1980 Classic GP Manager

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

errm, no
pay drivers have a 1 year contract by default so his contract expired

I could of renewed it (Again, lucky I didn't. Are you questioning my decisions? )

 

[TTupsi]

1980 Formula 1 season ready to get underway!

The Formula 1 1980 silly season is nearing its end and the RDFIA is happy to announce the list of teams and drivers for the upcoming season. All 15 teams that participated in 1979 are returning to the grid, a couple of them with new team principals. They will be joined by ATS that makes a welcome return to the series after missing the 1979 season, and a brand new team called Osella. Let's see what the field looks like.

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.
Of the two tyre manufacturers taking part in F1, Michelin was the more succesful one in 1979 winning 14 out of the 15 races and the Michelin teams Ferrari, Williams and Tyrrell taking the top-3 places in the constructor's standings. The only Goodyear win came Long Beach when Keke Rosberg brought his McLaren first over the finish line.

Understandably it came out as a huge surprise when Ferrari announced they will be switching to the Goodyear camp. Moving to the French camp was Arrows who are looking to improve their form after a mixed season last year.

Tyre contracts:

Michelin teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Arrows - 3
Tyrrell - 2
Williams - 1

Goodyear teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Ferrari - 2
Brabham - 2
Fittipaldi - 2
Shadow - 2
Wolf - 2
Alfa Romeo - 2
ATS - 2
McLaren - 1
Lotus - 1
Renault - 1
Ensign - 1
Ligier - 1
Rebaque - 1
Osella - 1


Movin on to the engine supplier deals.
Ford was by far once again the preferred engine choice. Alfa Romeo was prepared to supply one customer team but the demand wasn't as high as the year before, perhaps because of the little success the factory team and Brabham achieved last year. It was Wolf however to get the customer deal in the hope of an improved performance after their contract with Matra ran out.

The French engine manufacturer announced earlier this year already that they will be returning to the sport with full factory support after suuplying Ligier and Wolf with 1978-spec engines last season. Ligier will continue their long affiliation with Matra.

Engine contracts:

Ford teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Tyrrell - 2
Fittipaldi - 2
Lotus - 2
Shadow - 2
Ensign - 2
Williams - 2
Brabham - 1
McLaren - 2
Arrows - 1
Rebaque - 1
Osella - 1

Alfa teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Wolf - 2
Alfa Romeo

Matra teams
Team name - contract length (seasons)
Ligier - 1

Ferrari and Renault use in-house engines.


Then the moment we've all been waiting for - bring in the drivers!
The bidding process of this season didn't see as big shocks as last year. Many teams retained one or two of their drivers, most notably Ferrari who will continue with their succesful lineup from last year. The bidding also saw a few interesting returns to the grid as the three experienced Frenchmen Patrick Depailler, Jacques Laffite and Jean-Pierre Jarier are back in action.

There will be one more French driver in the grid too as Shadow was able to lure in the up-an-coming Alain Prost who was unstoppable in the European Formula Three championship last season. Winning seven out of the 12 races Prost collected a total of 67 points, an incredible 39 points more than the second placed Michael Bleekemolen who will also return to F1 this season behind the wheel of ATS.

Below you can see how the biddng process unfolded.


Ferrari
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#1 Carlos Reutemann - 2
#2 Alan Jones - 1

Ferrari retains their succesful duo from 1979. World Champion Carlos Reutemann enters his fourth season in the Maranello team and will surely be the man to beat this season. Alan Jones won "only" two races last season and will be hoping to mount a more serios challenge for his teammate. The big question however is how will the team adapt to Goodyear tyres?


Tyrrell
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#3 Jody Scheckter - 2
#4 Didier Pironi - 2

Jody Scheckter enters this season as one of the title favourites. Four wins last year, including winning the last two races of the season secured third place in the drivers' championship standing for the South African. Same engine, tyres and promising teammate Didier Pironi, everything is set for a succesfull season!


Brabham
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#5 Riccardo Patrese - 2
#6 Jacky Ickx - 2

Brabham had the worst season of their history in 1979. Patrese's sixth place in the season opener kept the team's hopes high but in the end it was t be the team's only point of the year as the BT48 chassis proved to be slow and unreliable. Underpowered Alfa engines had to go and the team now uses Ford engines. Patrese and Ickx both have 2 years left on their contracts but for how long if the struggle continues?


McLaren
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#7 Keke Rosberg - 1
#8 Nigel Mansell - 3

1972 and 1974 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi rejoined McLaren last season with hopes a return to the winner's circle. After scoring four points and being annihilated by his younger teammate, the Brazilian packed his bags and is now racing in the CART series in America. Rosberg who had a promising season last year is promoted to #1 driver and he will be joined by promising Nigel Mansell who finished 8th in the British F3 championship last season.


