f1bits

The Ferrari racing team can look back of an over sixty year long history, which is dominated by success and many records. In 1950 the team took part in its first race and was able to score points within the race. After this the unbelievable story of success began. Ferrari was able to win sixteen world championships until today.

Michael Schumacher owes his career to the team. He spent his most successful years in a Ferrari, winning racing for the team. Constant improvement of the racing cars and hiring the best engineers is the recipe for the success of the team.

Breaking all records Ferrari made a name for itself in the Formula 1 race history. In 2007 the team won the first world championship after 2004, accomplishing a team structure with flying colors. In 2009 the team suffered from the worst year in the history of Ferrari. The drivers Massa and Raikkonen were only able to win one race during the whole year. After this, Ferrari continued to struggle in establishing a working team structure. Because of this, continuing to fail in the races.

Historically the sounding name of Ferrari was given by Enzo Ferrari, who was a race car driver himself in the 1920s and 1930s. Ferrari originally served as the Alfa Romeo factory team on the road. Since 1950 Ferrari took place in the Formula 1 races as an independent team. All in all Ferrari was able to win 31 titles, of which 15 were won by drivers and 16 were won by constructors. Ferrari is the only team, which took part in all Formula 1 world championships

The fans of Ferrari are loyal to their team, especially in its home country Italy. During a Formula 1 race red, which is the team color, seems to be dominating all over the streets in Italy. After a successful race the whole country celebrates its heroes. No other team in the history of Formula 1 has ever been that successful, moreover the team is trying to stay connected to its roots in Italy. Therefore the fans simply love the Ferrari team and are proud to be able to calling it their team.

In the 50s Juan Manuel Fangio made a name for himself in the F1 and his record figures seemed made to last. The Argentine F1 driver won 24 out of 51 races and started 48 times in the first row. Meanwhile Fangios records have been broken by Michael Schumacher, but he still remains a legend. His nickname “El Chueco” means “the bow-legged” and is one of the reasons many F1 fans still remember him well. On 24 June 2011 Juan Manuel Fangio would have celebrated his 100th birthday.

Fangios race enthusiasm awakened when he worked in an automotive workshop. After a tragic accident, in which his passenger was killed, he switched to the racetrack and came with the help of the Argentine government to Europe. 37-year-old Fangio wins his first race at the Grand Prix of San Remo in 1949. Afterwards he received a Formula 1 cockpit for Alpha Romeo and becomes vice-world champion in 1950.

In the second year of his career in the Formula 1 “El Chueco” became world champion. The following two years his success was interrupted by an accident. In 1953 Fangio joined the Mercedes team and continued to win. Between the years of 1953 and 1957 he won three more world championships and switched from Mercedes back to Maserati. During his most famous race at the Nurburgring in 1957, Fangio invented the planned pit stop. He started the race with only a half-full tank, knowing that his tires would not last the whole race. Until the pit stop he would have the lightest and fastest car, but the stop took more time as planned. Fangio risked everything trying to catch up and won the race after setting a new lap record.

The strangest chapter of Juan Manuel Fangios career happened in 1958 during a race in Cuba. Hours before the race, Fangio was kidnapped by the “26th of July Movement” and their revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. After the race he was released unharmed and claimed to have been treated very well by the rebels. This kidnapping put a spotlight on Fidel Castro and his followers.

In 1995 “El Chueco” died of kidney failure in his home in Argentina. Until today Juan Manuel Fangio remains a legend and is a hero for many Formula 1 drives and fans in Argentina.

Mark Webber was born in 1976 in Queanbeyan, Australia. At an early age he discovered his passion for driving and competing. Beginning his career as a kart driver Webbers wins his first Championship at the age of 16. After a few years of kart driving he developed a taste for adrenalin and switched to even faster vehicles. His Formula 1 career began in 1999 as a test driver for Arrows. During this year he took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in which a spectacular accident took place. Due to a mechanical problem a Mercedes car took off like a racket, causing a big mess. Webber survived the accident miraculously unhurt.

In 2002 he was welcomed as the newest member of the Minardi team. In his first race in Melbourne he was able to win fifth place, while driving the slowest car in the race. Although he could not repeat this sensation in the 2002 racing season, his successful career started. In 2003 Webber was able to score points in his Jaguar seven times, making him number ten in the championship. In 2004 his success continued and the world started to notice the young driver with the high ambitions.

Trying to continue his success and switching to Willams, Webber was stroke with bad luck in the season of 2005. Being able to be faster than his teammate Nick Heidfeld during qualifying, he was not able to keep his performance up during the races. Some unfortunate failures did the rest and the dream of his first victory started to slip away. In 2006 Webbers performance was strong and he had a few good shots at winning, but an unreliable car kept him from his victory.

In 2007 Mark Webber switched to the Red Bull team. Now his luck seemed to have changed, winning third place in the Nurburgring tournament. Only one year later he was able to win in a Formula 1 race for the first time in the same tournament. In 2010 Webber was finally able to win the Formula 1 championship. After long years of hard work and some accidents, he reached his goal.