European Group CEO, Paul Stoddart, became involved with Formula One in the mid-1990s, both as a competitor, in the BOSS Series for historic Grand Prix cars, and as a sponsor of the legendary Tyrrell team, via his successful European Aviation business. Stoddart attempted to buy Tyrrell in 1997, but soon found himself in competition with British American Tobacco. The tobacco millions won out in the end, although Stoddart negotiated to buy virtually all of the Tyrrell assets and equipment from the new owners, whose primary interest was simply to secure an entry for their new F1 team, British American Racing.

All of the equipment and cars were gradually transferred from Tyrrell’s factory, in Ockham, Surrey, to European’s Ledbury facility, and by 1999, the spacious Herefordshire site was home to what can only be described as a “Formula One team in waiting,” as well as to a successful F3000 team, competing in FIA International Championship rounds during Grand Prix weekends.

Among Stoddart’s acquisitions were the plans and technical details (as well as the chassis themselves) relating to Tyrrell’s final F1 challenger, the Cosworth-powered 026, which would also have formed the evolutionary basis for the team’s 1999 contender. Inspired by the ground-breaking two-seater F1 car that had been unveiled by McLaren, Stoddart decided to take the concept one step further, and build a fleet of eight two-seaters. These could be operated on a commercial basis, and would extend the possibility of experiencing Formula One performance first-hand to a much larger audience than that catered for by the one-off McLaren project.

Before long, a team of former Tyrrell technical personnel was under contract and working at Ledbury, designing a two-seater based on an extended version of the Tyrrell chassis. Stoddart specified from the outset that safety, for both driver and passenger, was of paramount importance, and insisted that the cars should be built to comply with the very latest F1 regulations in terms of crashworthiness, deformable structures and roll-over integrity.

The design work was completed in six months, and the build of the cars began. Compared with the Tyrrell 026, the most obvious external differences were the passenger cockpit behind the driver, an additional rollover structure (composed of 306 individual layers of carbonfibre) positioned between the driver and passenger, and a wheelbase lengthened by 380mm (14.9 in). In truth, there were a multitude of other, less visible changes, as the engineers had carefully considered all the technical implications involved in redesigning a Formula One chassis to carry an extra person and addressed them.

In line with the overall concept of building the two-seaters to provide passengers with the most realistic F1 experience possible, the cars are powered by the same 700bhp-plus V10 engine fitted to the Tyrrell, mated to a six-speed, semi-automatic transmission. This engine, badged as a European V10 and like the two-seater power units, maintained by ex-Cosworth staff at the Ledbury facility’s in-house engine shop, was also used in the Minardi PS01 chassis of 2001. Completing the basic specification, the two-seaters feature F1-specification, pushrod-activated suspension, carbon brakes and Bridgestone grooved slick tyres, plus full chassis and engine telemetry. The cars also have the facility to carry on-board cameras.

The F1x2 programme, as it was to be called, was officially launched in 2000, with the team’s first event taking place at the Donington Park circuit, in the UK. During the intervening years, and under the banner of the Minardi F1x2 Team (Stoddart finally realised his dream of F1 team ownership, when he purchased the hard-trying Faenza squad in January 2001), the two-seaters have thrilled passengers and crowds alike in 15 countries and been driven by 44 different drivers, including Formula One World Champions, Michael Schumacher, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Fernando Alonso.

In 2007, as a result of Stoddart’s involvement with the Champ Car World Series via Minardi Team USA, the F1x2 cars took part in an extensive North American programme for the first time. Dubbed Champ Car F1x2, the two-seaters operated from premises on Gasoline Alley in Indianapolis, alongside Minardi Team USA, and appeared at selected Champ Car rounds in the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe, where they once again thrilled passengers and fans alike.