Ajay Productions Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Michael Pedersen Racing (more commonly known as Pedersen) are a Danish team that have been in FF1M since the inaugural season. They were founded by the likeable Michael Pedersen and have competed in all but one season of FF1M.

FF1M History

Masters Mismatches (Season 1-Season 7)

Season 1

Before FF1M, Michael Pedersen drove for Ajay Motorsports in the AF1RL series from season three onwards. Having experienced much success as a virtual driver, he decided to give running his own team a go by participating in the first FF1M season. He recruited the mismatched Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello to drive Pedersen's Ferrari-powered challenger. Both drivers grappled with an unreliable car, and three points were all the team could manage, courtesy of Barrichello at the ultra-low downforce circuits. The team finished 10th in the constructors ahead of the short-lived Jordan team.

Season 2

Aside from the engine, all had changed for Season 2, as another mismatched duo of Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve joined Pedersen. The car was much more competitive compared to the season before, as Villeneuve took the team's first podium finish at Imola. Two races later at Barcelona, the Canadian mastered the conditions to take the team's first win, a notable one as this was the first broadcasted race in FF1M (The Australian Grand Prix of Season 1 featured qualifying highlights). Villeneuve also seemed to go well at the 'Ring' circuits with further podiums at the Nurburgring, A1-Ring, and the Hungaroring, and this meant that Pedersen finished 5th in the constructors championship.

Season 3

For Season 3, Rubens Barrichello returned to the team, but he had a very difficult teammate in the form of Alain Prost. Although it was the Brazilian who scored the team's first points of the season, it was Prost who scored the remaining 65, with four wins including a brilliant charge through the field at Montreal where he went from 7th to 1st in the final 23 laps. Heading into the final race, he held a one point lead over Michael Schumacher, and a further six from Fernando Alonso. Although the Spaniard won the race, 2nd place was more than enough for Prost to take the drivers championship, although Barrichello's lack of results meant that Pedersen finished 4th in the constructors championship.

Season 4

Pedersen's reputation for challenging driver line-ups continued into Season 4, where they drafted in the moody Nigel Mansell and the Austrian prankster Gerhard Berger. The team also had a new engine as they switched to Renault. In terms of the racing, both drivers proved fairly dependable with a handful of podium finishes including a win for Mansell at the Nurburgring. It wasn't enough to challenge for either championship, although Pedersen did finish 6th in what was a highly competitive season which saw no less than seven teams win races.

Season 5

Season 5 saw much change as Ferrari returned to power the team with Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen teaming up. Both drivers quickly discovered that their engine had incredible power in qualifying, but had to preserve their engine during the races. This was no more evident in Mexico where Schumacher qualified on pole but lost the lead at the start to a one-stopping Jean Alesi. The German's strategy of doing two stops was therefore destroyed as he was unable to overtake the FJR due to the lack of race power. This theme continued for the whole season as the team could only manage one podium, Schumacher's 2nd at Monaco, on their way to second consecutive 6th in the constructors championship.

Season 6

Eager to progress towards the front, Pedersen once again changed their line-up for Season 6 and recruited Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen to drive their Mugen-powered car. The Mugen was a customer to what was an incredible Honda engine during Season 5, and Hill got the team's campaign off to a good start with a 2nd at Kyalami. Hakkinen was to have a better season with two wins at Magny-Cours and Monza, and although he was 7th in the drivers championship with two races remaining, he was only 13 points behind championship leader Ayrton Senna. A retirement at Suzuka ended his championship chances, but his and Hill's combined efforts helped Pedersen finish 3rd in the constructors championship, their best result so far.

Season 7

Despite the success of the season before, Hakkinen and Hill headed for different teams for Season 7, and Pedersen had to settle for a different Finn and Brit combination in the form of Heikki Kovalainen and the returning Eddie Irvine. They also had a customer Mercedes engine, which compared to the Mugen, was a bit naff. Points finishes were rare for the team, and the highlight was Irvine scoring a podium in a high attrition race at Monza, but Pedersen had to settle for 9th in the constructors championship.

