Formula One is the highest class of international auto racing for single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, which became the FIA Formula One World Championship in 1981, has been one of the premier forms of racing around the world since its inaugural season in 1950. The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules to which all participants' cars must conform. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, which take place worldwide on purpose-built circuits and closed public roads.
The Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One Championship race in Bahrain currently sponsored by Gulf Air. The first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004. It made history as the first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East, and was given the award for the "Best Organised Grand Prix" by the FIA. The race has usually been the third race of the Formula One calendar. However, in the 2006 season, Bahrain swapped places with the traditional opener, the Australian Grand Prix, which was pushed back to avoid a clash with the Commonwealth Games. In 2010, Bahrain staged the opening race of the 2010 season and the cars drove the full 6.299 km (3.914 mi) "Endurance Circuit" to celebrate F1's 'diamond jubilee'.
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is a British racing driver. He currently competes in Formula One for Mercedes, having previously driven for McLaren from 2007 to 2012. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles, while he holds the outright records for the most wins (96), pole positions (98) and podium finishes (166), amongst others.
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is an Italian businessman, former Chairman of Ferrari, and formerly Chairman of Fiat S.p.A. and President of Confindustria and FIEG. He comes from an aristocratic family from the region of Piedmont in Italy. He graduated with a degree in law from La Sapienza University in 1971. Afterward, he studied for a master's degree in international commercial law at Columbia University. He is one of the founders and former president of NTV, an Italian company which is Europe's first private open access operator of 300 km/h (186 mph) high-speed trains.
Forti Corse, commonly known as Forti, was an Italian motor racing team chiefly known for its brief and unsuccessful involvement in Formula One in the mid-1990s. It was established in the late 1970s and competed in lower formulae for two decades. The team's successes during this period included four Drivers' Championships in Italian Formula Three during the 1980s, and race wins in the International Formula 3000 championship, in which it competed from 1987 to 1994. From 1992, team co-founder Guido Forti developed a relationship with the wealthy Brazilian businessman Abílio dos Santos Diniz that gave Diniz's racing driver son, Pedro, a permanent seat in the team and the outfit a sufficiently high budget to consider entering Formula One.
Pacific Racing was a motor racing team from the United Kingdom. Following success in lower formulae, the team took part in two full seasons of Formula One, in 1994 and 1995, entering 33 Grands Prix without much success.
Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior, also known as Nelson Piquet Junior or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian stock car racing driver and former Formula One and Formula E driver where he was champion in the 2014–15 season, and also races a Rebellion R-One LMP1 in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 62nd season of Formula One motor racing, recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over eighteen races commencing in Australia on 16 March and ending in Brazil on 2 November. The 2008 season saw the debut of the Singapore Grand Prix, which was held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Marina Bay, Singapore and was the first Formula One race held at night. The European Grand Prix moved to a new venue at the Valencia Street Circuit, in Valencia, Spain.
The Spyker F8-VII was a Formula One car, constructed by Spyker F1 that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship. A "B Specification" car named the Spyker F8-VIIB was launched at the Italian Grand Prix and used for the remainder of the 2007 season. The engine of Spyker F8-VII car was Ferrari 056 despite the team opted for 2006-spec engine due to cost reasons. For the 2008 World Championship, Force India used a slightly modified version of the F8-VIIB, called the Force India VJM01 named after team owners Vijay Mallya, Jan Mol and Michiel Mol. The VJM01 used 2007-spec Ferrari 056 engines instead of 2008-spec. The F8-VII was the only car constructed by Spyker F1 in their own right after their take-over from the struggling Midland F1 team part way through 2006.
The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 September 2007 at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Shizuoka. The 67-lap race was the fifteenth round of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held at the recently revised track in very heavy rain and misty conditions. For the previous 20 years, the Japanese Grand Prix had been held at Suzuka Circuit, but at this race it returned to Fuji for the first time since 1977. The race was won by McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, who also took pole position and the fastest lap of the race. Heikki Kovalainen achieved his first podium, by finishing second for the Renault team, whilst Kimi Räikkönen finished in third for Ferrari. Adrian Sutil scored Spyker's first and only point by finishing 9th and being promoted to 8th after the race.
Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Dutch businessman Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for €88 million.
The Williams FW30 is a Formula One racing car, designed by Williams and introduced at the start of the 2008 Formula One season. The car is largely an evolution of the previous, 2007-season, Williams model: the FW29. As with its predecessor, the FW30 is powered by engines manufactured by Toyota. The FW30 was unveiled to the public on 21 January 2008 at the Circuit de Valencia, Spain, and made its race debut at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix in the hands of 2008 Williams drivers Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima.
The Honda RA108 was the Formula One racing car with which Honda Racing F1 contested the 2008 Formula One season. The car was driven by teammates Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. Following the departure of Honda from the sport at the end of 2008 and the sale of the team to team principal Ross Brawn in 2009, the RA108 was the last car produced by the Brackley-based team to bear the Honda name and the last Formula One car powered by a Honda engine until 2015, when Honda re-entered the sport as an engine supplier to power the McLaren MP4-30.
The 20th BRDC International Trophy was a non-championship Formula One race held at Silverstone on 25 April 1968.
The 2008 Superleague Formula season was the inaugural Superleague Formula championship. The season started very late in 2008 with the first round being on August 31 at Donington Park. There were six rounds in total with the successful season finale at Circuito Permanente de Jerez on 23 November. In the 18 cars on the grid were established A1GP and GP2 drivers as well as two ex-Formula One race starters, Robert Doornbos and Antônio Pizzonia.
The BMW Sauber F1.09 was BMW Sauber's Formula One motor racing car for the 2009 Formula One season. The car was launched on January 20, 2009 at Circuit de Valencia located in Valencia, Spain. It was driven by Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, both retained from 2008. The chassis was designed by Willy Rampf, Walter Reidl, Christoph Zimmermann and Willem Toet with the powertrain being designed by Markus Duesmann.
The FIA Formula Two Championship was a one-make class of auto racing for Formula Two open wheeled single seater racing cars. The championship was contested each year from 2009 to 2012. It was a revival of the former European Formula Two Championship that was previously run from 1967 to 1984. Organised by MotorSport Vision, drivers competed over 16 rounds at eight venues, in identical cars built by Williams F1, with 400 bhp engines developed by Mountune Racing and supplied by Audi.
The 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season was the first year of the relaunched FIA Formula Two Championship. The championship began on 30 May at the Circuit de Valencia and finished on 1 November at the Circuit de Catalunya, after eight double-header rounds. Andy Soucek was a dominant champion, finishing over 50 points clear of runner-up Robert Wickens.
The Renault R29 is a Formula One racing car designed by the Renault F1 Team, with which they contested the 2009 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Bob Bell, James Allison, Tim Densham and Dirk de Beer with Pat Symonds overseeing the design and production of the car as Executive Director of Engineering and Rob White leading the engine design. The car was driven by Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr.
Moscow Raceway is an FIA-approved motor racing venue, which is situated in the Volokolamsky District of Moscow Oblast, near the villages of Sheludkovo and Fedyukovo, 97 kilometres (60 mi) from Moscow, Russia. It opened on 13 July 2012 for its first event as the fifth round of the World Series by Renault becoming the first major international motor-sport race track event in Russia. It is an FIA Grade 1 circuit, which means that it has all the requirements necessary to host a Formula One race, though the Sochi Autodrom currently hosts Russian Formula One races.
Mike Parkes 
Jack Brabham 
Jo Siffert 
Bruce McLaren 
Guy Ligier 
Jo Bonnier 
Earl Jones