F1 Quiz Chain

[RDJEHV]

I guess would be Sauber C29=)
C stands for Christine

semantics: the new mercedes is named after Adriana Manuela Ramona Jellinek also known as Mercédès. She at some point was 'someone's wife'.

the mercedes was launched 1 day after the sauber so technically is newer and named after a wife.

However Sauber was the answer you were looking for!

[Pandamasque]

Over to you, timbo.

[manchild]

I'm not an egghead

[timbo]

Here's my question -- two companies came together to F1 and introduced two very significant innovations. One is no longer in use in F1 but fondly remembered, while other is used all over the automotive industry.
Name year, companies and technologies.

[dumrick]

I believe the year is 1977, with Renault introducing modern-day turbocharging and Michelin introducing radial-ply tyres.

[timbo]

I believe the year is 1977, with Renault introducing modern-day turbocharging and Michelin introducing radial-ply tyres.

Correct =D>
Your turn!

[dumrick]

There is a driver, with considerable successes in other motorsport categories, whose F1 race experience consists in 9 race laps that were never supposed to happen.

Name the driver, the grand prix and why.

[CMSMJ1]

I'll go for this one.

Hans Heyer? Hahne?
1977 German GP
Driving an ATS

He tried to qualify and failed but as the race was to start he managed to get onto the starting grid.
The car only lasted 9/10 laps with gearbox issues.

Was in an F1 racing mag recently...so I recognised it..but it might not be this guy (even if I have remembered his name nearly right!)

[dumrick]

You're right, CMSMJ1, it was Hans Heyer who, despite showing some pace, only managed in qualifying to be the third reserve driver. Nevertheless, after the start of the race, he drove down the pit lane and raced after the pack.





Transmission problems meant he only got to drive for 9 laps, where he managed to be 22th fastest driver. The marshalls made no move to black-flag him and this event will be forever discussed if it should be a DNQ or a DSQ.
Also, the motivations behind this unique situation have never been clarified, although potential clues may be the need of some exposure to Mampe Halb und Halb, ATS' sponsor for this event and the fact that Heyer was an experienced and reputed driver, potentially with some influence on the race stewards.

Heyer even has at his site a video of a lap of the Hockenheimring filmed from the ATS, that year.

[WhiteBlue]

http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/heyer/biography.html

Heyer is right

[dumrick]

I was afraid WhiteBlue would nail it pretty easily, being an expert on german motorsport history, but it seems he arrived a bit too late.

It's up to CMSMJ1 to formulate the next one...

[WhiteBlue]

I'm afraid that we will have to wait some time again for a new question. So my proposal is to do a little question in between on Japanese drivers to fill the time.

Who was the most and the least successfull Japanese F1 driver? Consider each race participation as an achievement but to the higher end look for standing in the championsship.

[CMSMJ1]

Well...I do have some work to do WB

Was on here for 2 secs this afternoon...but reallife got in the way.

I'll take a stab at yours anyway.

Takuma Sato - 2nd placed finish, most points scored for a Japanese?

The worst...apart from the poor buggers that raced the Kojira? chassis in the 70s we have to be looking at Yuje Ide - He was hopeless..

[WhiteBlue]

Sato San was indeed the best of the drivers from the land of the rising sun. In 2004 he scored points in 9 of 18 races, amassed 34 points and ended the season on P8. This makes him by far the most successful Japanese driver ever.

The tail end Charlies were Takahashi Kunimitsu and Hasemi Masahiro both with nothing in their hands after only one race. Ide San managed to get 4 races and P25 in the 2006 season. There were two drivers behind him that year. In the Japanese ranking he managed to outdo six gentlemen of which the last two were mentioned. Shooting star among the Japanese is Kamui Kobayashi who took 3 points from two races in the 2009 championship finishing P18. This makes him the fourth highest ranking Japanese and he surely is in a position to better that in 2010. So by the end of the year he could be on top of the pile. If the Sauber managesd to win a lucky rain race (monaco) he could propell himself to super stardom by winning a race even. He could be worth a bet actually to do so.

[CMSMJ1]

Thanks WB - I must confess I forgot Kamui-san and his great drives. I never rated him much as he nothing in GP2 after winning the Asia series..

Well..most people would have had Piquet and Grosjean over him and look where theya re now. I wonder if Petrov might be another nearly man in GP2 that comes good in F1?

Anyways...

Please name the last F3000 champion to become F1 WDC