Formula One
Formula One, or Grand Prix racing is regarded by many as the pinnacle of Auto racing and the most expensive sport in the world. It is based around a series of races (currently 17) on either custom-constructed road courses, or closed off street circuits. Whilst the home of the sport is undoubtedly Europe, races are also held in the Americas, Asia, and Australia.
Historically, the series evolved from the pre-war European Grand Prix races of the 1930's. With the reestablishment of motor racing post-WWII, the championship was formalised in 1950. Regulations have changed greatly as car technologies have improved, with the introduction of wings, then ground effect aerodynamics in the late 1970's by Lotus, then the 1980's era of turbocharged engines which remains the time of the most powerful circuit racing cars of all time.
The late 1980's saw the creeping inclusion of all manner of electronic driver aids to help drivers tame these twitchy beasts, including active suspension, anti-lock brakes, and traction control. Some of these were borrowed from contemporary road cars, some, like active suspension, were primarily developed for the track and later made their way to the showroom. In any case, whilst they made the cars faster, fans perceived that the new aids were taking away the need for driver skill and so in 1994 the series changed to naturally-aspirated engines and removed many of the driver aids. Some have gradually returned with the realization that teams were evading the restrictions.
The current Formula One regulations specify that cars must be
constructed by the racing teams themselves. The regulations are
unique to the championship.They specify that the cars must be powered
by 3.0 liter, naturally-aspirated engines. All current cars use a
V10 engine, located between the driver and the rear wheels, and typically
producing around 800 horsepower. The cars, like most open
wheeler categories, feature large wings forcing the cars down on to
the road, and the undertray is now flat, unlike the inverted aerofoil section used in the ground effect era, which used to keep a zone of low air
pressure under the car and literally sucked the car onto the road.
The cars are constructed from composites of carbon fibre and
similar ultra-lightweight (and incredibly expensive to manufacture)
materials, with a minimum dry weight of 500 kilograms.By regulation,
the tyres feature a minimum of three grooves in them, with the
intention of slowing the cars down (a "slick" tyre, with no
indentations, is best in dry conditions). The fuel is
custom-formulated by the major petroleum companies. Brakes are
carbon-fibre discs. The entire cars are designed for minimum mass
and are consequently almost disposable after the race is finished.
Historically, there were often an excess of cars that wished to compete in F1 and so teams had to pre-qualify for the opportunity to race. With the huge costs the possibility of not racing is no longer practical and the organisation that runs the championship (FOCA), sells the right to compete at F1 races to teams. Each team usually runs two entries in each race.
A race weekend usually begins on Friday, with free practice for the drivers to learn the circuit and for the teams to experiment with their cars to figure out the best settings for the particular track. Qualifying, determining the order the cars start on the grid, is usually on Saturday. Drivers have one hour to set the best lap time they can, the starting order determined by each driver's best time. There are typically races for many other categories over the weekend, to keep crowds amused.
The race itself, usually held on the Sunday afternoon, begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars are assembled on the starting grid in the order they qualified. They then go on the signal of the starting light system, which consists of five lights mounted above the start/finish line which light up at one second intervals, and then all go dark, at which point the race starts. Most races are about 300 kilometres (180 miles) long, and go for about two hours. Drivers stop for fuel and to change tyres at least once, and possibly two or three times. Timing pitstops with reference to other cars is crucial - if following another car but unable to pass, drivers will pit early in the expectation that when they rejoin the race they will land in clear track where they will be able to drive as fast as they can go, and thus make up overall time and pass the other car "in the pits".
Points are awarded to drivers and teams exclusively on where they finish in a race, with the winner receiving 10 points, the second place finisher 6 points, third 4, fourth 3, fifth 2 and sixth 1. The winner of the annual championship is the driver (or team, for the constructor's championship) with the most points.
Despite being the pinnacle of racing in terms of budgets, and driver skill, Formula One racing has often been accused of being unexciting when compared to less-prestigious categories. The differences in driver ability are usually dwarfed when compared to the relative speed of the different makes of cars, and on-track overtaking is very rare due to the aerodynamics of trailing cars being adversely affected by the car in front (making overtaking only possible by very risky and thus rarely-taken chances, or a much faster car trailing a slower one).
Formula One is lesser-known in the United States than their mostly-domestic open-wheeler racing series (at the moment there are two major ones, IRL and CART) and NASCAR, but in terms of budgets and global TV audiences is bigger than both. Estimates for Ferrari's racing budget in 1999 were around 240 million USD, and even tailender Minardi reportedly spent 50 million. Estimates of TV audiences are around 300 million per race.
Since 1984, the championship has been dominated by just three teams, McLaren, Williams, and Ferrari, who have provided the vehicle for all but two of the World Champions for that period.
Champions
In 1950, a world championship Formula One was established for drivers. In 1958, a championships for constructors was started as well.
