Spyker F1
Encyclopedia
Spyker F1 Team 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...

 team that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship
2007 Formula One season
The 2007 Formula One season was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, which began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen events. The Drivers' Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the...

, and was created by 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...

 after their buyout of the short-lived Midland F1 team. The change to the Spyker name was accompanied by a switch in racing livery from the red and white previously used by Midland, to an orange and silver scheme—already seen on the Spyker Spyder GT2-R—orange being the national colour
National colours
National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols.Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have de facto national colours that have become well-known through popular use...

 and the auto racing colour of the Netherlands
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...

. At the end of the 2007 season the team was sold and 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...

.

Background

Although created in 2006, the team's roots can be traced back to the year , when it was founded as 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...

. The Silverstone
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and Banbury...

-based squad and facilities were bought by the Midland group in 2005 and re-named Midland F1 in 2006, before being 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...

 towards the end of the 2006 season.

The Buyout of Midland F1

Rumours had been floating about in the paddock throughout the mid-season about the possible sale of the team, less than two years after 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....

 originally bought it 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...

. Reports suggested a price tag of $128m, 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 9 September 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...

, a Dutch
Netherland
Netherland is a critically acclaimed novel by Joseph O'Neill. It concerns the life of a Dutchman living in New York in the wake of the September 11 attacks who takes up cricket and starts playing at the Staten Island Cricket Club.-Plot summary:...

 manufacturer of hand-built cars. Spyker paid $106.6 million for the team. On September 10 ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 commentators said that both Shnaider and former consultant Johnny Herbert
Johnny Herbert
John Paul Herbert is a British racing driver from England. He competed in Formula One, winning three races, and also in sports cars winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991 driving a Mazda 787B...

 were no longer involved in the team since the announcement of the sale.

Former Midland 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...

 were retained for the remaining part of the 2006 season, while it was also confirmed at Spyker's debut race in China that Albers would be staying with the successor team for the 2007 season. As part of the purchase of Midland by Spyker, the cars had a revised livery for the final three races of 2006. The name of the team also changed to Spyker MF1 Racing, as FIA regulations preclude a change of a team's name during a season but do allow for a sponsor name to be added to the front.

2007 season

The previous team boss of Midland, 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 into 2007. 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....

 became the Chief Technology Officer from the end of the 2006 season.

The team used customer Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

 engines in 2007, replacing the 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...

 units, which went to the Williams
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...

 team. Although the team remained based in the UK, it chose to register under the Dutch motor racing authority and therefore run under the Dutch flag during 2007, reflecting its new ownership.

For the second race driver, Spyker signed one of their 2006 third drivers, 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...

, to drive for the team in 2007. The official FIA entry list for 2007 was posted on various websites on December 4, 2006, and on the list the Spyker F1 Team was assigned car numbers 20 and 21, but only 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...

' name was made official on the entry list, with the second seat, and car number 21 left TBA, since Sutil had not been confirmed at the time. However, the car numbers were swapped inside the team as Albers wanted to drive a car with an odd number, hence Albers (and later Winkelhock and Yamamoto) raced with number 21 and Sutil 20. Spyker signed four test and reserve drivers for the 2007 season: Adrián Vallés
Adrian Valles
Adrián Vallés is a Spanish race car driver.-Career:After a strong karting career, he drove in Spanish Formula Three, before moving to the World Series by Nissan in 2004. The series was renamed World Series by Renault in 2005 while he continued in the series, finishing 2nd in the standings with two...

, Fairuz Fauzy, Giedo van der Garde
Giedo van der Garde
Giedo van der Garde is a Dutch racing driver.-Karting:Van der Garde has a successful karting career, winning the Dutch championship in 1998...

 and 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...

.

In March, Spyker announced a sponsor deal with Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates. Established in July 2003 and based at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad commenced operations in November 2003....

 and Aldar Properties
Aldar Properties
Aldar Properties PJSC is a real estate development, management and investment company with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...

, two companies from Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...

, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

. The official name of the entrant during the season was Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team.

On July 10, Albers was released from his Spyker contract, due to a lack of sponsorship money, which would have compromised the team's development programme. Mol described it as "one of the toughest decisions of my career". Despite former 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...

 driver Christian Klien
Christian Klien
Christian Klien is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver. In total he has scored 14 points in Formula One.Klien currently drives for Aston Martin Racing in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup-Racing career:...

 testing for the team on July 12, 2007, Albers' replacement for the 2007 European Grand Prix
2007 European Grand Prix
The 2007 European Grand Prix was the tenth race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from 20 to July 22 at the Nürburgring....

 was Winkelhock.

During the 2007 European Grand Prix
2007 European Grand Prix
The 2007 European Grand Prix was the tenth race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from 20 to July 22 at the Nürburgring....

, Winkelhock became the only driver to lead a Grand Prix in a Spyker, due to the team's tyre selection. However, Winkelhock did not keep his race drive as this went to Sakon Yamamoto
Sakon Yamamoto
is a Japanese racing driver. He competed in 21 Formula One Grands Prix during the and 2007 and 2010 seasons.- Before Formula One:Yamamoto began his racing career in 1994 at the Suzuka Circuit Racing School , and worked his way up through the ranks, to become the test/third driver for the Jordan...

.

