History of Formula 1

Comparative image of the first single-seaters to the current ones

The history of Formula 1 is already more than 50 years old. The current single-seaters have changed a
lot from the first ones. For this reason, its history is divided into three large parts.

 Background to Formula 1
 History of Formula 1 from 1950 to 1999
 History of Formula 1 from 1999 to the present

Background to Formula 1
Grand Prix racing has its roots in automobile racing organized in France since 1894. They quickly
evolved from simple races on roads from one town to another, to endurance tests for cars and drivers.
The innovation soon exceeded 160kph but as the races were on open roads, accidents were frequent
resulting in deaths of both drivers and spectators.
Marcel Renault in 1903

Race organization
A momentous event in racing occurred in 1900 when James Gordon Bennett, Jr., owner of the New
York Herald and International Herald Tribune newspapers in Paris, established the Gordon
Bennett Cup for European Auto Racing, an annual race that attracted international competitors. Each
country could register up to three cars.
James Gordon Bennett

Following Bennett's example, in the United States the wealthy William Kissam Vanderbilt II launched the
Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island, New York in 1904.

Influenced by these events, Louis Chevrolet, a Swiss man working for a French manufacturer, decided to
move to the United States. From 1901 he became the leading figure in American racing and designer of
the General Motors cars that bore his name.

The first Grand Prix

In 1906, the first (and at that time the only) race to bear the name Grand Prix was organised by the
Automobile Club of France (CAF), and was run over two days in June. The circuit, located in Le Mans,
was roughly triangular in shape, covering 105 kilometres (65 miles) each lap. Six laps had to be made
each day, and each lap took about an hour using the relatively primitive cars of the time. Of the 32
entrants representing 12 different car manufacturers, Hungarian Ferenc Szisz (1873–1944) won this
1260 km race in a Renault.

Ferenc Szisz

During this period racing was a highly nationalistic affair, with some countries organising their own races
but without a formal championship linking them together. Rules varied from country to country and race
to race, and were typically based on maximum (not minimum) car weight, in an effort to limit engine
power by indirectly limiting engine size (10- or 15-liter displacement engines were fairly common, usually
with no more than four cylinders and producing less than 50 horsepower). All cars had mechanics on
board as well as the driver and no one was allowed to repair or work on the car except for these two
people. A key factor in Renault's victory in this first Grand Prix was the use of detachable wheels
(developed by Michelin), which allowed tyres to be changed without having to remove the tyre and tube
from the wheel and refit the new tube and tyre; the entire assembly was simply replaced.

Circuit development
Most races were run on long circuits made up of temporarily closed public roads, not on specifically
constructed private tracks. This was the origin of the 1906 Le Mans Grand Prix circuit, as well as the
Targa Fiorio run on 93 miles of Sicilian roads, the 75-mile German Kaiserpreis circuit and the 48-mile
French Dieppe circuit used in the 1907 Grand Prix. The exceptions were the steeply inclined, oval-
shaped Brooklands circuit, England, completed in 1907, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, first used in
1909, and the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy, opened in 1922.

In 1922 Italy became the first country (apart from France) to host a race using the name “Grand Prix”, at
Monza. This was quickly followed by Belgium and Spain in 1924, and then spread to other countries.
Strictly speaking, it was not yet a formal championship but rather a varied collection of races run under
various rules.
A “formula” that began to take shape appeared just before World War I, based ultimately on engine sizes
and weight, although it was not universally adopted. In 1924, however, many national motor clubs joined
together to form the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR), whose
International Sporting Commission was authorized to regulate Grand Prix and other forms of international
competition. Since the origins of Grand Prix racing, competitions have been run according to strict rules
based on engine size and vehicle weight. These regulations were virtually abandoned in 1928 in an era
known as “Formula Libre,” when race organizers decided to run their events with virtually no limitations.
From 1927 to 1934, the number of races considered to have Grand Prix rank grew, jumping from five
events in 1927, to nine events in 1929, and to eighteen in 1934 (the maximum number of races in a year
before World War II).

The years leading up to the Second World War

Important individual and brand names emerged during this time, during which the face of automobile
design and engineering would be definitively changed:

 Alfa Romeo
 Ettore Bugatti
 Enzo Ferrari
 Victor Jano
 Alfieri Maserati
 Mercedes-Benz
 Harry A. Miller
 Ferdinand Porsche
The 1933 Monaco Grand Prix was the first time in the history of the sport that the starting order was
decided by qualifying times, rather than luck. All competing vehicles were painted in national colours:
blue for France, green for England, red for Italy, yellow for Belgium and white for Germany. Beginning in
1934, the Germans stopped painting their cars, after the paint was stripped from a Mercedes-Benz, in an
effort to reduce the car's weight. The unpainted metallic car soon led to German cars being dubbed the
“Silver Arrows” by the media.

French cars continued to dominate (led by Bugatti, but also including Delage and Delahaye) until the late
1920s, when Italians (Alfa Romeo and Maserati) began to beat French cars regularly. At that time,
German engineers designed unique racing cars, such as the Benz with its aerodynamic teardrop body
introduced in 1923 at the European Grand Prix at Monza.

In the 1930s, however, nationalism entered a new phase as the Nazis encouraged Mercedes and Auto
Union to further the glory of the Reich. The government gave some money to the two manufacturers, but
the extent of the aid was later inflated and exaggerated by the media: the government subsidies
amounted to only 10% of the running costs of the two racing teams. The two German teams absolutely
dominated the period from 1934 to 1939, winning only three of all the races run between those years.

