A Formula One Grand Prix event spans a weekend, beginning with two free practice sessions on Friday (except in Monaco, where Friday practices are moved to Thursday), and one free practice on Saturday. Additional drivers (commonly known as third drivers) are allowed to run on Fridays, but only two cars may be used per team, requiring a race driver to give up their seat. A Qualifying session is held after the last free practice session. This session determines the starting order for the race.
Qualifying
A typical pitwall control centre, from which the team managers and strategists communicate with their drivers and engineers over the course of a testing session and race weekend.For much of the sport's history, qualifying sessions differed little from practice sessions; drivers would have an entire session in which to attempt to set their fastest time, sometimes within a limited number of attempts, with the grid order determined by each driver's the best single lap, fastest (on pole position) to slowest. Grids were limited to the fastest 26 cars and drivers had to lap within 107% of the pole sitter's time to qualify for the race. Other formats have included Friday pre-qualifying, and sessions in which each driver was allowed only one qualifying lap, run separately in a predetermined order.
The current qualifying system, known as "knock-out" qualifying and adopted starting with the 2006 season, is split into three periods. In each period, drivers run qualifying laps to attempt to advance to the next period, running as many laps as they wish, with the slowest drivers being "knocked out" at the end of the period and their grid positions set. Cars are eliminated in this manner until 10 cars remain eligible to attempt to qualify for pole position in the third and final period. For each period, all previous times are reset, and only a driver's fastest lap in that period (barring infractions) counts. Under current rules, for all periods, any timed lap started before the chequered flag falls signalling the end of that period may be completed, and will count toward that driver's placement, even if they cross the finish line after the period has ended. In the first two periods, cars may run any fuel load they wish, and drivers eliminated in these periods are allowed to refuel prior to the race. Cars taking part in the final period, however, must start the race with the fuel load left at the end of qualifying, meaning they must run the final period with their desired initial race fuel load in addition to fuel sufficient to complete the qualifying period itself.
For example, for a 20-car grid, all 20 cars are permitted to take part in the first period. At the end of the period, the slowest five cars are eliminated and take up the last five grid positions (16 to 20) in the order of their times. In the second period, the remaining fifteen cars take part, with five more cars eliminated at the end, taking the next five lowest grid positions (11 to 15). In the third and final period, the remaining 10 cars compete for pole position, and fill grid positions 1 through 10.
The knock-out format has received minor updates since its inception, such as adjustments to the number of drivers eliminated in each period as the total number of cars entered has changed.
The race
The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking (although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground provided he has not fallen to the back of the field). The warm up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car and it also gives the tyres a chance to get some heat in them to get some much needed traction, and also allows the pit crews to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid.
Once all the cars have formed on the grid, a light system above the track indicates the start of the race. Five red lights are illuminated one-by-one. The five lights are then extinguished simultaneously (instead of showing a green light), after a computer generated random time (typically less than 3 seconds) to signal the start of the race. The start procedure may be abandoned if a driver stalls on the grid, signalled by flashing amber lights. If this happens the procedure will restart and a new formation lap will begin and the offending car removed from the grid. The race may also be restarted in the event of a serious accident or dangerous conditions, with the original start voided. The race may also be started from behind the Safety Car if officials feel a racing start would be excessively dangerous. There is no formation lap when races start behind the Safety Car.
The winner of the race is the first driver to cross the finish line having completed a set number of laps (which added together should give a distance of approximately 305 km (190 mi) (or 260 km (160 mi) for Monaco). Races are limited to two hours, although only tend to last this long in the case of extreme weather. Drivers may overtake one another for position over the course of the race and are 'Classified' in the order they finished the race. If a leader comes across a back marker who has completed fewer laps than him, the back marker is shown a blue flag telling him he is obliged to pull over to allow the leader to overtake him. The slower car is said to be 'lapped' and once the leader finishes the race is classified as finishing the race 'one lap down'. A driver can be lapped numerous times, by any car in front of him. A driver who fails to finish a race, through mechanical problems, accident or any other reason is said to have retired from the race and is 'Not Classified' in the results.
Throughout the race, drivers may make pit stops in order to refuel and change tyres. Different teams and drivers will employ different pit stop strategies in order to maximise their car's potential. There are two tyre compounds made available to drivers with different characteristics. Over the course of a race, drivers must use both available tyre compounds. One compound will have a performance advantage over the other and choosing when to use which compound is a key tactical decision to make. The softer of the available tyre compounds are marked with a green stripe on the tyre's sidewall to help spectators to understand the strategies. Under wet conditions drivers may switch to specialised wet weather tyres with additional grooves, and are no longer obliged to use both types of dry tyres. Typically, a driver will make between one and three scheduled stops, although he may have to make further stops to fix damage or if weather conditions change.
Safety Car
In the event of an incident that risks the safety of competitors or trackside marshals, race officials may chose to deploy the Safety Car. This in effect neutralizes the race, with drivers following the Safety Car around the track in race order and at reduced speeds with overtaking not permitted. The safety car circulates until the danger is cleared when the race will restart with a 'rolling start'. Pit stops are permitted under the Safety Car.
