The Teams of Formula One

Behind every great driver, there is a great racing team. These teams consist of many people that make the whole Formula One operation work. There are pit crews, crew chiefs, owners, and sponsors just to name of few involved in a single team.

Team McLaren has been with Formula One since 1966 when it premiered at the Grand Prix of Monaco. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are the current drivers of this team that is headed by Ron Dennis, the team principal. Team McLaren was founded by Bruce McLaren in 1963. The BMW Sauber team has been on and off the Formula One Circuit since its foundation in 1916. The drivers are Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica and the team principal is Mario Theissen. Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen are the drivers for team Ferrari that was founded by Enzo Ferarri. Ferrari has been with Formula One is the beginning of the circuit and is now headed by team president Luca Di Montezemolo.

Nick Fry is the team principal for Honda Racing. The current drivers are Jensen Button and Rubens Barrichello for the Formula One team that entered the circuit at the Grand Prix of Germany in 1964. Christian Horner is the team principal for Red Bull Racing that was founded in 2005 by Dietrich Mateschitz. David Coulthard and Mark Webber are the drivers for this team. In 1898, the Renault team was established yet did not break into the formula One circuit until 1977. Lead by team principal Flavio Briatore are drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen.

A young entry into Formula One is the Spyker team. Since 2006, the team is lead by managing director Colin Kolles and was founded by Spyker Cars. Christijan Albers and Adrian Sutil are the drivers for the Spyker team. Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson drive for the Super Alguri Formula One team. Established in 2005 its team principal and founder is Aguri Suzuki. Team principal Franz Tost heads the Toro Rosso Formula One team that was founded by Dietrich Mateschitz. Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed are the drivers for this team that debuted at Grand Prix of Bahrain in 2006. The Toyota racing team debuted at the Grand Prix of Australia in 2002. Team principal Tsutomu Tomita heads drivers Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli. The Toyota team was founded by Hiroshi Okuda in 1999. At Great Britain in 1972, the Williams Formula One race team broke into the sport. The team was founded by Frank Williams who is also the team Principal Frank Williams heads drivers Nico Rosberg and Alexander Wurz.

This was just a brief rundown of the teams that are seen on the Formula One circuit today, a brief history of their debut into Formula One racing, their team leaders, and their drivers. There are many more important people behind the scenes such as the designers, engine builders, and the crews that stay behind at the shops. It takes many people to make a great Formula One racing team.

Rubens: The German podium may be within reach

Rubens Barrichello is not expecting a repeat of his maiden win at Hockenheim this weekend, but has not ruled out another podium to savour.

Back in 2000 Barrichello finally broke his victory duck, taking the chequered flag in the German Grand Prix at a time when he was with Ferrari.

Now with Honda, the odds on a triumph at the track on this occasion are exceptionally long, in particular if it is hot and dry.

But the forecast is for an unsettled weekend, and after his recent wet-weather heroics at the British Grand Prix, he could yet pull another surprise.

"It was fantastic to wake up on Monday after Silverstone and see the trophy," exclaimed Barrichello, who finished in the top three for the first time in three years.

"To step onto the podium again was an unexpected but deserved outcome to our British Grand Prix weekend and I was so pleased to have achieved the result for the team.

"However, we have to keep our focus and continue to improve the performance of the car as we are fully aware that our result at Silverstone was assisted by the wet conditions.

"With changeable weather this weekend, it can make for an exciting race and overtaking is possible, particularly under heavy braking."

Reflecting on his memories of his debut success, he added: "My first victory in Formula One came at Hockenheim back in 2000, so this circuit is very special to me.

"The layout changes mean it is a different venue now from the track that I used to enjoy so much, however, it's still a good circuit."

Honda boss Ross Brawn has conceded Barrichello's performance, and the team's first podium this season was "a big morale boost."

But he maintains realism has not been lost as he said: "Silverstone gave us the opportunity to combine driver experience and team performance to achieve a very well deserved podium finish.

"The team worked extremely well throughout the race to take advantage of the opportunities which opened up, aided by an excellent drive and outstanding tyre feedback from Rubens.

"Our first podium of the season was, of course, a big morale boost, however, it would be unrealistic to expect a repeat of this result in dry track conditions.

"But with changeable weather predicted for the weekend, as Rubens has mentioned, it could be an interesting race.

"Following the test at Hockenheim last week, we will be introducing the next step of aerodynamic, mechanical and engine performance upgrades for the car.

"The test allowed our engineers to gain a better understanding of our recent lack of qualifying pace, so we will be aiming for an improvement on our grid positions as the foundation for a strong race performance."