This is an exclusive project of historic information from the world of Formula One. On The Grid chronicles the history of drivers with all Formula One teams dating back to 1950 to the present.

This series of information are only possible due to the hard work and support of Clive Branson – www.provocadv.com. We hope you will find it of interest and informative as to how Formula One drivers’ careers developed and ended.

RAM

TEAM: RAM
NATIONALITY: GB
INCEPTION: 1976-1985
COMMENT: RAM Racing was a Formula One racing team which competed during the racing seasons of 1976 to 1985. The team entered other manufacturers’ chassis from 1976 to 1980, then ran March’s team from 1981 to 1983, only entering a car entirely their own in 1984 and 1985 until funding ran out.

YEAR NAME NAT. POINTS/RESULTS
Tissot RAM Brabham-Ford (NIL)
1976 Emilio de Villota E NIL (Iberia Airlines McLaren-Cosworth)
1976 Loris Kessel CH NIL (Apollon)
1976 Patrick Neve B NIL (Only one race. Switched to Ensign-Cosworth)
1976 Jack Nelleman DEN NIL (Retired from F.1. never to have qualified.)
1976 Damien Magee GB NIL (Retired from F.1. unable to qualify.)
1976 Bob Evans GB NIL (Aurora F1 Championship)
1976 Lella Lombardi I NIL (Sports cars but she died of cancer at age 50 in 1992.)
F&S Properties RAM March-Cosworth (NIL)
1977 Boy Hayje NL NIL (European Renault 5 Turbo Championship)
1977 Mikko Kozarowitzky FIN NIL (Kozarowitzky broke his hand in the accident and left the team after they wanted him to try to qualify in the spare car despite his injury. His F1 plans for 1978 came to nothing due to lack of funds, and he then retired from the sport.)
1977 Andy Sutcliffe GB NIL (Retired from F.1)
1977 Michael Bleekemolen NL NIL (ATS-Cosworth)
RAM Penthouse Rizla Williams-Ford (NIL)
1980 Rupert Keegan GB NIL (Rothmans March-Ford)
RAM Rainbow Jeans Williams-Cosworth (NIL)
1980 Kevin Cogan GB NIL (Tyrrell-Cosworth)
RAM Rainbow Jeans Williams-Cosworth (NIL)
1983 Eliseo Salazar CHE NIL (CART)
1983 Jacques Villeneuve Sr. CAN NIL (CART/Formula Atlantic/IMSA. He also remained highly active and successful in snowmobiling, also branching out to powerboat racing. On January 18, 2008, Villeneuve was seriously injured in an accident during a snowmobile race at Eagle River, Wisconsin. He suffered multiple leg and pelvic fractures as a result, in addition to a spinal injury. It is estimated that it will take Villeneuve seven to nine months to recover from his injuries. Jacques Villeneuve Sr. was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2001.
1983 Jean-Louis Schlesser F NIL (Canon Williams-Judd)
1983 Kenny Acheson GB NIL
Skoal Bandit RAM Hart (NIL)
1984 Jonathan Palmer GB NIL (West Zakspeed)
1984 Mike Thackwell GB NIL (Tyrrell-Cosworth mid-season)
1984 Philippe Alliot F NIL
Skoal Bandit RAM Hart (NIL)
1985 Kenny Acheson GB NIL (CART/Formula 3000/Japanese Sportscar Championship/24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1996, he entered the Daytona 24 Hours where he was involved in a horrendous accident. He walked away from it and from racing.)
1985 Manfred Winkelhock D NIL (He was a regular sports car and touring car driver, winning the 1000km Monza with Marc Surer in 1985, but he died when he crashed heavily at turn 2 at Mosport Park during the Budweiser 1000 km World Endurance Championship event.)
1985 Philippe Alliot F NIL (Gitanes Ligier-Renault)