20th Century Rollercoaster (1996-1999)

1996

For reasons unknown, Pedersen were absent for the final season of the masters era, but they were back for the revamped management era and the 1996 season. Due to being one of the last teams to submit an entry, they had to make do with running the Mugen Honda engines exclusively, and two novice drivers in the form of Norberto Fontana and Jan Magnussen. As expected, they had a dreadful start to the season, so bad that Fontano was dropped after just four races in favour of the equally inexperienced Vincenzo Sospiri. The change surprisingly paid off after Sospiri scored a point at a very wet Imola, even if he was the last runner. He also managed a 6th place at Montreal, but ultimately, Pedersen finished a solid last in the championship, despite dropping Magnussing for Fontana with four races to go.

1997

For 1997, Pedersen had managed to obtain works Mercedes engines for Eddie Irvine and Giancarlo Fisichella's right feet to play with. The season started off fairly solidly with taking two points finishes in the opening race and very briefly, he was 2nd in the drivers championship! That was as high as he would get, but he was a regular points scorer throughout the season, although with no podium finishes. Fisichella had a tougher time of it, and he was even dropped after Hockenheim, with Nicola Larini taking his place for the rest of the season. Not for the first time in their career, Pedersen finished 6th in the constructors championship, or in other words, they had an ordinary season.

1998

1998 promised a lot with Pedersen bringing in two race winners in the form of Rubens Barrichello, and 1997 drivers championship contender Jacques Villeneuve. They also acquired a lucrative new sponsorship deal with Q-Park, whose name would appear on the car for many seasons. Although they were no match for the dominant Dodgem and the tenacious Ralf Schumacher, both driver proved very capable with more than regular points finishes for both, and a handful of podium finishes; three for Villeneuve and two for Barrichello, although no wins. Both drivers were only separate by two points come the end of the season, and Pedersen equalled their best result in the constructors championship with 3rd.

1999

Pedersen were late in submitting an entry for the 1999 season, having to settle for Jos Verstappen and Giancarlo Fisichella, and Bridgestone tyres, which had their moments during 1998, but were ultimately no match for Michelin and Goodyear. Despite maintaining their works Mercedes engines, the start of the season was an unmitigated disaster, so much so that both drivers were sensationally sacked after just four races in favour of Nordic duo Mika Salo and Jan Magnussen. The season marginally improved, with a smattering of points finishes for both drivers, which was enough to avoid finishing bottom of the constructors championship, mostly thanks to Talent Racing's calculated ineptitude.

21st Century Turnaround (2000-2005)

2000

It was back to the drawing board for Pedersen for the 2000 season, and they acquired the services of a highly exciting young German by the name of Nick Heidfeld to partner French veteran Jean Alesi. They had to make do with the inferior Bridgestone tyres, and this proved a challenge for both drivers, with Alesi failing to make the podium in what would be his final season in FF1M. Heidfeld's season was a different story, as he took Pedersen's first win in the Management era at Monaco, followed by another at Monza. The tyre struggles meant that Pedersen were consigned to 6th in the constructors championship, the highest placed Bridgestone team.

2001

Heidfeld remained with the team for 2001, and was joined by David Coulthard. However, it was the switch to Michelin tyres which was the big coup for Pedersen, as the French tyre manufacturer had been so dominant over the past couple of seasons. They got off to a flying start with Heidfeld dominating the opening two races at Melbourne and Sepang, but after his third win at Imola, reliability fell to pieces as he then failed to finish the following nine races. Luckily, Coulthard was on hand to win thrice at Spielberg, Montreal, and Hockenheim, and found himself in a titanic five-way championship battle going into the final round, just two points behind leader and winless Cristiano Da Matta. Pedersen also had a chance of winning their first constructors championship as they were five points behind FJR, who were also chasing their first constructors championship. Sadly for Coulthard, his championship challenge ended at one third distance due to engine failure. Worse for Pedersen, although Heidfeld dominated the race, Kimi Raikkonen's 2nd place meant that the Danish team agonisingly missed out on championship glory by just a single point.

