Midland F1 Racing
Encyclopedia
Midland F1 Racing was a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 constructor and racing team. It competed in the 2006 Formula One season
2006 Formula One season
The 2006 Formula One season was the 57th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship which began on March 12 and ended on October 22 after eighteen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Fernando Alonso of Renault F1 for the second year in a...

 with drivers Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers is a Dutch racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by his Spyker F1 team...

 and Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro is a Portuguese racing driver. He drove for Jordan, Midland and Spyker MF1 teams—all different iterations of the same team as it was bought by new owners during a two year stint as part of the Formula One paddock...

. The team was created by the renaming of Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...

 after its purchase by Canadian businessman, and owner of the Midland Group
Midland Group
The Midland Group is an international trading and investment holding company, Registered in Guernsey under the name Midland Resources Holding Ltd, the group owns a number of subsidiaries across the agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, shipping and steel industries.Primarily active in the...

, Alex Shnaider
Alex Shnaider
Alex Shnaider is a Russian-born Canadian entrepreneur and former commodities trader. He is co-founder with Eduard Shifrin of the Midland Group. He was educated at York University in Toronto....

. The team was registered as the first Russian Formula One team, reflecting Shnaider's roots, although it continued to be based in the United Kingdom, at Jordan's Silverstone factory. Towards the end of the 2006 season, the team was sold to Spyker Cars N.V.
Spyker Cars
Spyker Cars is a Dutch sports car marque. The modern Spyker Cars only has the legal right to the brand name. The company's motto is "Nulla tenaci invia est via", which is Latin for "For the tenacious, no road is impassable". The marque's logo displays the piston engine of an airplane, a reference...

; the team raced in its last three Grands Prix under the official name "Spyker MF1 Racing". In 2007 , the team competed as Spyker F1
Spyker F1
Spyker F1 Team was a Formula One team that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship, and was created by Spyker Cars after their buyout of the short-lived Midland F1 team...

, and in 2008 was sold to Indian businessman Dr. Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya is an Indian liquor and airline baron. The son of industrialist Vittal Mallya, he is the chairman of the United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines. His United Spirits is world's second largest liquor maker, by volume...

 and was renamed Force India F1
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...

.

2005 purchase of Jordan

The Midland Group's interest in Formula One involvement began in 2004 when they confirmed their plans to have a team to race in place for the 2006 season. Although they were initially linked with creating a new unit or purchasing Jaguar
Jaguar Racing
Jaguar Racing was a Formula One team that competed in the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2000 to 2004. It was formed from the purchase by Ford of Jackie Stewart's Stewart Grand Prix Formula One team in June 1999. Ford renamed the team Jaguar Racing as part of its global marketing...

, the group instead signed a deal to buy the Jordan
Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...

 team from Eddie Jordan
Eddie Jordan
Edmund "Eddie" Jordan also known as "EJ" founded and owned Jordan Grand Prix, a Formula One constructor which operated from 1991 to 2005...

 prior to the 2005 Formula One season
2005 Formula One season
The 2005 Formula One season was the 56th FIA Formula One World Championship season, contested over a record 19 Grands Prix. It commenced on March 6, 2005, and ended October 16....

, for a sum of $60 million. As a result, the team would be a legal continuation of Jordan and not a new entity subject to Formula One's $48 million entry bond. It also allowed Midland to claim the television revenue generated by Jordan's placing in the constructors' championship (in which Jordan subsequently placed ninth).

The team retained Jordan's name for the 2005 season but struggled at the back of the grid with rookie drivers Narain Karthikeyan
Narain Karthikeyan
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan , is the first Formula One motor racing driver from India. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He made his Formula One debut in with the Jordan team, and was a WilliamsF1 test driver in and...

 and Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro is a Portuguese racing driver. He drove for Jordan, Midland and Spyker MF1 teams—all different iterations of the same team as it was bought by new owners during a two year stint as part of the Formula One paddock...

. The highlights of the season were Monteiro's third-place finish at the US Grand Prix
2005 United States Grand Prix
The 2005 United States Grand Prix was one of the most controversial Formula One motor races in modern history. It was held on June 19, 2005 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the ninth race of the 2005 Formula One season. Out of 20 cars entered for the race, only the six cars from the teams...

