1979 Classic GP Manager
- Thread starter TTupsi
- Start date
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Disagree here, we had 5 days, during which he was online. To quote what I said some time ago in the Formula Manager thread:
1979 Formula 1 team line-ups unveiled!
Following the decision to nullify all existing contracts after the 1978 season and to give every team a fair chance at signing their preferred drivers and manufacturers, a brand-new bidding system was instated. Almost all bids were submitted before deadline and now the bids have been processed and we've got the results!
If you wish to just see the results of the bidding you can go straight to the end of this post.
Let's start with the tyre supplier deals.
Overall Goodyear was the preferred choice with about a third of the grid bidding for Michelin. Michelin however informed RDFIA that they can only supply three teams in 1979 so a few bidders had to be let down.
Tyre contracts:
Michelin teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Tyrrell - 3
Ferrari - 1
Williams - 2
Goodyear teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Lotus - 2
Brabham - 3
McLaren - 1
Renault - 2
Shadow - 3
Wolf - 1
Ensign - 1
Alfa Romeo - 1
Ligier - 2
Arrows - 1
Rebaque - 1
Movin on to the engine supplier deals.
Unsurprisingly the succesful Ford Cosworth was the most popular choice here. A few mid-pack and smaller teams went for Matra whereas a couple of bigger teams tried to sign Alfa V12s. Unfortunately Alfa could only supply one team (along with the works team) with the new 1260 V12 engine so a few teams had to settle for Ford that was often the 2nd choice.
Engine contracts:
Ford teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Lotus - 3
Tyrrell - 3
McLaren - 2
Fittipaldi - 3
Shadow - 3
Ensign - 3
Williams - 3
Arrows - 2
Rebaque - 1
Alfa teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Brabham - 1
Alfa Romeo
Matra teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Wolf - 1
Ligier - 2
Ferrari and Renault use in-house engines.
Then the moment we've all been waiting for - bring in the drivers!
The driver bidding was one with many surprises. First surprise was the general emphasis on young talent many managers had chosen. A number talented drivers - including reigning world champion Mario Andretti were left out in the cold by 20-something drivers! The biggest shock however was undoubtly the team choice of Niki Lauda. The Austrian double world champion received many good offers but no one could have guessed the team he decided to chose. Money talks they say.
Below you can see how the biddng process unfolded.
Lotus
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Eddie Cheever - 2
Derek Daly - 2
Unable to sign more experienced drivers the reigning world driver's and constructors' champion Lotus shocked many by announcing two talented youngsters as their drivers. The two have only started a combined total of seven GPs! It remains to be seen whether this risky tactic pays off or not.
Tyrrell
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Jody Scheckter - 3
Didier Pironi - 3
Tyrrell has a very interesting line-up of experience and talent. Pironi had a decent debut season with the team in 1978 and is expected to build on that. Scheckter sort of returns home after spending two seasons at Wolf with mixed results. Three-year contracts with both drivers as well as with Ford and Michelin means the team has the future well worked out.
Brabham
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Riccardo Patrese - 3
Jacky Ickx - 3
Another very interesting line-up! Former European F3 champion Patrese had a great season with Arrows in 1978 which earned him a move to a bigger team. He is joined by veteran driver Jacky Ickx who has struggled for results the past seasons. Can the young Italian reignite Jacky's speed?
McLaren
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Emerson Fittipaldi - 1
Keke Rosberg - 2
Double world champion Emerson Fittipaldi makes a surprise return to McLaren! Three-year stint in his brother's team didn't bring the kind of results Emerson had expected so the return to Woking based team was the logical move. He is partenered by a talented Finn, Keke Rosberg, whose impressive win in a non-championship race at stormy Silverstone last year in a Theodore surely was a contributing factor to this deal.
Fittipaldi
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Niki Lauda - 2
Rupert Keegan - 1
Yes, you read it correctly. Double WC Niki Lauda pulls off the shock of the century and moves to Fittipaldi. Surely no one saw this one coming? His partner in the quest of raising Fittipaldi up the grid will be talented English youngster Rupert Keegan whose F1 career has so far been very difficult.
Ferrari
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Carlos Reutemann - 1
??? - ?