The vehicles of that time were single-seat (the on-board mechanic disappeared at the beginning of the
20's), with 8 or 16 cylinder engines producing more than 600hp with alcohol-based gasoline.
In October 1923 the idea of a motor championship was discussed in Paris at the annual conference of
the AIACR (Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus). However, the discussion
centred on the growing interest in manufacturers' and company racing at the first European Grand Prix at
Monza in 1923. The first World Championship was held in 1925, but was for manufacturers only, and
consisted of four races of at least 800 km in length. The races that formed the first Constructors'
Championship were the Indianapolis 500, the European Grand Prix, and the French and Italian Grands
Prix. A European championship, consisting of the Grands Prix of various countries (called Grandes
Epreuves) was instituted in 1935 for drivers, and was contested every year until the start of the Second
World War in 1939.
Post-World War II years and the creation of Formula 1
In 1946, immediately after the Second World War, there were only four races with Grand Prix status. The
rules for the World Grand Prix Championship had already been established before the Second World
War, but it took several more years to come to fruition until 1947, when the former AIACR reorganised
itself and became known as the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, or "FIA" for short.
Headquartered in Paris, at the end of the 1949 season it announced that for 1950 it would unite several
national Grand Prix to create Formula 1 with a World Championship for drivers, although for economic
reasons, in the years 1952 and 1953 Formula 2 cars were still competed with. A scoring system was
established and a total of seven races were recognized as eligible for the World Championship. The first
race of the World Championship took place on May 13 at the Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom.

The Italians once again did well in these first races of the World Championship, both the brands and the
drivers. The first World Champion was Giuseppe Farina, driving an Alfa Romeo. Ferrari appeared in the
second race, in Monaco, and has the distinction of being the only brand to compete throughout the entire
history of the sport to the present day.

History of Formula 1 from 1950 to 1999

World Drivers' Championship
In 1950, in response to the World Motorcycle Championship initiated in 1949, the Fédération
Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) organised the first official World Drivers' Championship using the F1
rules designed after the war. These regulations required the use of either 4.5-liter naturally aspirated or
1.5-liter supercharged engines. The organisation of the championship, which included the five “major”
European Grand Prix, was a mere formalisation of what had already been run in previous years. The
Italian teams Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Maserati dominated the early years, although manufacturers of
other nationalities also participated, such as the French Talbot or the British attempt BRM; including
some private cars that participated in local races.

Alfa Romeo dominated in 1950. Giuseppe Farina won the 1950 British Grand Prix, the championship's
first event, at Silverstone, becoming the first World Drivers' Champion with his 1.5-litre supercharged
Alfetta 158.

The video of the first race in the history of Formula 1, at Silverstone 1950.

Silverstone 1950 start

Giuseppe Farina finishes in the first F1 race

Giuseppe Farina winner of Silverstone 1950 (first race in F1 history)

Alfa's dominance continued in 1951, when the great Juan Manuel Fangio took the first of his five
championships. However, Alfa encountered strong opposition from the 4.5-litre naturally aspirated
Ferraris towards the end of 1951 and decided to withdraw. Considering the rising costs and the lack of
serious competitors to the Ferraris, the FIA decided that the next two seasons of the championship would
be contested using the 2-litre engined Formula 2 cars. Unfortunately, the move cemented Italian
dominance with the revolutionary 550s of Enzo Ferrari's team, providing Italian legend Alberto Ascari
with his two championships in 1952 and 1953.
Juan Manuel Fangio

Alberto Ascari

In 1954 the championship returned to F1 regulations. New regulations allowed 2.5-liter naturally
aspirated engines. This change ended Italian dominance, but rather than increasing competition it merely
allowed the triumphant return of the Mercedes Silver Arrows to the sport they had dominated in the
1930s. Innovating with desmodromic valves, fuel injection, exotic alloys, aerodynamic bodywork and
other advanced features, Mercedes cars in Fangio's hands swept the next two seasons, winning all but
two races. However, at the end of 1955 Mercedes disappeared as quickly as it arrived, retiring from
motor racing for the next thirty years due to a disastrous accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Three
Grands Prix were cancelled and two countries banned motor racing.

Lancia gave all its information and technology to Ferrari and Fangio made good use of the Lancia-Ferrari
in 1956. In 1957 Fangio moved to Maserati and won his fifth championship, a record that lasted 46 years.

Fangio in Maserati

World Constructors' Championship and rear engine

But by the end of 1958 the colours on the podium had changed. Fangio had retired after the French
Grand Prix and although it was once again a Ferrari driver who won the title, this time it was the
Englishman Mike Hawthorn who obtained it, the first Englishman to do so. Meanwhile, the British
Vanwalls driven by Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks secured the first World Constructors' Championship.
Although faster than their Italian counterparts, the Vanwalls often battled each other for points, allowing
Hawthorn to win by a single point.

Stirling Moss

1958 made a difference in another crucial way for F1. Stirling Moss won the Argentine Grand Prix driving
a rear-engined Cooper entered by Rob Walker's privateer team and powered by a 2-litre Coventry
Climax inline-4. This was the first F1 victory for a rear-engined (actually mid-engined) car. The next
Grand Prix was also won by the same Cooper car driven by Maurice Trintignant. Powered by an engine
of less than 2.5 litres, the Coopers had little chance of winning for the rest of 1958; but as soon as the
new 2.5 litre Coventry Climax engine became available, the Coopers began their three-year dominance
of F1. While his British colleagues at Lotus and BRM were also switching to rear-engined machines,
Enzo Ferrari took the retrograde attitude of horses pulling the cart, not pushing it.
Australian Jack Brabham claimed his first two titles in the small British cars, the last two championships
contested with the 2.5-litre formula.

