Masters Season 7 was the seventh season of FF1M. Although previously called the 1994 FF1M Season, it did not contain drivers solely from that year, being run at the time as a Masters event. However, the series followed the Formula One Calendar of that year with the exception of the Pacific Grand Prix, which was substituted by the Luxembourg Grand Prix held at the Nurburgring, plus the European Grand Prix at Jerez was moved to the second race of the season. Furthermore, teams used liveries and engines from the 1994 season.
The Season was dominated by AquinoPlus team with Ayrton Senna, in his final season of racing before retirement, beating his teammate Fernando Alonso to the Drivers Championship at the final race after a fierce season long battle. AquinoPlus also won the Teams Championship.
Teams and Drivers[]
| Team | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | No. | Race Drivers | Test Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 AquinoPlus
|
Benetton | Ferrari (Works) | 
|
1 |  Fernando Alonso
|
|
| 2 | Ayrton Senna
| |||||
 Maestro Motorsport
|
Lotus | Renault (Works) |
|
3 | Lewis Hamilton
|
|
| 4 |  Kimi Raikkonen
| |||||
| Gui Racing
|
Tyrrell | Renault (Works) |
|
5 | Mika Hakkinen
|
|
| 6 |  Nico Rosberg
| |||||
 M-Sport
|
Ferrari | Renault |
|
7 |  Gerhard Berger
|
|
| 8 | Jenson Button
| |||||
| Super Alex
|
Footwork | Ford (Works) |
|
9 |  Takuma Sato
|
|
| 10 | Martin Brundle
| |||||
 Pedersen
|
Ligier | Mercedes |
|
11 | Heikki Kovalainen
|
|
| 12 | Eddie Irvine
| |||||
| J Racing
|
McLaren | Mugen Honda |
|
14 | Damon Hill
|
|
| 15 |  Juan Pablo Montoya
| |||||
| Willow Images
|
Jordan | Mercedes (Works) |
|
16 | Michael Schumacher
|
|
| 17 |  Jacques Villeneuve
| |||||
| FJR
|
Williams | Mugen Honda |
|
18 | David Coulthard
|
|
| 19 |  Jean Alesi
| |||||
| Dodgem
|
Sauber | Ferrari |
|
20 | Nigel Mansell
|
|
| 21 | Felipe Massa
| |||||
| Ajay Motorsports
|
Minardi | Ford (Works) |
|
22 | Mika Salo
|
|
| 23 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Season Calendar[]
| Round | Grand Prix | Circuit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazilian Grand Prix
|
Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Sao Paulo |
| 2 |  European Grand Prix
|
Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera |
| 3 |  San Marino Grand Prix
|
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola |
| 4 |  Monaco Grand Prix
|
Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo |
| 5 | Spanish Grand Prix
|
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmelo |
| 6 |  Luxembourg Grand Prix
|
Nurburgring, Nurburg |
| 7 | Canadian Grand Prix
|
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal |
| 8 | French Grand Prix
|
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours |
| 9 | British Grand Prix
|
Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone |
| 10 | German Grand Prix
|
Hockenheimring, Hockenheim |
| 11 |  Hungarian Grand Prix
|
Hungaroring, Mogyorod |
| 12 |  Belgian Grand Prix
|
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot |
| 13 |  Italian Grand Prix
|
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza |
| 14 |  Portuguese Grand Prix
|
Circuito do Estoril, Estoril |
| 15 | Japanese Grand Prix
|
Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka |
| 16 |  Australian Grand Prix
|
Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide |
Season Review[]
Round 1 - Brazil[]
Season 7 of the Masters era brought its usual reshuffling of drivers and engines with teams, the most significant of which was two-time champion Fernando Alonso making the switch from Maestro Motorsport to AquinoPlus to partner Ayrton Senna. The partnership certainly made an immediate impact in qualifying with a front row lockout and the Spaniard on pole position.
Both AquinoPlus drivers had decent races to finish on the podium with Alonso taking his first win since Monaco last season, but they were split by a rejuvenated Jean Alesi, who was in his 6th season with FJR and revelling in the Mugen Honda powerplant that nearly took Super Alex to an unexpected drivers championship. As for the other two local drivers, Dodgem's Felipe Massa and Ajay's Rubens Barrichello both finished outside of the points, while the other Brazilian team of Gui Racing saw its two drivers also fail to score points.
Round 2 - Europe[]
For the first time since Season 1, Jerez played host to an FF1M race, albeit under the European Grand Prix moniker, which gave championship leader Fernando Alonso an extra opportunity to win a race at home. He qualified 3rd behind polesitter Ayrton Senna and Willow Images' Michael Schumacher.
