since 1974, before which it was occasionally assigned at the discretion of individual race organizers. His technical developments allowed him to be indirectly connected to a history of success that would last into the mid-1970s. In this case the drivers for the team of the previous year's champion are given numbers 0 and 2. However, after World War I, the native drivers and manufacturers regained their dominance of the race, with the engineer Harry Arminius Miller setting himself up as the most competitive of the post-war builders. There have been exceptions to this rule, such as in 1993 and 1994, when the current World Drivers' Champion was no longer competing in Formula One. Although the first race was won by an American driver at the wheel of an American car, European makers such as the Italian Fiat or French Peugeot companies soon developed their own vehicles to try and win the event, which they did from 1913 to 1919. Numbers are then assigned according to each team's position in the previous season's World Constructors' Championship. 80,200 spectators paid $1 admission, and an annual tradition had been established.

The previous season's World Drivers' Champion is designated number 1, with his teammate given number 2. This victory is depicted in a limited edition bronze sculpture entitled "The Wasp" by American automotive artist Stanley Wanlass. Each car is assigned a number. The first "500" was held at the Speedway on Memorial Day, May 30, 1911, with Ray Harroun piloting a Marmon "Wasp" -- outfitted with his invention, the rear-view mirror -- to victory. As a consequence, constructors desiring to enter Formula One often prefer to buy an existing team: B.A.R.'s purchase of Tyrrell and Midland's purchase of Jordan allowed both of these teams to sidestep the large deposit. The creation of a 500 mile (804.672 km) race allowed the track to rapidly acquire a privileged status for automobile races. Entering a new team in the Formula One World Championship requires a £25 million (about US$50 million) up-front payment to the FIA, which is then repaid to the team over the course of the season. Fisher.

Although teams rarely disclose information about their budgets, it is estimated that they range from US$75 million to US$500 million each. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909, and hosted a smattering of small events before the promoters decided to focus on one major event and it was paved with 3.2 million bricks urged by principal Carl G. Ferrari is the only still-active team which competed in 1950, and as of 2005 only ten teams remain on the grid, each fielding two cars. . In fact, such was the scarcity of competitive cars for much of the first decade of Formula One that Formula Two cars were admitted to fill the grids. In May 2005, the race celebrated its 60th consecutive year of uninterrupted occurrence. The sport's 1950 debut season saw eighteen teams compete, but due to high costs many dropped out quickly. The event lends its name to the "IndyCar" class of formula, or open-wheel, race cars that have competed in it and has been broadcast live over radio on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network since 1952, and televised on ABC Sports since 1965, with live flag-to-flag coverage beginning in 1986.

The only remaining commercial engine manufacturer is Cosworth. First known and held as the International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race in 1911, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," or simply "Indy," is one of the oldest and richest motorsport events in existence, and the largest single-day sporting event worldwide in both on-grounds attendance and international audience (recent estimates placing the latter in excess of 320 million). Others, such as DaimlerChrysler, provide engines and sponsorship for privately owned teams in return for prominent advertisement on their team clothing and car livery. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, frequently shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, is an American automobile race held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Honda has also recently gained control over what was once British American Racing. Indianapolis 500 year by year. After having virtually disappeared by the early 1980s, factory teams made a comeback in the 1990s and 2000s, with Toyota, Ferrari (FIAT), and Renault owning their own teams and BMW following suit by purchasing the former Sauber team. Indianapolis 500 Firsts.

As the manufacturers' deep pockets and engineering ability took over, these collaborations largely died out in favour of the present system in which a manufacturer supports a single team. Indianapolis 500 Records. Companies such as Climax, Repco, Cosworth, Hart, Judd and Supertec, which had no direct team affiliation, often sold engines to teams who could not afford to manufacture them. Early manufacturer involvement came in the form of a "factory team" (that is, one owned and staffed by a major car company), such as those of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari (FIAT) or Renault. In its early years, Formula One teams sometimes also built their engines, though this became less common with the increased involvement of major car manufacturers such as BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Renault, Toyota, and Honda, whose large budgets rendered privately built engines less competitive (and redundant).

This requirement distinguishes the sport from series such as IRL, Champ Cars, and NASCAR, which allow teams to purchase chassis, and "spec series" such as GP2, which require all cars be kept to an identical specification. Formula One teams must build the chassis in which they compete, and consequently the terms "team" and "constructor" are more or less interchangeable. The winner of the two annual championships are the driver and the team who have accumulated the most points at the end of the season. The FIA awards points to the top eight drivers and their respective teams of a grand prix on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis (the race winner receives ten points, the first runner-up eight, and so on).

