Nick Chester | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Cambridge University |
Occupation | Engineer |
Years active | 1994–present |
Known for | Formula One engineer |
Nick Chester (born 22 March 1969) [2] is a motorsport engineer.
Chester graduated in engineering from Cambridge University [2] in 1991. [3] [4]
Chester joined Simtek Research in vehicle simulation, moving to their Formula One entry in 1994. [3] He moved on to Arrows in 1995, first for vehicle simulation, and then to suspension design. He became performance engineer for Damon Hill and Pedro Diniz, then race engineer for Mika Salo and Pedro de la Rosa. [5]
In 2000, Chester joined Benetton as test engineer to Alexander Wurz, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Mark Webber. He became performance engineer for Fisichella in 2001 and Jarno Trulli from 2002 to 2004, overseeing the Italian's only F1 victory (Monaco 2004). [6]
Chester took on the position of head of Renault's Vehicle Performance Group (VPG) in 2005, [3] contributing towards Renault's double championship wins of 2005 and 2006 (F1 Constructors' Championship and Drivers' Championship for Fernando Alonso). [7] Chester oversaw the development of the tuned mass damper system, which was a major innovation. In 2010 Chester was made head of performance systems. [3]
In 2012, Chester was appointed engineering director of Lotus, playing a major part in the race winning E20 and E21 F1 cars. A year later, he replaced James Allison as the team's Technical Director, therefore being responsible for the design and development of every Formula One car to come out of Enstone from May 2013 until January 2020. [8]
In January 2020 Chester was replaced by Pat Fry at Renault. [9] Chester joined the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team as technical director in July 2020. [4] [10]
Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One with its EF1 engine. In 1983, Renault began supplying engines to other teams. Although the Renault team had won races, it withdrew at the end of 1985. Renault engines continued to be raced until 1986.
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001. The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000, the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2002, the team became Renault. The Benetton Formula team was chaired by Alessandro Benetton from 1988 to 1998.
Giancarlo Fisichella, also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official Nazionale Piloti association football team. He has driven in Formula One for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari. Since then he has driven for AF Corse in their Ferrari 458 GTE at various sportscar events, becoming twice a Le Mans 24 Hour class winner, and a GT class winner of the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. He was also Ferrari's F1 reserve driver for 2010.
Michael Coughlan is a British motor racing engineer and designer. He was Chief Designer for the McLaren Formula One team from 2002 to 2007, where he was suspended for his part in the 2007 Formula One espionage controversy between McLaren and Ferrari, before his contract was subsequently terminated. He was then Chief Technical Officer for Williams F1 from June 2011 to July 2013, before abruptly stepping down "with immediate effect" according to the team.
Robert Charles Bell is a Formula One engineer and technical director, best known for his work with the Renault Formula One team. He is currently the Executive Director - Technical for the Aston Martin F1 Team.
Formula One sponsorship liveries have been used since the 1968 season. Before the arrival of sponsorship liveries in 1968 the nationality of the team determined the colour of a car entered by the team, e.g. cars entered by Italian teams were rosso corsa red, cars entered by French teams were bleu de France blue, and cars entered by British teams were British racing green. Major sponsors such as BP, Shell, and Firestone had pulled out of the sport ahead of this season, prompting the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile to allow unrestricted sponsorship.
Lotus F1 Team was a British Formula One racing team. The team competed under the Lotus name from 2012 until 2015, following the renaming of the former Renault team based at Enstone in Oxfordshire. The Lotus F1 Team was majority owned by Genii Capital. Lotus F1 was named after its branding partner Group Lotus. The team achieved a race victory and fourth position in the Formula One Constructors' World Championship in their first season under the Lotus title. Lotus F1 achieved 2 race victories in their time on the grid, both courtesy of Kimi Räikkönen. The team was sold back to Renault on 18 December 2015. The Lotus F1 Team name was officially dropped on 3 February 2016, as Renault announced that the team would compete as Renault Sport Formula One Team.