2002

2002 saw Pedersen lose their star German as well as their capable Scot as they left for other teams. They also lost their Mercedes engine as they switched allegiance to MRD, so Pedersen took a risk with newcomers Toyota, as well as recruiting Jenson Button and the fairly inexperienced Mark Webber. They were also back on the Bridgestone tyre, which were still uncompetitive compared to their French rivals. Highlights were few and far between, but Button managed a surprise pole position at Imola, before taking a podium finish at the other Italian race. Eight different teams won a race, but Pedersen weren't one of them as they plummeted down to 9th in the constructors championship.

2003

Throughout 2002, Pedersen had been developing a turbo for the 2003 season. They had also ditched their inferior Japanese rubber in favour of Michelin once again, and teaming up with Webber was Ralf Schumacher, who had been absent during the entirety of 2002 after poor performances lead to his dismissal from Gui Racing after 2001. Although they were no match for the dominant Dark Wolf, Pedersen kept them relatively honest with Ralf taking three wins at Imola, Montreal, and Silverstone, with Webber twice making it a 1-2 finish. In fact, the German wasn't far off of the two Dark Wolf drivers, but ultimately had to settle for 3rd in the drivers championship, and Pedersen finished in a fairly comfortable 2nd place, despite a resurgent FJR.

2004

The formula remained mostly the same for 2004 aside from continuing their on-off relationship with Bridgestone, who had shown improvements during 2003 with FJR and MRD taking two wins each with the Japanese tyre manufacturer, but were still seen as the inferior rubber. The turbo was king during 2004, but Pedersen couldn't quite get the hang of theirs with a both drivers recording just a 50% finishing rate. Nevertheless, when both drivers did finish, they tended to be in the points, with Webber taking three podiums to Ralf's one. Neither driver could win however, and Pedersen finished 5th in the constructors, three places lower than where pundits predicted them.

2005

Disappointed with their V10 turbo engine's performance during 2004, Pedersen boldly ditched their Toyota engines in favour of naturally aspirated Mercedes V8 engines for the 2005 season, which MRD had been developing vigorously through the previous season. Much of pre-season was spent continuing to develop the power output of their Mercedes, and with the abolition of the tyre war, the season promised a lot for the Danish team, even being billed as pre-season favourites. In the opening flyaway races, Pedersen were devastating, with Ralf winning to opening two races and Webber winning in Bahrain. The team's speed mirrored that of 2001 with a total of nine wins for both drivers, but like 2001, their speed came at a price with the Mercedes engine proving fragile. Luckily, both drivers were up there when it mattered, with Webber taking more wins at Istanbul, Hockenheim, and Spa, while Ralf took back-to-back wins at Monaco and Montreal.

The car's unreliability had brought Gui Racing's Timo Glock into play, whose car had been much more reliable with only one retirement. Heading into the final race, all three drivers were separated by just four points, with Webber holding the advantage over Glock by a single point, and Ralf a further three behind. In qualifying, it was advantage Glock, who had qualified 5th, two places ahead of Webber, and Ralf down in 10th. A great start for Webber saw him outbrake Glock into Descida Do Lago on the first lap, followed by dummying Robert Kubica for 4th on the second lap, and then passing Heidfeld for 3rd on the next lap, but then on the fifth lap, his race suddenly ended thanks to a puncture. With Glock struggling on a one-stop strategy, Pedersen's hopes laid with Ralf, and he patiently worked his way to the front to take his fifth win of the season, and with it the drivers championship. Ralf and Webber's efforts resulted in a very comfortable and well-deserved first ever constructors championship for Pedersen.

