Formula One Features — May 2000

Nothing spoils a day at the races more than the car one is associated with breaking down. Whether one is the driver, a member of the team or the engine supplier, a component supplier (particularly if it is their component that has failed), a sponsor or a supporter, the disappointment experienced when the car falters and ceases to participate in the race, is deep.

The Cramer Family has been making beer in the town of Warstein, in the hills to the east of Dortmund, in the north of Germany, for as long as there have been records. The first recorded brewer was Konrad Cramer in 1753 and in 1803 his brother Johannes built the first actual brewery in the town. A steam-powered factory replaced the original in 1895 but this and its successors could not cope with demand and so in 1978 a huge new factory was built outside the town. It has been extended twice since then and now employs 12,000 people.

Charles Wang is the son of a Chinese immigrant and grew up in New York City. After leaving university he began to sell Swiss software in the United States and within five years had built Computer Associates into a big enough company for it to be floated on the New York Stock Exchange. Using the money raised, Wang began buying up his competition and in the course of the next 15 years he spent $4bn to build Computer Associates into the world's third largest software company behind Microsoft and Oracle.

Head-up displays (HUDs) are now proven and fully accepted technology for use in military and commercial aircraft, but have not yet found a permanent place in either road or racing cars, although Cadillac have offer one, based on Hughes technology, for some years.