Red Flag
In the event of a major incident or unsafe weather conditions, the race may be red flagged. Depending on the race distance covered at the time of the red flag, this can have several meanings:
If under 3 laps have been completed, the race is restarted from original grid positions. All drivers may take the restart, provided their car is in a fit state to do so.
If between 3 laps and 75% of the race distance have been completed, the race may be restarted once it is safe to do so using the race order at the time of the red flag. The two hour time limit still applies and the clock does not stop.
If more than 75% of the race distance has been completed then the race is finished and the race result counted back to the second last completed lap before the red flag.
The format of the Race has changed little through Formula One's history. The main changes have revolved around what changes are allowed at Pit Stops. In the early days of Grand Prix racing, a driver would be allowed to continue a race in his teammates car should his develop a problem. In recent years however, the focus has been on refuelling and tyre-changes. From the 2010 season, refuelling will be banned to encourage less tactical racing, having only been re-introduced in 1994 following safety fears. The rule requiring both compounds of tyre to be used during the race was only introduced in 2008, again to encourage racing on the track. The Safety Car is another relatively recent innovation that meant fewer red flags were required, allowing races to be completed on time for a growing international live television audience.
Points system
Points awarded for finishing position Place Points
1st 10
2nd 8
3rd 6
4th 5
5th 4
6th 3
7th 2
8th 1
Main article: List of Formula One World Championship pointscoring systems
Various systems for awarding championship points have been used since 1950. In 2009, the top eight cars are awarded points, the winner receiving 10 points. The total number of points won at each race are added together and the driver and constructor with the most points at the end of the season are World Champions. If both a team's cars finish in the points, they both receive Constructors Championship points, meaning the Drivers and Constructors Championships often have different results.
To receive points a racer must be Classified. Strictly speaking in order to be Classified a driver need not finish the race, but complete at least 90% of the winner's race distance. Therefore, it is possible for a driver to receive some points even though he retired before the end of the race.
In the event that less than 75% of the race laps are completed, only half points are awarded to the drivers and constructors. This has happened on only five occasions in the history of the championship, with the last occurrence at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix when the race was called off after 31 laps due to torrential rain.
A driver can switch teams during the season and keep any points gained at the previous team.
From 2010, it is possible that the winner of the two annual championships may be the driver with the most wins and the team with the most points at the end of the season. In the case of a tie in wins, the drivers' championship would be awarded to the driver having the higher number of points; if these are equal, second place finishes are considered, and so on. The scoring system whereby the driver with the most wins (as opposed to most accumulated points) becomes world champion was due to be introduced for the 2009 season; however following protests from F1 teams and drivers this rule change has been deferred until a possible 2010 introduction. The points system therefore remains unchanged for 2009.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Manufacturers' return
Michael Schumacher and Ferrari won an unprecedented five consecutive drivers’ championships and six consecutive constructors’ championships between 1999 and 2004. Schumacher set many new records, including those for Grand Prix wins (91), wins in a season (13 of 18), and most drivers' championships .Schumacher's championship streak ended on September 25, 2005 when Renault driver Fernando Alonso became Formula One’s youngest champion at that time. In 2006, Renault and Alonso won both titles again. Schumacher retired at the end of 2006 after sixteen years in Formula One.
During this period the championship rules were frequently changed by the FIA with the intention of improving the on-track action and cutting costs.Team orders, legal since the championship started in 1950, were banned in 2002 after several incidents in which teams openly manipulated race results, generating negative publicity, most famously by Ferrari at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix. Other changes included the qualifying format, the points scoring system, the technical regulations and rules specifying how long engines and tyres must last. A 'tyre war' between suppliers Michelin and Bridgestone saw lap times fall, although at the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis seven out of ten teams did not race when their Michelin tyres were deemed unsafe for use. During 2006, Max Mosley outlined a ‘green’ future for Formula One, in which efficient use of energy would become an important factor.And the tyre war ended, as Bridgestone became the sole tyre supplier to Formula One for the 2007 season.
Since 1983, Formula One had been dominated by specialist race teams like Williams, McLaren and Benetton, using engines supplied by large car manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Renault and Ford. Starting in 2000, with Ford’s creation of the largely unsuccessful Jaguar team, new manufacturer-owned teams entered Formula One for the first time since the departure of Alfa Romeo and Renault at the end of 1985. By 2006, the manufacturer teams–Renault, BMW, Toyota, Honda and Ferrari–dominated the championship, taking five of the first six places in the constructors' championship. The sole exception was McLaren, which is part-owned by Mercedes Benz. Through the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA) they negotiated a larger share of Formula One’s commercial profit and a greater say in the running of the sport.
Possible breakaway
Main article: FIA–FOTA dispute
Wikinews has related news: Formula One teams to set up breakaway championship
As a result of the ongoing governance crisis in Formula One, the eight remaining teams of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) announced on June 18, 2009 that they had no choice but to form a breakaway championship series.