In what was the 100th FF1M race, the two drivers on the front row dominated the race with Senna taking his first win of the season ahead of Schumacher, while Alonso dropped from 3rd to 4th behind J Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya, who put in a good race from 7th on the grid. Meanwhile, Jean Alesi couldn't repeat his Brazilian GP podium finish as he retired from the race.
Round 3 - San Marino[]
The first Italian race of the season gave the Italian crowd their first opportunity to worship their beloved Ferrari engines in the back of the AquinoPlus and the Dodgem cars, plus their livery courtesy of Maestro as well as the Minardi chassis run by the Ajay team. The best they got was an outstanding qualifying effort from Dodgem's Nigel Mansell, who outqualified both AquinoPlus drivers to start 2nd behind polesitter Michael Schumacher.
In the race, all drivers were stunned by an inspired Juan Pablo Montoya from J Racing, who stormed through the field from 8th on the grid to take his first ever FF1M win. He was joined on the podium by Maestro Motorsport's Lewis Hamilton, who'd had a steady first couple of races but was on good form at Imola, while Mansell maintained his speed in the race with 3rd, Dodgem's first podium since the last race of Season 5.
Round 4 - Monaco[]
From one tiny nation to another, except the racing actually happens in this country rather than an Italian race pretending to take part in another country. There were no Monegasque drivers, but French-Sicilian Jean Alesi was close enough. He would start this race from 6th on the grid. On pole once again was Michael Schumacher, who beat the two AquinoPlus drivers.
The race produced one of the most curious and unusual results of the season, not from a shock winner, but because there were no retirements around the narrow streets of Monaco. Schumacher couldn't maintain his pole position advantage as he slipped to 5th, and it was Fernando Alonso who took his second win of the season. Just as in Brazil, Alesi managed to split the two AquinoPlus drivers and finish 2nd.
Drivers Championship[]
| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Fernando Alonso | AquinoPlus | 34 |
| 2nd | Ayrton Senna | AquinoPlus | 28 |
| 3rd | Juan Pablo Montoya | J Racing | 18 |
| 4th | Jean Alesi | FJR | 18 |
| 5th | Lewis Hamilton | Maestro Motorsport | 15 |
Constructors Championship[]
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | AquinoPlus | 62 |
| 2nd | Willow Images | 25 |
| 3rd | Maestro Motorsport | 19 |
Round 5 - Spain[]
Fresh from his Monaco win, Fernando Alonso was confident of making it three wins in front of his home crowd. He was already twice a winner of the Spanish Grand Prix having triumphed the season before with Maestro at Barcelona, and with AquinoPlus at Jerez in Season 1. He put himself in a good position for the race by qualifying 2nd behind Michael Schumacher.
Although Schumacher had been qualifying well, the works Mercedes race engine wasn't a match for the works Ferrari race engine in the back of the AquinoPlus, and the pattern repeated itself once again with Alonso taking his third win of the season. This time, he was joined on the podium by Kimi Raikkonen and Damon Hill, both of whom had scored their first podium finishes of the season. Raikkonen's previous best result was 6th at Monaco, while Hill hadn't scored a single point before this race.
Round 6 - Luxembourg[]
With Ayrton Senna, Jean Alesi, and Lewis Hamilton all failing to score at Barcelona, Alonso's lead at the top of the championship had extended significantly and prospects of a third consecutive championship looked good. With his confidence high, he managed to secure another front row start at the Nurburgring. For the first time this season, Nigel Mansell took pole position, but more significantly, this was Dodgem's first career pole position.
Having not won a race since the European Grand Prix of Season 4, Mansell was quite keen to end what had been a lengthy lean spell, but he couldn't translate pole into a win and faded to 6th in the race. Alonso was also beaten to the win, this time by FJR, who had found the sweet spot in their race set-up and took their first career 1-2 finish, with Jean Alesi taking his third career win ahead of teammate David Coulthard. Like Monaco, this race saw no retirements.
Round 7 - Canada[]
FF1M made its usual mid-season pilgrimage across the Atlantic for the Canadian Grand Prix, located at the manmade Ile Notre Dame at Montreal. All eyes were on the Willow Images driver of Jacques Villeneuve, who had been in the points for the first five races, but qualifying was a disaster for the French-Canadian as he was way down in 20th, ahead of only the struggling Super Alex team. On pole for the second time this season was Ayrton Senna ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. The gap between the two AquinoPlus drivers was less than four hundredths of a second.