Throughout the race, drivers may make one or more pit stops in order to refuel, although they are currently not allowed to change tires unless the change is essential (for instance, due to a puncture). Races are a little over 300 kilometres (180 miles) long and are limited to two hours, though in practice they usually last about ninety minutes. A light system above the track then signals the start of the race. As long as he moves off and at least one car is behind him, he can retake his original position.

If a driver stalls before the parade lap, and the rest of the field passes him, then he must start from the back of the grid. The race begins with a warm-up formation lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. After these practice sessions, a qualifying session consisting of one "flying lap" (whereby the driver is given an empty track to set his time on, with time measured from a rolling start) determines a driver's position on the starting grid for Sunday's race, with the fastest driver during qualifying given "pole position" and the slowest driver starting last. Third drivers are allowed to run on Fridays for teams that finished the preceding season in 5th place or lower.

A Formula One Grand Prix event spans an entire weekend, beginning with two free practices on Friday, and two free practices on Saturday. The effects on the already low viewing figures are to be seen as the sound produced by V8 engines is expected to be different and perhaps not as loud as their V10 counterparts. The new 2.4 litre 8 Cylinder Formula is set to be introduced as early as the beginning of 2006 season allowing smaller teams to run rpm-limited V10 3-litre engines. Other Championship winning engines are those from Mercedes Benz, BMW, Porsche and Ford Cosworth.

but not only Renault was successful, Ferrari and specially Honda enjoyed great success with multiple championships with several teams, most notable McLaren and by a lesser extent Williams with whom Honda engines reached the highest levels of power in F1 history in the late 80's exceeding, in some circumstances, the 1200 bhp limit in qualifying. Renault was innovative during this period producing out of the standard designs as the 111º 10 cylinder engine for the 2003 RS23. At the end the statistics show a raw supremacy of the Renault engines having clinched several championships as engine suppliers and their first ever Drivers and Constructors Championships in a 100% Renault car in 2005. The year 2005 marks the end of an era, the end of the 10 cylinder powerplants which saw both normally aspirated and supercharged engines being deployed in F1 cars for more than two decades.

It was introduced in many countries over the years, but was shut down after the 2002 season for financial reasons. Bernievision offered the viewer several simultaneous feeds (such as super signal, on-board, top of field, backfield, highlights, pit lane, timing), which were produced with cameras, technical equipment and staff different from those used for the conventional coverage. Ecclestone experimented with a digital television package (known colloquially as Bernievision), which was launched at the 1996 German Grand Prix in cooperation with German digital television service "DF1". During the early 2000s, Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Administration created a number of trademarks, an official logo, and an official website for the sport in an attempt to give it a corporate identity.

^[3] In 2005, the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis saw only three out of ten teams race in a bizarre mishap when it turned out that the Michelin tires for the other seven teams could not be safely used on the surface of the track, causing them to pull out ^[4] when the FIA refused a change for safety reasons, insisting on keeping to the letter of the regulations. The ensuing scandal saw Ferrari slapped with a fine by the FIA, who also banned any further use of team orders in the new rules and regulations. At the Austrian Grand Prix in 2002, Rubens Barrichello, Schumacher's teammate at Ferrari who was leading the race, was ordered to allow Schumacher to overtake him. The first few years of the 21st century in F1 also saw some controversies and scandals.

In 2005, drivers were no longer allowed to change tires during the race, unless the tires are deemed to be dangerously worn. Other new restrictions included one making it mandatory for each engine to last two races; a driver that had to have his engine replaced would be penalised by starting at a lower position in the starting grid of the race. Another new regulation made drivers start each race with the same level of fuel they had during qualifying, introducing a new tactical element to each team's strategy. Most notably, the qualifying format has changed several times since 2003.

Meanwhile, several changes to the rules were made in a bid to improve the on-track action and cut spiralling costs. In the rulebook, several driver aids returned due in part to developments that allowed teams to evade the FIA "restrictions". Michael Schumacher had been world champion for more than 1,800 days. Ferrari's championship streak finally came to an end on September 25, 2005 when Fernando Alonso clinched the 2005 championship with a third place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix to become the youngest champion to date, replacing previous record holder Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil.

Juan Pablo Montoya driving for Williams also came close in 2003. Despite Ferrari's dominance, Kimi Räikkönen driving for McLaren had a theoretical chance of claiming the championship in 2003 right until the end of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix. Later that year he became the youngest ever winner of a Grand Prix when he took the chequered flag in Hungary. In 2003 Fernando Alonso became the youngest ever pole sitter by qualifying first at Malaysia.