Argentinian veteran received only one offer and was more than happy to return to Ferrari after a succesfull 1978 season. Surprisingly, the team was unable to sign a second driver. Has the prancing horse perhaps lost some of its glory? Luckily there are still many good drivers available so there is no reason to panic.
Renault
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Gilles Villeneuve - 2
René Arnoux - 1
Renaul missed the deadline for the bidding but was luckily still let in. The RDFIA decision did't make ay differece though as Renault was the only driver to bid on Villeneuve and Arnoux. The two have shown they have an immense talent but will their relative inexperience be an issue? Nevertheless Renault is one team to watch!
Shadow
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Bobby Rahal - 1
Patrick Gaillard - 1
Shadow has been tight on money for as long as they have existed and this is evident in their driver policy. Two rookie pay-drivers bring vital money to the team but how will they perform?
Wolf
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
James Hunt - 2
Jan Lammers - 1
Wolf's short span in F1 has been very succesful so far and they are definitely looking to build on past seasons' success. 1976 world champion James Hunt is brought abourd to help move the team forward. His team-mate will be the reigning European F3 champion Jan Lammers.
Ensign
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
??? - ?
Alberto Colombo - 1
Like Ferrari, Ensign was only able to sign one driver. The team tried sign a number of talented youngsters but lost all bidding wars to bigger teams. Luckily there are still a few good drivers without a contract. Rookie Colombo as the second driver isn't particularly young any more but is bringing money to the team.
Alfa Romeo
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Clay Regazzoni - 1
Harald Ertl - 1
Alfa Romeo was able to lure in a big fish when the experienced Swiss Clay Regazzoni joined the team. An exprerienced driver like Regazzoni might be just what Alfa Romeo needs to reach the top of the grid. Harald Ertl as the second driver is bringing in vital development money.
Ligier
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Noritake Takahara - 1
Patrick Tambay - 2
Ligier manager must know something other managers don't know. Signing an unknown Japanese driver as the number 1 driver seems like risky business but perhaps there is some hidden logic behind the move. Anyway it will be very interesting to see how Takahara will fare behind the wheel of a competitive car. He is partnered by former Can Am champion Patrick Tambay who had a decent season in 1978 with McLaren.
Williams
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Nelson Piquet - 2
Elio de Angelis - 3
This must be the most interesting line-up of all. Rookie Nelson Piquet raced a few GPs last season while crushing Jackie Stewart's win record by winning eight of the possible 17 races and dominating the British F3 Championship. He is joined by another huge talent, Elio de Angelis, who also participated in one British F3 Championship round last season, winning the race. Talent is there but will the inexperience show in their results?
Arrows
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Renzo Zorzi - 1
Emilio de Villota - 1
Riccardo Patrese was able to snatch a podium finish last season for the newly-formed team. Unable to keep Patrese however the team succumbed to the unpopular solution of selling their seats for the highest bidders. Zorzi and de Villota aren't bad drivers by any means but surely the team could've been a bit more ambitious?
Rebaque
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Jochen Mass - 1
Héctor Rebaque - 1
After spending a season racing a privately entered Lotus 78, Rebaqe decided to found his own team. Rebaque owns and drives for the team but doesn't get involved in the everyday-running of the team. Jochen Mass as the other driver is a reliable and experienced choice but perhaps unlikely to do ay heroics.
1979 Formula 1 line-ups
Following the decision to nullify all existing contracts after the 1978 season and to give every team a fair chance at signing their preferred drivers and manufacturers, a brand-new bidding system was instated. Almost all bids were submitted before deadline and now the bids have been processed and we've got the results!
If you wish to just see the results of the bidding you can go straight to the end of this post.
Let's start with the tyre supplier deals.
Overall Goodyear was the preferred choice with about a third of the grid bidding for Michelin. Michelin however informed RDFIA that they can only supply three teams in 1979 so a few bidders had to be let down.
Tyre contracts:
Michelin teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Tyrrell - 3
Ferrari - 1
Williams - 2
Goodyear teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Lotus - 2
Brabham - 3
McLaren - 1
Renault - 2
Shadow - 3
Wolf - 1
Ensign - 1
Alfa Romeo - 1
Ligier - 2
Arrows - 1
Rebaque - 1
Movin on to the engine supplier deals.
