Yes, it’s an all-star British lineup for McLaren next year. With 2008 F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton racing with Button, this is the first time since Jim Clark and Graham Hill’s stint with Lotus that we’re seeing two British world champs driving for a single team.

News of Button’s move came after much speculation about his future with Brawn. Button, who has been with the same team (Honda, Brawn) since 2003 was expected to stick with his championship team. But as Button puts it:

“It’s always a difficult decision to leave a team when you’ve been there for so long, but life is all about challenges – and, most important of all, it’s about challenging yourself.

“So, although I won the world championship with Brawn GP last year, and I’ll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges. So that’s why I’ve decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.”

Martin Whitmarsh, team principal of McLaren, was happy to have Button onboard. According to Whitmarsh:

“Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Jenson to our team. It has always been our policy to employ the two very best possible drivers – and, in Jenson and Lewis, we feel we not only have the fastest pairing on the 2010 grid, but also the two most complete, professional, and dedicated drivers in Formula One.”

Whitmarsh also made it clear that Button’s decision to move to McLaren had little to do with the supposed “very generous offer” given by McLaren.

“I want to make clear that Jenson’s decision to join us was in no way motivated by money. We’ll be paying him no more than he could be getting elsewhere, and the fact is a reflection of not only Jenson’s belief in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes but also his desire and ambition to build on the phenomenal results he achieved during the 2009 season,” Whitmarsh said.

Hamilton also had great words to say about Button. According to the 2008 champ:

“I already know Jenson, and we get on very well together… We both really want our team to succeed. Although we’ll be pushing each other hard, I’m sure we’ll very quickly establish a great working relationship. He’s an exceptional driver: very controlled and very smooth, and he has a real depth of knowledge and experience.

“I think we’ll complement each other very well, and our collaboration will make the team stronger as a result. Also, I’m delighted to be racing alongside a fellow British world champion, and I believe we can pull together to make Vodafone McLaren Mercedes the best team on the grid,” Hamilton said.

As for Button, well, the British driver is understandably happy about his decision to join McLaren.

“You can’t help but be affected by this team’s phenomenal history…McLaren is one of the greats of world sport, and its achievements and list of past champions read like a Who’s Who of Formula One – Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and of course my new team mate Lewis Hamilton. I’ve followed the McLaren team ever since I was a small boy, and it feels unbelievable to finally be a part of it.

“It’s also a great pleasure to be joining a fellow British world champion. Lewis has achieved an incredible level of success in a very short period of time, and he’s a wonderfully gifted driver who has earned the respect of every Formula One driver. I’m sure there’s plenty that we can learn from each other, and I’m really looking forward to using our combined knowledge to push forward,” said Jenson.

Good choice on McLaren’s part! And it’s wonderful to see how competitive and yet supportive both drivers can be. Really looking forward to seeing both Button and Hamilton battle it out next year.

Source: Formula1.com

Images: WorldCarFans.com, Mirror.co.uk

Ex-McLaren boss Edward Everett “Teddy” Mayer has died last January 30, 2009. The American McLaren legend passed away at age 73.

When the Formula One McLaren team founder, Bruce McLaren died in 1970, Teddy Mayer stepped in. Mayer became the team head who helped many drivers including Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt to reach the Formula One World Driver’s Championship titles. By helping Fittipaldi win his second Driver’s Championship, Mayer also helped lead the team to win the constructor’s crown in 1974.

Under Mayer, the F1 McLaren racing team experienced considerable success. The team also managed to compete in CanAm and CART racing under Mayer’s management.

As the 1980s rapidly approached, the team’s results began to take a dip. McLaren’s title sponsor Marlboro then created a merger with the Project 4 team, a team that was being run by Ron Dennis. While Mayer was no longer the sole big boss in F1 McLaren, he did hold on to his post as joint managing-director. But in 1982, Mayer decided to sell his shares of the team that he had helped create and lead to success.