Jack Brabham

In 1961, in an attempt to curb speeds, F1 restricted engines to 1.5-litre non-supercharged engines, a

formula that remained in effect for 5 years. Ferrari could have used its experienced mid-engined Formula
2 cars but preferred to go a step further by designing a sophisticated car powered by a 120º V6 engine.
This led to Ferrari's dominance of the 1961 season, which was won by American Phil Hill, who was not
fully satisfied by the death of his teammate, Wolfgang von Trips, while the British teams struggled to find
a suitable engine. Porsche entered F1 in 1962 and won one race, but eventually withdrew due to high
costs.

Monocoque chassis
In 1962 the Lotus team raced the Lotus 25 powered by the new Coventry-Climax FWMV V8 engine.
Instead of a tubular frame, the car had a chassis constructed of sheet aluminum and called a
monocoque, which proved to be the greatest technological advance since the introduction of the rear
engine.

As soon as the car and engine were reliable, the era of Lotus and Jim Clark began.

Jim Clark

In five years Clark won two titles (in 1963 and 1965) and in the others only Lotus' usual teething
problems allowed the American Phil Hill and the English Graham Hill and John Surtees to win titles for
Ferrari, BRM and Ferrari, respectively. Ferrari made a considerable technical and financial effort to win
the title in 1964 and Surtess used no less than 3 different engines in the season, a V6, a V8 and a 12-
cylinder inline. Surtees' title was especially notable because he has been the only World Champion in
both cars and motorcycles.

Graham Hill

John Surtees

1966 saw the return of power to F1 with the possibility of 3.0-litre naturally aspirated or 1.5-litre
turbocharged engines. It was a year of transition for many teams. While Ferrari and BRM were struggling
with their new engines and Lotus was struggling just to find a reliable powerplant, the big winner was
Jack Brabham who with his new team, named after himself, achieved victory two years in a row. 1966
was Jack's year, while 1967 was the year of his teammate, New Zealander Denny Hulme, as Jack tried
out new parts on his car.

In 1967 Lotus introduced the Lotus 49, a car powered by the Ford-Cosworth DFV engine, which would
dominate the following decade in F1. The car was the fastest on the track, but the newborn DFV engine
suffered frequent failures that allowed Hulme to consistently win the world drivers' title.

Ford-Cosworth DFV engine

Sponsorship and spoilers

Although they failed to win the title in 1967, by the end of the season the Lotus 49 and Cosworth DFV
were mature enough to make the Lotus team the dominant force again. As expected, the South African
Grand Prix, the first round of 1968, confirmed this, with the Lotuses finishing 1st and 2nd.

In the following months three revolutions drastically changed F1. The first was in April when the Lotus
Formula 2 team appeared at the Barcelona race in red, gold and white – the colours of Imperial Tobacco.
As was the case in the United States, sponsorship had arrived in European competitions.

Lotus 49 C

The second happened the following weekend when Jim Clark died in a non-points Formula 2 event at
Hockenheim. Racing has lost one of its most gifted drivers.

Jim Clark's Fatal Accident

The third appeared at the Monaco Grand Prix in late May: the wings, previously seen on Grand Touring
cars, appeared on Graham Hill's Lotus 49B created by the brilliant Colin Chapman, for the first time on
an F1 car.
Graham Hill's Lotus 49 B at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix, debuting the first F1 wings

Despite the death of Jim Clark Lotus won both titles in 1968, but 1969 saw a new force appear on the
scene in the form of Ken Tyrrell's team with Cosworth-powered cars built by the French aircraft company
Matra. Jackie Stewart won the title in 1969 in a Matra MS80.

Full wing
In 1970 Matra insisted on using their own V12 rather than the Cosworth; as the Tyrrell team was
sponsored by Ford and the Matra V12 engine was unsafe, Ken purchased the March 701 chassis while
he developed his own cars. The new Lotus 72, with a wedge-shaped profile that turned the car itself into
a spoiler, had problems derived from its lack of maturity, which caused the death of Jochen Rindt when
the brake shaft broke. Even so, he did win the title posthumously for Lotus in 1970. Using their own
machines, Tyrrell and Stewart repeated the success in 1971. Following Rindt's death, Lotus struggled to
experiment with a turbine-powered car.

Fittipaldi's Lotus 72 debuts the first integral wing in F1

Focusing again on '72, Lotus and Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi took the championship in 1972 while
Stewart suffered from an ulcer due to a busy schedule on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1973,
Lotus teammates Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson raced each other while Stewart was supported by
François Cévert at Tyrrell. While Lotus won the constructors' title, Stewart won the drivers' championship
and an accident cut short Cévert's life.

Emerson Fittipaldi

However, at the end of the 1973 season the best car on the track was the new McLaren M23, a wedge-
shaped car built to the same concept as the Lotus 72 but with more conventional suspension and better
aerodynamics. Unsurprisingly, Fittipaldi made the decision to leave Lotus for McLaren, which offered him
first-driver status.

McLaren M23

The 1974 season was McLaren and Fittipaldi's, although the favourite's victory was not easy. Ferrari
returned with its 312 B3 driven by the new Austrian wonder Niki Lauda and the experienced Swiss-Italian
Clay Regazzoni. Despite the failure of the new Lotus, Peterson managed to win races with the old 72
model. Brabham did so too with the new BT44; and the talented young South African Jody Scheckter
finished most races in the points and won a Grand Prix with the Tyrrell 007, a car that bore a strong
resemblance to the McLaren M23.