Pat Fry is a British motorsports engineer. Primarily working in Formula One, he has previously held positions with the Benetton, McLaren, Ferrari, Manor Racing, and Renault/Alpine teams. As of 2023, Fry is the chief technical officer for Williams Grand Prix Engineering.
James Allison is a British motorsport designer and engineer, best known for his accomplishments in Formula One, where he is the technical director of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.
The Lotus E22 is a Formula One racing car designed by Lotus to compete in the 2014 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Nick Chester, Chris Cooney, Martin Tolliday and Nicolas Hennel with Renault supplying the team's powertrain. It was driven by Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, who replaced Kimi Räikkönen after Räikkönen left the team to rejoin Ferrari. The E22 was designed to use Renault's new 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engine, the Energy F1-2014. This was the last car of the Enstone-based team which used Renault engines until Renault RS16, before a new one-year deal with fellow Daimler brand Mercedes.
The Lotus E23 Hybrid is a Formula One racing car which Lotus used to compete in the 2015 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Nick Chester, Chris Cooney, Martin Tolliday and Nicolas Hennel with Mercedes supplying the team's powertrain. It was driven by Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. This was the team's only car to use Mercedes engines, after a 20-year period of racing with Renault based powerplants. The E23 Hybrid was also the first Enstone-based car not to used a Renault-based engine since the Ford-powered V8 powered Benetton B194 in 1994, as well as first full British team to utilize Petronas fuel and lubricants.
The Renault R.S.16 was a Formula One racing car designed by the Renault Sport Formula One Team to compete in the 2016 Formula One season, and marked Renault's return to the sport as a constructor after a five-year absence. The Renault R.S.16 was also the first Renault-badged turbocharged car to compete in the sport since Renault RE60 in 1985.
The Renault R.S.19 is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by the Renault F1 Team to compete during the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Nick Chester, Chris Cooney, Martin Tolliday, Simon Virrill and Pete Machin with Marcin Budkowski overseeing the design and production of the car as executive technical director and Rémi Taffin leading the powertrain design. The car was driven by Nico Hülkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo. The car made its competitive debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.
The Renault R.S.20 is a Formula One car designed by the Renault F1 Team to compete in the 2020 Formula One World Championship.
Jarrod Murphy is a British Formula One aerodynamicist. He is currently the aerodynamics director at the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula One team.
Alpine F1 Team, currently racing as BWT Alpine F1 Team for sponsorship reasons, is the name under which the Enstone-based Formula One team has been competing since the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault as well as Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, the team was rebranded for 2021 to promote Renault's sports car brand, Alpine, and continues to serve as Renault's works team. The chassis and managerial side of the team is based in Enstone, Oxfordshire, England, and the Renault-branded engine side of the team is based in Viry-Châtillon, a suburb of Paris, France. The team competes with a French licence.
Alan Permane is a British Formula One engineer. He is the former sporting director at the Alpine Formula One team.
Mark Ellis is a British Formula One engineer. He was most recently the performance director at the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula One team.
Loïc Serra is a French Formula One engineer. A longtime engineer at Mercedes F1 Team, he is set to join Scuderia Ferrari as their new Chassis Technical Director in October 2024.
The RS series is a family of naturally-aspirated Grand Prix racing engines, designed, developed and manufactured jointly by Mecachrome and Renault Sport for use in Formula One, and used by Arrows, BAR, Williams, Ligier, Lotus, Caterham, Benetton, Renault, and Red Bull, from 1989 until 2013. The engines came in both the original V10, and later V8 configurations, and engine displacement ranged from 2.4 L (150 cu in) to 3.5 L (210 cu in) over the years. Power figures varied; from 650 hp (480 kW) @ 12,500 rpm, to later over 900 hp (670 kW) @ 19,000 rpm. The 2.4-litre RS26 V8 engine, used in 2006, is one of the highest revving Formula One engines in history, at 20,500 rpm. Between 1998 and 2000, the RS9 engines were badged as Mecachrome, Supertec, and Playlife.