F1 MANIA

Juan Pablo Montoya

2008-02-28T05:04:00.000-08:00

uan Pablo Montoya Roldán (born September 20, 1975, in Bogotá, Colombia) is a race car driver in NASCAR for Chip Ganassi Racing and a former Formula One and Indycar driver. He has enjoyed great success, most famously in top open wheel racing series.

The highlights of his career include winning the International F3000 championship in 1998, and the CART Championship Series in 1999, as well as victories in some of the most prestigious races in the world. He is the only driver to have won the premier North American open-wheel CART title, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona, all at the first attempt. Montoya is one of two drivers to have won the CART title in his rookie year, the other driver being Nigel Mansell. He has also equalled Graham Hill's feat of being a Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500 race winner; Montoya is currently the only active driver who has won two legs of the Triple Crown of Motorsport.

Montoya has also become a crossover race winner by taking victories in Formula One cars, Champcars, IndyCars, Grand-Am Prototype cars and stock cars; the only other driver to accomplish such a feat is Mario Andretti. Montoya is also the only driver to have competed in all three major events at Indianapolis, the Indianapolis 500, the US Grand Prix, and the Brickyard 400.

Michael Schumacher

2008-02-28T05:01:00.000-08:00

Michael Schumacher born January 3, 1969, in Hürth Hermülheim, Germany) is a former Formula One driver, and seven-time world champion. According to the official Formula One website, he is "statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen".He is the first German to win the Formula One World championship^[3] and is credited with popularising Formula One in Germany.In a 2006 FIA survey, Michael Schumacher was voted the most popular driver among Formula One fans.

After winning two championships with Benetton, Schumacher moved to Ferrari in 1996 and won five consecutive drivers' titles with them from 2000-2004. Schumacher holds many records in Formula One, including most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season. Schumacher is the first and only Formula One driver to have an entire season of podium finishes (2002). His driving sometimes created controversy: he was twice involved in collisions that determined the outcome of the world championship, most notably his disqualification from the 1997 championship for causing a collision with Jacques Villeneuve. After the 2006 Formula One season Schumacher retired from race driving. He was an assistant to Scuderia Ferrari CEO Jean Todt for the 2007 Formula One season.

Off the track, Schumacher is an ambassador for UNESCO and a spokesman for driver safety. He has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts throughout his life. He is the elder brother of former Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher

Ferrari

2008-02-28T04:59:00.000-08:00

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian Sport Car Manufacture based in Maranello and Modena, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferari in 1929 as Scuderia Fer , the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari S.p.A.. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in formula 1 , where it has largely enjoyed great success, especially during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, late 1990s, and 2000s. After years of financial struggles, Enzo Ferrari sold the company's sports car division to the Fiat group in 1969 to ensure continued financial backing. Enzo Ferrari retained control of the racing division until his death in 1988 at the age of 90. Earlier that year he had overseen the launch of the Ferrari F40; the last new Ferrari to be launched before his death.