Niki Lauda

At one point in the season it looked like Lauda's title charge was unstoppable, but his tragic crash on the
opening lap of the German Grand Prix put him out of the race.

Niki Lauda's accident

It was not until the last race of the season that the title was decided between Fittipaldi, Regazzoni and
Scheckter.

At this time, the external appearance of Formula 1 cars was not very reminiscent of those of 1966. The
bodywork was sculpted into a wedge shape (Lotus being the pioneer in this), spoilers of many different
shapes sprouted from the nose and rear of the vehicles, and the drivers had giant airboxes above their
heads. Even the number of wheels was variable, as Tyrrell introduced the P34 in 1976, which had six
wheels.

Tyrrell Ford P34, the first F1 car with six wheels

Internally, the revolution was also underway. The integration of the engine as a structural part of the
chassis, pioneered by Lotus in 1967, was now the norm. But the biggest mechanical change came in
1974 and 1975, when the Ferrari 312B3 and 312T appeared. The latter had a transverse gearbox that
allowed for better weight distribution on the rear axle. Those red cars, with Niki Lauda at the wheel, won
the constructors' titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977, losing the drivers' championships to the McLaren M23s of
Fittipaldi and James Hunt in 1974 and 1976 respectively.

Turbocharged engines and ground effect

1977 saw the beginning of one of the most troubled eras in F1 history. It started with two teams, the
veteran Lotus and the newcomer Renault.

Renault was the first to show its revolutionary idea when its RS01 was introduced powered by a 1.5-litre
turbocharged engine. Although supercharged engines had been successful in previous decades and
turbocharged engines had been around for eleven years, no F1 team had attempted to build an engine to
take advantage of their superior power, feeling that the increased fuel consumption and delayed power
delivery from the turbo coupled with the sudden boost generated would offset any power advantage.
However, Renault took their turbocharged engine from sports prototypes to compete in Grands Prix, and
despite frequent breakdowns earning it the nickname “Little Yellow Kettle”, they persisted with the engine
until they finally saw good results in 1979.

Renault RS01, first F1 Renault

Meanwhile, Lotus had been much more successful with their Lotus 78 and 79 which brought “ground
effect” to F1 for the first time. Offering a radical increase in downforce with radically less drag, the Lotus
car was fast but unreliable in 1977. However, for drivers Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson the
evidence was clear that it would work and by 1978 several teams were also experimenting with ground
effect. Ultimately the extra year of experience at Lotus paid off when the Lotus 79 gave Andretti his
championship, making him the first driver to win both the American IndyCar championship and the F1
title.

The work of Renault and Lotus started one of the biggest and most bitter battles in F1 history. Turbo
engines were expensive and complex machines, difficult to develop and build, so they were mostly used
by teams supported by manufacturers such as Renault, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. In contrast, ground
effect was already well suited to the slim, economical Ford-Cosworth engine still used by teams such as
Lotus, McLaren and Williams. These two groups were represented by two political entities: FISA headed
by Jean-Marie Balestre and FOCA headed by Bernie Ecclestone.

Lotus 79

The battle between FISA and FOCA overshadowed the early racing of the 1980s. In 1979 Jody
Scheckter won the team's last title for 21 years at Ferrari, but the focus was on young Canadian Gilles
Villeneuve.

Gilles Villeneuve
Australian Alan Jones and “flying” Finn Keke Rosberg finally secured the title for Frank Williams in 1980
and 1982.

Keke Rosberg

Meanwhile, young Brazilian Nelson Piquet was consolidating his position with the Ecclestone-owned
Brabham team in 1981 and 1983.

Nelson Piquet

The 1983 title, won by the champion of privateer teams, was the first for a turbocharged engine. By then,
the dispute between FISA and FOCA had been resolved and although FOCA emerged stronger, the
teams had already seen the direction to take. By 1984 only Tyrrell was suffering with the old DFV
engines.

Security issues ultimately helped resolve the dispute. After 50 years, the power output of turbocharged
cars equaled the 640 hp produced by the supercharged Mercedes-Benz W125 of 1937. By 1986 some
engines were producing over 1000 hp for short, explosive bursts, something that had never been
achieved except for the Porsche 917/30 turbo of the early 1970s in CanAm racing. In order to achieve
maximum effect, the pilots simply could not brake. This tended to produce spectacular accidents and
brought with it an unacceptably high rate of deaths and serious injuries – mostly terrible broken legs due
to the seating position, which had been moved forward to place the fuel tank between the pilot and the
engine. Patrick Depailler died in 1980, probably because high lateral acceleration caused him to faint at
the fast Ostkurve corner at Hockenheim.

Ferrari's double misfortune in 1982 - the death of Gilles Villeneuve and the injury that crippled his
teammate Didier Pironi just weeks later - helped put the crisis in the spotlight and prompted both sides to
resolve the dispute for the good of the sport.

Gilles Vileneuve's accident

Ironically, despite all the controversy surrounding the privateer teams, this period saw some of the most
colourful and competitive grids ever seen in the sport. The economics of the Ford-Cosworth DFV
encouraged many privateer teams to purchase or build their own cars to race at the time with varying
degrees of success. While names like Ensign, Penske and Theodore came and went without impressing
anyone, other teams such as Hesketh, Shadow, Wolf and Arrows enjoyed greater success and
sometimes even beat the established giants of the category.

McLaren and Williams dominate

Following the controversy, F1 teams thrived in the remainder of the 1980s and into the 1990s. Despite
the overwhelming dominance of two teams – McLaren and Williams – this period is regarded (perhaps
ironically) as one of the most brilliant moments of F1's first 50 years of history.

