Difference between revisions of "Phoenix McAllister"

Revision as of 21:43, 26 December 2012

Template:Infobox Racing Driver

Phoenix McAllister (born November 17, 1977 in Palma, Spain) is a Spanish racing driver with American ascents known for his bitter off-track rivalry with Sammy Jones in the F1RWRS. He sports a distinctive burgundy red with gold stripes helmet. His driving style is described by himself as "smooth but a touch wild".

In 2011 he founded Team Phoenix, which manages McAllister's activities in F1RWRS and the Eastern European Touring Car Series. Currently it's involved in the second year of a two year technical partnership with Audi, after a previous spell with Honda assistance.

He has a brother, Rory, best known for competing with Ferrari in F1 before Phoenix joined the series, and a son, Judd, who made his debut in the F3RWRS in 2014 driving for his father's outfit.

Formula One

2007 - Spyker

McAllister was drafted in at the Spyker Team as a pay driver to permanently replace Dave Simpson. Despite being miles off the pace on his debut he performed respectably, often coming close or matching the times set by highly rated teammate Adrian Sutil. By the end of the season it was confirmed that McAllister would stay at the team for 2008. At the Chinese Grand Prix, McAllister was involved in a monster shunt with BMW's Robert Kubica as the pair were battling for 17th place. The Spaniard emerged unhurt from the wreck by Kubica missed the season ending Brazilian Grand Prix as a result of the accident.

2008-2009 - Force India

Despite an ownership change and speculation that the new owners might plum for drivers with more experience or money they kept their lineup of McAllister and Sutil, at the time the second most inexperienced lineup on the grid after Toro Rosso. McAllister performed admirably in the car even though it was basically an update on the car he was driving the year before as more often than not he beat Sutil in the races and occasionally was right in the thick of the action in the midfield. Despite having a best finish of 10th, not enough to score points, he was unlucky not to put Force India on the board in the attrition filled race at Singapore.

2009 started in much the same way for McAllister as the new car meant the team was now tagging along to the back of the midfield in a battle with Toro Rosso. McAllister scored his first points for the team at the Monaco Grand Prix after a major mixup when race leader Daniel Melrose was coming up to lap Sebastian Vettel who in turn was about to lap Melrose's teammate Robert Kubica which meant that Vettel and Kubica collided and were out of the race. McAllister then spent the rest of the race holding off Sebastian Buemi for the last point which proved crucial in the battle of the midfield. More uphill battles with the bottom of the midfield followed before a simply superlative drive to second at the Belgian Grand Prix when the Force India turned out to be tailor-made for the fast and flowing circuit. Another podium beckoned at the next race in Italy which he was denied when his electrics started playing up in the monsoonal conditions. McAllister's season was finished off with a few more solid if unspectacular drives but he had done enough to attract the attention of the Ferrari team before eventually signing a contract with the Maranello squad.

2010-Present - Scuderia Ferrari

Phoenix followed in the footsteps of his older brother Rory and joined the Ferrari team for 2010 alongside fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso. During the pre-season however, many doubted whether Phoenix would have the ability to turn the opportunity into some real results with Ferrari also coming off one of its worst years in well over a decade. The season started off magnificently for McAllister though as he silenced the critics to a cool and collected drive to victory at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

After two rounds, McAllister found himself into an unlikely lead of the World Championship but as some of the more heavy-hitters found their stride, he found himself relegated to mostly points finishes in the 4th-8th bracket with the occasional podium when the opportunity presented itself.

Complete Formula One Grand Prix results

Complete F1RWRS Results

• *Season in Progress.
• † Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.