2007–08 A1 Grand Prix season

The 2007–08 A1 Grand Prix season was the third in the relatively short history of the championship.

Teams

All teams used same A1 Grand Prix car including Zytek-powered, Cooper Avon-shod and Lola chassis. The following 22 teams are competitors in the 2007-08 championship :

Team	Race team	Seat holder	Race drivers	Rookie drivers [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]	pre-season test drivers[10][11]
A1 Team Australia	Alan Docking Racing[12]	Alan Jones	Ian Dyk John Martin	John Martin	Ian Dyk John Martin Daniel Ricciardo
A1 Team Brazil	Argo Racing Cars Ltd.[13]	Emerson Fittipaldi	Sérgio Jimenez Bruno Junqueira Alexandre Negrão	Clemente Faria Felipe Guimarães Sérgio Jimenez Alexandre Negrão	Sérgio Jimenez Bruno Junqueira Raphael Matos
A1 Team Canada	Status Grand Prix[14]	Wade Cherwayko	James Hinchcliffe Robert Wickens	Daniel Morad Robert Wickens	James Hinchcliffe Robert Wickens
A1 Team China	Team Astromega[15]	Liu Yu	Congfu Cheng	Marchy Ying-Kin Lee	Congfu Cheng Marchy Ying-Kin Lee Qinghua Ma Lin Po-Heng
A1 Team Czech Republic	Charouz Racing System[16]	Antonin Charouz	Tomáš Enge Erik Janiš Josef Král Filip Salaquarda	Erik Janiš Jaroslav Janiš Josef Král Filip Salaquarda	Jan Charouz Tomáš Enge Erik Janiš Jaroslav Janiš Filip Salaquarda
A1 Team France	Connor Racing[17]	Jean Paul Driot	Jonathan Cochet Loïc Duval Nicolas Lapierre Franck Montagny	Jonathan Cochet Nicolas Prost	Loïc Duval Nicolas Lapierre Guillaume Moreau Nicolas Prost Jean Karl Vernay
A1 Team Germany	DSM[18]	Willi Weber	Michael Ammermüller Christian Vietoris	Michael Ammermüller Michael Klein Christian Vietoris	Christian Vietoris
A1 Team Great Britain	A1 Team Great Britain[19]	Tony Clements	Oliver Jarvis Robbie Kerr	Oliver Jarvis Duncan Tappy Danny Watts James Winslow	Oliver Jarvis Robbie Kerr Oliver Turvey
A1 Team India	Arena Motorsport[20]	Ravi Chilukuri	Narain Karthikeyan Parthiva Sureshwaren	Parthiva Sureshwaren	Narain Karthikeyan Parthiva Sureshwaren
A1 Team Indonesia	A1 Team Indonesia then Performance Racing[21]	N/A	Satrio Hermanto	Satrio Hermanto	Satrio Hermanto
A1 Team Ireland	Status Grand Prix[22]	Mark Kershaw	Adam Carroll Ralph Firman	Adam Carroll Niall Quinn	Adam Carroll Ralph Firman
A1 Team Italy	Team Ghinzani[23]	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Enrico Toccacelo Edoardo Piscopo	Paolo Bossini Edoardo Piscopo Frankie Provenzano Davide Rigon	Paolo Bossini Edoardo Piscopo Giuseppe Termine Enrico Toccacelo
A1 Team Lebanon	Argo Racing Cars Ltd.[24]	Tameem Auchi	Chris Alajajian Jimmy Auby Khalil Beschir	Chris Alajajian Jimmy Auby Khalil Beschir	Chris Alajajian Jimmy Auby Khalil Beschir
A1 Team Malaysia	A1 Team Malaysia[25]	Alex Yoong	Fairuz Fauzy Alex Yoong	Fairuz Fauzy Aaron Lim	Fairuz Fauzy Aaron Lim Alex Yoong
A1 Team Mexico	Team Craft[26]	Juan Cortina & Julio Jáuregui	Salvador Durán Jorge Goeters Davíd Garza Pérez Michel Jourdain Jr. David Martínez	Davíd Garza Pérez Michel Jourdain Jr. David Martínez	Juan Pablo Garcia Arturo González Esteban Gutierrez Picho Toledano
A1 Team The Netherlands	Racing for Holland[27]	Jan Lammers	Jeroen Bleekemolen	Arie Luyendyk Jr.	Jeroen Bleekemolen Arie Luyendyk Jr.
A1 Team New Zealand	DSM[28]	Colin Giltrap	Jonny Reid	Earl Bamber Brendon Hartley Chris van der Drift	Brendon Hartley Jonny Reid
A1 Team Pakistan	Performance Racing[29]	Arif Hussain	Adam Khan		Adam Khan
A1 Team Portugal	A1 Team Portugal[30]	Luís Vicente	Filipe Albuquerque João Urbano	Filipe Albuquerque Gonçalo Araújo Frederico Duarte Bruno Serra João Urbano	João Urbano
A1 Team South Africa	Connor Racing[31]	Tokyo Sexwale	Adrian Zaugg	Wesleigh Orr	Wesleigh Orr Adrian Zaugg
A1 Team Switzerland	Max Motorsport Consulting[32]	Max Welti	Neel Jani	Tom Dillmann Rahel Frey Natacha Gachnang Alexandre Imperatori	Sébastien Buemi Rahel Frey Natacha Gachnang Neel Jani
A1 Team USA	A1 Team USA[33]	Rick Weidinger	Buddy Rice Jonathan Summerton	Charlie Kimball	Charlie Kimball Buddy Rice Jonathan Summerton