 (in which only six cars competed due to problems with Michelin tyres) and his lengthy streak of consecutive finishes, which underlined the car's reliability.

Some media reports at this time began to speculate that Midland were unhappy with their purchase and looking to offload Jordan even before the team entered under its own name in 2006. Team principal Trevor Carlin
Trevor Carlin
Trevor Carlin enjoys a history of success in International Formula Three racing spanning over ten years. As Team Manager of Bowman Racing, he assembled a talented group of engineers and achieved 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in the British Formula Three Championship in the team's first three seasons and...

 quit the team after seven races, and chief engineer and designer Mark Smith before the end of the season. There were consistent reports that the team was linked with a buy-out by former Formula One driver Eddie Irvine
Eddie Irvine
Edmund "Eddie" Irvine, Jr. is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He grew up in Conlig, County Down, and was influenced by his parents, who were also involved in motor racing...

.

2006 season

The name of the team was changed to MF1 Racing for the 2006 Formula One season. In the UK a joke emerged regarding this short form being written in the same way as economy furniture manufacturer MFI. Over the winter Russian driver Roman Rusinov
Roman Rusinov
Roman Aleksandrovich Rusinov is a Russian auto racing driver.Rusinov was the first Russian driver to win an international race in Europe, in 2000 he won the International Renault Finals in French Formula Renault. In 2002 he led the Formula Palmer Audi championship till the last event, but collided...

 tested a new car, the Midland M16 with a new livery (red, white and black to reflect Midland Group's corporate colours) and Toyota
Toyota F1
Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002...

 engines. MotoGP motorcyclist Max Biaggi
Max Biaggi
Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi is an Italian motorcycle racer and winner of the 2010 World Superbike Championship. Throughout this racing career, he has won the 250cc World Championship four times, and finished as runner-up in both the 500cc and MotoGP championships...

 also had a test in the car at Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

 in January. Italian racing car constructor Dallara
Dallara
Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...

 had originally been contracted to develop the M16, however the agreement was discontinued during the design process after a disappointing contribution from the Italian manufacturer. The senior management subsequently placed its faith in the incumbent design team, promoting former head of vehicle science James Key
James Key (Formula One)
-Formula One career:Key joined Jordan Grand Prix in 1998 spending several years as a Data Engineer, then became Race Engineer for Takuma Sato. Following a year in the Wind Tunnel he transferred to the Vehicle Dynamics department, eventually becoming the department head during the team's final few...

 to the role of technical director towards the end of the 2005 season.

Shnaider had been insistent that Midland intended to field Formula One's first Russian driver - although Russian drivers have tested in the past, mainly for the Minardi
Minardi
Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans...

 team, none have ever raced in a Grand Prix - but instead signed Dutchman
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers is a Dutch racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by his Spyker F1 team...

 from Minardi, and retained Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro. The team had previously failed in a bid to sign Takuma Sato
Takuma Sato
is a Japanese automobile racing driver and the most successful Japanese Formula One driver in history. He is currently racing for KV Racing Technology in IndyCar Series under the Lotus banner.-Junior Years:...

.

During the team's very short time in F1, they used three drivers on the Fridays of Grands Prix:
  • Markus Winkelhock
    Markus Winkelhock
    Markus Winkelhock is a German racing driver, who has taken part in one Formula One Grand Prix, which he briefly led...

     at Sakhir, Melbourne, Hockenheim and Hungaroring
  • Giorgio Mondini
    Giorgio Mondini
    Giorgio Mondini is an Automobile racing driver from Geneva, Switzerland.-Career:Mondini began his competitive racing career at the age of 21, when he came 26th in the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup series. In 2002 he made his way up to 17th place, before moving on to Formula Renault V6 Eurocup...

     at Sepang, Imola, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Silverstone, Montreal, Indianapolis, Istanbul and Monza
  • Adrian Sutil
    Adrian Sutil
    -Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002...

     at Nürburgring and Magny-Cours


During the last three races, as Spyker MF1 Racing, the team used the following test drivers:
  • Alexandre Prémat
    Alexandre Prémat
    Alexandre Prémat is a French race car driver.-Career:-Karting & French Formula Renault Campus:...