At McLaren, Niki Lauda, coming out of retirement for a considerable fee in 1982, beat his promising
young teammate Alain Prost to the 1984 title by just half a point, the closest margin in F1 history.

Alain Prost

The half point itself was controversial because it came at a rain-interrupted Monaco Grand Prix, so only
half a point was awarded. Prost won the race, but rookie Ayrton Senna impressed strongly by finishing
second in his Toleman, rapidly closing in on Prost. While young German Stefan Bellof in the normally
inferior Tyrrell raced from the back to finish third (and could have won). It was the beginning of the rivalry
between Prost and Senna that continued for almost a decade. But in the early years he took the lead,
driving for the McLaren team with the Porsche-built TAG-turbo engine he claimed three world titles in a
row.

1986 brought another close finish. The Honda-powered Williams of Ricardo Patrese, Nelson Piquet and
Nigel Mansell looked out of reach, but they too frequently took points from each other, allowing Prost's
McLaren to keep them in their sights. Although Williams easily won the constructors' championship, the
drivers' title went down to the season finale at the Australian Grand Prix, with Prost taking an extremely
fortunate second title when both Williams drivers suffered tyre problems. 1987 saw Williams come back
stronger, with Piquet driving consistently to take his third title ahead of Mansell.

Nigel Mansell

Ban on turbocharged engines and return of naturally aspirated engines

1987 also saw the return of naturally aspirated engines to F1, after 1986 saw only turbocharged engines.
To limit turbo power, boost pressure and fuel tank capacity were limited, while naturally aspirated
engines were increased to 3.5 liters. In addition, a ban on turbo engines was announced from 1989
onwards. However, as long as turbo engines remained, they dominated. Williams won easily in 1987,
and McLaren returned to form in 1988 with the super team of Prost and Senna winning 15 of the 16
races, a record still unmatched. Senna took the victory, claiming the first of his three world titles.
By 1989 the turbos were gone, but McLaren continued to dominate for the next three years. Prost won
the title in 1989 and Senna in 1990 and 1991. However, the championships were marred by fierce rivalry
between the two drivers which culminated in a pair of crashes at the 1989 and 1990 Japanese Grands
Prix. In 1989 Prost “slammed the door” on his teammate trying to overtake him, while Senna deliberately
crashed into Prost in 1990.

Battles between Prost and Senna

However, Senna was more concerned by the looming resurgence of Williams, now powered by Renault
and which would dominate F1 for the next seven years.

Carbon fiber monocoque chassis

All teams began using carbon fiber monocoque chassis designs. Much stronger than steel ones, they
created a crash- and fire-proof survival capsule around the driver and were much lighter, so the cars
became faster. In the early 1990s, it became common to put ultra-lightweight television cameras in cars.
While this increased viewership, it also made the sport more attractive to sponsors beyond the traditional
tobacco companies. Safety improvements also made some of the larger manufacturers more interested
in getting involved with the teams in more senior roles.

It was more than just Renault engines that allowed Williams and then the Anglo-Italian Benetton team to
dominate F1 from 1992 to 1997. The possibility of refuelling at pit stops was reintroduced, turning each
race into a series of short races and as a result race strategy became as important as driver skill.
Technology, always crucial in the performance of this sport, took off exponentially. Semi-automatic
gearboxes (pioneered by Ferrari in 1989), active suspension (pioneered by Lotus in 1987) and traction
control (pioneered by Williams) were advances that allowed cars from teams willing to invest in their
development to reach higher speeds. The FIA fought, mostly in vain, to regulate the use of electronic
aids. But this controversy did not diminish the joy felt by British fans in 1992 when Nigel Mansell finally
won the title after a decade of trying, or by French fans when Alain Prost took his fourth championship in
1993, both driving Williams cars.
Benetton B193

1994 looked set for a sensational season. Ayrton Senna had moved to Williams to replace the retired
Prost. The young German Michael Schumacher had the Ford powering his Benetton. McLaren had high
expectations for its new Peugeot engine and Ferrari was looking to erase the frustration of the last three
seasons with Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi. The season was shocking, but for very different reasons.

Michael Schumacher

Safety, rules and regulations

The last death in F1 was that of Elio de Angelis (during private training at the Paul Ricard circuit) in 1986,
almost a decade earlier. There had been several horrific accidents, such as those of Nelson Piquet and
Gerhard Berger at Imola or Martin Donnelly in Spain, but no fatalities. The speed of the cars had been
steadily increasing despite the banning of turbocharged engines, the reduction in tyre width and the
eventual removal of driver aids. There was an air of invincibility, a belief that cars were inherently safe
and that drivers would never again die in accidents.

At the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix this belief was completely shattered by the serious injuries suffered
by Rubens Barrichello and the death of Roland Ratzenberger in practice and the death of Ayrton Senna
in the race. As if that were not enough, two weeks later at the Monaco Grand Prix Karl Wendlinger was
left in a coma after crashing at the tunnel exit.

Rubens Barrichello accident at Imola 1994

Roland Ratzenberger accident at Imola 1994

Ayrton Senna's accident at Imola 1994

The shock of the sudden injuries and deaths was overwhelming. Not only had two drivers died, but one
of them was a three-time world champion considered by many to be the most talented driver ever to
enter F1. The FIA reacted quickly and harshly with major changes to be implemented immediately. And
that was the beginning of the FIA's pressure to increase safety.

