The Midland M16, subsequently known as the Spyker M16, was the car with which the Midland team competed in the Formula One season. It was driven by Tiago Monteiro, who had driven for the team in during its Jordan guise, and Christijan Albers, who moved from Minardi.
The M16 would be the last Silverstone-based Formula One car to utilize a Japanese-licensed engine manufacturer until the Aston Martin AMR26 with Honda engines in as well as the last Silverstone-based Formula One car to utilize Toyota engines to date. Background Development and design Although Eddie Jordan had sold his team prior to the start of the 2005 season, 2006 marked the first year for the team under the Midland banner. Originally, Dallara were going to build the Midland car for 2006, however this did not materialise with the team utilising their wind-tunnel but building the chassis themselves in the UK. The M16 was launched on February 3rd, marking the first time a Russian manufacturer had entered Formula One. The car undertook a shakedown test at Silverstone the following day, before the four day Jerez test which began on February 7th. James Key was appointed Technical Director, along with Adrian Sutil, Markus Winkelhock and Roman Rusinov as test drivers. Engines for the M16 were purchased from Toyota, and Key noted significant aerodynamic improvements - especially around the rear of the car - from the previous seasons EJ15B.
Testing During the early tests, the M16 posted strong reliability, however it was noted the car had some unique handling characteristics for the drivers to get used to before the season opened in Bahrain. By day 3, the drivers were posting 1.20.6 laps of Jerez, running both the M16 and old EJ15B chassis. This was an improvement of their first tests with the Toyota V8 in December 2005, where Albers and Thomas Biagi were lapping between 1.21-1.23.
Season overview The season was not a success for Midland. Early results were poor, with significant numbers of retirements that only worsened as the season progressed, despite positive comments from the Midland technical team. At the 2006 German Grand Prix, both cars were disqualified for running flexible wings that failed FIA testing. The following race in Hungary was the M16's best results - Monteiro and Albers finishing 9th and 10th respectively.
In September, the Midland team was sold by Alex Shnaider to Dutch car manufacturer Spyker Cars just before the Italian GP. The livery was changed to orange and silver, however results did not improve and the team finished 10th in the Constructors' Championship with 0 points. Over the course of the season the car scored a median qualifying performance of 19th and median fastest lap performance of 18th.
Drivers' helmets Christijan Albers wore a special helmet at the Canadian Grand Prix to cheer on the Netherlands team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Berlin.
Other At the British Grand Prix ITV F1 reporter Louise Goodman became the first woman to be involved in a pit stop when she removed the left rear tyre of Tiago Monteiro during a pit stop at Midland.
Other appearances In 2011, the M16 made a brief appearance in the third episode of the first season of the American legal drama television series Suits.
Gallery
Complete Formula One results (key) (results in bold indicate pole position) Year Entrant Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Points WCC Midland F1 RacingSpyker MF1 Racing Toyota V8 BHR MAL AUS SMR EUR ESP MON GBR CAN USA FRA GER HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA 0 NC Tiago Monteiro 17 13 Ret 16 12 16 15 16 14 Ret Ret DSQ 9 Ret Ret Ret 16 15 Christijan Albers Ret 12 11 Ret 13 Ret 12 15 Ret Ret 15 DSQ 10 Ret 17 15 Ret 14
References