An AquinoPlus lockout on the front row led to a dominant display in the race with Senna dominantly leading home Alonso for his second win of the season and kickstarting his championship challenge by reducing the gap to 15 points. In 3rd place was Mika Hakkinen, his and Gui Racing's first podium of the season in what had been a strangely quiet season for the Brazilian team. They had been running the works Renault engine, which wasn't a particularly good qualifying engine, but was decent in the race, and Hakkinen's best qualifying had only been 7th. Home hero Jacques Villeneuve had a bad meeting, qualifying down in 20th and retiring with a puncture.
Round 8 - France[]
The super smooth Magny-Cours circuit played host to the French Grand Prix, and it was a race in which home hero Jean Alesi hadn't had much success on aside from his 2nd place during Season 2. It looked as if that pattern would continue as he qualified down in 13th place. Taking his third pole of the season was Ayrton Senna, but he was joined on the front row by Damon Hill, by far J Racing's best qualifying performance of the season. By contrast, championship leader Fernando Alonso was down in 6th, half a second off of his teammate.
Alonso was similarly off the pace in the race as well as he couldn't advance from his 6th on the grid and remained there by the race's end. This presented the perfect opportunity for his teammate to take a chunk out of the championship lead, but Senna wasn't able to capitalise as he retired from the race with a transmission problem. This paved the way for Hill to take his first win of the season, with Kimi Raikkonen putting in a strong drive to finish 2nd having started 7th, and Alesi putting in an even better one to finish 3rd.
Drivers Championship[]
| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Fernando Alonso | AquinoPlus | 63 |
| 2nd | Ayrton Senna | AquinoPlus | 45 |
| 3rd | Jean Alesi | FJR | 40 |
| 4th | Juan Pablo Montoya | J Racing | 28 |
| 5th | Kimi Raikkonen | Maestro Motorsport | 21 |
Constructors Championship[]
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | AquinoPlus | 108 |
| 2nd | FJR | 51 |
| 3rd | J Racing | 46 |
Round 9 - Great Britain[]
FF1M headed across the English Channel and into the border of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Ayrton Senna continued his run of pole positions here with his third in a row. He was joined on the front row by Kimi Raikkonen, while the fastest Brit came 5th in the form of Lewis Hamilton. As for the other six British drivers, David Coulthard was 9th, Nigel Mansell was 10th, Damon Hill was 11th, Eddie Irvine was 12th, Jenson Button was 13th, and Martin Brundle was 19th, which would turn out to be his best starting position all season.
None of the sevens Brits were particularly sparkling in the race, only one finished in the points courtesy of the FJR of Coulthard in 5th. Senna didn't have a good race either as he slipped from pole to 9th, and it left Raikkonen to take his first win of the season, Maestro's first of the season. Gui Racing's Nico Rosberg took his first podium since Hockenheim last season with another German, Michael Schumacher, joining both drivers. Alonso's 4th place helped him to extend his championship lead.
Round 10 - Germany[]
From the fast corners of Silverstone to the fast straights of Hockenheim, as the German Grand Prix played host to round 10. Both Germans qualified in the top 10 with Michael Schumacher 6th and Nico Rosberg 8th, but taking his fourth consecutive pole position was Ayrton Senna, with teammate Fernando Alonso alongside him on the front row.
For the first time this season, neither AquinoPlus driver would make the finish. In fact, both were the first two retirements due to a crash for Alonso on the first lap and an engine failure for Senna. Even the driver who started 3rd, Nigel Mansell, couldn't capitalise, which left Mika Hakkinen to take his his first win of the season for Gui Racing with Kimi Raikkonen making it a Finnish 1-2, not bad for a nation of five million. Taking 3rd was Jean Alesi, who put in another impressive drive from outside the top 10 on the grid to move ahead of Ayrton Senna in the championship. Winning the German battle was Rosberg, who finished 6th. His compatriot failed to finish after crashing out.
Round 11 - Hungary[]
A polar opposite to Hockenheim, the Hungaroring twists around like a go-kart track, and those with a well-balanced high downforce car underneath them are likely to go well. Momentum from the previous race can also be a benefit, and the race winner from Hockenheim, Mika Hakkinen, qualified 2nd behind Fernando Alonso, who took just his second pole position of the season.