Although no major changes could be made to the cars that year, the FIA required that the air intakes of
all cars be drilled with a hole to reduce the "air ram" effect and reduce power. In addition, the chassis had
to have a wooden plate underneath so that its wear could be checked to ensure that it maintained the
minimum height. If the plate was worn more than 10mm the car could be declared illegal. Racing fuel,
which previously consisted of exotic mixtures of benzenes and toluenes more akin to rocket fuel, was
banned. Only standard fuel, available at any gas station, would be legal.

The FIA made further changes to try to curb the increase in speeds as the years progressed, requiring
designs from 1995 to be drawn from a reference template, with strict restrictions to reduce tolerances on
cockpit opening size (which was increased), wing and other aerodynamic size (which was narrowed) and
chassis width (which was narrowed) and introducing extensive sizing and stiffness checks to ensure cars
complied with standard. The maximum engine displacement was also reduced from 3500cc to 3000cc
and the use of shaved tires was implemented.

But not only were measures introduced to improve the safety of the drivers, but also to try to improve the
spectacle. One of them was the 107% rule, which required the small teams in the classification of each
Grand Prix to obtain times below 107% of the time of the first classified, in order to avoid wide
differences between the large teams and the more modest ones.

The rapid introduction of all these new rules and regulations – particularly those introduced in 1994 –
made the atmosphere of F1 even more chaotic. Michael Schumacher had to fight desperately for his first
championship as his Benetton team was often found to be violating FIA regulations, resulting in
suspensions from several races. Even the championship decider race in Australia was controversial
because of his clash with Damon Hill, Graham's son, who wanted the title for himself.

By 1995, however, things had settled down a bit and Schumacher won his second title and Benetton its
first constructors' title with relative ease, beating Williams of Hill and David Coulthard. The Renault
engine that powered both teams was virtually invincible and only Ferrari was able to snatch a single race
away from it, winning in Canada with Jean Alesi's only career victory. Alesi and his teammate Berger
were back in the news when they were traded to Benetton for Schumacher. Promising Irish driver Eddie
Irvine also made the move from Jordan and Ferrari began its master plan to regain the titles lost almost
two decades earlier.

Jean Alesi

In 1996 the FIA set a much larger minimum size for the cockpit area, along with head protection for the
driver, to ensure that the driver's head was less exposed (ironically this reduced visibility and contributed
to increased accidents).

As long as Renault was in the game, it only won. In 1996, Damon Hill had a strong season that finally
allowed him to claim the crown after three years of “already merit”. In 1997, another son of an F1 legend
claimed another title for Williams, when Jacques Villeneuve became only the fourth driver to win both the
F1 and CART championships (the previous ones had been Andretti, Fittipaldi and Mansell). The season
was much more closely contested than 1996 and Villeneuve only secured the championship in the final
race when Schumacher not only eliminated himself from the competition but deliberately tried to force
Villeneuve off the track. The incident cost Schumacher the embarrassment of having all his season
points deducted (but not his wins).

Jacques Villeneuve

Ferrari's hopes were revived when Renault announced its withdrawal from F1 at the end of 1997.
However, it was not Ferrari but McLaren-Mercedes that took advantage of this gap and won the Drivers'
title for the following two years with Mika Häkkinen.

Mika Häkkinen

The 1998 season was a strange one for F1 as many well-known names disappeared from events and
others changed teams. Häkkinen easily won his first title while Schumacher and Villeneuve could do
little. In 1999, however, there was a tough fight for the title, with Häkkinen and Irvine's Ferrari fighting for
the title until the last race of the season. Villeneuve was sidelined for rookie team BAR while
Schumacher was ruled out after breaking his legs mid-season. However, although Irvine ultimately did
not win the drivers' championship, his points haul with Schumacher and his replacement Mika Salo
secured Ferrari its first constructors' championship since 1983.

Disappearance of teams
After a few races there were signs that trouble was brewing. Names long associated with the category
and highly respected such as Brabham and Lotus disappeared from the grids. The Ligier team found
itself in desperate straits and was sold to Alain Prost. The Tyrrell team's results became increasingly
worse and eventually it too disappeared. The picturesque era of small private teams is over. Names like
Larrousse, Dallara, Simtek, Pacific and Forti were no longer seen and only Jordan, Sauber, Arrows and
of course Minardi managed to survive. Jordan's flourishing in 1998 and 1999 under the leadership of
Damon Hill and Germans Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher (Michael's younger brother)
proved to be the last success of a privateer team, not a sign of the sport's good health. The once-mighty
Benetton, champion only a few years earlier, was barely surviving. Jackie Stewart ran his own Stewart
team from 1996 to 2000 with backing from Ford, but ended up selling out and the team became Jaguar.
Ferrari's first constructors' title in 16 years
When Jean Todt brought Michael Schumacher to Ferrari in 1996, it was to rebuild the team. After several
years, in the 1999 season everything started to work. Schumacher was leading the championship when
he broke his legs at Silverstone, but teammate Irvine worked hard, eventually losing the title by just two
points to Mika Häkkinen. The joy for the team's passionate fans (tifosi) was that Ferrari won the
constructors' championship.
History of Formula 1 from 2000 to the present
Schumacher and Ferrari dominate
When Jean Todt brought Michael Schumacher to Ferrari in 1996, it was to rebuild the team. It took
several years, but in the 1999 season everything started to work. Schumacher was leading the
championship when he broke his legs at Silverstone, but teammate Eddie Irvine worked hard, losing out
by just two points to Mika Häkkinen. The joy for the team's passionate fans (tifosi) was that Ferrari won
the constructors' championship for the first time since 1983.
Jean Todt

The year 2000 saw the Formula One starting grid return to business as usual: Jordan quickly faded from
view and Williams reappeared at the front with new partner BMW. However, the fight at the front was
mainly between Häkkinen and Schumacher, each two-time champions, driving cars with very similar
performance. This time it was Schumacher who prevailed, becoming the first three-time champion since
Ayrton Senna and adding another constructors' title to Ferrari.

