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F1 Lexicon Letters L-P

* A-E * F-K * L-P * Q-T * U-Z *
L
LAUDA, NIKI
    Lauda won his first World Championship in 1975. After a heroic comeback from a near fatal accident in 1976, the Austrian went on to win two World Championships in 77 and 84 with Ferrari and one with McLaren. In 1992 until 1996, he acted as an advisor to the Ferrari Team, and was hired in early 2001 by Jaguar as an operating officer.

 
LE MANS
    French racing track. Part of the famous 24 Heures du Mans circuit. The 4.442-km track hosted one edition of the French Grand Prix in 1967 which Jack Brabham won.

 
LINE
    The most ideal trajectory on straights and through corners for the fastest lap time. After rain, cars will sweep "the line" dry though the rest of the track remains damp.

 
LOLLIPOP MAN
    A pit crew member of Formula One who holds a long-handled fluorescent board in front of a driver during a pit stop. The board is not withdrawn until refueling and tire changes have been completed.

 
LOTUS
    Despite a horrible ending to a glorious career, Lotus was one of the more famous teams in F1 history. Operating for a 37-year period, the team was well known for it's technical and commercial prowess. In total , 47 wins were achieved, 107 pole positions, and 71 fastest laps.

 
LUXEMBOURG GRAND PRIX
    Also the European Grand Prix. The races have been held at the Nurburgring race track in south-west Germany.
M
MAGNY-COURS
    A town in central France to the south of Nevers and home to the French Grand Prix since 1991. The left-hand Grande Courbe and the Estoril right-hander form a testing and quick start to race and often catches drivers out. This is followed by a mixture of slow corners and tight hairpins. The slowest of these bends, called the Adelaide hairpin, is the best spot for overtaking, although its slow speed can be frustrating. This corner coupled with the final bend mean that the teams must concentrate on getting enough grip to keep their speed up.

 
MANSELL, NIGEL
    A World Champion in 1992, Briton Mansell is one of the F1’s greats, and was a character throughout his 15-year career. He drove for Lotus, Williams, Ferrari, and McLaren, starting 187 races, claiming 31 wins, 32 pole positions, 30 fastest laps, and 482 points. Mansell also won the CART Championship in 1993 before returning briefly to F1.

 
MARANELLO
    Home to the Ferrari Team, half way between Milan and Bologna in the north of Italy.

 
MAXIMUM CAPACITY
    The maximum capacity of a current Formula One engine cannot exceed 3000 cc. The capacity is the displacement described by the bore and stroke of an engine times the number of cylinders.

 
McLAREN
    Built by the World Championship F1 Constructor, the F1 super car is the fastest road car ever with staggering performance figures. It accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of nearly 390 km/h.

 
MELBOURNE
    This Australian city has played host to the Australian Grand Prix since 1996, when the race switched from Adelaide.

 
MERCEDES-BENZ
    Mercedes-Benz, incidentally the oldest motor manufacturer in the world, has been involved in motor racing from the start. Mercedes-Benz and McLaren agreed the start of their partnership in Formula One in 1994, the same time as the Stuttgart manufacturer celebrated the 100th anniversary of their success in the very first motor race. The race was a from Paris to Rouen on 22 July 1894. The first four cars to finish were powered by a 954cc V2 engine designed by Gottlieb Daimler. Daimler set the ball rolling and during the following century numerous races were won. For the Nice-Salon-Nice race of 1901 Daimler's cars appeared as Mercedes cars, owing their name to Daimler importer and racing driver Emil Jelinek's daughter Mercedes. Germany's Wilhelm Werner won in a Mercedes.

 
MICHELIN
    French tire manufacture

 
MINIMUM WEIGHT
    The minimum weight of an F1 car may not be less than 605 kg including the driver.

 
MOBIL
    European and U.S. based oil and lubricants supplier.

 
MONACO
    Principality on the French Riviera, to the east of Nice. Since 1955, Monaco has been the annual site of the Grand Prix De Monaco.

 
MONSANTO
    One-time site of the Portuguese Grand Prix (1959). Stirling Moss of Great Britain won the race in his Cooper T51 on this 5.42-km track.

 
MONT-TREMBLANT
    Situated north of Montreal. This 4.265-km circuit played host to the Grand Prix of Canada in 1968 and 1970.

 
MONTE CARLO
    Annual site of the Monaco Grand Prix. Municipal configuration of the Principality of Monaco. The most glamorous race on the GP calendar would never make it to the start line if Formula One was starting from scratch. This infamous street circuit is unlike any other. It is narrow, and most of the corners give little room for one car, let alone to overtake. A good grid position is essential to win.

 
MONTEZEMOLO, DI LUCA
    A law graduate, this Italian is the president of Ferrari SpA. In recent times, Montezemolo has been working with a re-formed Ferrari team to bring success back to the Italian outfit.

 
MONTJUICH PARK
    Race track near Madrid, Spain, 3.79-km in length. Host to the Spanish Grand Prix in 1969, 1971, 1973 and 1975.

 
MONTREAL
    Canadian city in the province of Quebec. Permanent home to the Grand Prix of Canada since 1978. Emotional winner In 1978, Gilles Villeneuve (father of 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve) won the first Canadian Grand Prix.

 
MONZA
    The Monza Circuit is found fifteen miles north-east of Milan. Since 1950 this has been home to the Italian Grand Prix apart from 1980. It was built in 1922 and is 5.8 km long.

 
MOSLEY, MAX
    President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile FIA.