His record now stands at 7 championships. In 2002, Schumacher also set a new record by claiming the championship earlier in the season than any previous driver by winning the French Grand Prix in July that year.^[2] In 2003, Schumacher claimed his sixth championship title, beating the earlier record-holder, Juan Manuel Fangio with five championships. In 2001, Schumacher set the new record for the most Grands Prix ever won; the earlier record holder was Alain Prost, with 51 wins to his name. The early 2000s were dominated by Michael Schumacher and a resurgent Ferrari.

Many records have been broken in the 21st century especially in the hands of German Michael Schumacher and recently the young Spaniard Fernando Alonso. This has prompted former Jordan owner Eddie Jordan to say that the days of competitive privateers are over.^[1]. Since 1990, 28 teams have pulled out of Formula One. Financial troubles forced several teams to withdraw.

This increased financial burden, combined with four teams' dominance (largely funded by big car manufacturers such as DaimlerChrysler), caused the poorer independent teams to struggle not only to remain competitive, but to stay in business. Due to the technological advances of the 1990s, the cost of competing in Formula One rose dramatically. Drivers from McLaren, Williams, Renault (formerly Benetton) and Ferrari, dubbed the "Big Four", have won every World Championship from 1984 to the present day. The FIA vowed to improve the sport's safety standards; since that weekend, no driver has died on the track during a race.

Tragically, Ayrton Senna died in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix having taken over Prost's lead drive at Williams that year. The rivalry between racing legends Senna and Prost became F1's central focus in 1988, and continued until Prost retired at the end of 1993. Honda and McLaren dominated much of the 1980s, whilst Renault-powered Williams drivers won several world championships in the mid 1990s, with a McLaren comeback in the late 1990s. On the track, the McLaren and Williams teams dominated the 1980s and 1990s.

The teams signed a second Concorde Agreement in 1992 and a third in 1997, which is due to expire on the last day of 2007. However, many observers felt that the ban on driver aids was a ban in name only as the FIA did not have the technology or the methods to eliminate these features from competition. The FIA, due to complaints that technology was determining the outcome of races more than driver skill, banned many such aids in 1994. Some, like active suspension, were primarily developed for the track and later made their way to the showroom.

Some were borrowed from contemporary road cars. In the early 1990s, teams started introducing electronic driver aids such as power steering, traction control, and semi-automatic gearboxes. To reduce engine power output and thus speeds, the FIA limited fuel tank capacity in 1984 and boost pressures in 1988 before banning turbocharged engines in 1989. These cars were and still are the most powerful open-wheel circuit racing cars ever.

In later years, notably 1987, the Formula One turbo cars produced in excess of 1,000 bhp in racing trim (and perhaps as much as 1,250 bhp in qualifying trim). By then, however, turbocharged engines, which Renault had pioneered in 1977, were producing over 700 bhp (520 kW) and were essential to be competitive. The FIA imposed a ban on ground effect aerodynamics in 1983. 1981 saw the signing of the first Concorde Agreement, a contract which bound the teams to compete until its expiration and assured them a share of the profits from the sale of television rights, bringing an end to the FISA-FOCA War and contributing to Bernie Ecclestone's eventual complete financial control of the sport, after much negotiation.

The formation of the Federation Internationale du Sport Automobile in 1979 set off the FISA-FOCA War, during which FISA and its president Jean Marie Balestre clashed repeatedly with the Formula One Constructors Association over television profits and technical regulations. In the late 1970s Lotus introduced ground effect aerodynamics that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds (though the concept had previously been tested by Jim Hall's Chaparral IndyCar team in the 1960s). Aerodynamic downforce slowly gained importance in car design from the appearance of aerofoils in the late 1960s. In 1968, Lotus painted an Imperial Tobacco livery on their cars, thus introducing sponsorship to the sport.

In 1962, Lotus introduced a car with aluminium sheet chassis called a monocoque in place of the traditional tubular chassis; this proved to be the next major technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars. Between Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, and Denny Hulme, British teams and Commonwealth drivers won twelve world championships between 1962 and 1973. However, when Colin Chapman entered F1 as a chassis designer and later founder of Lotus, British racing green came to dominate the field for the next decade. The first British World Champion was Mike Hawthorn, who drove a Ferrari to the title in 1958.

By 1961, all competitors had switched to mid-engined cars. Jack Brabham, champion in 1959 and 1960, soon proved the new design's superiority. The first major technological development, Cooper's re-introduction of mid-engined cars (following Porsche's pioneering and all-conquering Auto Unions of the 1930s), which evolved from the company's successful Formula 3 designs, occurred in the 1950s. Fangio is remembered for dominating Formula One's first decade and has long been considered the "grand master" of Formula One.