Late Noughties Labour (2006-2009)

2006

On the back of their maiden constructors championship glory, Pedersen unsurprisingly kept the same line-up for 2006. The season started well enough with pole position for world champion Ralf at the first round, which was then followed by a win at Sepang. Another podium at Imola followed and at this stage after four races, he was just two points behind championship leader Vitantonio Liuzzi. Then unbelievably at round eight, Ralf was sacked, becoming the first reigning champion in history to be dropped midway through a season. It came after three difficult races where the world champion had scored just one point, but even so, it came as a shock to the FF1M paddock as he had comfortably outscored his teammate. Nevertheless, it allowed Neel Jani to make his debut, and what a debut. In his second race at Montreal, he took a superb win after outracing polesitter Nico Rosberg. Although that was his only podium finish of the season, he was a consistent points finisher and amazingly outscored Webber, who could well consider his own season rather embarrassing as he had competed a whole season. He had completed ten more races than the jilted Ralf and only outscored him by one point. Pedersen's championship defence was valiant, but ultimately unsuccessful as they finished 3rd in the constructors championship.

2007

After a turbulent season, Pedersen reunited with Toyota for 2007, who had since ditched their turbo set-up and developed a V8 for Venture to use during the previous season. Other changes were in the driver line-up as Fernando Alonso had joined the team to partner Jani. Although the Spaniard got off to a good start with a podium finish at Melbourne, the car had generally lost its competitiveness. Jani in particular was struggling, but his season was interrupted by an enormous start line crash at the Nurburgring after contact with many cars created a helicopter moment, and he was out of the car until Monza. Adrian Sutil and Felipe Massa filled in for the races in between, but they couldn't get to grips with the car, and Pedersen suffered three failures to qualify during the season. With most points scored by Alonso, Pedersen finished 7th in the constructors championship.

2008

Pedersen stuck with the Toyota engines for 2008 as they recruited two very capable drivers in the form of Kimi Raikkonen and reigning champion Sebastian Vettel. With Gui Racing also running Toyota engines, the season had potential, but once again, Pedersen's drivers had a tricky time getting their car to behave. This resulted in a number of retirements throughout the season and what would've been a 50% finishing rate, but they failed to qualify at Hockenheim. Both drivers scored a total of three podium finishes, with Vettel taking 2nd at his other home race and Monaco, and Raikkonen taking 3rd at Montreal, a circuit which has generally been a happy hunting ground for the Pedersen. Come the end of the season, the team had just edged out Andy Racing for 6th in the championship.

2009

With new aerodynamic and KERS regulations coming in for 2009, Pedersen opted for a very inexperienced driver line-up in the form of Kamui Kobayashi and Adrian Zaugg, both of whom had won races during the 2008 FF2M season. They also followed Gui Racing in obtaining Mercedes engines, which had won the constructors championship with Tornado during the previous season. Despite their chronic lack of experience, both drivers impressed in their debut season with a smattering of points finishes, particularly for Kobayashi, although it was Zaugg who took the team's only podium finish of the season at Monza. They were also one of only three teams to have qualified for every race that season, and it helped them to 5th in the constructors championship.

Consistent Frontrunners (2010-2012)

2010

2010 saw Pedersen maintain pretty much the same line-up aside from acquiring two new test drivers. In a season characterised by abysmal reliability for nearly the entire grid, Pedersen had the almost unique distinction of having one of the more reliable cars on the grid, but the pesky mid season driver swaps had worked its way back into the Pedersen team as Zaugg was dropped after just six races in favour of Indian Karun Chandhok. His impact wasn't immediate, but he managed to score his first points with a 5th place at the Hungaroring, and then a first corner pile-up saw him briefly in the lead before the race was red-flagged. His performance in the restarted race was still strong as he took the team's first podium of the season with 3rd, and it had a positive impact on Kobayashi as he was on course to take his first win of the season at Indianapolis before an unscheduled pitstop dropped him down to 2nd. The team then had their best result of the season in the final at Suzuka with Kobayashi again on the podium with Chandhok 4th. Their 13-point haul propelled them from 8th to 5th in the constructors championship, just one point behind FJR.

