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A brief history of Formula 1
From origin stories, via Ayrton Senna to Max Verstappen and the Drive to Survive era.
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The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) organised the first World Drivers’ Championship in 1950. The Championship was initially established as a response to the World Motorcycling Championship, which had started in 1949. But this was by no means the first time people had raced one another in cars.
01
Early motor racing
Motor racing started to take shape in France around 1884, quickly evolving from simple races from one village to another to sophisticated events. So let’s have a look at what Formula One was like before the creation of the FIA World Championship...
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Marcel Renault in the Paris-Madrid
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In 1900, an event that proved crucial in the racing world was held by the American publisher James Gordon Bennett Jr. Bennett was the archetype of the gregarious media mogul – the Elon Musk of his day –and his reputation for extravagant behaviour is said to be the inspiration for the phrase of incredulity, 'Gordon Bennett!'
As the owner of the New York Herald and the Herald Tribune, he did much to further the cause of sport in America, staging the first polo and tennis matches in his home country.
But it was with his creation of an international motor race in Europe that would shape the future of a brand new field: motorsports. Named the Gordon Bennett Cup – of course – the annual race attracted competitors from around the world, with each country able to register up to three cars. According to accounts of the events, the races were quite casually organised, but still did enough to popularise motor racing in the UK and Europe.
Following the example of Bennett, millionaire William Kissam Vanderbilt II launched the Vanderbilt Cup in the United States. Specifically, in Long Island, New York, in 1904.
Influenced by these competitions, Louis Chevrolet, a Swiss man who worked for a French builder, decided to move to the United States. In 1901, he became the leading figure in American races and designed the vehicles of General Motors that bore his name.
Ferenc Szisz won the first Grand Prix in history
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02
The first Grand Prix
In 1906, the first race that bore the name Grand Prix was organised by the Automobile Club of France (CAF) and ran for two days in the month of June. The circuit, located in Le Mans, had a total length of around 65 miles with 32 participants representing 12 different automakers. Hungarian Ferenc Szisz (1873-1944) won the race in his Renault after 783 miles.
Each country organised their own events without a formal championship to link them together, with the rules varying depending on the country.
All competing vehicles had two people on board; a driver and a mechanic. Rules stated that nobody was allowed to work on or repair the car except for them. A key factor for the success of Renault was the use of detachable wheels (developed by Michelin), which allowed them to be changed without having to dismantle the car.
Most races took place on public road
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03
The first racing circuits
In the early days, races were not held on purpose-built tracks. Instead, public roads were temporarily closed, and long circuits were mapped out on them. This was the origin of the Grand Prix of Le Mans in 1906, as well as Italy's Targa Fiorio, which ran along 93 miles of Sicilian roads, the 75-mile German circuit Kaiserpreis and the 47-mile French circuit Dieppe, which was used in the Grand Prix of 1907.
The exceptions were the circuits of Brooklands in England, completed in 1907, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, first used in 1909 and the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy, opened in 1922.
That same year, at Monza, Italy became the second country to host a race using the name 'Grand Prix'. The name quickly spread to Belgium and Spain in 1924, and later spread to other countries. However, it was not a formal championship, but a variety of races that were held under different rules.
The AIACR regulated engine size and weight
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04
Formula Libre
Just before World War I, various Grands Prix started sharing some rules, mainly engine sizes and weight.
In 1924 the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) formed, whose mission was to unofficially regulate Grand Prix racing. However, these regulations were abandoned in 1928, in an era known as 'Formula Libre', when the organisers decided to run with virtually no limitations.
From 1927 to 1934, the number of races that ranked as a 'Grand Prix' grew, jumping from five events in 1927, nine in 1929 to eighteen in 1934 (the maximum number of races in a year before the Second World War).
The famous curve before the Monte Carlo Casino
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05
First moves to a standardised World Championship
The first World Championship was held in 1925, consisting of only four races (the Indianapolis 500, the Grands Prix of Europe, France and Italy). It was only a manufacturers’ championship, with no drivers' title.
Ten years later, and thanks to the agreement of several federations, the European Drivers’ Championship took place annually until the start of World War II.
The 1933 Monaco Grand Prix was the first time in the history of the sport that the start order was decided by qualifying times. All competing vehicles were painted with their national colours, although in 1934, the Germans stopped painting their cars (Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz) in an effort to save weight. The metallic colour of course is still used on Mercedes’ ‘silver arrows’ in Formula One today.
Supported by the German government, who participated in the financing of the two manufacturers, Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz dominated the period between 1934-1939, with the two Bavarian teams winning all but three races in six seasons.
Giuseppe Farina was F1's first world champion
© Fisher/Central Press/Getty Images
06
The creation of Formula One
Immediately after the Second World War there were only four races in the Grand Prix category. The rules for the World Championship were already established, but it wasn't until 1947 that the old AIACR was reorganised and renamed the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
At the end of the 1949 season it was announced that races in 1950 would unite. This was in order to create a Grand Prix World Championship for Formula One drivers. A scoring system was established and seven races were deemed suitable to be included. The first race of the World Championship was held on May 13, 1950, at Silverstone in the UK.
The early World Championship races were dominated by Italian manufacturers and drivers. The first World Champion was Giuseppe Farina, driving an Alfa Romeo. Ferrari's appearance in the second race at Monaco, and in every season since, means they have the distinction of being the only manufacturer who has competed throughout the history of the sport.
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Silverstone has been part of Formula 1 from the start.
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07
Formula One on the way to modernity
From the beginnings of the premier class to the current Formula One season, the racing series has developed significantly. As the sport has evolved, technical developments in aerodynamics, car design, engines, and better safety measures have all advanced at speed.