REBAQUE

TEAM: REBAQUE
NATIONALITY: GB
INCEPTION: 1979-1979
COMMENT: Team Rebaque was a Mexican Formula One entrant and constructor, based in Leamington Spa, UK. They participated in 30 Grands Prix, initially entering cars bought from Team Lotus, before finally building a car of their own. The Rebaque HR100 was entered for the team’s final three races before the team’s closure. The team was founded by, and centred around, Hector Rebaque, a Mexican driver who first drove in Formula One in 1977 for Hesketh. Following his debut season he was dropped by Hesketh, and with no other team willing to take him on as a driver Rebaque decided to start his own team. At the start of the 1978 Formula One season Rebaque agreed a deal with Team Lotus to buy their 1977 Type 78 model. He had very little experience, only having qualified for one race with Hesketh, and had a difficult year. Although he did score a point at the German Grand Prix, he also suffered the ignominy of being forced to retire from Brazilian Grand Prix owing to driver fatigue. The team was closed down at the end of the year. Rebaque himself moved to the Brabham team midway through the following season. To date Rebaque is still the only Mexican team to have contested a World Championship Grand Prix.

YEAR NAME NAT. POINTS/RESULTS
Lotus Ford (1 pt.)
1978 Hector Rebaque MEX 1 pt.
Rebaque/Lotus Ford (1 pt.)
1979 Hector Rebaque MEX NIL (Parmalat Brabham-Cosworth)

RED BULL RACING

TEAM: RED BULL RACING
NATIONALITY: A
INCEPTION: 2005-
COMMENT: Red Bull Racing is one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Red Bull (the other being Scuderia Toro Rosso). The team is based in Milton Keynes in the UK but holds an Austrian licence. The team is managed by Christian Horner, boss of the Arden International GP2 Series team. Jaguar Racing was put up for sale in September 2004 when Ford decided it could “no longer make a compelling business case for any of its brands to compete in F1. Red Bull, a large energy drinks company, agreed its purchase of Jaguar Racing on the final day of the sale, 15 November 2004. Red Bull Racing was not the start of Red Bull’s involvement in motorsport. Setting up a Formula One team of its own meant that Red Bull had to end its long-term partnership with the Sauber Formula One team. The drinks company also runs a young drivers programme, Red Bull Junior Team, whereby Red Bull sponsors promising young drivers. The team won its first grand prix as Red Bull at the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

YEAR NAME NAT. POINTS/RESULTS
Red Bull-Cosworth (7th 34 pts.)
2005 David Coulthard GB 12th (24 pts.)
2005 Christian Klein A 14th
2005 V Liuzzi I NIL
Red Bull-Ferrari (7th 16 pts.)
2006 David Coulthard GB 13th (14 pts.)
2006 Christian Klein A 18th (2 pts.) (Test driver for Honda)
Red Bull-Renault (5th 24 pts.)
2007 David Coulthard GB 10th (14 pts.)
2007 Mark Webber AUS 12th (10 pts.)
Red Bull-Renault (7th 29 pts.)
2008 David Coulthard GB 16th (8 pts.) (Retired from F1. after 19 years.)
2008 Mark Webber AUS 11th (21 pts.)
Red Bull-Renault (2nd 153,5 pts.)
2009 Mark Webber AUS 4th (61,5 pts.)
2009 Sebastian Vettel D 2nd (84 pts.)
Red Bull-Renault (1st 498 pts.)
2010 Sebastian Vettel D World Champion (256 pts.)
2010 Mark Webber AUS 3rd (242 pts.) Under the new points system.
Red Bull-Renault (1st 650 pts.)
2011 Sebastian Vettel D WORLD CHAMPION (392 pts)
2011 Mark Webber AUS 3rd (258 pts.)