Ron Dennis became the McLaren team principal after Mayer’s exit. Dennis had only kind words for the late and great Mayer:

“Teddy was one of motor racing’s few, truly great men… He was a part of the very small team of talented enthusiasts who, alongside Bruce McLaren, founded Bruce McLaren motor racing. The origins of our many and ongoing successes are with Bruce and Teddy.” Dennis said in a statement.

Former Formula One World Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, also mourns Mayer’s death. According to Fittipaldi, he believes that Mayer’s death is a huge loss for the whole Formula One community. Even after his stint in Formula One, Mayer and Fittipaldi still worked together when the race driver joined Mayer in IndyCar racing.

After hearing about the death of Mayer, Fittipaldi spoke up to autosport.com.

“It was very sad news this weekend about Teddy Mayer. Teddy was, first of all, a very good friend of mine; he worked with me 10 years in the States…It is a big loss for Grand Prix racing because Teddy was one of the guys who was there when F1 started building up with Bernie (Ecclestone), Ken Tyrrell, Frank Williams, and a lot of people really. Ted was one of the masters that helped Formula One grow bigger and bigger.” Fittipaldi remarked.

The driver also spoke about his experiences with Mayer, saying:

“I won my second F1 championship with him; I owe a lot of my results and successes in my career to Teddy. He was the first person to invite me to test at Indianapolis, in [September] 1974 after McLaren won with Johnny Rutherford. And then in 1993, I won my second Indy 500 with Teddy as team manager [at Penske]. We won the F1 championship and Indianapolis 500 together, so I have a large amount of gratitude for what Teddy did for my career.”

Fittipaldi also praised Mayer’s qualities as a human being, as these same qualities managed to shine throughout Mayer’s career. Not even the death of Timmy, Mayer’s brother, during the 1964 Tasman Series crash managed to stop Mayer from enjoying and loving the sport.

According to Fittipaldi: “He was always very persistent, extremely competitive, and he had a well-organized team. He was a very good organizer. McLaren, when I joined, was an incredible organization and Teddy was always there always giving advice when I needed it. He was extremely committed to succeed. And though he lost his brother Timmy in Tasmania, he continued to have the love and the passion for the sport, like not many people in the world have. It’s a big loss for motor racing.”

So it’s true after all. Behind every great racer is an equally amazing support group. While a racer can bring glory to the team, he’s going to need the right people and the right equipment for him to be able to show his true potential. While Mayer wasn’t the one in car speeding over 150 mph (miles per hour) every race, he was the main man in the paddocks commanding the crew and making sure the McLaren team will come out on top every race.

Mayer will surely be missed. My condolences to Mayer’s family, I hope they stay strong as they face these dark days.

Sources: BBC News and Autosport.com

This list will cover the Formula One World Driver’s Champions from 1971 to 1980. We have a lot of ground to cover, but like the previous entry, there are a number of drivers who will be showing up more than once or even thrice in this short F1 champions list.

We start of this post with the 1971 Formula One World Champion. Another familiar name: Jackie Stewart

1971 Formula One World Champion

Name: Jackie Stewart (Sir John Young “Jackie Stewart”, OBE)

Nationality: British

Team: Tyrrell Racing

Jackie Stewart, AKA “The Flying Scott” brings his good luck and mad skillz to Tyrrell after his stint with Matra, or Mécanique Avion TRAction.

(Click HERE to find out more about Jackie Stewart)

1972 Formula One World Champion

Name: Emerson Fittipaldi

Nationality: Brazilian

Team: McLaren

Career Highlights:

Championship Wins: 2

Race Wins: 14

Races: 149, with 144 starts

Podium Finishes: 35

Pole Positions: 6

Fastest Laps Set: 6

Brief Bio:
Born: December 12, 1946

Hometown: São Paulo, Brazil

Emerson Fittipaldi is one of the most successful Brazilian auto racing drivers in the world. He won a couple of championships in Formula One and some more in the Indianapolis 500 and CART.