Swiss drivers Rahel Frey and Natacha Gachnang are the two first females to drive A1 Grand Prix cars this season. Their first steps were test drivers during Silverstone, September 18–19, 2007, test session.^[34] Then Natacha Gachnang drove in rookie sessions in Czech round, on October 12, 2007^[35] and Rahel Frey in Malaysian rookie sessions, on November 23, 2007^[36]

Since January 2008, the Performance Racing manage A1 Team Indonesia.^[37] Bagoes Hermanto, brother of Satrio Hermanto, became the new Team Principal.

Season calendar and winners

Round	Race	Date	Country	Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winner	Report
1	Sprint	30 September 2007	Netherlands	Circuit Park Zandvoort	South Africa	South Africa	South Africa	Report
	Feature				South Africa	Mexico	Great Britain
2	Sprint	14 October 2007	Czech Republic	Brno Circuit	South Africa	New Zealand	New Zealand	Report
	Feature				Netherlands	China	New Zealand
3	Sprint	25 November 2007	Malaysia	Sepang International Circuit	Switzerland	Switzerland	Switzerland	Report
	Feature				Switzerland	Switzerland	Switzerland
4	Sprint	16 December 2007	China	Zhuhai International Circuit	Germany	Switzerland	Germany	Report
	Feature				Switzerland	Great Britain	India
5	Sprint	20 January 2008	New Zealand	Taupo Motorsport Park	New Zealand	Germany	New Zealand	Report
	Feature				France	Switzerland	Germany
6	Sprint	3 February 2008	Australia	Eastern Creek Raceway	France	France	France	Report
	Feature				New Zealand	South Africa	South Africa
7	Sprint	24 February 2008	South Africa	Durban street circuit	Canada	New Zealand	Canada	Report
	Feature				Switzerland	China	Switzerland
8	Sprint	16 March 2008	Mexico	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez	South Africa	China	New Zealand	Report
	Feature				Canada	Great Britain	Ireland
9	Sprint	13 April 2008	China	Shanghai International Circuit	Switzerland	Switzerland	Switzerland	Report
	Feature				Switzerland	Canada	USA
10	Sprint	4 May 2008	Great Britain	Brands Hatch	Great Britain	China	Great Britain	Report
	Feature				India	Ireland	India

Due to Zandvoort's noise restriction, Netherlands round wasn't able to conduct Friday sessions and so rookie session.^[38] Saturday morning was dedicated to practice sessions and Saturday afternoon to qualify sessions for each Sunday race.

Tests

Test	Date	Country	Circuit
1	28 August 2007	United Kingdom	Silverstone
2	29 August 2007	United Kingdom	Silverstone
3	18 September 2007	United Kingdom	Silverstone
4	19 September 2007	United Kingdom	Silverstone

Rule changes

• Qualifying will remain the current format, however the first two qualifying sessions will determine the grid for the sprint race while the second two qualifying sessions will determine the grid for the feature race.^[39]
• There are now 2 pit stops required in the feature race.^[40]
• The feature race remains a distance of 69 minutes plus one lap, while the sprint race has increased to 29 minutes plus one lap.^[40]
• Points are now assigned in the same manner for both the sprint and feature races using the following format with one bonus point awarded for the fastest lap in each race.
• Prize awarded in both sprint and feature races.

Since round 5, in Taupo, a 30 per cent biofuel mix was introduce.^[41] This environmental initiative is the first initiative to help reduce its environmental footprint in motorsport series. The new fuel is an ethanol-based product Hiperflo E30 sourced from sugar beet in Europe and produced by Petrochem Carless. The prediction are a CO2 emissions reduction by 21% per car.