In what was a closely fought race with the top 4 being separated by less than five second come the chequered flag, it was the driver who started 10th on the grid, Damon Hill, who stormed through to his second win of the season ahead of the Maestro of Lewis Hamilton, despite the circuit being widely known as a difficult one to overtake on. From pole position, Alonso drove steadily race to 3rd, but still extended his championship lead over teammate Ayrton Senna, who crashed out and fell to 29 points behind his teammate with 60 on offer in the remaining five races.
Round 12 - Belgium[]
Nestled in the Ardennes forest, Spa-Francorchamps provides drivers with nearly seven kilometres of driving nirvana, and those who go well there must surely gain tremendous satisfaction from it. The driver who got the most out of the circuit in a wet qualifying session was Nico Rosberg, who took his first career FF1M pole by nearly one and a half seconds, with Michael Schumacher making it an all German front row. Of the main championship contenders, Ayrton Senna was 6th, Jean Alesi was 7th, and Fernando Alonso was down in 10th.
Of those three championship candidates, Senna had a much-needed result to finish on the podium with Alesi and Alonso in the lower end of the points, but it was young Rosberg who replicated his qualifying performance to control the race for his first win of the season, with Hill bagging another podium finish for J Racing. Unusually for such a demanding circuit, there were only five retirements, two of which didn't complete the first lap in what must've been a collision between Jenson Button and Mika Salo.
Drivers Championship[]
| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Fernando Alonso | AquinoPlus | 76 |
| 2nd | Ayrton Senna | AquinoPlus | 51 |
| 3rd | Jean Alesi | FJR | 50 |
| 4th | Kimi Raikkonen | Maestro Motorsport | 47 |
| 5th | Damon Hill | J Racing | 43 |
Constructors Championship[]
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | AquinoPlus | 127 |
| 2nd | Maestro Motorsport | 82 |
| 3rd | J Racing | 71 |
Round 13 - Italy[]
With such a big lead over Maestro Motorsport in the teams championship, AquinoPlus had the chance to wrap it up if they scored one point more than FJR, five points more than J Racing, and 16 points more than Maestro. With Ayrton Senna 2nd and Fernando Alonso 6th on the grid at Monza, they were in decent shape, but a Gui Racing was on pole in the form of Mika Hakkinen. FJR and J Racing's Mugen Honda engines weren't well suited to the Monza circuit with Damon Hill the highest in 8th. With them being customers to Maestro and AquinoPlus' works status, they were unlikely to pose a serious championship challenge in the closing stages of the season.
In stark contrast to some races this season, Monza was a chaotic affair with only eight drivers making the finish. This was great news for Senna, who took a big chunk out of Alonso's championship lead by taking his third win of the season by a minute. Two Brits joined him on the podium in the form of David Coulthard, who stayed out of relative trouble to go from 16th to 2nd, and Pedersen's Eddie Irvine, who went from 17th to 3rd. The remaining finishers consisted of Michael Schumacher, Heikki Kovalainen, Felipe Massa, Mika Salo, and Takuma Sato. This meant all 11 teams had scored points throughout the season.
Round 14 - Portugal[]
Fernando Alonso's second opportunity to wrap up the drivers championship was at Estoril, a tricky Portuguese circuit that's hard on tyres, although that would only happen if he won and his teammate failed to score. Both AquinoPlus drivers qualified on the second row behind polesitter Lewis Hamilton and 2nd placed Mika Hakkinen. Only 11 thousandths of a second separated the front row.
In the race, the drivers championship status once again closed up as Alonso retired with a transmission problem while Senna finished in 5th, although the original standings had mysteriously omitted this result and moved all drivers below up a place. This has since been corrected and as a result, Senna was now just nine points behind his teammate. Things didn't quite go to plan for Hamilton either as he chased his first win of the season, although he did finish 4th. It was Michael Schumacher who took his first win of the season ahead of Hakkinen and Jacques Villeneuve, the Canadian making it a double podium finish for Willow Images.
Drivers Championship[]
| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ayrton Senna | AquinoPlus | 76 |
| 2nd | Fernando Alonso | AquinoPlus | 67 |
| 3rd | Jean Alesi | FJR | 52 |
Constructors Championship[]
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | AquinoPlus | 143 |
| 2nd | Maestro Motorsport | 87 |
| 3rd | FJR | 77 |
Round 15 - Japan[]
The result at Estoril reduced the drivers championship battle to three, although realistically, it was between the two AquinoPlus drivers. Jean Alesi's shot was as outside as could be as he was 24 points behind with 24 on offer. He could still beat Alonso on countback by having one more 2nd place than the Spaniard, but his chances were made more remote by qualifying down in 13th. Meanwhile, the teams championship was settled in favour of AquinoPlus, their 3rd in seven seasons, and their drivers celebrated this by qualifying 2nd and 4th at Suzuka, with Senna in front, although it was Lewis Hamilton who took his second pole of the season.