Unsurprisingly the succesful Ford Cosworth was the most popular choice here. A few mid-pack and smaller teams went for Matra whereas a couple of bigger teams tried to sign Alfa V12s. Unfortunately Alfa could only supply one team (along with the works team) with the new 1260 V12 engine so a few teams had to settle for Ford that was often the 2nd choice.
Engine contracts:
Ford teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Lotus - 3
Tyrrell - 3
McLaren - 2
Fittipaldi - 3
Shadow - 3
Ensign - 3
Williams - 3
Arrows - 2
Rebaque - 1
Alfa teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Brabham - 1
Alfa Romeo
Matra teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Wolf - 1
Ligier - 2
Ferrari and Renault use in-house engines.
Then the moment we've all been waiting for - bring in the drivers!
The driver bidding was one with many surprises. First surprise was the general emphasis on young talent many managers had chosen. A number talented drivers - including reigning world champion Mario Andretti were left out in the cold by 20-something drivers! The biggest shock however was undoubtly the team choice of Niki Lauda. The Austrian double world champion received many good offers but no one could have guessed the team he decided to chose. Money talks they say.
Below you can see how the biddng process unfolded.
Lotus
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Eddie Cheever - 2
Derek Daly - 2
Unable to sign more experienced drivers the reigning world driver's and constructors' champion Lotus shocked many by announcing two talented youngsters as their drivers. The two have only started a combined total of seven GPs! It remains to be seen whether this risky tactic pays off or not.
Tyrrell
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Jody Scheckter - 3
Didier Pironi - 3
Tyrrell has a very interesting line-up of experience and talent. Pironi had a decent debut season with the team in 1978 and is expected to build on that. Scheckter sort of returns home after spending two seasons at Wolf with mixed results. Three-year contracts with both drivers as well as with Ford and Michelin means the team has the future well worked out.
Brabham
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Riccardo Patrese - 3
Jacky Ickx - 3
Another very interesting line-up! Former European F3 champion Patrese had a great season with Arrows in 1978 which earned him a move to a bigger team. He is joined by veteran driver Jacky Ickx who has struggled for results the past seasons. Can the young Italian reignite Jacky's speed?
McLaren
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Emerson Fittipaldi - 1
Keke Rosberg - 2
Double world champion Emerson Fittipaldi makes a surprise return to McLaren! Three-year stint in his brother's team didn't bring the kind of results Emerson had expected so the return to Woking based team was the logical move. He is partenered by a talented Finn, Keke Rosberg, whose impressive win in a non-championship race at stormy Silverstone last year in a Theodore surely was a contributing factor to this deal.
Fittipaldi
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Niki Lauda - 2
Rupert Keegan - 1
Yes, you read it correctly. Double WC Niki Lauda pulls off the shock of the century and moves to Fittipaldi. Surely no one saw this one coming? His partner in the quest of raising Fittipaldi up the grid will be talented English youngster Rupert Keegan whose F1 career has so far been very difficult.
Ferrari
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Carlos Reutemann - 1
??? - ?
Argentinian veteran received only one offer and was more than happy to return to Ferrari after a succesfull 1978 season. Surprisingly, the team was unable to sign a second driver. Has the prancing horse perhaps lost some of its glory? Luckily there are still many good drivers available so there is no reason to panic.
Renault
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Gilles Villeneuve - 2
René Arnoux - 1
Renaul missed the deadline for the bidding but was luckily still let in. The RDFIA decision did't make ay differece though as Renault was the only driver to bid on Villeneuve and Arnoux. The two have shown they have an immense talent but will their relative inexperience be an issue? Nevertheless Renault is one team to watch!
Shadow
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Bobby Rahal - 1
Patrick Gaillard - 1
Shadow has been tight on money for as long as they have existed and this is evident in their driver policy. Two rookie pay-drivers bring vital money to the team but how will they perform?
Wolf
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
James Hunt - 2
Jan Lammers - 1
Wolf's short span in F1 has been very succesful so far and they are definitely looking to build on past seasons' success. 1976 world champion James Hunt is brought abourd to help move the team forward. His team-mate will be the reigning European F3 champion Jan Lammers.
