Sidus in Astyrian Formula One

Sidus

Full name	Sidus Telenid Racing Team
Base	Orava, Valkea (main, power unit) Ainsley, Aswick (chassis)
Team principal(s)	Petri Joensuu (team principal and CEO)
Technical director	Vincent Bates
Website	sidusf1.com
Previous name	Fullerton
2023 Formula One World Championship
Race drivers	6. Lauren Blake 26. Maximilian Frentzen
Test drivers	Alex Horn
Chassis	FS-223
Engine	Sidus 616M-3
Tyres	Roncalli
Formula One World Championship career
First entry	1966 Caprican Grand Prix
Constructors' Championships	5 (2007, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020)
Drivers' Championships	6 (2007, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020, 2022)
2022 position	2nd

Sidus has participated in Astyrian Formula One as a constructor and engine supplier for various periods since 1966. It currently enters the sport as Sidus Telenid F1 Racing Team, which has competed in F1 racing since 2006. It is currently based in Orava, Valkea, but also operates a secondary base in Ainsley, Aswick.

Sidus first involved itself in Formula One in the 1966 Caprican Grand Prix, but didn't achieve their first win until the 1968 Scottopian Grand Prix. However, due to limited success as well as the onset of the 1971 Valkean Recession, it withdrew from the sport. It later returned in 1983 as an engine supplier for the Delaney F1 team. It would go on to win five consecutive Constructors' Championship titles with Delaney and MacGregor from 1986 to 1990, and three more times from 1992 to 1994. It formally withdrew again in 1997 due to financial troubles that plagued the company after the death of its founder, Heimo Järvinen, though its engines continued to be used in F1 while badged as Comet engines.

It returned again in 2002, supplying engines for Fullerton before they bought out the team in 2006, marking their return to racing as a works team after 43 years of absence. Since then, it achieved five Constructors' Championships in 2007, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2020. Sidus also supplies engines to the MacGregor F1 team. It has collected many more championships as an engine supplier, with twelve Constructors' Championships.

Sidus as Constructor

Sidus Racing Company

Sidus FS-153, the first Valkean car to win in Astyrian Formula One.

Sidus first entered F1 as a constructor in 1966 with their FS-151 car. They made waves in the sport by competing with an all-Valkean factory team (save for Aswickan driver Daniel Skelly), as well as entering with an engine and chassis they made themselves - something that was unheard of, even in the 1960s, as Phaeton was the only other manufacturer that did so. Yet their debut at the 1966 Caprican Grand Prix only yielded a 13th place finish. They claimed their first Grand Prix win at the 1968 Scottopian Grand Prix with Tommi Karttunen at the wheel of a Sidus FS-153.

For the 1969 season, Sidus developed the FS-154, but it suffered from an unreliable engine and a heavy chassis. 1970's entry, the FS-155, managed to remedy many of the engine's problems, though it still wasn't enough to consistently win races - their only win was at the 1970 Noordenstaat Grand Prix. Their fortunes improved with the FS-160, a car noted for its remarkable handling. But despite the team steadily improving their cars, the sudden shock of the 1971 Valkean Recession affected their chances of winning. Sidus was forced to withdraw midway through the 1973 season, having failed to win a single Constructors' Championship.

Sidus tried to rejoin F1 as a full works team in 1994 with the development of a test car, the FS-200, which proved to be technically impressive, even for the time. But the company was still reeling from the death of their founder, Heimo Järvinen, and was also lagging behind their fellow competitors in the road car market. The project was shelved in 1995.

Sidus F1 Racing Team

In 2006, Sidus bought the remaining shares of the Fullerton F1 team, renaming it as Sidus F1 Racing Team. For their first season, they hired drivers Paavo Laakkonen and Adrian Berkhoff, as well as Pekka Koivu as a test and reserve driver. The 2006 season went relatively well for Sidus, with Laakkonen and Berkhoff scoring 4th and 9th in the Drivers' Championship, respectively. In 2007, Sidus capitalized on their progress with the dominant FS-207, which helped Laakkonen win the team's first Constructors' Championship.