The crisis originally formed around the proposed implementation of several radical changes to the 2010 regulations, most importantly the introduction of a £30 million budget cap (later revised to £40 million),approved by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) on March 17.
Under the proposed technical regulations, teams operating with the budget cap would be granted greater technical freedom, which included adjustable front and rear wings and an engine not subject to a rev limiter.
The FOTA believed that allowing some teams to have such technical freedom would have created a ‘two-tier’ championship, and thus requested urgent talks with the FIA. Talks broke down resulting in four of the teams, Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and Torro Rosso threatening not to sign on for the 2010 championship unless the rules were revised.
FOTA and the FIA again met for talks which again broke down, causing Ferrari to launch legal action to prevent the regulations from being applied, claiming that a previously signed contract between themselves and the FIA gave them right to veto any new rules, a clause which they believe the FIA ignored. The injunction was rejected in French courts.
On May 25, Williams broke ranks with FOTA by submitting an entry for the 2010 season and were subsequently suspended indefinitely, which brought the number of teams active in FOTA down to nine.
On May 29, the remaining FOTA teams submitted a joint, conditional entry which they state is only to be accepted if the proposed rules were amended to their preference. Seven days later, Force India revealed that they followed Williams and submitted an unconditional entry for the 2010 season and were also suspended.
The FIA released the list of competing teams for the 2010 season on June 12. 2009 competitors were included with the addition of USGPE, Manor Grand Prix and Campos Grand Prix. The FIA recognized the conditional nature of five of the FOTA teams while automatically accepting the entries of Ferrari, Red Bull and Torro Rosso. The remaining conditional teams were given a week to submit unconditional entries.
A day before the final submission deadline, FOTA announced that they were unified in creating a breakaway championship series due to the apparently irreconcilable differences between their views and those of the FIA.
The FIA threatened legal action against the FOTA teams, claiming that they, and Ferrari in particular, had broken a signed contract to compete. It was estimated that the proposed lawsuit could be for as much as $1 billion.
On June 21, Max Mosley decided that the FIA would not sue the teams, insisting instead that reconciliation was close. Flavio Briatore denied the next day that a deal was close, insisting that FOTA was pressing on with their breakaway championship.
On June 24, an agreement was reached between Formula One's governing body and the teams to prevent a breakaway series. It was agreed that the teams must cut spending to the level of the early 1990s within two years, however exact figures were not specified.
However, shortly after this peace deal was reached on Wednesday, Max Mosley was reported as being 'furious' over remarks made by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. Mosely, who clearly felt let down by the comments, later told the media that he was to 'leave his options open'.
The statement, released by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, described Max Mosley as a dictator, also mentioning that he had been forced out of office with Michel Boeri taking his place until a new leader was elected in October. Mosley described these statements as being false as well as 'grossly insulting to the 26 members of the World Motor Sport Council who have discussed and voted all the rules and procedures of Formula One since the 1980s, not to mention the representatives of the FIA's 122 countries who have democratically endorsed everything I and my World Motor Sport Council colleagues have done during the last 18 years'.
No apology was issued by FOTA or Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, sparking speculation that Max Mosley will seek re-election in October which would plunge Formula One back into crisis. Mosley's agreement to step down at the conclusion of his term was one of the major factors resulting in the reconciliation of FOTA with Formula One.
On 8 July, the FOTA published a press release stating that they had been informed that they were not entered for the 2010 season. An FIA press release, published on the same date and regarding the same meeting, said the FOTA representatives had walked out of the meeting.
On August 1, it was announced that the FIA had signed the new Concorde Agreement, bringing an end to the crisis and securing the sport's future until 2012.
Outside the World Championship
Currently, the terms "Formula One race" and "World Championship race" are effectively synonymous; since 1984, every Formula One race has counted towards an Official FIA World Championship, and every World Championship race has been to Formula One regulations. This has not always been the case, and in the earlier history of Formula One many races took place outside the world championship.
European non-championship racing
In the early years of Formula One, before the world championship was established, there were around twenty races held from late Spring to early Autumn in Europe, although not all of these were considered significant. Most competitive cars came from Italy, particularly Alfa Romeo. After the start of the world championship these non-championship races continued. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were many Formula One races which did not count for the World Championship (e.g., in 1950, a total of twenty-two Formula One races were held, of which only six counted towards the World Championship). In 1952 and 1953, when the world championship was run for Formula Two cars, a full season of non-championship Formula One racing took place. Some races, particularly in the UK, including the Race of Champions, Oulton Park International Gold Cup and International Trophy, were attended by the majority of the world championship contenders. These became less common through the 1970s and 1983 saw the last non-championship Formula One race: The 1983 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, won by reigning World Champion Keke Rosberg in a Williams Cosworth in a close fight with American Danny Sullivan.
South African Formula One championship
Main article: South African Formula One Championship
South Africa's flourishing domestic Formula One championship ran from 1960 through to 1975. The frontrunning cars in the series were recently retired from the world championship although there was also a healthy selection of locally built or modified machines. Frontrunning drivers from the series usually contested their local World Championship Grand Prix, as well as occasional European events, although they had little success at that level.