Fittipaldi
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#9 Niki Lauda - 1
#10 Patrick Depailler - 2

This time last year the GP world was shocked to read the news of Niki Lauda joining Fittipaldi on a two-year deal. It's fair to say his season was a succesful one. Scoring two podium finishes the Austrian double World Champion went on to finish 9th in the standings. This season he will be partnered by the returning veteran Patrick Depailler. Together they are forming arguably one of the most competitive driver line-up of all. It remains to be seen if the new F6 chassis will be any improvement.


Lotus
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#11 Eddie Cheever - 1
#12 Derek Daly - 1

The reigning world champions shocked many last year by signing two rookie drivers after dominating the 1978 season. The youngster certainly didn't perform badly as they scored a compbined total of five podiums during the season but this year they are surely expected to fare even better if they want to keep their seats after this season.


Renault
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#15 Gilles Villeneuve - 1
#16 René Arnoux - 2

Renault has a new team principal this season following the departure of the previous. Despite the change in management, the team will return to grid with the same package as last season. Villeneuve enters the second season of his his contract and Arnoux, despite having a difficult season last year, was resigned for two years. The big question will once again be; has the reliability of the turbo engine improved at all?


Shadow
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#17 Alain Prost - 2
#18 Jochen Mass - 1

After barely getting dodging the pre-qualifying for this season following Patrick Gaillard's 4th place in the season finale, Shadow is now really looking to keep the form up. Experienced Jochen Mass joins from Team Rebaque, probably to be a mentor for the highly-regarded youngster Alain Prost who is rumoured to enjoy one of the healthies paychecks in the paddock. Without a doubt one of the most interesting teams to keep an eye on!


Wolf
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#19 James Hunt - 1
#20 Stefan Johansson - 1

The team joined F1 three years ago in a thunderous way by the team's debut GP but since then they have been in the decline. Hunt managed only two points last season but this year the rubbish Matra engines have gone as the team now uses Alfa power. Combined with the former World Champion James Hunt behind the wheel it's very hard to predict how the team will perform this season, especially after the management of the team has changed as well!


Ensign
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#21 Jean-Pierre Jabouille - 2
#22 Bobby Rahal - 1

Despite being the only driver classified as Non-Classified in the drivers' standings last season, experienced Frenchman Jabouille was able to keep his seat in the small Ensign team. Bobby Rahal had a decent rookie season with Shadow that earned him a drive for this season too. Just qualifying for the races will be a good achievement for Ensign.


Alfa Romeo
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#23 Bruno Giacomelli - 2
#24 Clay Regazzoni - 1

Swiss veteran Clay Regazzoni resigned with the Italian factory outfit for another season and will be partnered by former European F2 champion Bruno Giacomelli. Youth vs. experience is an interesting combination but the deciding factor for this season's success will undoubtly be the performance of the upgraded engine and the new chassis 179.1.


Ligier
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#25 Noritake Takahara - 1
#26 Patrick Tambay - 1

Ligier retains their driver line-up from 1979. Eigth place in the constructor's standings wasn't quite what was expected of the French team but following Matra's return to factory support will certainly boost their engine power. A lot will depend on the drivers too as neither of them has really showed anything magic during their short career so far. An important season ahead for both of them!


Williams
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#27 Nelson Piquet - 1
#28 Elio de Angelis - 2

Willaims surprised many last year by signing two inexperienced young guns as their drivers but in the end the risk paid out nicely as the duo was able to command the British team to second in the constructor's standings, de Angelis' win in Monza as their highlight of the season. Nothing has changed from last season and with more experience under their belt, the two might actually be title contenders this season!


Arrows
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#29 Jacques Laffite - 3
#30 Hans Binder - 1

Last year Arrows fielded cars for two pay-drivers and despite having a promising start to the season, it ended in a negative tone after all as reliability issues marred the second half of the season. This year Arrows signed an experienced and a proven driver Jacques Laffite to spearhead their bid to score more points. Binder in the second seat has much lower expectations. New A3 chassis with Michelin tyres has every chance to provide a good season.


Rebaque
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#31 Jean-Pierre Jarier - 1
#32 Héctor Rebaque - 1

Following Jochen Mass' departure to Shadow, Team Rebaque was forced to look elsewhere for a new driver. 33-year old Jean-Pierre Jarier was the driver they chose. The Frenchman has one podium finish 1974 and isn't probably the most talented driver in the field but together with team boss Héctor Rebaque forms a duo that can spring a surprise from time to time.