2011

While Kobayashi remained with the team for 2011, he had a much more daunting teammate in the form of Lewis Hamilton, who had joined from Shake 'n' Bake after two seasons of championship success with the Yorkshire team. As they were sharing a works Mercedes engine deal with Tornado, Pedersen had reason to believe that they could challenge for championship glory. Although Hamilton was quick, taking a number of pole positions in the opening series of races, reliability wasn't on his side with potential wins being lost due to engine problems. After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Pedersen were down in 7th in the constructors championship, some 69 points behind leaders Shake 'n' Bake, but the final series of races saw one of the most remarkable comebacks in FF1M. As Shake 'n' Bake would experience a dramatic downturn in form, Pedersen suddenly found their reliability as the Hamilton won the final five races with Kobayashi also performing strongly. Although the drivers championship was just out of reach, 94 points scored were enough for Pedersen to steal the constructors championship in the final race at Interlagos.

2012

With teams and engines going through a reset for 2012, Pedersen obtained works BMW engines for Kobayashi and the returning Bruno Senna to sample. It didn't get off to the best of starts with the team having to wait until the third round at Long Beach to score points, with Kobayashi finishing 5th. He then followed this up with a 3rd at Imola, with Senna making it a double points finish with 7th. The race at Monaco produced mayhem with many drivers being caught out by the barriers. One of those included Kobayashi, who crashed out at St Devote, but Senna managed to keep out of trouble and capitalise on both Tornado drivers and Nico Rosberg crashing out to take the win, holding off his compatriot Lucas Di Grassi in the closing stages. Despite some strong qualifying performances later in the season, the BMW race engine wasn't a match for the Ferrari and Mercedes powered cars, and Pedersen had to settle for 5th in the constructors championship.

Inconsistency (2013-Present)

2013

The same line-up was kept for 2013, but a challenging season was in prospect as despite their works programme, Pedersen were the only team running BMW engines, and they weren't predicted to have a good season by those within the paddock pretending to be experts… pundits in other words. The first qualifying session made for sobering reading as both drivers were two and a half seconds off of pole position, and eight tenths off of 20th placed Robin Frijns. Both Kobayashi and Senna did have reliability on their side as they were among the eight finishers, but that was the only points finish of the season for Pedersen as they finished last in the championship in a season that would be kindly described as a write off.

2014

It would've been safe to assume that Pedersen abandoned car development midway through 2013 in order to focus on 2014, where new engine regulations saw them run customer Mugen engines and bring in Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. A total of four teams were running the Mugen engines, so the potential for development was strong, even after a rule change in how the engines would be developed. Despite a much improved car, the first half of the season was relatively steady with Grosjean having to wait until Montreal for his first podium of the season, and this was aided by Button's dramatic last lap retirement. Meanwhile, Maldonado waited until Mexico to be replaced by Karun Chandhok. Grosjean's podium proved to be a kickstart as he took two dominant wins at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring, followed by another at the Hungaroring to bring himself into serious championship contention. Reliability however took care of that battle as Grosjean failed to finish at Spa and Singapore, but Grosjean still finished 3rd in the championship with Chandhok's efforts helping Pedersen to 4th in the constructors championship, a enormous improvement compared to the previous season.

2015

Pedersen were keen to keep Grosjean for 2015, but his new teammate was Sergio Perez, a driver who outscored his world champion teammate during the previous season. A few eyebrows were raised in the engine department as the Danish team favoured Ilmor rather than Mugen. Initially, the engine switched looked to have paid off when Perez finished a brilliant 2nd at Melbourne and Grosjean qualified on the front row at Mexico City. However, these turned out to be one of the few flashes in the pan as Pedersen suffered the most failures to finish of any team. Estoril saw Grosjean finish 2nd after a strong drive, and he also took pole position at Shanghai, but the season was so much of a struggle that they narrowly avoided finishing last in the constructors championship. A strong performance in the final race meant that they beat FJR to 9th.