A new light close to the entry of pit lane is introduce since round 5, in Taupo^[42] when safety car is out. When the lights are on, drivers can pit but it is not counted as one of the two mandatory stops. Pits are allowed for mechanical work to be carried out.

Standings

Pos Team Drivers NLD CZE MYS ZHU NZL AUS RSA MEX SHA GBR Pts spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea 1 Switzerland Neel Jani 5 3 8 3 1 1 2 6 Ret 13 10 2 3 1 3 19 1 5 4 3 168 2 New Zealand Jonny Reid 9 7 1 1 5 8 10 2 1 4 2 9 20 10 1 12 Ret 4 8 8 127 3 Great Britain Oliver Jarvis 7 1 6 12 6 5 2 11 2 2 126 Robbie Kerr 2 17 Ret Ret 16 3 9 9 1 2 4 France Loïc Duval 2 5 2 2 8 7 3 3 1 Ret 11 2 118 Nicolas Lapierre 6 5 Jonathan Cochet 12 13 Franck Montagny 12 8 10 5 5 South Africa Adrian Zaugg 1 2 4 16 10 Ret Ret 3 4 7 7 1 13 7 Ret 6 7 16 7 11 96 6 Ireland Ralph Firman 8 6 94 Adam Carroll 3 6 7 7 4 16 6 5 15 13 15 Ret 4 1 11 3 3 13 7 Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen 3 8 5 2 18 4 9 Ret 5 8 9 8 5 4 8 4 17 18 9 6 87 8 Germany Christian Vietoris 6 9 7 8 2 1 83 Michael Ammermüller 16 EX 1 4 4 7 EX Ret Ret 20 6 10 20 Ret 9 Canada James Hinchcliffe 19 18 12 11 15 17 75 Robert Wickens 3 Ret 15 Ret Ret 2 3 6 1 12 7 5 2 20 10 India Narain Karthikeyan 10 Ret 21 9 11 6 7 1 10 Ret 11 11 13 9 5 7 5 1 61 Parthiva Sureshwaren 17 Ret 11 Portugal João Urbano 11 Ret 9 18 13 Ret 19 12 8 12 12 16 59 Filipe Albuquerque 7 3 6 7 3 2 6 7 12 USA Buddy Rice 22 13 16 15 56 Jonathan Summerton 12 10 12 10 7 14 5 Ret 10 Ret 5 3 21 1 2 12 13 China Cong Fu Cheng 17 15 10 4 Ret 5 3 9 14 Ret 14 10 4 6 17 10 10 15 21 4 55 14 Brazil Sérgio Jimenez 13 11 11 7 4 3 18 Ret 13 6 8 4 44 Bruno Junqueira Ret 9 10 8 Alexandre Negrão 14 13 16 14 15 Malaysia Alex Yoong 16 Ret 17 14 9 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 15 4 6 25 Fairuz Fauzy 20 17 9 5 13 Ret 16 Mexico Salvador Durán 4 4 22 Michel Jourdain Jr. 13 22 20 11 David Garza Perez 16 11 17 9 17 18 8 Ret 16 14 Jorge Goeters 20 21 David Martínez 20 16 17 Australia Ian Dyk 21 12 Ret 13 Ret 9 13 15 20 John Martin 9 Ret 6 5 6 14 Ret 21 15 14 14 Ret 18 Italy Enrico Toccacelo 12 14 14 10 8 Ret 12 Edoardo Piscopo 11 Ret 12 Ret 13 14 14 8 11 Ret 8 12 17 9 19 Czech Republic Erik Janiš 15 10 18 12 15 15 10 Tomáš Enge 5 8 Ret 11 18 15 Josef Král 18 Ret Filip Salaquarda Ret 16 13 11 12 15 20 Pakistan Adam Khan 18 17 15 20 17 14 14 14 11 10 Ret 12 12 Ret Ret 18 16 17 18 Ret 1 21 Indonesia Satrio Hermanto 20 16 19 19 19 16 17 Ret 16 Ret 21 20 16 Ret 14 11 19 19 19 10 1 22 Lebanon Chris Alajajian 14 19 14 Ret Ret 13 15 Ret 19 19 0 Khalil Beschir 20 21 19 13 22 18 Jimmy Auby 15 17 18 22 Pos Team Drivers spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea Pts NLD CZE MYS ZHU NZL AUS RSA MEX SHA GBR

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Finished, in points Green Retired, in points Blue Finished, no points Purple Did not finish (Ret) Not classified (NC) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Blank Did not participate Injured (INJ) Excluded (EX) Bold Pole position * Fastest lap spr Sprint Race fea Feature Race

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2007–08 A1 Grand Prix season.

• A1GP official web-site
• A1podium fansite
• A1GP online