The 2001 season saw Ferrari leave the rest behind and Schumacher win the championship in Hungary,
tying Mansell for second place for fastest championships won.

The 2002 season was a red trail. Ferrari finished every race and won 15 of 17. Michael Schumacher
scored more points than the rest of the grid combined to clinch the championship in France, becoming
the fastest driver to secure the championship.

While Ferrari celebrated its dominance, the sport was in serious trouble. Two more private teams closed
their doors: Prost and Arrows. Benetton also withdrew and the team was acquired by Renault.

Renault Team 2002

Even the team that was seemingly in no danger of disappearing was in trouble: Ferrari. Although it was
not unusual in F1 for a team to monopolise the podiums, Ferrari's performance throughout the 2002
season angered many. In particular, at the end of the Austrian and US Grand Prix, it seemed that there
was no longer any room for sportsmanship, that the idea of 'winning at all costs' had gone too far.
Audience ratings declined sharply in mid-2002, a serious problem for a sport that is by far the most
expensive (and lucrative) and so dependent on sponsorship.

Arrival at the finish line of the 2002 US GP, when Rubens Barrichello let his teammate Schumacher pass
at the finish line, since he was playing for the world championship, thus fulfilling team orders.

In 2003, despite major rule changes to prevent a repeat of 2002, Schumacher won the championship
again. It was a close race between Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya, but Schumacher prevailed
by one point in the final race. It seemed as though 2003 had been the perfect balm to heal the wounds of
the previous season, with 8 different race winners, including the first victories of Fernando Alonso, Kimi
Räikkönen and Giancarlo Fisichella; and 5 different winning teams, including Renault (for the first time in
twenty years) and Jordan, who caught a lucky win in a crazy Brazilian Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso's accident at the 2003 Brazilian GP, where he finished third but had to celebrate in
hospital
Remains of Fernando Alonso's accident at the 2003 Brazilian GP

2003 Brazilian GP podium, with only two drivers. The third was Fernando Alonso, who had to be taken to
the hospital after his terrible accident.

In 2004 Ferrari and Schumacher returned to almost total dominance of the championships, both winning
with ease. A new race in Bahrain debuted in April and another in China debuted in September. Initially it
was intended that these races would replace European races such as the British Grand Prix, but the
number of races was eventually increased to eighteen. According to Bernie Ecclestone, the move was to
increase F1's global reach, although tight restrictions on tobacco companies as advertisers in Europe
may have played a role.

Despite Ferrari's dominance, winning 15 of 18 races, the battle behind them was much more interesting
than in 2002. McLaren and Williams had dreadful starts to the season and Renault capitalised on the
misfortunes of the older British teams, but the real shock came from British American Racing, headed by
Jenson Button. Although he failed to win races, Button regularly finished second or third and helped
teammate Takuma Sato secure second place in the constructors' championship, leaving Renault in third
place. Jarno Trulli took some consolation for Renault with his victory in Monaco. Montoya and Räikkönen
each took solitary victories for their respective teams, which finished fourth and fifth.

After Ferrari hegemony

In 2005, Formula 1 saw Ferrari fade away, as the Renault team dominated the early part of the season,
and Fernando Alonso built up a clear lead towards the championship. In the latter part of the season
McLaren was decidedly the stronger team, steadily improving its results and achieving 6 wins after 7
races. Yet their previous record of poor reliability meant that catching Renault in both the Drivers' and
Constructors' Championships was an elusive goal.

For a while, Räikkönen and Alonso were very close, but at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso
had become the youngest Formula 1 Champion of all time. The Constructors' Championship looked even
more tangible for McLaren, widely acknowledged to have the fastest car and with much-improved
reliability. However, a retirement by Juan Pablo Montoya in the final race of the season at the Chinese
Grand Prix secured the Constructors' Championship for Renault. One statistic confirmed the dominance
of both teams: Together they won all but one of the competitions (the controversial 2005 United States
Grand Prix).

Fernando Alonso, 2005 world champion

This season Jaguar Racing changed its name to Red Bull Racing. This is because the Austrian beverage
company completely acquired a team that had never had any success in Formula 1, as was its
predecessor Stewart Grand Prix.

Red Bull in 2005

Some significant changes took place for the 2006 season, the main one being the switch from 3-litre V10
engines to 2.4-litre V8s in an effort by the FIA to reduce speeds in Formula One. Another one is the
return of tire replacement during the race.

Several pilot changes occurred. Rubens Barrichello replaces Takuma Sato at BAR-Honda, while Felipe
Massa takes his place at Ferrari, and Nico Rosberg, son of 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg,
prepares for his F1 debut with Williams.
Additionally, four teams changed their names: Jordan took the name of its new owners Midland Group,
becoming MF1 Racing; BMW split from Williams to buy the Sauber team, renaming it BMW Sauber;
Williams dropped BMW from its name and turned to Cosworth for its engines. Red Bull's acquisition of
perennial underdogs Minardi causes the team to be renamed first Squadra Toro Rosso and then
Scuderia Toro Rosso, the latter being used as a platform for introducing new drivers; and finally Honda
taking full control of BAR-Honda, with the team officially being named Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1
Team.

In terms of sport, the champion was Fernando Alonso aboard the powerful Renault of Flavio Briatore, the
runner-up was Michael Schumacher, who also won his last year in Formula 1.