British Formula One Series
Main article: British Formula One Series
The old fashioned DFV helped make the UK domestic Formula One series possible between 1978 and 1980. As in South Africa a generation before, second hand cars from manufacturers like Lotus and Fittipaldi Automotive were the order of the day, although some, such as the March 781, were built specifically for the series. In 1980, the series saw South African Desiré Wilson become the only woman to win a Formula One race when she triumphed at Brands Hatch in a Wolf WR3.
During this period the championship rules were frequently changed by the FIA with the intention of improving the on-track action and cutting costs.Team orders, legal since the championship started in 1950, were banned in 2002 after several incidents in which teams openly manipulated race results, generating negative publicity, most famously by Ferrari at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix. Other changes included the qualifying format, the points scoring system, the technical regulations and rules specifying how long engines and tyres must last. A 'tyre war' between suppliers Michelin and Bridgestone saw lap times fall, although at the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis seven out of ten teams did not race when their Michelin tyres were deemed unsafe for use. During 2006, Max Mosley outlined a ‘green’ future for Formula One, in which efficient use of energy would become an important factor.And the tyre war ended, as Bridgestone became the sole tyre supplier to Formula One for the 2007 season.
Since 1983, Formula One had been dominated by specialist race teams like Williams, McLaren and Benetton, using engines supplied by large car manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Renault and Ford. Starting in 2000, with Ford’s creation of the largely unsuccessful Jaguar team, new manufacturer-owned teams entered Formula One for the first time since the departure of Alfa Romeo and Renault at the end of 1985. By 2006, the manufacturer teams–Renault, BMW, Toyota, Honda and Ferrari–dominated the championship, taking five of the first six places in the constructors' championship. The sole exception was McLaren, which is part-owned by Mercedes Benz. Through the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA) they negotiated a larger share of Formula One’s commercial profit and a greater say in the running of the sport.
Possible breakaway
Main article: FIA–FOTA dispute
Wikinews has related news: Formula One teams to set up breakaway championship
As a result of the ongoing governance crisis in Formula One, the eight remaining teams of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) announced on June 18, 2009 that they had no choice but to form a breakaway championship series.
The crisis originally formed around the proposed implementation of several radical changes to the 2010 regulations, most importantly the introduction of a £30 million budget cap (later revised to £40 million),approved by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) on March 17.
Under the proposed technical regulations, teams operating with the budget cap would be granted greater technical freedom, which included adjustable front and rear wings and an engine not subject to a rev limiter.
The FOTA believed that allowing some teams to have such technical freedom would have created a ‘two-tier’ championship, and thus requested urgent talks with the FIA. Talks broke down resulting in four of the teams, Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and Torro Rosso threatening not to sign on for the 2010 championship unless the rules were revised.
FOTA and the FIA again met for talks which again broke down, causing Ferrari to launch legal action to prevent the regulations from being applied, claiming that a previously signed contract between themselves and the FIA gave them right to veto any new rules, a clause which they believe the FIA ignored. The injunction was rejected in French courts.
On May 25, Williams broke ranks with FOTA by submitting an entry for the 2010 season and were subsequently suspended indefinitely, which brought the number of teams active in FOTA down to nine.
On May 29, the remaining FOTA teams submitted a joint, conditional entry which they state is only to be accepted if the proposed rules were amended to their preference. Seven days later, Force India revealed that they followed Williams and submitted an unconditional entry for the 2010 season and were also suspended.
The FIA released the list of competing teams for the 2010 season on June 12. 2009 competitors were included with the addition of USGPE, Manor Grand Prix and Campos Grand Prix. The FIA recognized the conditional nature of five of the FOTA teams while automatically accepting the entries of Ferrari, Red Bull and Torro Rosso. The remaining conditional teams were given a week to submit unconditional entries.
A day before the final submission deadline, FOTA announced that they were unified in creating a breakaway championship series due to the apparently irreconcilable differences between their views and those of the FIA.
The FIA threatened legal action against the FOTA teams, claiming that they, and Ferrari in particular, had broken a signed contract to compete. It was estimated that the proposed lawsuit could be for as much as $1 billion.
On June 21, Max Mosley decided that the FIA would not sue the teams, insisting instead that reconciliation was close. Flavio Briatore denied the next day that a deal was close, insisting that FOTA was pressing on with their breakaway championship.
On June 24, an agreement was reached between Formula One's governing body and the teams to prevent a breakaway series. It was agreed that the teams must cut spending to the level of the early 1990s within two years, however exact figures were not specified.
However, shortly after this peace deal was reached on Wednesday, Max Mosley was reported as being 'furious' over remarks made by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. Mosely, who clearly felt let down by the comments, later told the media that he was to 'leave his options open'.