2016

A major reshuffling was in order for 2016 as Pedersen returned to running customer Mugen engines after their challenging season with Ilmor. The team also had one of the more contrasting driver line-ups with the experienced Nico Rosberg joining the team alongside rookie Nicholas Latifi, who had performed fairly well in FF2M.

Results and Statistics

Year Engine Ch. Pos. Races Points Wins Drivers Ch. Pos. Races Points Wins
Season 1 Ferrari 10th 16 3 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Eddie Irvine 21st 16 0
22px-Flag of Brazil.svg-1- Rubens Barrichello 15th 16 3
Season 2 Ferrari 5th 16 38 1 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Jenson Button 17th 16 3
22px-Flag of Canada.svg-1- Jacques Villeneuve 5th 16 35
Season 3 Ferrari 4th 17 66 4 22px-Flag of France.svg-1- Alain Prost 1st 17 65 4
22px-Flag of Brazil.svg-1- Rubens Barrichello 18th 17 1
Season 4 Renault 6th 17 66 1 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Nigel Mansell 12th 17 32 1
22px-Flag of Austria.svg-1- Gerhard Berger 11th 17 34
Season 5 Ferrari 6th 16 33 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Michael Schumacher 9th 16 26
22px-Flag of Finland.svg-1- Kimi Raikkonen 14th 16 7
Season 6 Mugen Honda 3rd 16 80 2 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Damon Hill 9th 16 34
22px-Flag of Finland.svg-1- Mika Hakkinen 7th 16 46 2
Season 7 Mercedes 9th 16 14 22px-Flag of Finland.svg-1- Heikki Kovalainen 17th 16 4
22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Eddie Irvine 14th 16 10
1996 Mugen Honda 11th 16 4 22px-Flag of Denmark.svg-1- Jan Magnussen 23rd 12 0
22px-Flag of Argentina.svg-1- Norberto Fontana 24th 8 0
22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Vincenzo Sospiri 17th 12 4
1997 Mercedes (Works) 6th 17 43 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Eddie Irvine 10th 17 34
22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Giancarlo Fisichella 15th 11 7
22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Nicola Larini 21st 6 2
1998 Mercedes (Works) 3rd 16 84 22px-Flag of Canada.svg-1- Jacques Villeneuve 6th 16 43
22px-Flag of Brazil.svg-1- Rubens Barrichello 7th 16 41
1999 Mercedes (Works) 10th 17 7 22px-Flag of the Netherlands.svg-1- Jos Verstappen 26th 4 0
22px-Flag of Denmark.svg-1- Jan Magnussen 20th 13 3
22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Giancarlo Fisichella 24th 4 0
22px-Flag of Finland.svg-1- Mika Salo 19th 13 4
2000 Mercedes (Works) 6th 16 52 2 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Nick Heidfeld 8th 16 38 2
22px-Flag of France.svg-1- Jean Alesi 13th 16 14
2001 Mercedes 2nd 17 142 8 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Nick Heidfeld 5th 17 68 5
22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- David Coulthard 3rd 17 74 3
2002 Toyota 9th 16 21 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Jenson Button 12th 16 19
22px-Flag of Australia.svg-1- Mark Webber 18th 16 2
2003 Toyota 2nd 16 105 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Ralf Schumacher 3rd 16 66
22px-Flag of Australia.svg-1- Mark Webber 6th 16 39
2004 Toyota V10 5th 17 57 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Ralf Schumacher 12th 17 20
22px-Flag of Australia.svg-1- Mark Webber 8th 17 37
2005 Mercedes V8 1st 17 164 9 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Ralf Schumacher 1st 17 86 5
22px-Flag of Australia.svg-1- Mark Webber 3rd 17 78 4
2006 Mercedes V8 3rd 17 101 2 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Ralf Schumacher 10th 7 30 1
20px-Flag of Switzerland.svg-1- Neel Jani 9th 17 31
22px-Flag of Australia.svg-1- Mark Webber 6th 10 40 1
2007 Toyota V8 7th 14/17 35 22px-Flag of Spain.svg-1- Fernando Alonso 7th 14 33
20px-Flag of Switzerland.svg-1- Neel Jani 18th 8* 2
22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Adrian Sutil 34th 2 0
22px-Flag of Brazil.svg-1- Felipe Massa 32nd 4 0
2008 Toyota V8 6th 16/17 45 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Sebastian Vettel 8th 16 26
22px-Flag of Finland.svg-1- Kimi Raikkonen 11th 16 19
2009 Mercedes V8 5th 18 42 22px-Flag of Japan.svg-1- Kamui Kobayashi 7th 18 31
22px-Flag of South Africa.svg-1- Adrian Zaugg 15th 18 11
2010 Mercedes V8 5th 18 59 22px-Flag of Japan.svg-1- Kamui Kobayashi 8th 18 34
22px-Flag of South Africa.svg-1- Adrian Zaugg 20th 6 8
India Karun Chandhok 17th 12 17
2011 Mercedes (W) 1st 17 122 5 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Lewis Hamilton 3rd 17 78 5
22px-Flag of Japan.svg-1- Kamui Kobayashi 8th 17 44
2012 BMW (W) 5th 17 47 1 22px-Flag of Japan.svg-1- Kamui Kobayashi 11th 17 22
22px-Flag of Brazil.svg-1- Bruno Senna 10th 17 25 1
2013 BMW (W) 11th 18 3 22px-Flag of Japan.svg-1- Kamui Kobayashi 18th 18 2
22px-Flag of Brazil.svg-1- Bruno Senna 21st 18 1
2014 Mugen (C) 4th 18 84 3 22px-Flag of France.svg-1- Romain Grosjean 3rd 18 74 3
22px-Flag of Venezuela.svg-1- Pastor Maldonado 24th 6 0
India Karun Chandhok 18th 12 10
2015 Ilmor (C) 9th 18 29 22px-Flag of France.svg-1- Romain Grosjean 17th 18 14
22px-Flag of Mexico.svg-1- Sergio Perez 16th 18 15
2016 Mugen (C) 5th 19 70 2 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Nico Rosberg 6th 19 55 1
22px-Flag of Canada.svg-1- Nicholas Latifi 21st 12 3
22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Sam Bird 15th 7 12 1
2017 Mugen (C) 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Sebastian Vettel
22px-Flag of Spain.svg-1- Carlos Sainz