However, their fortunes reversed in the 2008 season, where they had to retire from several races due to reliability issues. Berkhoff suffered a devastating crash at the Nikolian Grand Prix, which broke his right leg. While he was forced to retire for the rest of the season, Koivu was brought in to substitute him. Immediately the young Valkean made a very good impression, taking 2nd place at the Caprican Grand Prix. However, this was not enough for the team to win: they finished 4th in the constructors' standings. 2009 saw Berkhoff return to racing with Sidus, but it was short-lived. After a disappointing season marked by several DNFs, as well as an incident with Laakkonen at the Hindia Belandan Grand Prix where the two crashed out of the race, he made the announcement that he was moving to LZS in 2010. Koivu was brought in to replace him. This proved to be a good call, as Berkhoff and his co-driver, Tomasz Maruszewski, would claim the Constructors' Championship for LZS. Sidus on the other hand finished the 2010 season in 5th place.

Their championship hopes improved in 2011, with Laakkonen and Koivu delivering several victories and podiums. But despite the FS-211 being a technically superior car, both drivers suffered mechanical failures which cost them many crucial chances for victory. Despite this, Sidus finished the constructors' standings in 3rd, behind Kappaksturslid and MacGregor. But it was 2012 when the team has shown tremendous form. Despite the 2012 season having one of the fiercest battles for the championship in years, Laakkonen and Koivu were able to fend off their rivals, allowing for Sidus to win the Constructors' Championship with an all-Valkean lineup. Laakkonen went home as a two-time world champion, while Koivu got within the top 4 in the Drivers' Championship standings.

The 2013 season was a pretty good year for Sidus as the team took the Constructors' Championship for the 2nd year in a row. Laakkonen was able to defend his title, despite having issues with the FS-213's handling. Talks for a contract extension for Laakkonen to remain with Sidus beyond 2013 fell through, and it was announced that Laakkonen would no longer race with Sidus for the 2014 season. In his place they would bring Simo Rassinen, who was then driving for the Juhola F1 team.

Rassinen adjusted well to his new team, and he and Pekka Koivu began the 2014 season with three 1-2 finishes. However, they both quickly dropped their form due to teething problems associated with the turbo-hybrid FS-214. Over the course of the season, Sidus steadily improved their car, but it was not enough for them to overtake MacGregor in the Constructors' Championship. Worse still, Rassinen and Koivu's relationship quickly deteriorated as the two Valkeans were constantly in fierce competition throughout the season, which allowed for Steven Grey to take the Drivers' Championship for MacGregor. On November 23, Phaeton announced that they had signed Koivu to drive for them in a 3-year contract. In response, Sidus recruited Beriquois driver Guy Bassett.

Sidus were on top form for the 2015 championship. They had finally solved much of the reliability issues from last season, and the resulting FS-215 proved to be a dominant force on the track. Rassinen and Bassett pushed each other hard all season, taking several victories and podiums for the team. Depsite this, Bassett had a more harmonious relationship with Rassinen, and was able to reliably support the latter in his championship fight. Rassinen ended the 2015 season in first place, earning his Drivers' Championship that year, with his teammate in 2nd place. This meant Sidus gained their 4th Constructors' Championship by a significant margin.

In 2016, Sidus appeared to be on form to win the Constructors' Championship again. However, the 2016 seasons turned out to be a four-way battle between Sidus, MacGregor, Phaeton, and Raamaker. In the end, Raamaker took the Constructors' Championship, with Robert van Grol as Drivers' Champion. 2017 proved to be worse for Sidus as they constantly fell behind due to poor strategy calls and mechanical issues. A reshuffling of the team management proved beneficial, and Sidus managed to finish 3rd in the 2018 and 2019 Constructors' Championships. The 2020 season saw Sidus make further improvements to their chassis, which was paired with a more powerful version of the previous year's engine. This powered Rassinen to his 2nd Drivers' Championship and their 4th Constructors' Championship.

2021 saw Sidus build their first car for the ground-effect era, the FS-221, signing Lauren Blake to the team to replace Rassinen. She and Bassett took two victories each for the team, but they were unable to break the dominance of Phaeton that season and shifted their focus to 2022. Sidus built a title-contending car the following year in the FS-222, but narrowly lost out to Raamaker in the Constructors' Championship by 6 points. Nevertheless, Blake would claim the Drivers' Championship by 1 point, becoming the first woman in AstyF1 history to win the title.