The statement, released by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, described Max Mosley as a dictator, also mentioning that he had been forced out of office with Michel Boeri taking his place until a new leader was elected in October. Mosley described these statements as being false as well as 'grossly insulting to the 26 members of the World Motor Sport Council who have discussed and voted all the rules and procedures of Formula One since the 1980s, not to mention the representatives of the FIA's 122 countries who have democratically endorsed everything I and my World Motor Sport Council colleagues have done during the last 18 years'.
No apology was issued by FOTA or Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, sparking speculation that Max Mosley will seek re-election in October which would plunge Formula One back into crisis. Mosley's agreement to step down at the conclusion of his term was one of the major factors resulting in the reconciliation of FOTA with Formula One.
On 8 July, the FOTA published a press release stating that they had been informed that they were not entered for the 2010 season. An FIA press release, published on the same date and regarding the same meeting, said the FOTA representatives had walked out of the meeting.
On August 1, it was announced that the FIA had signed the new Concorde Agreement, bringing an end to the crisis and securing the sport's future until 2012.
Outside the World Championship
Currently, the terms "Formula One race" and "World Championship race" are effectively synonymous; since 1984, every Formula One race has counted towards an Official FIA World Championship, and every World Championship race has been to Formula One regulations. This has not always been the case, and in the earlier history of Formula One many races took place outside the world championship.
European non-championship racing
In the early years of Formula One, before the world championship was established, there were around twenty races held from late Spring to early Autumn in Europe, although not all of these were considered significant. Most competitive cars came from Italy, particularly Alfa Romeo. After the start of the world championship these non-championship races continued. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were many Formula One races which did not count for the World Championship (e.g., in 1950, a total of twenty-two Formula One races were held, of which only six counted towards the World Championship). In 1952 and 1953, when the world championship was run for Formula Two cars, a full season of non-championship Formula One racing took place. Some races, particularly in the UK, including the Race of Champions, Oulton Park International Gold Cup and International Trophy, were attended by the majority of the world championship contenders. These became less common through the 1970s and 1983 saw the last non-championship Formula One race: The 1983 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, won by reigning World Champion Keke Rosberg in a Williams Cosworth in a close fight with American Danny Sullivan.
South African Formula One championship
Main article: South African Formula One Championship
South Africa's flourishing domestic Formula One championship ran from 1960 through to 1975. The frontrunning cars in the series were recently retired from the world championship although there was also a healthy selection of locally built or modified machines. Frontrunning drivers from the series usually contested their local World Championship Grand Prix, as well as occasional European events, although they had little success at that level.
British Formula One Series
Main article: British Formula One Series
The old fashioned DFV helped make the UK domestic Formula One series possible between 1978 and 1980. As in South Africa a generation before, second hand cars from manufacturers like Lotus and Fittipaldi Automotive were the order of the day, although some, such as the March 781, were built specifically for the series. In 1980, the series saw South African Desiré Wilson become the only woman to win a Formula One race when she triumphed at Brands Hatch in a Wolf WR3.
The Garagistes
Stirling Moss at the Nürburgring in 1961The first major technological development, Cooper's re-introduction of mid-engined cars (following Ferdinand Porsche's pioneering Auto Unions of the 1930s), which evolved from the company's successful Formula 3 designs, occurred in the 1950s. Australian Jack Brabham, World Champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966, soon proved the new design's superiority. By 1961, all regular competitors had switched to mid-engined cars.
The first British World Champion was Mike Hawthorn, who drove a Ferrari to the title in 1958. However, when Colin Chapman entered F1 as a chassis designer and later founder of Team Lotus, British racing green came to dominate the field for the next decade. Between Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, and Denny Hulme, British teams and Commonwealth drivers won twelve world championships between 1962 and 1973.
In 1962, Lotus introduced a car with an aluminium sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional space frame design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars. In 1968, Lotus painted Imperial Tobacco livery on their cars, thus introducing sponsorship to the sport.
Aerodynamic downforce slowly gained importance in car design from the appearance of aerofoils in the late 1960s. In the late 1970s, Lotus introduced ground effect aerodynamics that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds (though the concept had previously been used on Jim Hall's Chaparral 2J in 1970). So great were the aerodynamic forces pressing the cars to the track, (up to 5 times the car's weight), that extremely stiff springs were needed to maintain a constant ride height, leaving the suspension virtually solid, depending entirely on the tyres for any small amount of cushioning of the car and driver from irregularities in the road surface.
Big business
Nigel Mansell's Williams FW10 from 1985
Damon Hill's Williams FW18 from 1996. The FW18 was one of the most successful cars of the eraBeginning in the 1970s, Bernie Ecclestone rearranged the management of Formula One's commercial rights; he is widely credited with transforming the sport into the billion-dollar business it is today.When Ecclestone bought the Brabham team in 1971 he gained a seat on the Formula One Constructors' Association and in 1978 became its President. Previously the circuit owners controlled the income of the teams and negotiated with each individually, however Ecclestone persuaded the teams to "hunt as a pack" through FOCA.He offered Formula One to circuit owners as a package which they could take or leave. In return for the package almost all are required to surrender trackside advertising.