* - Jani participated in round 1-6 and 13-17.

Classic History

1986

Pedersen also competes in the classic FF1M series. They competed in the 1986 season where they recruited an all-Italian driver line-up of Alessandro Nannini and Riccardo Patrese to drive the Williams-Honda combination. It proved to be a challenging season as the two Italians didn't quite have the pace compared to the frontrunners, but Patrese managed a highly respectable 2nd in treacherous conditions at Hockenheim. Despite this, Pedersen finished 9th in the constructors championship.

1987

1987 saw a new driver line-up with Satoru Nakajima and Eddie Cheever sampling the Sundo-Honda chassis and engine. After a slightly torrid 1986, Pedersen were hoping for better results, but the improvements were only slight as they once again scored a single podium finish, although it came courtesy of Nakajima in front of his home crowd. The team finished 8th in the constructors championship, a one place improvement from the season before.

1988

Nannini returned to the team for the 1988 season, and he was joined by a different Italian, Michele Alboreto, and both would be driving the Benetton-Honda combination. It proved to be a solid partnership with regular points finishes for Nannini, including a win at Spa. The team ended up 5th in the constructors championship.

1989

For 1989, Pedersen opted for a couple of B drivers, although the team claimed this related to their surname and nationality rather than driver ability, as Belgian Thierry Boutsen and Brit Martin Brundle teamed up to driver Pedersen's Ferrari-powered challenger. Although they had arguably the most powerful engine, it was also one of the more unreliable ones, and despite some strong showings, both drivers could only manage a few points finishes on their way to 8th in the championship.