ATS
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#33 Andrea de Cesaris - 2
#34 Michael Bleekemolen - 2

ATS return to Formula 1 after one year's absence with a very interesting driver pairing. De Cesaris finished 2nd in the British F3 championship last season with six wins in 20 races while Bleekemolen finished 2nd in the Europen F3 championship. Definitely not a bad duo but how will the rookies do if and when the car isn't competitive and getting through pre-qualifying proves difficult?


Osella
Driver name - contract length (seasons)
#35 Renzo Zorzi - 1
#36 Beppe Gabbiani - 1

After achieving good results in minor formulae the Italian Osella team joins F1 with an all-Italian driver duo. Zorzi raced with Arrows last season scoring one point and will probably be the better of the two. 22-year old Gabbiani took part in the last two races of 1978 but failed to qualify for the race. All in all it looks to be a very difficult season for the team and a race start would probably feel like a victory for them.


1980 Formula 1 line-ups

- - -

I will update the conversations now. Third post of this thread will be updated tomorrow with all the tables of this season. I'll post the testing info etc. tomorrow also.

 

[Aidan Keranen]

Moustaches win races boys. Seems 1980 is ours for the taking.

 

[Joel]

Phew, got the drivers.

To be honest, I was a bit confused with multi-season contracts That's why I "accidentally" got Goodyear

 

[the_sigman]

Got the lineup I wanted

Let's attack!

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

Happy with my driver lineup. We are glad that we have signed Johansson. He has a huge amount of talent for a pay driver and we look forward to working with him. We are glad that Hunt has stayed for another season. Hopefully we can have a successful season and maybe score a couple podiums with our new chassis which will be introduced at round 4 hopefully

Also we our proud to be using Alfa Romeo engines and hope its an improvement from the Matra engines we used last season

 

[Deleted member 161052]

Hoped for a different driver in my team. But everything's just the same!

 

[Milos]

yeah!
We didn't quite get any of the Ferrari drivers but Lafitte was right behind them on my shortlist

also, I am very proud to have snatched up Michelin

That's why I "accidentally" got Goodyear

yeah, thanks for that

 

[Omer Said]

Yay! Shadow is extremely happy to sign a two years contract with this promising young French!

 

[Millsy24]

in before Osella 1-2 in first race

 

[Donaldinho105]

Woohoo, my dutch matey is on my team as well

 

[Milos]

I'll post the testing info etc. tomorrow also.

 

[Joel]

Please Goodyear, if you want more money just tell me babe.

 

[TTupsi]

RDFIA announces pre-season test date
The official RDFIA pre-season test is due to be run on Monday 27th of July. Deadline for signing up for the is on Monday at 10:00 EEST. Paul Ricard has been chosen to host the tests.

You can sign up to the tests either in this thread or in our conversation. When signing up you should indicate whether you want your engineers to develop performance or reliability during the test. Testing costs 500cr but is more efficient than any other mean of development.

Note! Only the chassis used during the tests gains development! So if you are currently building a new chassis, you should really consider if you want to spend 500cr on testing (and developing) your current chassis soon to be replaced by the new one.

Please ask any questions you have about the tests.

- - -

In other news RDFIA also announces that the first race of the season, the Argentine GP is due to be run on 3rd of August.

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

Wolf Announce They Won't Take Part In The Test


Wolf boss Andy Graham has stated that Wolf won't be at the Preseason test at Paul Ricard

"We have no interest in developing the old WR7 chassis. We would like to spend out money on developing the new WR8 chassis so we can be very competitive and get out of pre qualifying by mid season"

 

[Joel]

Ferrari annoy ces they will take part in pre-season testing

Due to the worries of the Goodyear deal, Ferrari has announced they need every advantage they can, resulting in a contribution to the pre-season testing.

I really wanna pay Goodyear more to give me better tyres. Don't fail me

 

[TTupsi]

I really wanna pay Goodyear more to give me better tyres. Don't fail me

Sorry, it the tyres will be same for all Goodyear teams.

But manufacturers having two tiers of tyres (pun intended) is something that could happen in the coming seasons

 

[kedy89]

But manufacturers having two tiers of tyres (pun intended) is something that could happen in the coming seasons

Sound nice, qualifying slicks

 

[TTupsi]

Sound nice, qualifying slicks

Waiting for Pirelli to join the series

 

[Deleted member 161052]

Ligier to take part in pre-season test
Ligier announced that they will take part in the season's pre-season test. With everything "being the same" from the team's, themselves and their chassis, the FRA-01, hoping for a slightly better season in 1980 after a half-average season with a podium finish from the first half and all finishes from Takahara from the second half back in 1979.

With the Goodyear tyres and the "cheap and weak" Matra engine for 1980, Ligier wants the Matra engine to be powerful, if they can.