The formation of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) in 1979 set off the FISA-FOCA war, during which FISA and its president Jean-Marie Balestre clashed repeatedly with FOCA over television revenues and technical regulations.The Guardian said of FOCA that Ecclestone and Max Mosley "used it to wage a guerrilla war with a very long-term aim in view." FOCA threatened to set up a rival series, boycotted a Grand Prix and FISA withdrew its sanction from races.The result was the 1981 Concorde Agreement, which guaranteed technical stability, as teams were to be given reasonable notice of new regulations.Although FISA asserted its right to the TV revenues, it handed the administration of those rights to FOCA.
FISA imposed a ban on ground effect aerodynamics in 1983. By then, however, turbocharged engines, which Renault had pioneered in 1977, were producing over 700 bhp (520 kW) and were essential to be competitive. By 1986, a BMW turbocharged engine achieved a flash reading of 5.5 bar pressure, estimated to be over 1,300 bhp (970 kW) in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. The following year power in race trim reached around 1,100 bhp (820 kW), with boost pressure limited to only 4.0 bar.These cars were the most powerful open-wheel circuit racing cars ever. To reduce engine power output and thus speeds, the FIA limited fuel tank capacity in 1984 and boost pressures in 1988 before banning turbocharged engines completely in 1989.
The development of electronic driver aids began in the 1980s. Lotus began to develop a system of active suspension which first appeared in 1982 on the F1 Lotus 91 and Lotus Esprit road car. By 1987, this system had been perfected and was driven to victory by Ayrton Senna in the Monaco Grand Prix that year. In the early 1990s, other teams followed suit and semi-automatic gearboxes and traction control were a natural progression. The FIA, due to complaints that technology was determining the outcome of races more than driver skill, banned many such aids for 1994. This led to cars that were previously dependent on electronic aids becoming very "twitchy" and difficult to drive (notably the Williams FW16), and many observers felt that the ban on driver aids was a ban in name only as they "have proved difficult to police effectively".
The teams signed a second Concorde Agreement in 1992 and a third in 1997, which expired on the last day of 2007.
On the track, the McLaren and Williams teams dominated the 1980s and 1990s, with Brabham also being competitive in the early part of the 1980s, winning two drivers' championships with Nelson Piquet. Powered by Porsche, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz, McLaren won sixteen championships (seven constructors', nine drivers') in that period, while Williams used engines from Ford, Honda, and Renault to also win sixteen titles (nine constructors', seven drivers'). The rivalry between racing legends Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost became F1's central focus in 1988, and continued until Prost retired at the end of 1993. Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix after crashing into a wall on the exit of the notorious curve Tamburello, having taken over Prost's lead drive at Williams that year. The FIA worked to improve the sport's safety standards since that weekend, during which Roland Ratzenberger also lost his life in an accident during Saturday qualifying. No driver has died on the track at the wheel of a Formula One car since, though two track marshals have lost their lives, one at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix,and the other at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
Since the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, the FIA has used safety as a reason to impose rule changes which otherwise, under the Concorde Agreement, would have had to be agreed upon by all the teams — most notably the changes introduced for 1998. This so called 'narrow track' era resulted in cars with smaller rear tyres, a narrower track overall and the introduction of 'grooved' tyres to reduce mechanical grip. There would be four grooves, on the front and rear — although initially three on the front tyres in the first year — that ran through the entire circumference of the tyre. The objective was to reduce cornering speeds and to produce racing similar to rain conditions by enforcing a smaller contact patch between tyre and track. This, according to the FIA, was to promote driver skill and provide a better spectacle.
Results have been mixed as the lack of mechanical grip has resulted in the more ingenious designers clawing back the deficit with aerodynamic grip — pushing more force onto the tyres through wings, aerodynamic devices etc — which in turn has resulted in less overtaking as these devices tend to make the wake behind the car 'dirty' (turbulent) preventing other cars from following closely, due to their dependence on 'clean' air to make the car stick to the track. The grooved tyres also had the unfortunate side effect of initially being of a harder compound, to be able to hold the groove tread blocks, which resulted in spectacular accidents in times of aerodynamic grip failure (e.g., rear wing failures), as the harder compound could not grip the track as well.
Drivers from McLaren, Williams, Renault (formerly Benetton) and Ferrari, dubbed the "Big Four", have won every World Championship from 1984 to 2008. Due to the technological advances of the 1990s, the cost of competing in Formula One rose dramatically. This increased financial burden, combined with four teams' dominance (largely funded by big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz), caused the poorer independent teams to struggle not only to remain competitive, but to stay in business. Financial troubles forced several teams to withdraw. Since 1990, twenty-eight teams have pulled out of Formula One. This has prompted former Jordan owner Eddie Jordan to say that the days of competitive privateers are over.
The first British World Champion was Mike Hawthorn, who drove a Ferrari to the title in 1958. However, when Colin Chapman entered F1 as a chassis designer and later founder of Team Lotus, British racing green came to dominate the field for the next decade. Between Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, and Denny Hulme, British teams and Commonwealth drivers won twelve world championships between 1962 and 1973.
