The 14 German Formula 1 teams

Mercedes ekes out a niche existence as the only German Formula 1 team. But the story has already produced 14 German, sometimes adventurous teams.

After all, Germany is next to Great Britain, Italy, America, Austria, France and Switzerland, the only country that sends a Formula 1 racing team at the 1000th World Cup race at the start. And that's where we disregard the fact that most - including the German Mercedes team - have their base in England.In the history of Formula 1, there were already 14 German racing teams. Most of them operating with German employees and especially from Germany. Roughly, the 14 teams can be divided into three groups: The automobile companies, the hobbyists of the 50s and the German private teams in the 70s and 80s. Of the car companies have so far had its own team. Porsche brings it thanks to Dan Gurney at the France GP 1962 on a victory. Much more successful was the phase in the 80s, when Porsche built the turbocharged engines for McLaren and celebrated with Niki Lauda and Alain Prost three world titles. The statistic for BMW looks quite similar: Robert Kubica won the Canada GP in 2008, with Brabham BMW even became world champion in 1983 (Nelson Piquet was the driver). But Mercedes is much better. The dominance of the last five years has brought the silver among the four most successful Formula 1 teams of all time - alongside Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. There are also three world titles as engine supplier for McLaren, one for Brawn.

At the end of the 80s, two German teams were involved. The second group are the tiny teams in the 50s, which consisted of only a handful of employees. But above all from racing drivers and tinkerers who put their own cars on the keel. They were used especially at the Germany GP in 1952 and 1953 and were based mainly on an engine from BMW. Bodywork was made by Heck, Nacke, Reif and Greifzu. Zacspeed built their own engine. The most interesting are the four private teams that tried in the 70s and 80s in Formula One. Starting with the Eifelland team of Günther Henerici. He earned his money with caravans. In order to help his racing driver Hannelore Werner, he founded his own Formula 2, and in 1972 his own Formula 1 team. With a budget of two million Deutschmarks (now about five million euros) was no match for the big teams. Eifelland bought for a March-Ford-Cosworth, had the designer Luigi Colani completely rebuilt the car and provided with new wing. More than two tenth places did not jump out for pilot Rolf Stommelen. Rim guru Günther Schmid had two Formula 1 adventures. From 1978 to 1984, the ATS team started in 89 races, with Hans-Joachim Stuck, Manfred Winkelhock and Eliseo Salazar also reached three fifth places. Schmid was one of the most spirited team bosses ever. At the 1981 South African GP he trampled out of anger a new front wing. Jochen Mass, one of the drivers, remembers: "That I did not build an accident, he always put me as a weakness. I show too little commitment, risk too little. "In 1988 and 1989, Schmidt launched the Rial team - and at least to two fourth places by Andrea de Cesaris and Christian Danner. 20 Grands Prix contested the team, was often not qualified - then it was over. Most of Rial led a duel against Zakspeed. The racing team, which still uses vehicles in GT3 racing series today, built everything from 1985 to 1989 - including the engine. Only in 1989 did Yamaha's engines be used. Peter Zakowski, son of team boss Erich Zakowski, on ABMS: "When we built our own engine, it was strong, but the car was bad. And when we realized that we could not handle both together and bought the engine, the car was great, but the engine was weak. "Despite this, Zakspeed manages 53 Grands Prix. There were only once points - as Martin Brundle finished fifth in 1987 in Imola. In 1999, Zakspeed tried to buy the Arrows team. Everything was almost finished, the return almost perfect. But then Arrows found a new donor and saved two more years. The Zakspeed comeback burst.