Formula 1 in the USA Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

From 1950 till 1960 the Indianapolis 500 race was part of the F1 championship. It was the odd one out in the championship because hardly any drivers who took part in it participated in the other F1 races and vice versa. Points scored in the Indy 500 counted towards the championship though and despite the fact that most Indy racers scored only once, in some cases this gave them a nice ranking in the championship.

From 1959 a second F1 race was held on American soil (at Sebring FL), on a more traditional F1 track, alongside the Indy 500 race. In 1961 the Indianapolis 500 was dropped from the F1 calendar.

Answer: Bruce McLaren

This was the first race held in the USA under the name 'United States Grand Prix' that counted towards the Formula 1 world championship. It was also the first on a more traditional track (non oval) that counted for the world championship.

The US Grand Prix was the last race that season. Australian Jack Brabham was leading the championship but Britons Moss and Brooks still had a chance to win it. The race was won by Brabham's team-mate at Cooper, Bruce McLaren. McLaren was the first New Zealander to win a Grand Prix and, at the time, also the youngest winner. McLaren's victory secured the world championship for Brabham, who finished only fourth. Brooks finished third and Moss retired from the race.

In 1963 Bruce McLaren founded his own team, which today is still one of the most successful F1 teams.

Answer: False

He didn't participate in the race.

Before the penultimate race that season, the Italian Grand Prix, Hill's team-mate at Ferrari, Wolfgang von Trips, led the championship and looked destined to win the title. In the race Von Trips collided with Jim Clark's Lotus and was flung into the crowd. Fourteen spectators and von Trips were killed in that incident. Hill won the Italian Grand Prix and surpassed von Trips's points total. With von Trips unable to defend his chances in the last race Hill automatically became the 1961 world champion.

After the tragic incident in the Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari decided to withdraw for the US Grand Prix, so Hill couldn't participate. The race was won by Innes Ireland in a Lotus. It was Ireland's only victory in a Grand Prix counting for the world championship.

Answer: Emerson Fittipaldi

Emerson Fittipaldi made his F1 debut in the 1970 British Grand Prix where he finished 8th, driving for Lotus. During practice for the Italian Grand Prix that year team Lotus lost their leading driver Jochen Rindt in a fatal accident. Fittipaldi's victory in the 1970 US Grand Prix secured the world championship for his fallen team-mate. Rindt's only remaining rival Jacky Ickx needed to win that race in order to stay in the hunt for the championship. Fittipaldi went on to win the world championship for Lotus in 1972. In 1974 he switched to McLaren to win his second world championship.

Wilson Fittipaldi is Emerson's elder brother who founded the 'Fittipaldi Automotive' racing team. In 1976 Emerson left McLaren to race for the family team (sometimes referred to as 'Copersucar', the main sponsor). Without much success he raced for Copersucar-Fittipaldi until he quit F1 at the end of the 1980 season. Team Fittipaldi raced for two more seasons until it disappeared from the grid due to lack of sponsorship.

In 1984 Emerson Fittipaldi started racing in the CART series. He won the championship in 1989 and won the Indy 500 twice ('89 and '93). Christian Fittipaldi is Wilson's son who raced in F1 ('92-'94), CART ('95-'02) and various other series. Nelson Piquet Sr is a Brazilian triple F1 world champion.

Answer: François Cevert

François Cevert started his F1 career in 1970, driving for Tyrrell. He stayed with Tyrrell until that fateful race. In 1971 he won the US Grand Prix, his only victory.

The 1973 US Grand Prix should have been a special race for the Tyrrell team. Cevert's team-mate Jackie Stewart, who had already won his third world championship, would drive his 100th and final race. After the race he would announce his retirement and hand over leadership of team Tyrrell to Cevert (who was unaware of this). During qualifications Cevert's car crashed into the safety barriers at a 90° angle. The barriers were uprooted and entered the car, causing massive injuries to his body of which he died instantly. As a token of respect Stewart withdrew from the race, leaving his total at 99.

Williamson, Courage and Siffert are all other F1 drivers who died in the early 70s, giving evidence of F1's poor safety standards in that era.

Answer: Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti was already an established racer in the USA when he made his F1 debut in the 1968 US Grand Prix. In F1 he was immediately successful too: he was on pole for his very first race. Between 1968 and 1975 he competed in only a limited number of F1 races. 1976 was his first full F1 season, when he drove for Lotus. 1977 was a successful season when he won four Grand Prix, amongst which the US Grand Prix. In 1978 Lotus was unbeatable and Andretti took the F1 title, the first American to do so since Phil Hill in 1961.

The next two seasons were less successful as team Lotus became less and less competitive. In 1981 he had an unsuccessful season with Alfa Romeo. In 1982 he only competed in three F1 races, with a 3rd place for Ferrari in the Italian Grand Prix as best result. Andretti continued his career in the CART series in the 80s and early 90s. In 1984 he won the championship.

Dan Gurney competed in 86 Grand Prix between 1959 and 1970 and won 4 races. Peter Revson drove in 5 F1 championships between 1964 and 1974 (30 starts, 2 wins). He crashed to his death during testing in Kyalami, South Africa. Eddie Cheever competed in 132 F1 races between 1978 and 1989.

Answer: Phoenix

The United States Grand Prix West was held at Long Beach and won by Niki Lauda in a McLaren-Ford. The Detroit Grand Prix was won by John Watson, also in a McLaren. The Caesar's Palace Grand Prix was the season's finale and held in the parking lot of Caesar's Palace Hotel in Las Vegas. The race was won by Michele Alboreto in a Tyrrell, his first ever F1 victory. Keke Rosberg finished 5th, good enough to clinch the world championship.
Phoenix hosted the US Grand Prix from 1989 till 1991.

Answer: Michael Schumacher

The 2000 US Grand Prix was the 15th of a 17 race championship. Before the race Mika Hakkinen was leading the standings with 2 points over Michael Schumacher, whilst Hakkinen's team-mate at McLaren, David Coulthard, still had an outside chance. Michael Schumacher took pole and won, with his Ferrari team mate Rubens Barrichello coming second and Heinz-Harald Frentzen third in a Jordan. David Coulthard's fifth place knocked him out of the championship hunt. Mika Hakkinen retired with engine trouble. Schumacher took the lead in the championship with an eight points advantage over Hakkinen. Schumacher also won the next Grand Prix, in Japan, which gave him his third championship.

Answer: All but six drivers retired after the parade lap

During qualifying a high number of Michelin tyres failed. It soon became clear that the Michelin tyres were unable to cope with the bankings on the Indianapolis circuit. After qualifying Michelin declared they couldn't guarantee safety during the race and advised their seven customer teams to withdraw.

The seven teams agreed to do the parade lap and then retire. This left a start grid with only six cars, all equipped with Bridgestone tyres: Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi. Since Jordan and Minardi were tailenders the spectators looked in disbelief at a mock race with only two real contenders. Michael Schumacher beat his team-mate Rubens Barrichello; Schumacher's only victory in a disappointing season for Ferrari. Tiago Monteiro finished third for Jordan, one lap down on both Ferraris.

It was Monteiro's only F1 podium ever.

Answer: Austin

The first race on the Circuit of the Americas turned out to be an exciting battle between Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing). Hamilton won the race with an 0.6 second advantage over Vettel. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) finished third. Vettel increased his lead in the championship to 13 points over Alonso, his sole remaining rival.

The championship would be decided at the last race of the season, in Brazil.