 
MOSPORT
    Road circuit near Bowmanville, to the east of Toronto. Home of the Grand Prix of Canada in 1967, 1969 and 1971-77.

 
MUGEN HONDA
    This Japanese engine development company, run by Hirotoshi Honda, first entered F1 in 1992 with Footwork-Arrows. Proved successful with the Jordan team in 1999 taking three win but bowed out of the series at the end of the following year.

 
MOUNT FUJI CIRCUIT
    Site of the Japanese Grand Prix in 1976-77. In 1987, it moved to Suzuka, near Nagoya.
N
NEWEY, ADRIAN
    Esteemed engineer and designer. Made a major contribution to the successful Williams teams in the 1990s before leaving at the end of 1997 to join West McLaren Mercedes. He led the team to the Constructors' Championship a year later.

 
NIVELLES
    City south of Brussels. This 3.724-km circuit was site of the Belgian Grand Prix in 1972 and 1974. Both races were run on and were won by Emerson Fittipaldi (Brazilian), in a Lotus 72D in 1972, and a McLaren M23 in 1974.

 
NURBURGRING
    The only Formula One track which played host to three different F1 races: the German GP, the European GP, and the Luxembourg GP. The current Nürburgring spans 4.556- km and is located close to the Eifel Mountains in southeastern Germany. The original, 14-mile long Nürburgring was commissioned in the 1930s in order to combat local unemployment and from 1951-76 was home to the German Grand Prix, apart from 1959 (Berlin) and 1970 (Hockenheim). The new Nürburgring played host to the European Grand Prix in 1984. It was for a short time site of the Luxembourg Grand Prix. Nowadays it hosts the Grand Prix of Europe.
O
OBSERVER POSTS
    These are strategic positions placed around a Grand Prix circuit where F.I.A. observers watch for driving infringements, the actions of corner and safety crews and the recovery of stranded vehicles.

 
OFFENHAUSER
    A turbo charged four-cylinder engine that for a while was the power unit for Indy car teams. Later it was replaced by European and Japanese designed turbocharged V8 engines.

 
OESTERREICHRING
    A 5.942 km racing track near Salzburg, Austria. It was home to the Austrian GP from 1970-87 inclusive.

 
OVAL
    Oval shaped racetrack.

 
OVERALL HEIGHT
    One of the F.I.A. regulations. Excluding rollover structures, no part of a Formula One car may be higher than 95 cm above a specified reference plane.

 
OVER STEER
    The situation that results when a car has more grip at the front than the rear. In mild form, this sort of chassis imbalance can result in dramatic "tail-out" slides. Extreme over steer can result in the car going into a spin.
P
PADDOCK
    Home of the Grand Prix at each circuit. This area is where the Formula One teams operate and where all motor homes and transporters are parked.

 
PADDOCK CLUB
    VIPs and Special Guest area only, usually with direct access to designated grandstand seating.

 
PARTICIPATING CARS
    Formula One Grand Prix's grid size is limited to 24 cars for 1999 (previously 26 cars). Although in the 1999 season there are 22 drivers in 11 teams.

 
PAUL RICARD
    Race circuit in southern France and former site of the French GP in 1971, 1973, 1975-76, 1978, 1980, 1982-83 and 1985-90.

 
PEDRALBES
    Home to the first two the Spanish Grand Prix (1951 and 1954).

 
PENALTIES
    F.I.A. officials assessments for various sporting or technical infringements by teams or drivers, ranging from a 10-second "stop-and-go" penalty to complete exclusion from the final results or a considerable fine.

 
PEUGEOT
    French vehicle manufacturer. Currently supplies its V10 engines exclusively to the Prost team.

 
PIQUET, NELSON
    Brazilian three times World Champion, Nelson Piquet is one of Formula One’s greats. In a long 14-year career, he drove for Parmalat Racing, Tissot Ensign, BS Fabrications, FILA Sport, MRD, Brabham, Williams, Lotus and Benetton, finishing with a massive 485.5 points, 23 fastest laps, 23 wins, 24 pole positions, from 204 starts. A huge accident, worse than anything in his F1 career, caused major damage to Piquet’s leg during practice for the Indy 500 in 1992, but he returned to the cockpit years later, driving in saloons.

 
PIT CREW
    Mechanical crew responsible for the team's pit stops.

 
PIT LANE
    Strip of tarmac located just in front of the pits. It lets the cars enter and leave the track without difficulties. The pit lane is the only place on the circuit which has a strict speed limit of between 80-120 km/h (50-74mph), depending on the circuit.

 
PIT STOP
    Scheduled stop during a race when a driver brings his car into the pits to refuel and/or change the tires. The timing and number of pit stops is a vital part of a Formula One team's racing strategy.

 
PITS
    Garages where the racing cars are prepared (originally this was simply a roadside pit where the mechanics could get under the car).

 
POLE POSITION
    The choice position. Placed at the head of a Formula One grid, this position is allocated to the driver who records the fastest time in qualifying - a one-hour, 12-lap session staged on the Saturday afternoon before a Grand Prix.

 
PORSCHE
    Manufacturer of racing sports cars. Porsche designed the TAG-financed turbocharged V6 engine that powered McLaren drivers to three World Championships (1984, 1985, 1986). Between 1957 and 1964, Porsche was also an F1 entrant in its own right which saw Dan Gurney taking one victory for the German team at the 1962 French Grand Prix.

 
PROST, ALAIN
    One of the most successful drivers ever with 51 Grand Prix wins to his credit, and four World Championships. Alain Prost is one of Formula One’s all-time legends but his spell running his own Prost Grand Prix team lasted just five season's before the team folded.
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