Sidus as Engine Supplier

1980s and 1990s

Sidus returned in 1983 as an engine supplier and supplied various teams until their withdrawal in 1997. These teams included Delaney (1983-1987), Orchid (1985-1993), Peltier (1987-1991), MacGregor (1988-1997), and Tyroll (1989-1990). Their engines were favored by teams for their reliability, power, sophistication, and track record, and they are most known for forming part of MacGregor's Formula One domination from 1988 to 1994 (except for the 1991 season where Delaney won with Sorsa engines).

Sidus first entered as an engine supplier with Delaney in the 1983 Aswickan Grand Prix. Despite the package being unreliable in its first outing, the 1.5L V6 turbocharged 615-1TT engine made an impression with constructors. Delaney's first win with the engine came in the 1983 Exponent Grand Prix with Nicolas Picard. More wins followed in 1984 and 1985 as Sidus continued to improve the engine in competition, and Delaney won two consecutive Constructors' Championships in 1986 and 1987. These triumphs attracted other constructors to Sidus due to their engines' reliability, power, and sophistication, as well as their track record. Drivers have noted that Sidus were developing up to five different engines in a single season, which took advantage of their respective customers' chassis. Sidus won five consecutive Constructors' Championships from 1986 to 1990, and another three consecutive Constructors' Championships from 1992 to 1994.

Its most successful period was its partnership with MacGregor. With Sidus' all new V6 turbo engine mated to the MacGregor MG19 chassis designed by < name >, as well as drivers Richard Millinghouse and Clayton Norris at the wheel, MacGregor took pole position in all 16 races, and garnered 15 race wins - 7 for Norris and 8 for Millinghouse. This gave the latter the 1988 Drivers' Championship. As turbocharged engines were banned in the 1989 regulations, Sidus debuted the 1035-N1, a naturally aspirated V10 engine that powered the MacGregor MG20. This engine was also dominant, winning 13 out of 16 races in the 1989 season and powering Norris to the 1989 Drivers' Championship. An improved version of the V10, gave him the championship in 1990.

A brief interlude to this winning streak came about in 1991, when Delaney's Sorsa-powered RD16F chassis proved superior to the MacGregor MG22, despite the latter being powered by a Sidus V12, the 1235-N3. In 1992, Sidus were only supplying MacGregor exclusively, and the MacGregor MG23 that its improved V12 powered retook the Constructors' Championship that year, with Norris taking his 3rd Drivers' Championship. In 1993, Sidus once again powered Norris to another Drivers' Championship. Finally, in 1994, Sidus's V12 made its last appearance, carrying him to his 5th and final Drivers' Championship.

Sidus switched to a V10 design in 1995, debuting the 1030-N7 in the MacGregor MG26. However, it was underpowered compared to other engine packages that season, and MacGregor finished the Constructors' Championship in 5th place. Its last win was in the 1996 Confederate Grand Prix with a MacGregor chassis piloted by Alistair O'Donnell.

2000s and 2010s

Sidus made its return to F1 in the year 2002 when it supplied engines for the Fullerton team. They also provided engines for the Garland team in 2003. Due to mounting money troubles, Fullerton offered Sidus to buy 49% of the team in 2004, to which the latter agreed. This was increased to full ownership in 2006, with the Renetton team being rebranded as the current Sidus F1 team.

The company continued to supply other constructors with their engines, most notably with the Vikingr F1 Team. Vikingr was informally referred to as Sidus' B-team, although both teams have maintained that their operations were separate.

In 2016, Sidus revived their relationship with MacGregor, and supplied the Aswickan team with their 615H-3 hybrid powertrain. An improvement of the previous 615H-2 that helped the Sidus works team win the championship, it proved to be more powerful and more efficient. However, the engines came at a season with fierce competition, and MacGregor only managed to take 3rd place, with the Sidus team behind it in 4th. In 2017, Sidus redesigned their power unit, with certain components either relocated or reworked. The result was an unreliable and underpowered unit, which Steven Grey described as "woeful". However, improvements made over the season allowed for MacGregor to rebound, yet it was nowhere near taking the championship.

