Sold! Quiz | Formula 1 Grand Prix

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Benetton entered Formula One as a sponsor, but in 1985 they bought Toleman (Ayrton Senna's first team in F1) and started their own team. After 27 race wins and 2 World Championships for drivers (Michael Schumacher, in 1994 and 1995), and a Constructors' Championship (in 1995), the team was sold to their engine suppliers. Who were they?

Answer: Renault

Renault came back to Formula One in 2002 after a first stint between 1977 and 1985. They were Benetton's engine suppliers between 1995 and 1997 and again in 2001, after the team's purchase was announced.
BMW was Benetton's first engine supplier in 1985, followed by Ford from 1986 to 1994. Playlife (one of Benetton's brands) was the name of Renault's unofficial engines that Benetton used from 1998 to 2000.

2. BMW entered Formula One for the first time in the 1960s without any kind of results. They returned as an engine supplier in the 1980s and again between 2000-2005. In 2006, they decided to enter their own team by buying the assets of an existing one. Their effort ended in 2009 (after a single race win, by Robert Kubica) when financial problems caused them to sell the assets back to the team they had bought them from. Which team was that?

Answer: Sauber

Sauber entered Formula One in 1993. In 2006, BMW made them an offer they couldn't refuse. However, after the German team's demise, Peter Sauber picked up the pieces and his team was reborn after just four season away from the F1 scene.
Williams had BMW engines between 2000 and 2005. Lotus also came back to F1 in 2010, but not by buying BMWs assets. Virgin was a complete newcomer in 2010.

3. Honda participated in Formula One between 1964 and 1968 with two race wins (by Richie Ginther and John Surtees). They came back as engine suppliers in the 1980s and again in 1999 for a team they bought in 2006 to re-establish their own enterprise. Which team's assets did they buy?

Answer: BAR

British American Racing (BAR) owned by British American Tobacco (BAT), graced the Grand Prix scene between 1999 (when they bought Tyrrell) and 2005, before Honda took over the team. They had no race wins but made it to the podium 15 times.
Super Aguri (named after owner Aguri Suzuki) was sort of Honda's "B" team between 2006 and 2008. Jordan, like BAR, only made it to 2005 but was bought by a different company.

4. Jordan was in Formula One from 1991 to 2005 while achieving 4 race wins. In their last season, the team was no longer Eddie Jordan's. He had sold it to a Russian group that kept the name for one year before changing it for the 2006 season. What name did they change it to?

Answer: Midland

Midland F1 (or MF1) was active for only one season with little success. After a year, owner Alex Shnaider realized keeping a Formula One team was too expensive, and sold it to Dutch car company Spyker.
Lada is a Russian car company only involved in F1 by sponsoring Renault in the 2010 season.

5. Ligier was one of France's iconic teams in Formula One. They were active from 1976 to 1996 in which they won a Grand Prix 9 times, 7 won by French driver Jacques Laffite. At the end of the 1996 season, the team was bought by another French driver who was a four-time World Champion. Who was he?

Answer: Alain Prost

Alain Prost's team lasted only 5 seasons. The team folded after the 2001 season, leaving Renault (founded by Louis Renault in 1898) as the sole French constructor in F1.
Gerard Larrousse also had a team in F1 between 1987 and 1994. Jo Schlesser was a French driver who was killed in 1968.

6. The Lotus story ended not with a sale, but an alliance. After 73 race wins, 7 Constructors Championships and 6 drivers, the team virtually had no money. So, they converged with a minor team, a little better financially, but at a cost. The name Lotus disappeared from the tracks. With what team did Lotus made an alliance in 1995?

Answer: Pacific

Pacific was a very unsuccessful Formula One team founded by Keith Wiggins. After taking over Lotus, Pacific lasted only 9 more races, not finishing the 1995 season, and managing a grand total of 0 points in their (almost) 2 seasons in F1.
Simtek and Forti were similarly unsuccessful teams from the mid-1990s.
The Lotus name did return to F1 in 2010 when Malaysian car company Proton, owner of Lotus Cars (the car company from which Team Lotus originated), decided to enter Formula One. The cars were named Lotus, though they were basically a Malaysian team with virtually no relation with the original Lotus team.

7. After joining Jackie Stewart in his team's short adventure in Formula One (1997 to 1999), Ford bought the team and named it Jaguar (one of the car companies they owned at the time). The team was active up to 2004 with 2 third places as best results. After the lack of wins, Ford decided to sell the team. What company stepped up to form a new team for the 2005 season?

Answer: Red Bull

Red Bull bought the remnants of the Jaguar team and created a successful team that won its first Grand Prix in 2009, by Sebastian Vettel.
Honda came into F1 by buying BAR in 2006, while Toyota started its own team from scratch in 2002, like Hispania did in 2010.

8. Shadow was sort of an obscure team with only 1 race win (by Alan Jones) in its active seasons from 1973 to 1980. By then, the team was strapped for cash and was sold to Dutchman Teddy Yip. What was Yip's team name?

Answer: Theodore

Theodore (Yip's first name, though he was usually called Teddy) was intermittently in Formula One between 1978 and 1983, first as a private team using March, Ensign, and Wolf cars, and then with their own chassis. It was never very successful, though having two 5th place finishes (both by Patrick Tambay, in 1977) as their best results.

9. Minardi was a bottom dweller for most of its 21 seasons in Formula One (1985 to 2005). When the team ran out of money, it was sold to Red Bull and became its "B" team. To honor Minardi, Red Bull kept an Italian name, "Toro Rosso". What does that mean in Italian?

Answer: Red Bull

While Minardi never had a podium finish, having three 4th places (2 by Pierluigi Martini and 1 by Christian Fittipaldi) as best results, Toro Rosso won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, by Sebastian Vettel. On the other hand, Minardi gave future race winners Alessandro Nannini, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, Mark Webber, and Fernando Alonso (World Champion in 2005 and 2006) their first chance in Formula One.

10. Wolf was a Canadian team that entered Formula One in 1976 in a partnership with Frank Williams. After Williams left to re-establish his own team, Wolf stood alone, managing 3 race wins in 1977, by Jody Scheckter. At the end of the 1979 season, owner Walter Wolf, grew tired of his F1 adventure and sold the team to Emerson Fittipaldi's brother. Who was he?

Answer: Wilson Fittipaldi

Wilson Fittipaldi's eponymous team was active between 1975 and 1982. His brother Emerson (World Champion in 1972 and 1974) drove for him between 1976 and 1980. He achieved the team's best result, a 2nd place in the 1977 Brazilian Grand Prix. Before Wilson bought Wolf, his team was not very competitive and that didn't change after he did it. Wilson Fittipaldi was also a Formula One driver for Brabham. Fittipaldi was not as successful as his brother, having a 5th place as best result.

Source: Author Caeiro

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Sold! Trivia Quiz

Some names seem to be in F1 forever. However, many teams change hands, and with the new owner, sometimes you get a new name while the historical team disappears. Let's remember some of those who are now gone.

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