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Back in 1966, F1 racing cars received a significant increase in performance. The racing cars in the premier class were equipped with around 220 horsepower at the time. This meant that in terms of sheer power, they were often inferior to other motorsport cars and even to some production vehicles. Doubling the cubic capacity resulted in a significant increase in performance.
In order to be able to tame this extra power, Formula One introduced mandatory spoilers and wings in the 1968 season. These were intended to improve downforce and traction and to increase safety at high speeds.
A Matra MS10 at Goodwood Festival of Speed, with its rear spoiler on show
© Brian Snelson/Wikimedia Commons
This led to some innovative engineering solutions. The legendary Matra MS10 from 1968, for example, relied on a construction of particularly high front and rear wings. This unique design brought F1 legend Jackie Stewart three Grand Prix victories in the 1968 season. However, due to a number of accidents, the design was banned by the FIA in the following season. The governing body moved to establishe the design of Formula 1 cars with a configuration of a front and a rear wing that is still common today.
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08
The ground effects era of Formula 1
At the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s there was another technical revolution in Formula One. After Mario Andretti's World Championship victory in the Lotus 79, the so-called ground-effect racing cars dominated events.
A Lotus 79 being driven at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut, May 2009
© Mike Powell via Wikimedia Commons
Here, for the first time, side boxes with an inverted wing profile and movable side skirts were used, which further increased the downforce of the racing car and resulted in significantly higher cornering speeds.
This resulted in some of the craziest design ideas Formula One has seen to date. The legendary Brabham BT46B, including the fan installed at the rear, earned the inglorious title "vacuum cleaner" from Mario Andretti, who claimed it whirled up massive amounts of dirt and gravel. Nevertheless, the racing car gave Niki Lauda victory in the race in Anderstorp, Sweden in 1978 with a lead of almost 34 seconds over Arrows driver Riccardo Patrese. Shortly thereafter, the car was declared illegal.
In the 1976 and 1977 seasons, the Tyrrell team even used a six-wheeled F1 racing car, the P34, which had four front tires in addition to two massive rear wheels.
Niki Lauda in Australia in 2006
© GEPA
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09
The history of Red Bull in Formula One
From the over 1,000hp Formula One cars of the 1980s to the dominant era of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, the premier class has reinvented itself repeatedly over the years.
Red Bull Racing entered Formula One for the first time in the 1995 season as a sponsor of the Swiss Sauber team. That same year, German F1 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen secured the first podium in the team's history by finishing third in the Italian Grand Prix.
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In 2005, after taking over Jaguar Racing, Red Bull got involved in the Formula One circus as an independent team for the first time. Scotsman David Coulthard was signed as the first driver, with Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi alternating as second drivers at his side.
The new team got off to a great start, with one or both drivers scoring points in the first five races of the season. By the end of year, Coulthard had bagged 24 championship points and was twelfth in the drivers' standings.
David Coulthard and Mark Webber - guarantors of success for Red Bull Racing
© Philip Platzer / Red Bull Content Pool
The Coulthard, Webber and Vettel era
From the 2007 season, the Australian Mark Webber took a seat alongside 'DC' in the Red Bull Racing car. In 2009, Coulthard moved on, and Webber was joined by Sebastian Vettel, who had caught the eye with his victory in the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso.
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Sebastian Vettel
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10
Formula One: 2014–present
The 2014 season marked one of the most disruptive rulebooks the sport has ever seen. The premier class finally said goodbye to the 2.4-litre V8 engines that were used before.
A new type of energy recovery system was added to the V6 turbo engines with a displacement of 1.6 litres, which replaced the previous KERS system.
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In addition to the kinetic energy recovery (ERS-K), another system (ERS-H) also uses the waste heat from the engine via the turbocharger to generate energy. Combined with this, the ERS is limited to 120kW of power, which is available to the driver for 33 seconds in each lap. In 2014 it was still 60kW of power for a maximum of 6.7 seconds per lap.
The 2014 season also marked the first of an incredible seven successive Drivers' titles (six for Lewis Hamilton, one for Nico Rosberg), and eight consecutive Constructors' Championships for Mercedes.
Formula 1 has changed a lot since 2014.
© Peter Fox/Getty Images
From the 2017 season onwards, further changes came into force that were intended to make the vehicles more spectacular and significantly faster. Formula One racing cars became wider, while front and rear wings and the diffuser could be significantly larger. At the same time, the tire width at the front and rear was noticeably increased in order to improve the mechanical grip of the vehicles.
As a result of an accident in 2014, a roll bar was introduced for the 2018 Formula One World Championship to protect the drivers from head injuries. The protective ring is known as the halo.
11
Max Verstappen: The new high-flyer in Formula 1
Back to back: Max Verstappen sits atop the F1 world... again
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In the 2021 Formula 1 season, Red Bull Racing showed its strength, especially in the form of Dutchman Max Verstappen. After Verstappen secured third place in the Drivers' World Championship in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, the young Dutchman was crowned Drivers' World Champion in the 2021 Formula One season.
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Verstappen was crowned driver's world champion for the second time in a row at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix. A little later, in Austin, Texas, the Constructors' World Championship for Oracle Red Bull Racing soon followed.
All of which means that Red Bull Racing enter the 2023 F1 season, which includes 23 races, defending two world championship titles at the same time. We will know whether they've managed it by the season finale on November 26, 2023 in Abu Dhabi. Shortly before that, on November 18, Formula One will be making its debut on the brand new Las Vegas Street Circuit.
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