Talking Point: Greatest constructor

Eurosport - Tue, 13 Jan 13:08:00 2009

Which is the greatest constructor in Formula One history? Every week in the off-season Eurosport will offer a point of discussion for F1 fans, in conjunction with our online poll. So let us know what you think.

FORMULA 1 - Lotus 72 - 0

Click the buttons on the Formula One page to register your vote, and don't forget to let us know your reasoning in the comments box below.

Alfa Romeo participated in Formula One from 1950 to 1988, and enjoyed early success when they won the drivers' championship in 1950 with Nino Farina and in 1951 with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio. However, thin budgets meant the team were unable to build on that success and spent the latter part of their days in F1 supplying engines, most notably for the Brabham team in the late 1970s. The team returned to the sport from 1979 to 1985, achieving two pole positions, three third-place finishes, two second-places and one fastest lap during those years, with their best season coming in 1983 when they achieved sixth place in the constructors' championship.

Brabham may have been founded in 1960 by two Australians - driver Jack Brabham and designer Ron Tauranac - but the team have always been considered one of Britain's greatest. The Brabham team won four drivers' and two constructors' championships before collapsing in 1992. In all, they achieved 35 victories in 402 F1 races and will be remembered fondly for Nelson Piquet's 1982 World Championship, secured at the season-ending South African Grand Prix when he became the first driver to win the title with a turbo-powered car.

British Racing Motors were founded just after the Second World War and raced from 1950 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning 17. Although BRM won the 1962 constructors' title and world championship with Graham Hill, the team had a reputation as F1's nearly-men after finishing second in the constructors' championship in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1971. BRM also had the distinction in 1965 of supplying the car which took Jackie Stewart to his first grand prix win, at Monza in the Scot's debut season.

Scuderia Ferrari are the team most synonymous with F1 and the team most likely to stir the emotions of teary-eyed old men - that's what 58 years, 776 races and 209 victories gets you. They are the oldest team left in the championship and statistically the most successful, with a record of 15 drivers' championships and 16 constructors' championships. In fact, Ferrari own nearly all significant records in the sport: most constructors' championships, most drivers' championships, most wins, most wins in a season, most podiums, most pole positions, most points, most fastest laps. Michael Schumacher also won five of his seven world titles sitting behind the prancing horse.

More than 10 years after their last race, Team Lotus remain one of the most successful squads of all time, winning seven constructors' titles and six drivers' championships. Colin Chapman's team dominated the sport in the 1960s and 1970s thanks to Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Emerson Fittipaldi. They also suffered the tragedy of Jochen Rindt's death at Monza on the way to the Austrian's posthumous drivers' title in 1970. The team also have the distinction of designing perhaps the most popular and iconic car in F1 history: the Lotus 72 (pictured) was an innovative, wedge-shaped car that caused a sensation amongst the media and fans for its remarkably advanced aerodynamics.

Founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren, the team of the same name are one of the most successful, having won over 160 races, 12 drivers' championships and eight constructors' championships. The Woking-based team were at their peak throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, following a merger with Ron Dennis's Formula Two team Project Four Racing in 1980. A revolutionary carbon-fibre chassis and a succession of strong drivers saw McLaren dominate the sport until the rise of the Renault-powered Williams in the Nineties. Recently, of course, a certain Lewis Hamilton has helped the team rise back to the top.

Another British racing institution, Tyrell, experienced their greatest success in the early Seventies when they won three drivers' championships and one constructors' championship with Jackie Stewart. However, the team never really recovered from the death of Stewart's skilful French protege François Cevert, who was killed in practice for the 1973 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, after which Stewart retired and Tyrrell immediately stood down. The 1990s saw a brief revival of fortunes, with Jean Alesi's full debut season in 1990 bringing Tyrell two second-places at Phoenix and Monaco, but the team slowly dropped back and was sold to British American Tobacco in 1998.

Founded in 1997 by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head, Williams are one of only three teams in F1, alongside Ferrari and McLaren, to win 100 races or more. The team's success in a short space of time has been phenomenal, with nine constructors' titles and seven drivers' titles secured between 1980 and 1997. Australia's Alan Jones, Finland's Keke Rosberg, Britons Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill, France's Alain Prost, Brazil's Nelson Piquet and Canada's Jacques Villeneuve all won the drivers' title with Williams.

Alex Sharratt / Eurosport

Comment 145 - 164 of 184

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  1. They do make interesting reading don't they. The reason I brought it up was of course quite a few of them were pioneered by Colin Chapman & Lotus. and so many of them were banned because Ferrari couldn't get them to work. Although to be fair Ferrari complained to the FIA about every bodies ideas not just Lotus's.
    I just love the FIA interpretation of what constitutes a movable aerodynamic device, and what doesn't, especially when its bolted to a Ferrari. :-)

    From Mike, on Wed 14 Jan 2:23PM

  2. I read the articles you mentioned in your previous post Mike. Cool stuff. The "Max Mosely U-Turns was particularly interesting, confirming my sarcasm earlier on the 12 year ban on slicks. The TRULY great ones always find a way to engineer their way around the restrictions. Thanks for the tip.

    From vinnydawg67, on Wed 14 Jan 1:08PM

  3. Despite being rotten to the core, Ferrari. They are synonymous with the sport of F1 with a truly amazing history and pedigree. Shame about the corruption. Lotus got to be up there as well.
    Also a Lewis Hamilton/Mclaren fan!