In 1962, Lotus introduced a car with an aluminium sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional space frame design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars. In 1968, Lotus painted Imperial Tobacco livery on their cars, thus introducing sponsorship to the sport.
Aerodynamic downforce slowly gained importance in car design from the appearance of aerofoils in the late 1960s. In the late 1970s, Lotus introduced ground effect aerodynamics that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds (though the concept had previously been used on Jim Hall's Chaparral 2J in 1970). So great were the aerodynamic forces pressing the cars to the track, (up to 5 times the car's weight), that extremely stiff springs were needed to maintain a constant ride height, leaving the suspension virtually solid, depending entirely on the tyres for any small amount of cushioning of the car and driver from irregularities in the road surface.
Big business
Nigel Mansell's Williams FW10 from 1985
Damon Hill's Williams FW18 from 1996. The FW18 was one of the most successful cars of the eraBeginning in the 1970s, Bernie Ecclestone rearranged the management of Formula One's commercial rights; he is widely credited with transforming the sport into the billion-dollar business it is today.When Ecclestone bought the Brabham team in 1971 he gained a seat on the Formula One Constructors' Association and in 1978 became its President. Previously the circuit owners controlled the income of the teams and negotiated with each individually, however Ecclestone persuaded the teams to "hunt as a pack" through FOCA.He offered Formula One to circuit owners as a package which they could take or leave. In return for the package almost all are required to surrender trackside advertising.
The formation of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) in 1979 set off the FISA-FOCA war, during which FISA and its president Jean-Marie Balestre clashed repeatedly with FOCA over television revenues and technical regulations.The Guardian said of FOCA that Ecclestone and Max Mosley "used it to wage a guerrilla war with a very long-term aim in view." FOCA threatened to set up a rival series, boycotted a Grand Prix and FISA withdrew its sanction from races.The result was the 1981 Concorde Agreement, which guaranteed technical stability, as teams were to be given reasonable notice of new regulations.Although FISA asserted its right to the TV revenues, it handed the administration of those rights to FOCA.
FISA imposed a ban on ground effect aerodynamics in 1983. By then, however, turbocharged engines, which Renault had pioneered in 1977, were producing over 700 bhp (520 kW) and were essential to be competitive. By 1986, a BMW turbocharged engine achieved a flash reading of 5.5 bar pressure, estimated to be over 1,300 bhp (970 kW) in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. The following year power in race trim reached around 1,100 bhp (820 kW), with boost pressure limited to only 4.0 bar.These cars were the most powerful open-wheel circuit racing cars ever. To reduce engine power output and thus speeds, the FIA limited fuel tank capacity in 1984 and boost pressures in 1988 before banning turbocharged engines completely in 1989.
The development of electronic driver aids began in the 1980s. Lotus began to develop a system of active suspension which first appeared in 1982 on the F1 Lotus 91 and Lotus Esprit road car. By 1987, this system had been perfected and was driven to victory by Ayrton Senna in the Monaco Grand Prix that year. In the early 1990s, other teams followed suit and semi-automatic gearboxes and traction control were a natural progression. The FIA, due to complaints that technology was determining the outcome of races more than driver skill, banned many such aids for 1994. This led to cars that were previously dependent on electronic aids becoming very "twitchy" and difficult to drive (notably the Williams FW16), and many observers felt that the ban on driver aids was a ban in name only as they "have proved difficult to police effectively".
The teams signed a second Concorde Agreement in 1992 and a third in 1997, which expired on the last day of 2007.
On the track, the McLaren and Williams teams dominated the 1980s and 1990s, with Brabham also being competitive in the early part of the 1980s, winning two drivers' championships with Nelson Piquet. Powered by Porsche, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz, McLaren won sixteen championships (seven constructors', nine drivers') in that period, while Williams used engines from Ford, Honda, and Renault to also win sixteen titles (nine constructors', seven drivers'). The rivalry between racing legends Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost became F1's central focus in 1988, and continued until Prost retired at the end of 1993. Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix after crashing into a wall on the exit of the notorious curve Tamburello, having taken over Prost's lead drive at Williams that year. The FIA worked to improve the sport's safety standards since that weekend, during which Roland Ratzenberger also lost his life in an accident during Saturday qualifying. No driver has died on the track at the wheel of a Formula One car since, though two track marshals have lost their lives, one at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix,and the other at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
Since the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, the FIA has used safety as a reason to impose rule changes which otherwise, under the Concorde Agreement, would have had to be agreed upon by all the teams — most notably the changes introduced for 1998. This so called 'narrow track' era resulted in cars with smaller rear tyres, a narrower track overall and the introduction of 'grooved' tyres to reduce mechanical grip. There would be four grooves, on the front and rear — although initially three on the front tyres in the first year — that ran through the entire circumference of the tyre. The objective was to reduce cornering speeds and to produce racing similar to rain conditions by enforcing a smaller contact patch between tyre and track. This, according to the FIA, was to promote driver skill and provide a better spectacle.
