A1 Team Austria

The A1 Team Austria was the Austrian representative team in A1 Grand Prix. The team competed only in the inaugural season of the championship.

A1 Team Austria
Austria
Founded2005
Seat holder(s)Lauda Motorsport Management
Race driver(s)Mathias Lauda, Patrick Freisacher
First race2005-06 Great Britain
Rounds entered11
Championships0
Sprint race victories0
Feature race victories0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
Total points14

Ownership

A1 Team Austria was owned and operated by Lauda Motorsport Management. The management team included Niki Lauda and Keke Rosberg, both former Formula 1 World Champions. Whilst the team was racing for Austria, Team Rosberg, based in Germany operated the race team.[1] Lauda's son, Lukas, officially ran Lauda Motorsport Management who worked with other teams such as Scuderia Coloni.[2] Their entry to the championship was announced ahead of the first race, along with A1 Team Italy and A1 Team Japan.[3][4]

Ahead of the 2006-07 season, A1 Team Austria withdrew from A1 Grand Prix along with Japan, Russia and Portugal.[5]

Drivers

During their one season in the championship, the A1 Team Austria employed Mathias Lauda and Patrick Friesacher as their drivers.[4][6][7][8]

Name Seasons Races
(Starts)		 A1GP Title Wins Sprint
wins		 Main
wins		 2nd 3rd Poles Fastest
Laps		 Points
Patrick Friesacher 2005-06 1 (2) 3
Mathias Lauda 2005-06 10 (20) 11

2005-06 season
Lauda driving for A1 Team Austria at Durban, South Africa

The season began poorly for A1 Team Austria, with no points scored until the 3rd round in Portugal, where Lauda finished 10th in the feature race meaning a single point was gained.[9] At the following two rounds, the car would suffer retirements in both sprint races. In Dubai, Lauda finished 7th in the feature race scoring 4 points for the team.[10] He would score another 7th-place finish at the South African race, next time out.[11][12]

Lauda would be replaced for the Mexican race by former Minardi F1 driver, Patrick Friesacher. Friesacher would finish 10th and 9th in the two races, A1 Team Austria's first double points scoring race weekend.[13][14][15] Lauda would return for the final two rounds of the season in America and China, scoring points at Laguna Seca.[16]

At the end of the season, A1 Team Austria scored 14 points and were classified 19th in the championship.

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(key), "spr" indicate a Sprint Race, "fea" indicate a Main Race.

Year Racing
team		 Chassis,
Engine,
Tyres		 Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Points Rank
2005-06 Team Rosberg Lola,
Zytek,
Cooper Avon		 GBR spr GBR fea GER spr GER fea PRT spr PRT fea AUS spr AUS fea MYS spr MYS fea ARE spr ARE fea ZAF spr ZAF fea IDN spr IDN fea MEX spr MEX fea USA spr USA fea CHN spr CHN fea 14 19th
Mathias Lauda 20 11 13 15 16 10 19 Ret 18 Ret 17 7 16 7 13 Ret 12 9 Ret 13
Patrick Friesacher 10 9

References
  1. "Preview: A1 GP Ready for Kick-Off". Autosport. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  2. "Coloni Teams Up With Lauda Sport Management". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. "Austria, Italy and Japan join A1GP". Motorsport. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  4. "A1 GP: Drivers, Seat Holders and Race Teams". pitpass.com. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  5. "The Lost Series: A1GP World Cup of Motorsport: Part 3: Changes at the top, popularity decreases and the first problems appear". gptoday.net. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  6. "Patrick Friesacher is A1's seventh ex-F1 driver". pitpass.net. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  7. "Stoddart and Lauda join Mercedes". Motorsport. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  8. "The 'World Cup of Motorsport' is announced". gpfans.com. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  9. "2005 Estoril A1GP". Motorsport Magazine. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  10. "2005 Dubai A1GP". Motorsport Magazine. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  11. "Lauda looking forward to racing again". pitpass.com. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  12. "Race result: A1 Grand Prix, Race 14 of season 2005-2006 in Durban". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  13. "Monterrey: Team Austria preview". Motorsport. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  14. "Feature Race Mexico". Motorsport. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  15. "Spring Race Mexico". Motorsport. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  16. "A1 Team AUSTRIA - A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Laguna Seca, California, USA". Automobilsport. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
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