Conor Byrne

Conor Byrne (born 15th June 1976) is a racing driver who competed in Formula 1 from 1997 to 2008. He drove for Ligier, Ford, Jaguar, Red Bull and Porsche.
Currently Byrne is a businessman known worldwide for his brands of alcoholic beverages.
== Early Life ==
Byrne was born in Dublin on June 15, 1976, into a family of modest social and economic conditions.
==Early Racing Career==
Conor Byrne started racing at the age of 12 in his hometown of Dublin, racing in some Irish karting championships. 
At 17 he joined the British Formula Three International Series, racing for the Fortec Motorsport team, where he won two races, finishing the season in fourth place. After a good debut season in the series the team decided to confirm his position in the team for the following season. He eventually finished 2nd in the following championship.
In 1994 the Irish driver's intention was to win the British Formula Three International Series, but a bad accident during practice for the first race halted his season due to him breaking his legs in the crash. He spent the rest of the year in recovery.
In 1995 Byrne signed a contract with Ligier to compete in five events of the series. That season he won one race and achieved two podiums, both of which were third place finishes.
==Formula One Career==
After having a good season in 1995, Byrne was called up as a test driver for Ligier, making his first appereance on track during practice for the British Grand Prix. Byrne also helped to test the car throughout the year.
=== 1997 - 1998 (Ligier) ===
Byrne impressed the Ligier team and signed for them as a full-time driver for 1997. He made his race debut at the Australian Grand Prix. He would race alongside Rico Filippi, but his Formula One debut was not that good, starting in nine of the ten races on the calendar and finishing only three of them, with just one point earned in Suzuka after a long and spectacular battle against Heather Misako. 
Byrne's second season was slighty better than the previous one, finding some consistency and scoring four points throughout the season.
=== 1999 (Ford) ===
Byrne didn't extend his contract with Ligier and opted instead to sign a multi-year contract with Ford. He would race alongside Dieter Ludwig Jr.
Like the 1998 season Byrne finished the season with four points in the championship.
=== 2000 - 2004 (Jaguar) ===
In 2000 the Ford team became rebranded as Jaguar and the team confirmed Byrne alongside Stine Olander.
Conor's 2000 season ended at the Malaysian Grand Prix, with 7 points. He was due to enter the season finale at Suzuka but injured his left leg in a test before the weekend and was unable to race.
In 2001 Byrne raced alongside debutant Georgina Hill.
His 2001 season was one of his best seasons in F1. In that year he obtained his first victory in a grand prix, taking a shock win in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Over the rest of the season Byrne and his Jaguar R2 proved to be quite consistent, allowing the team to finish 7th in the Constructors' Championship and 11th in the Drivers' standings.
The 2002 season was not one of Byrne's best seasons as he struggled to find pace with the then new Jaguar R3, only finishing in the points at the team's home grand prix. He finished 17th the championship.
The start of the 2003 season looked horrible for the Irish driver and he failed to score points for the first four races. At the mid-season things seemed to improve, with Byrne finishing for four consecutive races in the points, only to unfortunately return to finishing all the remaining races without points and finishing the championship 17th.
The 2004 season was a breath of fresh air for both the Jaguar Team and the Irish driver, finding consistency in all races and finishing most of the championship races in the points.
Byrne finished the season in 13th place.
=== 2005-2006 (Red Bull) ===
With the bankruptcy of Jaguar at the end of 2004 and the takeover of the team by Red Bull, Byrne raced as a driver for the Red Bull Racing team for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
The 2005 season proved to be a good season for the Irish driver, who finished 5 out of 12 races in the points, allowing the team to finish 9th in the Constructors' Championship and Byrne 14th in the Drivers' Championship.
In 2006, Byrne finished 5 out of the 12 races in the points. He went on to finish 12th in the Drivers' Championship, the highest he achieved during his F1 career.
=== Porsche (2007) ===
For the 2007 season Conor Byrne signed a two year contract with Porsche.
The season started badly with a retirement in the first race. Byrne and the team would struggle to finish well for the rest of the season, but Byrne remained committed to supporting the new German team.
=== Porsche (2008) ===
The 2008 season turned out to be another disaster for the Stuttgart team and its drivers. Byrne was beaten heavily by Mark Muller and struggled to bring points to the team due to countless retirements.
During the weekend of the Brazilian Grand Prix Conor Byrne announced his retirement from Formula 1, thus concluding an 11 year career in the sport.
== Personal Life ==
Conor owns several houses around the world:
* Gland, Switzerland.
* Canazei, Italy.
* New York, USA.
He is also the owner of the well-known liquor company Byrne's Limited, which exports spirits worldwide. It is renowned for its beer and whiskey.
=== Charitable initiatives ===
Byrne is also known for his charitable activities. His donations and charity work has been committed to providing education, food and medicine to those in need around the world.
== Racing Record ==
Season	Team 	Races	Wins	Poles	Podiums	Points	Position
1997 	Ligier 	9 	0 	0 	0 	1 	21st
1998 	Ligier 	11 	0 	0 	0 	4 	18th
1999 	Ford 	11 	0 	0 	0 	4 	19th
2000 	Jaguar 	8 	0 	0 	0 	7 	16th
2001 	Jaguar 	11 	1 	0 	1 	28 	11th
2002 	Jaguar 	11 	0 	0 	0 	6 	17th
2003 	Jaguar 	11 	0 	0 	0 	11 	17th
2004 	Jaguar 	10 	0 	0 	0 	9 	13th
2005 	Red Bull	12 	0 	0 	0 	14 	14th
2006 	Red Bull	12 	0 	0 	0 	17 	12th
2007 	Porsche 	12 	0 	0 	0 	5 	20th
2008 	Porsche 	10 	0 	0 	0 	5 	17th
Category:Drivers
Category:Irish
Category:F1