He started racing motorcycles at 14, and moved on to hydrofoils at 16. After realizing the dangers of racing hydrofoils, Fittipaldi, along with his brother moved on to racing karts. After moving to Formula Vees, Formula Ford, and Formula Three, Fittipaldi caught the attention of Colin Chapman who was looking for a supporting driver for the late Austrian Jochen Rindt in 1970. After starting out as the No. 3 driver for Lotus, Fittipaldi was propelled to the number one seat when Rindt died at Monza, and the No. 2 driver, John Miles, left the team. Emerson later made the move to McLaren. He was active in the motorsport for ten years, from 1970 to 1980.

Fittipaldi would go on to win two championships in Formula One. He later moved on to CART in 1984 after a 4-year hiatus from racing.

In 2001, Emerson became a part of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

1973 Formula One World Champion

Name: Jackie Stewart

Nationality: British

Team: Tyrrell

A third time and final championship win for Jackie Stewart.

1974 Formula One World Champion

Name: Emerson Fittipaldi

Nationality: Brazilian

Team: McLaren

A second appearance for Fittipaldi. (Scroll Up to Read More on this Driver)

1975 Formula One World Champion

Name: Niki Lauda (Andreas Nikolaus “Niki” Lauda)

Nationality: Austrian

Team: Ferrari

Career Highlights:

Championship Wins: 3

Race Wins: 25

Races: 177, with 171 starts

Podium Finishes: 54

Pole Positions: 24

Fastest Laps Set: 24

Brief Bio:

Born: February 22, 1949

Hometown: Vienna

Aside from being a three-time Formula One World Champion, Lauda is also lauded fro beign a successful Austrian aviator and entrepreneur. For a couple of years, he managed the Formula One Jaguar Racing team from 2001 to 2002. He has also founded and managed two airlines—Lauda Air.

1976 Formula One World Champion

Name: James Hunt (James Simon Wallis Hunt)

Nationality: British

Team: McLaren

Career Highlights:

Championship Wins: 1

Race Wins: 10

Races: 93, with 92 starts

Podium Finishes: 23

Pole Positions: 14

Fastest Laps Set: 8

Brief Bio:

Born: August 29, 1947

Hometown: England

Died: June 15, 1993

Although he was active in Formula One for just 6 seasons, Hunt became one of the most well-remembered F1 British drivers. He retired from driving in 1979 and became a successful businessman and media commentator. He had a pretty good commentary career with BBC, which was something he stayed with from his retirement up until his death in 1993.

Some say that his F1 career’s rapid decline had to do with lack of motivation. Hunt was a skilled driver, but car problems combined with the lack of a test driver in 1977 and 1978 certainly brought his morale down. And any motivation he had left was completely gone during the crash that he and his good friend Ronnie Peterson were involved in. After a chaotic start in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix, a huge accident resulted in Peterson’s Lotus hitting the barriers and bursting in a cloud of flames. Hunt along with Clay Regazzoni and Patrick Depailler attempted to rescue the trapped driver but the Swede died a day later due to an embolism. When Hunt moved to Water Wolf Racing the next year, he found that the team’s ground effect car wasn’t competitive enough. And when he failed to finish in the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix, he immediately announced to the press that he was quitting F1. And he did–forever.

Hunt died at 45 due to a heart attack at his house in Wimbledon.

1977 Formula One World Champion

Name: Niki Lauda (Andreas Nikolaus “Niki” Lauda)

Nationality: Austrian

Team: Ferrari

A second win for the three-time F1 World Champion, Nikki Lauda.