Circuits
All circuits used for World Championship races since 1950:
- A1-Ring, Austria
- Adelaide, Australia
- Ain Diab, Morocco
- Aintree, Great Britain
- Anderstorp, Sweden
- Berlin, (West) Germany
- Brands Hatch, Great Britain
- Bremgarten, Switzerland
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Clermont-Ferrand, France
- Dallas, United States
- Detroit, United States
- Dijon, France
- Donington, Great Britain
- East London, South Africa
- Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Italy
- Estoril, Portugal
- Gilles Villeneuve, Canada
- Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico
- Hockenheim, Germany
- Hungaroring, Hungary
- Imola, Italy (San Marino Grand Prix)
- Indianapolis, United States
- Interlagos, Brazil
- Jacarepagua, Brazil
- Jarama, Spain
- Jerez, Spain
- Kyalami, South Africa
- Las Vegas, United States
- Le Mans, France
- Long Beach, United States
- Magny-Cours, France
- Melbourne, Australia
- Monsanto, Portugal
- Monte Carlo, Monaco
- Montjuïc, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (not used anymore)
- Montmeló or Catalunya, Catalonia, Spain
- Mont-Tremblant, France
- Monza, Italy
- Mosport, Canada
- Mount Fuji, Japan
- Nivelles, Belgium
- Nurburgring, Germany
- Osterreichring, Austria
- Paul Ricard, France
- Pedralbes, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (not used anymore)
- Pescara, Italy
- Phoenix, United States
- Porto, Portugal
- Reims, France
- Riverside, United States
- Rouen, France
- Sebring, United States
- Sepang, Malaysia
- Silverstone, Great Britain
- Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
- Suzuka, Japan
- TI Aida, Japan
- Watkins Glen, United States
- Zandvoort, Netherlands
- Zeltweg, Austria
- Zolder, Belgium
Constructors
The following teams have competed in the Formula 1 World Championship (teams marked * are still active as of mid-2002):
- Abarth
- Alex von Falkenhausen Motorenbau (AFM)
- Alfa Romeo
- Alta
- Amon
- Andrea Moda Formula
- Anglo American Racers
- Apollon
- Arrows* (previously also known as Footwork)
- Arzani-Volpini
- Aston Butterworth
- Aston Martin
- Automobiles Alpines
- Automobiles Gonfaronnaise Sportives (AGS)
- Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS)
- Auto Technisches Zubehor (ATS)
- BMW
- Bellasi
- Benetton (later Renault)
- Boro
- British American Racing* (BAR)
- British Racing Motors (BRM)
- British Racing Partnership (BRP)
- Bugatti
- Cisitalia
- Coloni
- Connaught
- Connew
- Cooper
- De Tomaso
- Derrington-Francis
- Ecurie Nationale Belge
- Eifelland
- Eisenacher Motoren Werke
- Embassy Hill
- Emeryson
- Ensign
- EuroBrun
- Ferrari*
- Fittipaldi
- Fondmetal
- Forti
- Frazer-Nash
- Fry
- Gilbi
- Gordini
- Greifzu
- Haas
- Harry Ferguson
- Hersham and Walton Motors (HWM)
- Hesketh
- Hexagon
- Honda
- Jaguar*
- JBW
- Jordan*
- Kauhsen
- Klenk
- Kojima
- Kurtis Kraft
- Lancia
- Larrousse
- LDS
- Lec
- Leyton House
- Life
- Ligier (later Prost)
- Lotus
- Lyncar
- Maki
- March
- Martini
- Maserati
- Matra
- McGuire
- McLaren*
- Mercedes-Benz
- Merzario
- Minardi*
- Modena
- Norev
- Officine Specializate Costruzione Automobili (OSCA)
- Onyx
- Osella
- Pacific
- Parnelli
- Penske
- Porsche
- Prost
- Protos
- RAM
- Rebaque
- Renault*
- Rial
- Rondini
- Sauber*
- Scarab
- Scirocco
- Scuderia Italia
- Shadow
- Shannon
- Simtek
- Spirit
- Stebro
- Stewart(later Jaguar)
- Surtees
- Talbot
- Talbot-Lago
- Tec-Mec
- Tecno
- Theodore
- Token
- Toleman
- Toyota*
- Trojan
- Tyrrell
- Vanwall
- Veritas
- Wheatcroft
- Williams*
- Wolf
- Zakspeed
Drivers
Start of listing of drivers...
- Louis Chiron
- Andrea De Adamich
- Elio De Angelis
- Andrea De Cesaris
- Nino Farina
- Enzo Ferrari
- Ignazio Giunti
- Jacky Ickx
- Vincenzo Lancia
- Gijs van Lennep
- Stirling Moss
- Tazio Nuvolari
- Riccardo Patrese
- Clay Regazzoni
- Carlos Reutemann
- Bernd Rosemeyer
- Raymond Sommer
- Hans Stuck
- Nino Taruffi
- Achille Varzi
- Gilles Villeneuve
- Jean-Pierre Wimille
- Manfred Winkelhock
External links
- FORIX - a complete record of Formula One results and statistics
- Formula One FAQ - source of budget estimates.
- F1-Network - a popular Formula One discussion site.