Though Britain's Stirling Moss was able to compete regularly, he was never able to win the World Championship. However, Fangio won the title in 1951 and four more in the next six years, his streak interrupted by two-time champion Alberto Ascari of Ferrari. The inaugural Formula One World Championship was won by Italian Giuseppe Farina in his Alfa Romeo in 1950, barely defeating his Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio. The sport's title, Formula One, indicates that it is intended to be the most advanced and most competitive of the many racing formulae.

Non-championship Formula One races were held for many years, but due to the rising cost of competition, the last of these occurred in the early 1980s. A championship for constructors followed in 1958. A number of Grand Prix racing organisations laid out rules for a World Championship before World War II, but due to the suspension of racing during the war, the World Drivers Championship was not formalised until 1947, and was first run in 1950. The Formula One series has its roots in the European Grand Prix motor racing (q.v. for pre-1947 history) of the 1920s and 1930s.

. Its present President is Max Mosley, and is generally promoted and controlled by the official commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone through a variety of corporate entities. The sport is regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile,with its headquarters in Place de la Concorde, Paris. In recent years, it has also become known for glamour.

As the world's most expensive sport, its economic impact is significant, and its financial and political battles are widely observed. Europe is Formula One's traditional centre and remains its leading market; however, Grands Prix have been held all over the world, and with new races in Bahrain, China, Malaysia and Turkey, its scope is continually expanding. The cars race at speeds often in excess of 300 km/h (185 mph) with engines that produce, as of 2005, around 950 bhp at just over 19000 rpm. It consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held on purpose-built circuits or closed city streets, whose results determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers and one for constructors.

Formula One, abbreviated to F1 and also known as Grand Prix racing, is the highest class of single-seat open-wheel formula auto racing. Parragon. The Concise Encyclopedia of Formula One. Tremayne, David & Hughes, Mark (1999).

BBC Sport. (June 19, 2005). Seven teams boycott US Grand Prix. Referenced 5 January 2006.

F1 third biggest global TV draw. Retrieved 1 September 2005. BBC Sport. Schumacher makes history (2002).

Retrieved 1 September 2005. itv.com/f1. Sauber: 19 races is too many (2004). The Sportstar.

It was Ferrari all the way. 28, 2002). (Dec. Rajan, Sanjay.

Retrieved 1 September 2005. itv.com/f1. Mexican GP back on track (2005). Carlton.

The Guide to 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship : The World's Bestselling Grand Prix Guide. Jones, Bruce (2005). Retrieved 1 September 2005. itv.com/f1.

Jordan: Privateer era is over (2005). Includes foreword by Martin Brundle. Carlton. The Official ITV Sport Guide: Formula One Grand Prix 2003.

Jones, Bruce (2003). Parragon. Formula One: The Complete Stats and Records of Grand Prix Racing. Jones, Bruce (1998).

Hodder & Stoughton. The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Formula One. Jones, Bruce (1997). Retrieved 25 October 2004.

The Official Formula 1 Website. Insight. (2004). Parragon. 55-84).

In, 100 Years of Change: Speed and Power (pp. Grand Prix Motor Racing. Gross, Nigel et al (1999). Retrieved 23 October 2004.

Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. Formula One Regulations. (2004). Retrieved 25 October 2004. Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.

FIA Archive. (2004). Retrieved 1 September 2005. itv.com/f1. Drivers suggest qualifying plan (2005).

Retrieved 1 September 2005. itv.com/f1. Confusion over tobacco laws (2005). Retrieved 1 September 2005.

itv.com/f1. Bernie promises Russian race (2005). Retrieved 1 September 2005. itv.com/f1.

Bernie in South Africa pledge (2004). Retrieved 1 September 2005. itv.com/f1. Bernie confident of Indy future (2005).

Motorbooks International. The Complete Book of Formula One. Arron, Simon & Hughes, Mark (2003). ^  Super Aguri could run Arrows cars from BBC Sport, published 23 November 2005.

^  F1 gives Super Aguri green light from BBC Sport, published 21 December 2005. ^  Drivers suggest qualifying plan. ^  Bernie confident of Indy future. ^  Confusion over tobacco laws.

^  Bernie promises Russian race. ^  Bernie in South Africa pledge. ^  Mexican GP back on track. ^  Sauber: 19 races is too many.

^  Seven teams boycott US Grand Prix. ^  F1 third biggest global TV draw referenced from ITV-F1, published 31 December 2005. ^  It was Ferrari all the way. ^  Schumacher makes history.

^  Jordan: Privateer era is over. ^  Red Bull confirms Minardi purchase.