(scroll up to read more about Lauda)

1978 Formula One World Champion

Name: Mario Andretti (Mario Gabriele Andretti)

Nationality: American

Team: Lotus

Career Highlights:

Championship Wins: 1

Race Wins: 12

Races: 131, with 128 starts

Podium Finishes: 19

Pole Positions: 18

Fastest Laps Set: 10

Brief Bio:

Born: February 28, 1940

The Italian-American Andretti is one of the most famous American F1 drivers in history. He is one of the only two drivers to have ever won races on all four of the top motor racing categories including: Formula One, World Sportscar Championship, NASCAR, and IndyCar. The other racer is Dan Gurney.

Throughout his career, the Italian American managed to snag four IndyCar titles, one F1 championship and IROC VI. Until now, he’s the only driver to have ever won the Daytona 500, Formula One World Championship, and the Indianapolis 500.

He shares the record of being one of the only two drivers to have won the Indianapolis 500, Formula One, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with former F1 driver, Juan Pablo Montoya.

Andretti has had a total of 109 wins on all the most famous circuits.

Until now, Andretti is the only American to have ever won the Formula One series.

Andretti has also had victories in sprint car, drag, and midget car racing.

1979 Formula One World Champion

Name: Jody Scheckter (Jody David Scheckter)

Nationality: South African

Team: Ferrari

Career Highlights:

Championship Wins: 1

Race Wins: 10

Races: 113, with 111 starts

Podium Finishes: 33

Pole Positions: 3

Fastest Laps Set: 5

Brief Bio:

Born: January 29, 1950

After moving to Britain in 1970, Scheckter debuted in Formula One in 1972 as a McLaren driver. His amazing performance in the race at Watkins Glen instantly made him an overnight star–someone for the crowds to watch. The next year, he won the Formula 5000 and participated in 5 F1 races. In one of his starts at the British Grand Prix held at Silverstone, he was involved in an accident that took out almost a dozen cars–that pretty much summed up his whole career.

But he finally got his chance to drive in 1974, when Tyrrell offered him a seat. Jody proved his worth by finishing third in the Formula One World Driver’s Championship. The next year, though it wasn’t as good as 1974, Scheckter managed to be the first and only South African to have won in the South African Grand Prix. In 1976, he found himself in third place again. But just a few years later, Scheckter managed to finally clinch the driver’s championship.

These days, Scheckter works as an organic farmer at Overton. Because of his knowledge on organic farming and the benefits of organic food, he was featured in several episodes on the Visionhealth TV and DVD documentaries in 2005.

1980 Formula One World Champion

Name: Alan Jones (Alan Stanley Jones, MBE) *Member of the Order of the British Empire

Nationality: Australian

Team: Williams

Career Highlights:

Championship Wins: 1

Race Wins: 12

Races: 117, with 116 starts

Podium Finishes: 24

Pole Positions: 6

Fastest Laps Set: 13

Brief Bio:

Jones was the first driver to have ever won the F1 World Driver’s Championship with the Williams team. He is also said to have been the last Australian Driver (so far) to have won at the Australian Grand Prix.

Prior to landing a seat in F1, Jones was racing in Formula 3. He later managed to get a Formula Atlantic ride, which landed him in F1 the next season.

In F1, Jones started out as the injury replacement driver for Rolf Stommelen in Graham Hill’s racing team. It was only in 1976 when Jones landed a full-time F1 drive in the John Surtees racing team. During these races, he instantly caught the media’s attention, mostly thanks to his infamous Durex sponsorship. Unfortunately Surtees and Jones didn’t get along well, so Jones was dropped from the team. Shadow picked Jones up and turned him into the replacement driver for Tom Pryce. Pryce was killed in South Africa during a freak racing accident.

Jones made the most out of the opportunity presented to him, winning at the Österreichring (his maiden victory), and getting seventh place in the driver’s championship.

1977, Jones caught the eye of Frank Williams, who was planning on rebuilding his F1 team–Williams Grand Prix. While he didn’t win the championship that year, Jones did succeed in putting the team on the map after he won at Watkins Glen.

In 1980, Jones finished first, making him the 1980 Formula One World Driver’s Champion.

Sources: A lot of Wikipedia