Monday 18th September 2006

Olivier Panis announced his retirement from Formula One, ending a 12-year participation in which he had won once in 157 starts. In 1997 he was lying in third in the championship when he crashed in the Canadian Grand Prix, breaking his legs and missing the remainder of the season. He never again featured on the podium, and spent his last two years as a test driver. “It’s time for me to move on and fulfil my wish to race again,” he said.