     at Shanghai
  • Adrian Sutil at Suzuka
  • E. J. Viso
    E. J. Viso
    Ernesto José Viso Lossada is a Venezuelan race car driver. He is commonly referred to as Ernesto Viso or, since his move to American racing, E. J. Viso....

     at Interlagos


As the 2006 season went on, the team went from running ahead of Super Aguri
Super Aguri F1
Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from to . The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan but operated from the former Arrows factory at the Leafield Technical Centre, Oxfordshire. The cars were referred to as Super Aguri Hondas, with the team...

 but behind everyone else, to consistently sparring with other midfield teams such as Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...

 and Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...

 although it only ever finished ahead of crippled cars, Super Aguri and the occasional Toro Rosso. Much of that progress was down to tyre development from Bridgestone coupled with significant improvements in aerodynamics and handling (overseen by Simon Phillips and Richard Frith respectively). The improved performance saw the team begin to make it into the second qualifying session on an occasional basis - eight times out of a possible 36 overall - with a best qualifying position of 14th.

Unfortunately this increased mid-season performance did not translate into hard results as the team were involved in a number of first-lap accidents, notably at Monaco, Indianapolis and Montreal, and the team was disqualified from the German Grand Prix for running a flexible wing in contravention of the sport's technical regulations.

The team went from being around four seconds off the pace per lap in 2005 to around 2 seconds per lap at the time of its sale to Spyker cars in September 2006.

Sale of the team

Rumours had been floating about in the paddock throughout the mid-season about the possible sale of the team, less than two years after Shnaider originally bought it from Eddie Jordan. Reports suggested a price tag of $128 m, and that Shnaider was seriously considering the possibility of the sale. Formula One teams had become more valuable, because no more teams could enter after 2008, with the maximum of 12 places already filled.

On September 9, 2006, it was revealed that the team was sold to Spyker Cars
Spyker Cars
Spyker Cars is a Dutch sports car marque. The modern Spyker Cars only has the legal right to the brand name. The company's motto is "Nulla tenaci invia est via", which is Latin for "For the tenacious, no road is impassable". The marque's logo displays the piston engine of an airplane, a reference...

. Spyker paid $106.6 million for the team. On September 10 ITV Sport
ITV Sport
ITV Sport is a sport producer and brand name owned by ITV plc. It was formed from the amalgamation of Granada Sport, Carlton's sports department and ISN, the sports division of London News Network. The company produces Champions League and FA Cup Football, along with coverage of England's national...

 said that Shnaider was no longer involved in the team since the announcement of the sale. Colin Kolles
Colin Kolles
Colin Kolles is the team principal and managing director of the Hispania Racing F1 Team, previously holding a similar position at the team known under the names Jordan, Midland, Spyker and Force India from 2005 to 2008...

 remained as team principal, while Michiel Mol
Michiel Mol
Michiel Mol is a Dutch businessman and the director of the Force India Formula One team.-Early life and career:...

 became the new Director of F1 racing and member of the Spyker board and Mike Gascoyne
Mike Gascoyne
Michael "Mike" Gascoyne is a designer of Formula One cars. He is currently the Chief Technical Officer of Team Lotus....

 joined as Chief Designer at the end of the season. The cars appeared in a revised livery for the final three races of 2006. Name changes are not allowed mid-season, but Spyker were legitimately able to name themselves as the team's title sponsor, so the team raced in its last four Grands Prix under the official name "Spyker MF1 Racing". In 2007, the team competed as Spyker F1
Spyker F1
Spyker F1 Team was a Formula One team that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship, and was created by Spyker Cars after their buyout of the short-lived Midland F1 team...

. From 2008 onwards, the team competes as Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...

.

Complete Formula One results

(results in bold indicate pole position)
Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Points WCC
2006
2006 Formula One season
The 2006 Formula One season was the 57th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship which began on March 12 and ended on October 22 after eighteen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Fernando Alonso of Renault F1 for the second year in a...

Midland M16
Midland M16
The Midland M16, also known as the Spyker M16, was the car with which the MF1 Racing team competed in the Formula One season. It was driven by Tiago Monteiro, who had driven for the team in during its Jordan guise, and Christijan Albers, who moved from Minardi.Although Eddie Jordan had sold his...