1990

Pedersen overhauled their line-up for 1990 with Honda replacing Ferrari and a highly inexperienced driver pairing of Ivan Capelli and Robert Moreno. In a season that didn't promise much, Moreno provided the sensation of the season with a brilliant drive at Silverstone to take victory in a race where many drivers lost their cool. He followed this up with four consecutive 5th place finishes to help Pedersen to 6th in the constructors championship.

1991

Keen to maintain the momentum into 1991, Pedersen recruited reigning champion Alain Prost and Riccardo Patrese. Along with maintaining Honda engines, this made Pedersen strong contenders for both championships. Prost's season didn't start off well as he crashed out after being distracted by a retiring Piquet, and then unreliability scuppered a possible podium at Monaco and a possible win at Mexico. He would gain redemption at Magny-Cours as despite dropping to last on the first lap, a stunning recovery saw him win his home race. Meanwhile, Patrese scored podium finishes at Imola and Monaco, but ultimately, the team weren't consistent enough to challenge for either championship. However, a late charge in the final two races helped them to finish runner up to Gojira.

1992

1992 saw Pedersen effectively swap top drivers with Tornado as Michael Schumacher joined the Danish team. Ironically, Pedersen had the same line-up that Tornado had in the previous season in spite of and incident that Schumacher and Alboreto had at Estoril. From the very first race, Schumacher was the driver to beat as he took a lights to flag victory at Kyalami, followed by two further wins at Imola and Monaco. There should have been two more wins to his collection but for a shambolic pitstop sequence in Mexico and a mistake from the lead at Barcelona. Pedersen's car then fell behind Tornado and FJR in terms of race pace, but they still had reliability on their side as Schumacher took another win at Magny-Cours followed by a 2nd at Spa. Despite being taken out by Derek Warwick at Monza, he was in position to clinch the championship at Estoril before crashing out. Another retirement at Suzuka forced a championship showdown against Damon Hill at Adelaide, but Hill's challenged ended after a collision with Mika Hakkinen, which immediately handed the drivers championship to Schumacher. Alboreto's more anonymous season meant that Pedersen finished 2nd in the constructors championship to FJR.

1993

Things didn't go to plan for Pedersen in the silly season leading up to the 1993 season as they missed out on top drivers and had to settle for Mark Blundell and the debuting Christian Fittipaldi. Even their engine wasn't their first option as they ended up with works Ilmor engines.

Results and Statistics

Year Chassis-Engine Position Races Points Wins Drivers Ch. Pos. Races Points Wins
1986 (C1) Williams-Honda 9th 10 10 22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Alessandro Nannini 16th 10 9
22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Riccardo Patrese 9th 10 1
1987 (C2) Sundo-Honda 8th 10 11 22px-Flag of Japan.svg-1- Satoru Nakajima 10th 10 9
22px-Flag of the United States.svg-1- Eddie Cheever 13th 10 2
1988 (C3) Benetton-Honda 5th 16 40 1 22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Michele Alboreto 10th 16 15
22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Alessandro Nannini 5th 16 25 1
1989 (C4) Minardi-Ferrari 8th 10 11 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Martin Brundle 13th 10 7
22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Boutsen 15th 10 4
1990 (C5) Piratelli-Honda 6th 10 17 1 22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Ivan Capelli 20th 10 0
22px-Flag of Brazil.svg-1- Roberto Moreno 6th 10 17 1
1991 (C6) Piratelli-Honda 2nd 10 47 2 22px-Flag of France.svg-1- Alain Prost 4th 10 26 2
22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Riccardo Patrese 5th 10 21
1992 (C7) Piratelli-Ford (W) 2nd 12 63 4 22px-Flag of Germany.svg-1- Michael Schumacher 1st 12 56 4
22px-Flag of Italy.svg-1- Michele Alboreto 11th 12 7
1993 (C8) Piratelli-Ilmor (W) 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg-1- Mark Blundell
22px-Flag of Brazil.svg-1- Christian Fittipaldi

FF2M

Main article: Danish Racing Team

AFIA Indycar Series

Main article: MPR America

Advertisement