For Alonso to win the championship, he needed to remain 13 points ahead of his teammate. He maintained his 4th place in the race, but unfortunately for him, Senna maintained his 2nd place and closed the championship gap to six points. Hamilton couldn't maintain his pole position and dropped down to 7th, and it was left to Nico Rosberg to take his second win of the season. With teammate Mika Hakkinen in 3rd, Gui Racing rocketed up to 2nd in the teams championship.
Round 16 - Australia[]
The final round of the season was at Adelaide, and it presented different championship permutations. Ayrton Senna needed at least finish at least 3rd to stand any chance of overhauling Fernando Alonso depending on what the Spaniard did. By contrast, a 2nd would guarantee the championship for Alonso regardless of where Senna would finish. In qualifying, it was advantage Alonso as he qualified 2nd, two places ahead of Senna, while Nico Rosberg took pole position.
During the race, the championship battle unravelled in dramatic fashion as an early puncture robbed Alonso of being involved in the race at all. All Senna had to do was finish 3rd to win the championship, but he went two better than that. In his final FF1M race in the Masters era, Senna took victory and with it, the championship. It was a triumph not just for AquinoPlus, but the other Brazilian team of Gui Racing, who always admired Senna's ability. As the rest of the podium, they were occupied by Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen, while 6th for Jean Alesi ensured his status as best of the rest, a result FJR were very happy with.
Results and Standings[]
Scoring system[]
Points are awarded to the top 8 classified finishers in race.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 12 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Race by Race[]
| Round | Grand Prix | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning Driver | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazilian Grand Prix
|
Fernando Alonso
|
David Coulthard
|
Fernando Alonso
|
AquinoPlus-Ferrari
|
| 2 | European Grand Prix
|
Ayrton Senna
|
Ayrton Senna
|
Ayrton Senna
|
AquinoPlus-Ferrari
|
| 3 | San Marino Grand Prix
|
Michael Schumacher
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
Juan Pablo Montoya
|
J Racing-Mugen Honda
|
| 4 | Monaco Grand Prix
|
Michael Schumacher
|
Mika Hakkinen
|
Fernando Alonso
|
AquinoPlus-Ferrari
|
| 5 | Spanish Grand Prix
|
Michael Schumacher
|
Damon Hill
|
Fernando Alonso
|
AquinoPlus-Ferrari
|
| 6 | Luxembourg Grand Prix
|
Nigel Mansell
|
Jean Alesi
|
Jean Alesi
|
FJR-Mugen Honda
|
| 7 | Canadian Grand Prix
|
Ayrton Senna
|
Fernando Alonso
|
Ayrton Senna
|
AquinoPlus-Ferrari
|
| 8 | French Grand Prix
|
Ayrton Senna
|
Damon Hill
|
Damon Hill
|
J Racing-Mugen Honda
|
| 9 | British Grand Prix
|
Ayrton Senna
|
Ayrton Senna
|
Kimi Raikkonen
|
Maestro-Renault
|
| 10 | German Grand Prix
|
Ayrton Senna
|
Jean Alesi
|
Mika Hakkinen
|
Gui Racing-Renault
|
| 11 | Hungarian Grand Prix
|
Fernando Alonso
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
Damon Hill
|
J Racing-Mugen Honda
|
| 12 | Belgian Grand Prix
|
Nico Rosberg
|
Michael Schumacher
|
Nico Rosberg
|
Gui Racing-Renault
|
| 13 | Italian Grand Prix
|
Mika Hakkinen
|
Michael Schumacher
|
Ayrton Senna
|
AquinoPlus-Ferrari
|
| 14 | Portuguese Grand Prix
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
Michael Schumacher
|
Michael Schumacher
|
Willow Images-Mercedes
|
| 15 | Japanese Grand Prix
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
Jean Alesi
|
Nico Rosberg
|
Gui Racing-Renault
|
| 16 | Australian Grand Prix
|
Nico Rosberg
|
Kimi Raikkonen
|
Ayrton Senna
|
AquinoPlus-Ferrari
|
Championship Standings[]
*The original displayed results revealed that Ayrton Senna's 5th place at the Portuguese Grand Prix wasn't registered in the championship standings, and drivers behind had moved up a position. The audit has now taken effect and it doesn't impact the final championship standings.
Engine Trophy[]
Qualifying Positions[]