Toyota
Toyota F1
Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002...

 V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....

BHR
2006 Bahrain Grand Prix
The 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix was the first round of the 2006 Formula One World Championship, held on 12 March 2006 at the Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain.-Qualifying:...

MAL
2006 Malaysian Grand Prix
The 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix was the second Formula One Grand Prix of the 2006 season. The race took place on 19 March 2006.Qualifying on Saturday saw the new rules being put to the test, as David Coulthard, Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher were all forced...

AUS
2006 Australian Grand Prix
The 2006 Australian Grand Prix was the third race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It was held on the weekend of 31 March–2 April 2006 at Albert Park, Melbourne...

SMR
2006 San Marino Grand Prix
The 2006 San Marino Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It was held on the weekend of April 21–April 23, 2006 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola in Italy....

EUR
2006 European Grand Prix
The 2006 European Grand Prix was the fifth race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It was held on the weekend of May 5–7, 2006 at the Nürburgring. Franck Montagny made his Formula One debut, becoming the first French F1 driver in 18 months....

ESP MON
2006 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2006 Monaco Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It took place on the weekend of May 25–28th 2006 at the Circuit de Monaco. Prior to the race, Renault's Fernando Alonso had finished on the podium in all of the previous six Grands Prix, winning three of...

GBR
2006 British Grand Prix
The 2006 British Grand Prix was the eighth race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It took place on the weekend of 9–11 June 2006 at the Silverstone Circuit....

CAN
2006 Canadian Grand Prix
The 2006 Canadian Grand Prix was the ninth race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It took place on the weekend of June 23–25th 2006 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada....

USA
2006 United States Grand Prix
The 2006 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, USA on July 2, 2006 . The race, which was the tenth round of the 2006 Formula One season, was won by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher....

FRA
2006 French Grand Prix
The 2006 French Grand Prix was the eleventh race of the 2006 Formula One season. It was held on July 14  – July 16, 2006 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours...

GER
2006 German Grand Prix
The Großer Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland was the twelfth race of the 2006 Formula One season. It was held on 28 July–30 at the Hockenheimring. The Grand Prix weekend got off to a controversial start when the mass damper system fitted by Renault was deemed legal by the FIA appointed stewards,...

HUN
2006 Hungarian Grand Prix
The 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 6, 2006 at the Hungaroring, Budapest. It was the 13th race of the 2006 Formula One season...

TUR
2006 Turkish Grand Prix
The 2006 Turkish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 27 August 2006. The race, which was the fourteenth round of the 2006 Formula One season, was held at Istanbul Park in Istanbul, Turkey. The race marked the first race victory, and also the first pole position, for Felipe Massa, who...

ITA
2006 Italian Grand Prix
The 2006 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 September 2006 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. It was the fifteenth round of the 2006 Formula One season, and was won by Michael Schumacher driving a Ferrari car....

CHN
2006 Chinese Grand Prix
The 2006 Chinese Grand Prix was the sixteenth race of the 2006 Formula One season. It was held on 1 October 2006 at Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai...

JPN
2006 Japanese Grand Prix
The 2006 Japanese Grand Prix was the seventeenth race of the 2006 Formula One season. It was held between 6–8 October at Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka. It was won by Fernando Alonso, his last win for the Renault team before he moved to McLaren the following season...

BRA
2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 22, 2006 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo. It was the 18th and final race of the 2006 Formula One season...

0 10th
  Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro is a Portuguese racing driver. He drove for Jordan, Midland and Spyker MF1 teams—all different iterations of the same team as it was bought by new owners during a two year stint as part of the Formula One paddock...

17 13 Ret 16 12 16 15 16 14 Ret Ret DSQ 9 Ret Ret* Ret* 16* 15*
  Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers is a Dutch racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by his Spyker F1 team...

Ret 12 11 Ret 13 Ret 12 15 Ret Ret 15 DSQ 10 Ret 17* 15* Ret* 14*


* As Spyker MF1 Racing
Spyker F1
Spyker F1 Team was a Formula One team that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship, and was created by Spyker Cars after their buyout of the short-lived Midland F1 team...



(The team was disqualified from the German Grand Prix for running a flexible wing in contravention of the sport's technical regulations.)

External links

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