In August, the new B-Spec Spyker model, which the team hoped to use at the 2007 Turkish Grand Prix
2007 Turkish Grand Prix
The 2007 Turkish Grand Prix was the twelfth race of the 2007 Formula One season. Won by Felipe Massa, it was held from 24 to August 26 at the Istanbul Park in Istanbul. It was the third time a Formula One race had been held here...

, failed the crucial rear crash test which is set by the FIA. All cars must pass these tests to be allowed to race. However, a few days later it was confirmed that the car had passed the crash test in time to compete in the Italian Grand Prix
2007 Italian Grand Prix
The 2007 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held from 7 to 9 September 2007 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy. It was the thirteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season....

.

On September 30 at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix
2007 Japanese Grand Prix
The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 September, 2007 at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Shizuoka. The race, contested over 67 laps, 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...

, the team scored its first championship point. Driver Sutil finished 9th on the track, but was promoted to 8th place and into the points scoring positions when stewards ruled post-race that Toro Rosso's Vitantonio Liuzzi
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi is an Italian race driver who is currently racing in Formula One for the HRT F1 Team. He has homes in Lugano, Switzerland and Pescara, Italy.-Karting:...

 had overtaken Sutil under a yellow flag on lap 55; Liuzzi was subsequently given a 25 second penalty that dropped his time below Sutil's.

On August 14, Spyker Cars announced that it might need to sell all or part of the team due to a potential split of the team from its parent company. The team was sold to a consortium named "Orange India" led by Indian businessman 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 Dutch entrepreneur (and existing board member) Michiel Mol after approval by Spyker's shareholders. Mallya attended the Chinese Grand Prix as team owner. The team was renamed 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...

for the 2008
2008 Formula One season
The 2008 Formula One season was the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 16 March and ended on 2 November with eighteen Grand Prix races....

 season.

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 Points WCC
2007
2007 Formula One season
The 2007 Formula One season was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, which began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen events. The Drivers' Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the...

Spyker F8-VII
Spyker F8-VII
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...


Spyker F8-VIIB
Spyker F8-VII
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...

Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

 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....

AUS
2007 Australian Grand Prix
The 2007 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 March 2007 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2007 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after...

MAL
2007 Malaysian Grand Prix
The IX Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 8 April 2007 at the Sepang International Circuit and the second race of the 2007 Formula One season. Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso won the race from second on the grid, with McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton...

BHR
2007 Bahrain Grand Prix
The 2007 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race and is the third round of the 2007 Formula One season. It took place on the weekend of the 13–15 April at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain....

ESP
2007 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2007 Gran Premio de España Telefónica was a Formula One motor race, fourth round of the 2007 Formula One season, won by Felipe Massa. It was held on the weekend of 11–13 May at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.-Background:...

MON
2007 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2007 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race and was the fifth round of the 2007 Formula One season. It took place from 24–27 May at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo. The race itself commenced at 14:00 CET , Sunday, May 27, and lasted about 1 hour and 40 minutes...

CAN
2007 Canadian Grand Prix
The 2007 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 June 2007, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. It was the sixth race of the 2007 Formula One season...

USA
2007 United States Grand Prix
The 2007 United States Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was also the last Formula 1 race held in the United States. It was held on 15–17 June at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway...

FRA
2007 French Grand Prix
The 2007 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 1, 2007 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France. It was the eighth race of the 2007 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from...

GBR
2007 British Grand Prix
The 2007 British Grand Prix was the ninth race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from July 6 to July 8 at the Silverstone Circuit. The race was won by Kimi Räikkönen after overtaking pole position driver Lewis Hamilton during the first round of pit stops...

EUR
2007 European Grand Prix
The 2007 European Grand Prix was the tenth race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from 20 to July 22 at the Nürburgring....

HUN
2007 Hungarian Grand Prix
The 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix was the eleventh race of the 2007 Formula One season, held between 3 to 5 August at the Hungaroring racing track in Budapest...

TUR
2007 Turkish Grand Prix
The 2007 Turkish Grand Prix was the twelfth race of the 2007 Formula One season. Won by Felipe Massa, it was held from 24 to August 26 at the Istanbul Park in Istanbul. It was the third time a Formula One race had been held here...

ITA
2007 Italian Grand Prix
The 2007 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held from 7 to 9 September 2007 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy. It was the thirteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season....

BEL
2007 Belgian Grand Prix
The 2007 Belgian Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season, returning to the F1 calendar after a year's absence. It was held on 16 September at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium....

JPN
2007 Japanese Grand Prix
The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 September, 2007 at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Shizuoka. The race, contested over 67 laps, 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...

CHN
2007 Chinese Grand Prix
The 2007 Chinese Grand Prix was the sixteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held on 5–7 October at Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China. The race was won by Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen with Fernando Alonso finishing second and Felipe Massa finishing third...

BRA
2007 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix was the seventeenth and last race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from 19 to October 21 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo. The Championship was decided in the race, which was won by Kimi Räikkönen...

1 10th
  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...

17 Ret 15 13 Ret Ret 14 17 Ret Ret 17 21 19 14 8 Ret Ret
  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 Ret 14 14 19 Ret 15 Ret 15
  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...

Ret
  Sakon Yamamoto
Sakon Yamamoto
is a Japanese racing driver. He competed in 21 Formula One Grands Prix during the and 2007 and 2010 seasons.- Before Formula One:Yamamoto began his racing career in 1994 at the Suzuka Circuit Racing School , and worked his way up through the ranks, to become the test/third driver for the Jordan...

Ret 20 20 17 12 17 Ret

External links

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