    From bobtailgrove, on Wed 14 Jan 12:42PM

  4. ferrari

    a lewis hamilton/mclaren fan...

    From Il Risker, on Wed 14 Jan 12:07PM

  5. ONLY THE NAME _____ F E R R A R I ====== F1 RACING

    From zina222, on Wed 14 Jan 11:27AM

  6. Wolf Ferrari aren't constructors, they are manufacturers. If you want to see who were/are the innovators in F1 and who have tried to stifle it, go to f1fanaticdotcodotuk and check out his pages on banned technologies. Very interesting reading.

    From Mike, on Wed 14 Jan 11:26AM

  7. ONLY --- FERRARI -- MEANS RACING

    HONDA & TOYOTA ARE BATTERED TAXIS +++ RENAULT 5 BABY CAR SUCCESS ON SCHOOL RUN

    From zina222, on Wed 14 Jan 11:26AM

  8. Heya Forza, glad to be back! Im great thanks, just been abroad for a while, how are you? It seems we are going to have a very close fight this year, I would bet on Ferrari to take the constructors but Alonso to take the drivers.

    From tifosi4eva, on Wed 14 Jan 10:32AM

  9. LOTUS! Without a doubt, THE most innovative consructor of all time. I'd like to see what F1 would look like today had Colin not passed away so early in life.

    By the way, I agree with all the comments about going off topic. Remember, Yahoo pulled the plug on news feedback for just this reason. Stay on topic and fer cryin' out loud, use the KISS method (Keep It Succinct, Silly)

    From George B, on Wed 14 Jan 9:27AM

  10. Ferrari must be the greatest team. The only team to stay in during the entire F1 history.

    From wolf, on Wed 14 Jan 8:00AM

  11. prince of the nutters!!!!

    From vinnydawg67, on Wed 14 Jan 7:53AM

  12. adownunder
    You f***ing hypocrite. I'm LOL now. You advise me against Wikipedia and then cut and paste your comment (#150) directly from the site word for word. Your name is now "acrownednutter".

    From vinnydawg67, on Wed 14 Jan 7:52AM

  13. MikeQ, someone said ferrari was owned by GM, just pointing out no need to be owned by anyone with all those resources coming in.

    From adown, on Wed 14 Jan 7:40AM

  14. BLIMEY !! and you talk about other people going Off Topic :-)

    From Mike, on Wed 14 Jan 7:34AM

  15. adownunder
    I'll be sure to watch out for info terrorists who sabotage and edit the facts of frivolous subject matter. I think I'll go in there myself and edit the history and origin of corn and make everyone believe it was first discovered on Mars. Thanks for the warning, but I'll keep taking my chances as I'm positive Wikipedia is a more trustworthy source than most.

    From vinnydawg67, on Wed 14 Jan 7:26AM

  16. Marlboro has sponsored Ferrari since 1984 and has been title sponsor since 1997 (prior to which it was the title sponsor of McLaren). In September 2005 Ferrari announced they had signed an extension of their sponsorship arrangement with Marlboro (Philip Morris) until 2011. This comes at a time when tobacco sponsorship has become illegal in the European Union and other major teams have withdrawn from relationships with tobacco companies, for example McLaren ended their eight year relationship with West. In reporting the deal, F1 Racing magazine judged it to be a "black day" for the sport, putting non-tobacco funded teams at a disadvantage and discouraging other brands from entering a sport still associated with tobacco. The magazine estimates that in the period between 2005 and 2011 Ferrari will receive $1 billion from the agreement

    From adown, on Wed 14 Jan 7:13AM

  17. FIAT only has some shares in Ferrari, doesn't won it out right, Ferrari in turn owns Maserati,

    Other companies sponsoring Scuderia Ferrari include: Fiat (car group), Shell - Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Alice, Bridgestone, AMD, Martini, Acer, and several others among which Mubadala Development Company (an investment company owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi) also owner of 5% of Ferrari's stakes as of the 2007 season;Etihad Airways @#$%il 2011). On the other hand, semiconductor chipmaker AMD has reportedly decided to drop the sponsorship of the team and is just waiting for its contract to expire after its former Vice President and Sales Executive (who was an avid fan of motorsports) had left the company.[21]

    Apart from sponsors, Ferrari have the following companies as official suppliers: Magneti Marelli, Mahle, IIR, SKF, Europcar, Iveco, NGK, Infineon, HN Meccanica, Puma, Sanbitter, Eibach, Tata, Brembo, BBS, Selex, Sabelt, TRW Automotive, Microsoft (note: the sponsors/suppliers information is accurate for the 2007 season).

    From adown, on Wed 14 Jan 7:09AM

  18. vinnydawg67, ford doesn't even have money anymore they needed the governament to bail them out GM is totally in trouble, same with Toyota and Honda. Actually most car companies are owned by share holders or other car companies. That's the racing divison what you just mention anyway don't read too much into Wikipedia, anyone can go in there and edit so not always a realible source,

    From adown, on Wed 14 Jan 6:56AM

  19. I tried saying thet too Vinnie but keep getting Invalid, anyway aren't Fiat/Ferrari part owned by GM now too ?

    From Mike, on Wed 14 Jan 6:55AM

  20. I read Cosworth was owned by two Champ Car owners Forsythe and Kalkhoven. Do they own Ford now to?

    From vinnydawg67, on Wed 14 Jan 6:42AM
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