The championship was always between Renault – Ferrari and Alonso – Schumacher, Alonso won 7
races, achieving 14 podiums, 6 poles and 5 lap records, while Michael Schumacher won 7 races,
achieving 12 podiums, 4 poles and 7 lap records.

On 11 July 2006, McLaren Mercedes announced a change in the second seat of the team: Juan Pablo
Montoya would leave the post to the Spaniard Pedro Martínez de la Rosa, who would race until the end
of the season. Juan Pablo would thus swap Formula 1 for the Nascar series.

Pedro Martinez de la Rosa finishes second in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix

2007, the most even title of all time

In 2007 McLaren brought rookie Lewis Hamilton to its team and hired Fernando Alonso from Renault,
while Renault brought in Heikki Kovalainen to replace the Spaniard.

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, McLaren drivers in 2007

Ferrari kept Felipe Massa and confirmed a contract with Kimi Raikkonen that kept him in Maranello until
2010. During the first eight Grand Prix, there was a strong fight between Ferrari and McLaren, with the
latter winning the first eight Grand Prix. 4 for Ferrari. 4 for McLaren.

Kimi Raikkonen world champion 2007

Hamilton becomes the first black F1 champion

2008 was a more than spectacular championship, since throughout the season there was an intense
battle between the 2 big ones of Formula 1, Ferrari and McLaren, from the Australian Grand Prix to the
Brazilian Grand Prix there was an intense battle between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton, in which the
latter won the world championship in an impressive battle in Brazil, the last race of the 2008
championship, where in the last corner of the last lap of the Grand Prix, Hamilton overtook Timo Glock
(Toyota), thus remaining in 5th position, snatching away the party that all of Brazil had put together after
Felipe Massa crossed the finish line first (a party that lasted 39 seconds), thinking that Hamilton finished
sixth, although we remember that Hamilton had to finish fifth to be champion, thus becoming Hamilton
the first black Formula 1 world champion.

Lewis Hamilton world champion 2008

Reduced aerodynamics, “double diffuser” and world championship for Button

The year 2009 was characterized by a significant change in the single-seaters: Aerodynamics were
reduced to 40% compared to 2008, which meant that the cars changed radically: The rear wing was
reduced in size and raised. The forward, on the other hand, was more spacious than last season. This
change was due to an attempt to improve the number of overtakings. The cars also returned to using
slick tyres, which had not been used since 1997.
Months before the start of the season, manufacturer Honda announced that it was withdrawing from
Formula 1. The announcement was a hard blow to the competition. In February 2009 Ross Brawn
announced the purchase of Honda, changing the name to Brawn GP. During testing, the car was the
fastest, something unexpected for the entire competition. When the season started in Australia, seven
teams accused the other three of setting up an illegal diffuser (later known as the “double diffuser”). The
FIA, however, declared the diffuser legal.

On the sporting side, Jenson Button won 6 of the first seven rounds of the championship (Sebastian
Vettel won in China). But from there, the Brawn GP experienced a precipitous drop in performance.
Vettel and Mark Webber managed to win at Silverstone and Nürburgring respectively. Lewis Hamilton did
it at the Hungaroring. Button did not win again during the season, but his consistency eventually gave
him the title. In later races, Barrichello, Räikkönen, Vettel and Webber also won.

Brawn GP, the team that eclipsed the rest

”The Fantastic Five, Red Bull: “the aerodynamically perfect car” and Vettel, the
youngest champion in history
The 2010 season saw the end of refuelling during the race: cars started the race with petrol and finished
it with fuel.

Reigning champion Jenson Button has signed for McLaren Mercedes, where he will coincide with 2008
champion Lewis Hamilton. Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has moved to the Ferrari team.
But without a doubt the signing that shook up the world of Formula 1 the most was that of seven-time
world champion Michael Schumacher by Mercedes GP. “The Kaiser” returned at the age of 41 after a
three-year break, having announced his retirement in 2006.

The season began with a higher number of favourites than ever: the McLarens of Jenson Button and
Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes GP of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, the Red Bulls of Sebastian
Vettel and Mark Webber and the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

But it soon became clear that the Red Bull RB6 designed by Adrian Newey was the best-designed car on
the entire grid, and virtually unbeatable over a single lap (and therefore in qualifying). The proof of this is
that throughout the season, energy drink cars achieved 15 of the 19 pole positions. But not everything
was perfect with the car: a lack of reliability meant that Sebastian Vettel was unable to win either of the
first two races, even after starting from the leading position, due to problems with a spark plug and with
the brakes. Their other Achilles heel was their lack of top speed, which led to their poor performances on
circuits where this is vital, such as Montreal or Monza.

All the victories of the season were shared between 5 drivers, the so-called "fantastic 5": Sebastian
Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Michael Schumacher, who
had many expectations, turned out to be the great disappointment of the season, not making it onto the
podium even once, while his teammate Nico Rosberg did so on three occasions. All five candidates
arrived at the penultimate round with a mathematical chance of winning the title, and four of them
(Jenson Button was left without a chance after Brazil) arrived at the final round in Abu Dhabi with a
chance, something that had never happened before. In that race, Fernando Alonso arrived with an 8-
point advantage over Mark Webber, 15 over Sebastian Vettel and 24 over Lewis Hamilton, meaning that
he could finish first or second regardless of the position of his rivals. But a series of circumstances,
including being obsessed with Mark Webber and not Sebastian Vettel and failing to overtake Vitaly
Petrov's Renault for around 35 laps, meant that the Red Bull German came out on top against all odds,
when the spotlight was on Alonso and Webber.