2018 saw Sidus debut a much more reliable package with the 616H-5. Upgrades made over the course of testing, Sidus was able to increase power numbers and rework the engine mapping. With this upgraded power unit, MacGregor was on course to make a challenge for the 2018 Championship, yet it was beaten out by the Merlin team and their equally capable Cozworth CZ2018. In 2019, the 616H-6 power unit was revealed, and pre-season testing suggested that it was going to be the most powerful unit for that season. With it, MacGregor led a brilliant season, carrying Steven Grey to his 2nd Drivers' Championship.

Astyrian Formula One results

Bold indicates championships won.

Year	Name	Car	Engine	Tyres	No.	Drivers	CS
1966	Sidus Racing Company	FS-151	312MT 3.0 V12	Provost	N/A	Daniel Skelly	7th
1967	Sidus Racing Company	FS-152	312MT 3.0 V12	Provost	N/A	Daniel Skelly Isaac Young	5th
1968	Sidus Racing Company	FS-153	312MT 3.0 V12	Gladstone	N/A	Daniel Skelly Tommi Karttunen	4th
1969	Sidus Racing Company	FS-154	312MT 3.0 V12	Gladstone	N/A	Arthur Stuart Daniel Skelly Tommi Karttunen	6th
1970	Sidus Racing Company	FS-155	312MT 3.0 V12	Gladstone	N/A	Arthur Stuart Riley Webb	4th
1971	Sidus Racing Company	FS-160	312MT 3.0 V12	Gladstone	N/A	Isaac Young	9th
1972	Sidus Racing Company	FS-161	312MT 3.0 V12	Gladstone	N/A	Florian Stonetower Rory Davidson	6th
1973	Sidus Racing Company	FS-170	312MT 3.0 V12	Gladstone	N/A	Rory Davidson	8th
1974-2005: Sidus did not compete as a constructor
2006	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-206	830-M1 3.0L V8	Suhonen	20. 33.	Adrian Berkhoff Paavo Laakkonen	3rd
2007	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-207	830-M1 3.0L V8	Suhonen	20. 33.	Adrian Berkhoff Paavo Laakkonen	1st
2008	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-208	830-M2 3.0L V8	Suhonen	20. 33. (7).	Adrian Berkhoff Paavo Laakkonen Pekka Koivu	3rd
2009	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-209	830-M2 3.0L V8	Suhonen	20. 33.	Adrian Berkhoff Paavo Laakkonen	4th
2010	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-210	830-M3 3.0L V8	Suhonen	7. 33.	Pekka Koivu Paavo Laakkonen	3rd
2011	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-211	830-M4 3.0L V8	Suhonen	7. 33.	Pekka Koivu Paavo Laakkonen	3rd
2012	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-212	830-M5 3.0L V8	Roncalli	7. 33.	Pekka Koivu Paavo Laakkonen	1st
2013	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-213	830-M6 3.0L V8	Roncalli	7. 33.	Pekka Koivu Paavo Laakkonen	1st
2014	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-214	615H-1 1.5L V6 t	Roncalli	7. 22.	Pekka Koivu Simo Rassinen	2nd
2015	Kaltorka Sidus F1 Team	FS-215	615H-2 1.5L V6 t	Roncalli	22. 95.	Simo Rassinen Guy Bassett	1st
2016	Sidus Telenid F1 Racing Team	FS-216	615H-3 1.5L V6 t	Roncalli	22. 95.	Simo Rassinen Guy Bassett	3rd
2017	Sidus Telenid F1 Racing Team	FS-217	615H-4 1.5L V6 t	Roncalli	22. 95.	Simo Rassinen Guy Bassett	4th
2018	Sidus Telenid F1 Racing Team	FS-218	616H-5 1.6L V6 t	Roncalli	22. 95.	Simo Rassinen Guy Bassett	3rd
2019	Sidus Telenid F1 Racing Team	FS-219	616H-6 1.6L V6 t	Roncalli	22. 95.	Simo Rassinen Guy Bassett	3rd
2020	Sidus Telenid F1 Racing Team	FS-220	616H-7 1.6L V6 t	Roncalli	22. 95.	Simo Rassinen Guy Bassett	1st
2021	Sidus Telenid Racing Team	FS-221	616M-1 1.6L V6 t	Roncalli	6. 95.	Lauren Blake Guy Bassett	2nd
2022	Sidus Telenid Racing Team	FS-222	616M-2 1.6L V6 t	Roncalli	6. 95.	Lauren Blake Guy Bassett	2nd