Results have been mixed as the lack of mechanical grip has resulted in the more ingenious designers clawing back the deficit with aerodynamic grip — pushing more force onto the tyres through wings, aerodynamic devices etc — which in turn has resulted in less overtaking as these devices tend to make the wake behind the car 'dirty' (turbulent) preventing other cars from following closely, due to their dependence on 'clean' air to make the car stick to the track. The grooved tyres also had the unfortunate side effect of initially being of a harder compound, to be able to hold the groove tread blocks, which resulted in spectacular accidents in times of aerodynamic grip failure (e.g., rear wing failures), as the harder compound could not grip the track as well.
Drivers from McLaren, Williams, Renault (formerly Benetton) and Ferrari, dubbed the "Big Four", have won every World Championship from 1984 to 2008. Due to the technological advances of the 1990s, the cost of competing in Formula One rose dramatically. This increased financial burden, combined with four teams' dominance (largely funded by big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz), caused the poorer independent teams to struggle not only to remain competitive, but to stay in business. Financial troubles forced several teams to withdraw. Since 1990, twenty-eight teams have pulled out of Formula One. This has prompted former Jordan owner Eddie Jordan to say that the days of competitive privateers are over.
History of Formula One
The Formula One series has its roots in the European Grand Prix Motor Racing (q.v. for pre-1947 history) of the 1920s and 1930s. The "formula" is a set of rules which all participants and cars must meet. Formula One was a new formula agreed after World War II in 1946, with the first non-championship races being held that year. A number of Grand Prix racing organisations had laid out rules for a World Championship before the war, but due to the suspension of racing during the conflict, the World Drivers' Championship was not formalised until 1947. The first world championship race was held at Silverstone, United Kingdom in 1950. A championship for constructors followed in 1958. National championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Non-championship Formula One races were held for many years but, due to the rising cost of competition, the last of these occurred in 1983.
The sport's title, Formula One, indicates that it is intended to be the most advanced and most competitive of the FIA's racing formulae.
Return of racing
Juan Manuel Fangio's 1951 title-winning Alfa Romeo 159The first Formula One World Championship was won by Italian Giuseppe Farina in his Alfa Romeo in 1950, barely defeating his Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio. However Fangio won the title in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 & 1957 (His record of five World Championship titles stood for 45 years until German driver Michael Schumacher took his sixth title in 2003), his streak interrupted after an injury by two-time champion Alberto Ascari of Ferrari. Although the UK's Stirling Moss was able to compete regularly, he was never able to win the World Championship, and is now widely considered to be the greatest driver never to have won the title.Fangio, however, is remembered for dominating Formula One's first decade and has long been considered the "grand master" of Formula One.
The period was dominated by teams run by road car manufacturers—Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz and Maserati - all of whom had competed before the war. The first seasons were run using pre-war cars like Alfa's 158. They were front engined, with narrow treaded tyres and 1.5 litre supercharged or 4.5 litre normally aspirated engines. The 1952 and 1953 world championships were run to Formula Two regulations, for smaller, less powerful cars, due to concerns over the number of Formula One cars available.When a new Formula One, for engines limited to 2.5 litres, was reinstated to the world championship in 1954, Mercedes-Benz introduced the advanced W196, which featured innovations such as desmodromic valves and fuel injection as well as enclosed streamlined bodywork. Mercedes won the drivers championship for two years, before withdrawing from all motorsport in the wake of the 1955 Le Mans disaster.
The sport's title, Formula One, indicates that it is intended to be the most advanced and most competitive of the FIA's racing formulae.
Return of racing
Juan Manuel Fangio's 1951 title-winning Alfa Romeo 159The first Formula One World Championship was won by Italian Giuseppe Farina in his Alfa Romeo in 1950, barely defeating his Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio. However Fangio won the title in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 & 1957 (His record of five World Championship titles stood for 45 years until German driver Michael Schumacher took his sixth title in 2003), his streak interrupted after an injury by two-time champion Alberto Ascari of Ferrari. Although the UK's Stirling Moss was able to compete regularly, he was never able to win the World Championship, and is now widely considered to be the greatest driver never to have won the title.Fangio, however, is remembered for dominating Formula One's first decade and has long been considered the "grand master" of Formula One.
The period was dominated by teams run by road car manufacturers—Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz and Maserati - all of whom had competed before the war. The first seasons were run using pre-war cars like Alfa's 158. They were front engined, with narrow treaded tyres and 1.5 litre supercharged or 4.5 litre normally aspirated engines. The 1952 and 1953 world championships were run to Formula Two regulations, for smaller, less powerful cars, due to concerns over the number of Formula One cars available.When a new Formula One, for engines limited to 2.5 litres, was reinstated to the world championship in 1954, Mercedes-Benz introduced the advanced W196, which featured innovations such as desmodromic valves and fuel injection as well as enclosed streamlined bodywork. Mercedes won the drivers championship for two years, before withdrawing from all motorsport in the wake of the 1955 Le Mans disaster.
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