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.
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.
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napierrailton, no you should stick to the topic, you went on about cosworth winning more races than ferrari? read 133 to refresh your memory by the way their name isn't even mention on this article as a constructor.
maybe i should add 2008 since it was only was updated in 2007, massa won 6 races and kimi if i remember correctly won 2 races, 208 race wins for ferrari they also won the world constructor title so that would now make it 16 now :) 2009 i am sure they'll win some more races...where is Cosworth by the way?
adownunder please stick to the topic, lol
also count the flags in the recorded history of F1. you might learn something.
Formula One
Main article: Scuderia Ferrari
The Scuderia joined the Formula One World Championship in the first year of its existence, 1950. José Froilán González gave the team its first victory at the 1951 British Grand Prix.
Alberto Ascari gave Ferrari its first Drivers Championship a year later. Ferrari is the oldest team left in the championship, not to mention the most successful: the team holds nearly every Formula One record. As of 2007, the team's records include 15 World Drivers Championship titles (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007) 15 World Constructors Championship titles (1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007), 201 Grand Prix victories, 4753.27 points, 603 podium finishes, 195 pole positions, 12,489 laps led, and 205 fastest laps in 758 Grands Prix contested.
cosworth has won 167 races with sometimes supplying 3 cars in one year, compared to ferrari's 201 race wins? what are you talking about? sorry but cosworth is not a great engine anymore, so go buy yourself a cosworth car if they are so great, and if you are going to have a go at me get your facts correct don't make up stories. Cosworth was even owned by Volkswagen Group before selling it to ford, oh no it's no longer british too bad, don't lose sleep mate, ferrari is still there,
adownunder, oh so it is about the nationality now? I then must refer you to the F1 record books. Read it and weep!
napierrailton, cosworth started off it's ties with ford and now Ford owns it sorry it's american now, at least ferrari is 100% Italian, actually just go to cosworth history and it actually tells you who owns it now :)
Infact adownunder thank you my friend that has to be the most embarrassing error I have ever encountered on here, you talk a good game but with such a fundamental error in knowledge like that, well?
Cosworth is totally british founded in 1958 and is still going strong today as max just announced they are to once again supply engines to f1, they are still hq in northampton.
napierrailton, ohhh maybe if you didn't spin nonsense i wouldn't have to say much but a lot on here just make up their facts like you and pretend to know a lot, but actually look silly to the real fans, ignored
adownunder are you serious, now that really is embarrassing, cosworth is a british company started in london, hand built engines. Started by Keith Duckworth and Mike Costin, the DFV V8 is the most succesfull engine in motorsport. You better check your facts son, ill accept apoligies later, like lola, cosworth supplied the world.
Also if your looking for continuity did you know that originally enzo ferrari simply rebadged alfa engines?
napierrailton, Cosworth is an american engine from GM 'General motors' what facts are you reading from the make believe?
well there is no need to become a control freak adownunder, we have all voted elsewhere for the actual team in the poll, but the article just gets you thinking about other things as well, especially when you read other peoples logic and you think hang on there is a lot more to f1 than ferrari.
MikeQ, didn't FIA penalize Schumacher at the monaco grand prix and put him in last place? didn't they also penalize him in Hungarian race that same year for over taking Alonso who purposely stop infront of him during practice which also got him a 2 second time penalty in qualifying? Didn't they also tell ferrari to change their front wings because other teams complained after the melbourne grand prix? short memory or maybe you weren't watching f1 back then which was only 3 years ago. FIA favouring ferrari..please they have had more penalties against them than most teams have had
mclaren open to offering honda a mercedes engine? i truly hope so. sorry back to the topic.
Well I just look at the flags in the record books and believe me adownunder it is embarrassing, driver champions, constructor titles, winning engines Cosworth again, winning chassis, dont forget its the flags and the tunes we see when they step up to the podium my friend.
Check the record books + i actually believe you are a stronger team if you can win with lots of dif engines, p.s dont forget cosworth is the most succesful.
MikeQ, that is your point of view but you seem to not be reading the article, it doesn't say who you like it just says which is the greatest, your views and others seem like a sore loser response because everyone seems to go away from the actually question, if you want to start a different conversation then go create a chat room and have a whing there. People just seem to create their own answers and questions that don't even exsit on this article.
adownunder, why are you so dismissive of other people's point of view? Ferrari were a great team and do as the article says hold most of the records, I used to support Ferrari when they had the likes of , Gerhard Berger, Jean Alesi & Nigel Mansell driving for them. I started going off them when they blatantly used the huge financial backing of Fiat to buy the Benneton teams main personnel. I did not like what the became under Schumachers influence. And NOW, Enzo must be turning in his grave, Bribes from Bernie to keep control in his hands and The FIA giving them points and penalising their opponents to try and help them win.
They were a great team, but I do not like what they have become.
napierrailton why would you say embarrassing? Williams doesn't make their own engines nor does Lotus or Mclaren. Tyrell never did. Mercedes is a German car and it supplies its engines to mclaren so if you say nations then Germany has to be included because if they pull out then Mclaren has nothing and would need to find someone to supply them engines..maybe ferrari might help them out there? :)
MikeQ, read the question it says greatest constructor not which has been around the longest or which had the best design, it simply asks which is the greatest, end of story. yes or no question not an array of if's and buts who did this or did that, just who is the greatest. Anyway the poll as ferrari leading by a lot so everyone on here can say what they want but ferrari from time of writing has 1375 votes out of 2375 that Eurosport has put up :)
I would laugh if next they did the most succesful nations in F1. That would be extremely embarrassing for fans of Italian motorsport.
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