Number of Drivers’ Championships: 2
Number of Constructors’ Championships: 2

RENAULT

TEAM: RENAULT (Former Benetton Formula One Team)
NATIONALITY: F
INCEPTION: 1978
COMMENT: Renault F1 is the Renault company’s Formula One racing team. Renault has a long if intermittent history of involvement in motor racing, including Ferenc Szisz winning the first French Grand Prix, usually regarded as marking the birth of Grand Prix motor racing. Renault has competed in Formula One (originally via subsidiary Renault Sport), both as an engine supplier and as a constructor from the late 1970s to the present day, with several breaks. Renault introduced the turbo engine to Formula One when they debuted their first car, the Renault RS01 at Silverstone in 1977. Although the Renault team won races and competed for world titles, it was as a supplier of normally aspirated engines to the Benetton and Williams teams in the 1990s that Renault first tasted world championship success. Renault returned to the category as a constructor in 2001 by taking over the Benetton team, which was renamed Renault in 2002. Their first championship as a constructor was achieved in 2005; the same year that they won their first drivers’ championship with former test driver, Fernando Alonso, repeating that feat in 2006. Renault F1 is coordinated from the team’s UK base at Enstone, Oxfordshire where the chassis are designed and built. Engines are manufactured at Renault’s facility at Viry-Châtillon outside Paris. As well as their championship wins in 2005 and 2006, Renault also contributed to 5 driver’s world championships (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997) and 6 constructor’s world championships (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997) as engine supplier for Benetton and Williams.Currently, Renault F1 is responsible for Renault’s involvement in Formula One; Renault’s other motorsport activities are conducted through Renault Sport.

YEAR NAME NAT. POINTS/RESULTS
Elf Renault-Gordini (NIL)
1977 Jean-Pierre Jabouille F NIL
Elf Renault-Gordini (12th 3 pts.)
1978 Jean-Pierre Jabouille F 17th (3 pts.)
Elf Renault-Gordini (6th 26 pts.)
1979 Jean-Pierre Jabouille F 13th (9 pts.)
Elf Renault-Gordini (4th 38 pts.)
1980 René Arnoux F 6th (29 pts.)
1980 Jean-Pierre Jabouille F 8th (9 pts.) (Gitanes Talbot-Ligier Matra)
Elf Renault-Gordini (3rd 54 pts.)
1981 Alain Prost F 5th (43 pts.)
1981 René Arnoux F 9th (11 pts.)
Elf Renault-Gordini (3rd 62 pts.)
1982 Alain Prost F 4th (34 pts.)
1982 René Arnoux F 6th (28 pts.) (Ferrari)
Elf Renault-Gordini (2nd 79 pts.)
1983 Alain Prost F 2nd (57 pts.) (Marlboro McLaren Int’l. TAG)
1983 Eddie Cheever USA 6th (22 pts.) (Benetton-Alfa Romeo)
Elf Renault-Gordini (5th 34 pts.)
1984 Patrick Tambay F 11th (11 pts.)
1984 Derek Warwick GB 7th (23 pts.)
1984 Philippe Streiff F NIL (Gitanes Ligier-Renault)
Elf Renault-Gordini (7th 16 pts.)
1985 Patrick Tambay F 12th (11 pts.) (Team Haas-Hart/Cosworth)
1985 Derek Warwick GB 14th (5 pts.) (Brabham-BMW)
1985 Francois Hesnault F NIL (Hesnault retired from motor racing, having suffered a particularly heavy crash in testing shortly before parting company with Brabham to join Renault)

1986 – 2001: Renault does not compete as a team. In 2001, Renault bought Benetton Formula, which had competed from 1986 to 2001.