Ensign
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
??? - ?
Alberto Colombo - 1
Like Ferrari, Ensign was only able to sign one driver. The team tried sign a number of talented youngsters but lost all bidding wars to bigger teams. Luckily there are still a few good drivers without a contract. Rookie Colombo as the second driver isn't particularly young any more but is bringing money to the team.
Alfa Romeo
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Clay Regazzoni - 1
Harald Ertl - 1
Alfa Romeo was able to lure in a big fish when the experienced Swiss Clay Regazzoni joined the team. An exprerienced driver like Regazzoni might be just what Alfa Romeo needs to reach the top of the grid. Harald Ertl as the second driver is bringing in vital development money.
Ligier
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Noritake Takahara - 1
Patrick Tambay - 2
Ligier manager must know something other managers don't know. Signing an unknown Japanese driver as the number 1 driver seems like risky business but perhaps there is some hidden logic behind the move. Anyway it will be very interesting to see how Takahara will fare behind the wheel of a competitive car. He is partnered by former Can Am champion Patrick Tambay who had a decent season in 1978 with McLaren.
Williams
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Nelson Piquet - 2
Elio de Angelis - 3
This must be the most interesting line-up of all. Rookie Nelson Piquet raced a few GPs last season while crushing Jackie Stewart's win record by winning eight of the possible 17 races and dominating the British F3 Championship. He is joined by another huge talent, Elio de Angelis, who also participated in one British F3 Championship round last season, winning the race. Talent is there but will the inexperience show in their results?
Arrows
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Renzo Zorzi - 1
Emilio de Villota - 1
Riccardo Patrese was able to snatch a podium finish last season for the newly-formed team. Unable to keep Patrese however the team succumbed to the unpopular solution of selling their seats for the highest bidders. Zorzi and de Villota aren't bad drivers by any means but surely the team could've been a bit more ambitious?
Rebaque
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
Jochen Mass - 1
Héctor Rebaque - 1
After spending a season racing a privately entered Lotus 78, Rebaqe decided to found his own team. Rebaque owns and drives for the team but doesn't get involved in the everyday-running of the team. Jochen Mass as the other driver is a reliable and experienced choice but perhaps unlikely to do ay heroics.
1979 Formula 1 line-ups
So Andretti was snubbed. Interesting.
@Jarvis
@Steven Poirier
You failed to sign two drivers for the season. You have a second chance to sign drivers but unfortunately the salaries have gone up! Here is an updated available driver list.
Please submit your offer(s) asap. Remember to include salary and length of contract.
@Steven Poirier
You failed to sign two drivers for the season. You have a second chance to sign drivers but unfortunately the salaries have gone up! Here is an updated available driver list.
Please submit your offer(s) asap. Remember to include salary and length of contract.
Yeah, I was very suprised how many decided to pick drivers whose career are expected to peak in the mid-80's instead of drivers who are the peak of their career right now. Villeneuve would have been unemployed too if oldwolf hadn't rescued him!
e. Also, it was fun to watch Ferrari's horrible luck with the RNG. I never expected that they'd fail to sign two drivers
After a troublesome off-season with lots of changes, we're happy to announce that Didier Pironi has decided to remain with the team. He'll be partnered by Jody Scheckter, who returns after already having driven for us from '74 to '76, picking up 4 wins in that time and finishing 3rd in the drivers' championship twice.
We believe that this lineup has what it takes to return to the top 3 constructors in Formula One.
Surprised that noone picked Andretti, Jones, Watson, Laffite and Depailler
Last edited:
"fun to watch"e. Also, it was fun to watch Ferrari's horrible luck with the RNG. I never expected that they'd fail to sign two drivers
Let's see how this plays out. An expensive team leader and a pay driver to help him. Priority seems to be the drivers championship, but we will see how things play out.
No. Alfa engines are like any other.
No.just tried the A2 in F1 Challenge, I hope a 1:49.6 around Osterreichring is a good lap
http://www.statsf1.com/en/1979/autriche/qualification.aspx
Patrese did a 1:36.71
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