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MF1 Racing (in full, Midland F1 Racing) is a Formula One constructor. The team is owned by the Midland Group, whose director Alex Shnaider purchased it from Jordan Grand Prix in 2005. It is competing in the 2006 Formula One season with drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro.
2005 purchase of Jordan
Midland Group's interest in Formula One involvement began in 2005 when they confirmed their plans to have a team to race in place for the 2006 season.Grandprix.com article dated October 8, 2004 Although they were initially linked with creating a new unit or purchasing Jaguar, the group instead signed a deal to buy the Jordan team from Eddie Jordan prior to the 2005 Formula One season. As a result, the team would be a legal continuation of Jordan and not a new entity subject to Formula One's $48 million entry bond. It also allowed Midland to claim the television revenue generated by Jordan's placing in the constructors' championship (in which Jordan subsequently placed ninth).
The team retained Jordan's name for the 2005 season but struggled at the back of the grid with drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro. The highlights of the season were Monteiro's third-place finish at the US Grand Prix (in which most of the grid refused to race) and his lengthy streak of consecutive finishes underpinning the car's reliability.
Some media reports at this time began to speculate that Midland were happy with their purchase and looking to offload Jordan even before the team entered under its own name in 2006. Team principal Trevor Carlin quit the team after seven races, and chief engineer and designer Mark Smith before the end of the season. There were consistent reports that the team was linked with a buy-out by former Formula One driver Eddie Irvine.
2006 season
The name of the team was changed to MF1 Racing for the 2006 Formula One season. In the UK a joke has emerged regarding this shortform being written in the same way as economy furniture manufacturer MFI. Over the winter Russian driver Roman Rusinov tested a new car, the Midland M16 with a new livery (red, white and black to reflect Midland Group's corporate colours) and Toyota engines but Jordan used Ford . MotoGP motorcyclist Max Biaggi also had a test in the car at Silverstone in January.NewsonF1.net article dated January 18, 2006 Dallara had originally been contracted to develop the M16, however the agreement was discontinued during the design process after a disappointing contribution from the Italian manufacturer. The senior management subsequently placed its faith in the incumbent design team, promoting former head of vehicle science James Key to the role of technical director towards the end of the 2005 season.
Shnaider had been insistent that Midland intended to field Formula One's first Russian driver - although Russian drivers have tested in the past, mainly for the Minardi team, none have ever raced in a Grand Prix - but instead signed Dutchman Christijan Albers from Minardi,BBC.co.uk article dated November 1, 2005 and retained Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro. The team had previously failed in a bid to sign Takuma Sato.BBC.co.uk article dated October 20, 2005
The team's third driver on race weekends will be Markus Winkelhock.NewsonF1.com article dated January 25, 2006 Midland signed Nicky Pastorelli to be a test driver initiallyBBC.co.uk article dated October 24, 2005 but the addition of Winkelhock seems to confirm reports that Pastorelli was struggling on his deal to bringing sponsorship money to the team. Giorgio Mondini, A1 Grand Prix drivers Adrian Sutil and Roman Rusinov, and ex-Champ Car driver Fabrizio del Monte have also joined the team as test drivers for 2006.
As the 2006 season has gone on, the team have gone from running ahead of Super Aguri but behind everyone else to consistently competing with other midfield teams such as Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso. Much of this progress has been down to tyre development from Bridgestone coupled with significant improvements in aerodynamics and handling (overseen by Simon Phillips and Richard Frith respectively). The improved performance has seen the team begin to make it into the 2nd qualifying session consistently. Unfortunately this increased mid-season performance has not yet been realised in the results as the team have been involved in a number of first-lap accidents, notably at Monaco, Indianapolis and Montreal.
The team have gone from being around 4 seconds off the pace per lap in 2005 to around 2 seconds per lap in 2006.
Sale of the team
Rumours have been floating about in the paddock recently about the possible sale of the team, less than two years after Shnaider originally bought it from Eddie Jordan. Reports suggest a price tag of $128m, and that Shnaider is seriously considering the possibility of the sale. Formula One teams have become more valuable recently, due to the fact that no more teams may enter after 2008, with the maximum of 12 places already filled.Manipe F1 article dated May 29, 2006
References
External links
MF1 Racing | Midland | Midland F1 Racing | Midland F1 Racing | Midland F1 | MF1 Racing | MF1レーシング | MF1 Racing | MF1 Racing | Мидланд (команда Формулы-1) | MF1 | MF1 Racing
"Midland F1 Racing"