Mild Seven Renault (4th 23 pts.)
2002 Jenson Button GB 7th (14 pts.) (BAR)
2002 Jarno Trulli I 8th (9 pts.)
Mild Seven Renault (4th 88 pts.)
2003 Jarno Trulli I 8th (33 pts.)
2003 Fernando Alonso E 6th (55 pts.)
Mild Seven Renault (3rd 105 pts.)
2004 Jarno Trulli I 6th (46 pts.) (Toyota mid-season.)
2004 Jaques Villeneuve CAN NIL (Sauber)
2004 Fernando Alonso E 4th (59 pts.)
Mild Seven Renault (1st 191 pts.)
2005 Fernando Alonso E WORLD CHAMPION (133 pts.)
2005 Giancarlo Fishichella I 5th (58 pts.)
Mild Seven Renault (1st 206 pts.)
2006 Fernando Alonso E WORLD CHAMPION (134 pts.) (Vodofone McLaren Int’l-Mercedes)
2006 Giancarlo Fisichella I 4th (72 pts.)
ING Renault (3rd 51 pts.)
2007 Heikki Kovalainen FIN 7th (30 pts.) (Vodofone Mclaren-Mercedes)
2007 Giancarlo Fisichella I 8th (21 pts.) (Force India)
ING Renault (4th 80 pts.)
2008 Fernando Alonso E 5th (61 pts.)
2008 Nelson Piquet Jr. BR 12th (19 pts.)
ING Renault (8th 26 pts.)
2009 Fernando Alonso E 9th (26 pts.)
2009 Nelson Piquet Jr. BR (NIL) Fired halfway through the 2009 season
2009 Romain Grosjean F 23rd (NIL)
Former driver, Nelson Piquet Jr., blew the whistle on Renault’s involvement to deliberately jepordize a race during the Singapore Grand Prix to allow Fernando Alonso to win the Championship last year. FIA has
ordered Renault’s team principal, Briatore, banned indefinitely from racing and handed down their Engineering Executive Director, Pat Symonds, a five-year ban from F1. Team Renault was vindicated but had to pay legal costs and contribute financially towards F1 safety procedures.

Renault F1 Team (5th 163 pts.)
2010 Robert Kubica PL 8th (136 pts.)
2010 Vitaly Petrov RU 13th (27 pts.)
Renault-Lotus (
2011 Robert Kubica POL Out for the season due to rally race injuries.
2011 Vitaly Petrov RUS 10th (37 pts.)
2011 Nick Heidfeld D 11th (34 pts.) Parted company mid-season.

Number of Drivers’ Championships: 2
Number of Constructors’ Championships: 2

RIAL

TEAM: RIAL
NATIONALITY: D
INCEPTION: 1988
COMMENT: Rial is a German brand of light alloy wheels that also was a Formula One constructor. Rial had the same owner, Günther Schmidt, as the earlier ATS team and company. Their 1988 season went better than their 1989 season and later in that latter season Rial scrambled to change its driver lineup. Rial participated in 32 grands prix, entering a total of 48 cars. They scored 6 championship points.

YEAR NAME NAT. POINTS/RESULTS
Loto Rial-Ford (9th 3 pts.)
1988 Andrea de Cesaris I 15th (3 pts.) (Dallara-Ford)
Rial-Ford (13th 3 pts.)
1989 Christian Danner D 21st (3 pts.) (Japanese F3000/British Touring Car Championship/Champ Cars/Int’l. Touring Car Championship/Grand Prix Masters. He is also a F.1. commentator for RTL in Germany.)
1989 Volker Weidler D NIL (Japanese F3000/All Japan Sports Prototype Championship/Le Mans (he won in 1991 with Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot. Possibly related to the hours spend in the noisy Mazda, Weidler began to suffer from an ear problem (sensorineural hearing loss) which eventually forced him to retire prematurely from the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship during the 1992 season though Weidler was leading the championship at that time.)
1989 Pierre-Henri Raphanel F NIL (Following his F1 career, he became a factory driver for Toyota, competing in Japan for series such as JTCC and JGTC, for the latter until 2000. Raphanel, onward from 2006 now works as a driver and product specialist for Bugatti and is usually seen demonstrating the Veyron.)
1989 Gregor Foitek CH NIL (Brabham)
1989 Bertrand Gachot B NIL (Coloni-Ford)