Formula 1: history, drivers, teams and numbers

THE Formula 1 it is considered the most important category in world motorsport. Names passed through her, such as: Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Juan Manuel Fangio, Niki Lauda, ​​Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham and many other renowned drivers. As in every motor sport, in F1 results depend on the combination of driver and equipment.

See too:Rally – a modality of automobile competition

History of Formula 1

Officially, Formula 1 was created in 1950 for the International Automobile Federation (FIA). However, the category's history dates back to the end of the 19th century, when the first car races were held in Europe. As there were no circuits at the time, the races took place on roads. Some historians point out that a race between Paris and Bordeaux, France, in 1895, was the starting point of F1. This race lasted 48 hours and had a course of 1200 kilometers.

There are those who consider 1901 as the beginning of Formula 1, because that year the first race under the name of Grand Prix (GP) was held. At the time, the city of

Le Mans hosted the Grand Prix of France. Currently, Le Mans does not host Formula 1, but it is considered one of the most important circuits in the world.

Between 1901 and 1949, several GPs were disputed around Europe, in countries like France, Italy, Belgium, England, Germany, Monaco and Spain. The GPs just didn't happen during the First World Warand the second. During the wars, the drivers participated in races in the United States, as in Indianapolis, another great motorsport circuit.

After Second World War, the FIA ​​decided to create a championship bringing together the main Grand Prix in Europe and named it Formula 1. The new competition would bring together the biggest car manufacturers on the continent, such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati and Mercedes.

Beginning of Formula 1

The first Formula 1 race was held on April 10, 1950, when Argentine JuanManuel Fangio, driving a Maserati, won the Grand Prix de Pau in France. However, this race was not part of the championship. THE first official race of F1 happened a month later, on the day May 13th, at the Silverstone circuit, in England, and won the Italian Nino Farina, driving an Alfa Romeo.

Nino Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari, another Italian, dominated Formula 1 in the early 1950s. Farina was the first champion, Ascari won the championship in 1952 and 1953, from Ferrari, and the Argentine Fangio took the title on five occasions (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957). A curiosity about Fangio is that he was champion driving for four teams: Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ferrari and Mercedes.

Fangio driving a Mercedes at the 1954 German GP [1]

In its first three years, Formula 1 was played only in Europe and the United States (Indianapolis). In 1954, Argentina received the category for the first time, largely because of Fangio's success. Four years later, Morocco was the first African country to host an F1 race.

In the late 1950s, when the number of races increased from six to 11 per season, another driver stood out: the Australian Jack Brabham. Driving a Cooper, Brabham was champion in 1959 and 1960. The Cooper car was considered innovative for the time and was designed by New Zealander Bruce McLaren. Years later, Brabham and McLaren they would have their own teams, with their respective last names.

As World War II slowed the development of the automobile industry, 1950s F1 cars respected the prewar patterns. The axles were rigid and the engine was at the front of the car. The Cooper team innovated and moved the engine to the rear.

Two Englishmen also stood out in that decade. Stirling Moss he won several races and was runner-up four times. He is considered by many to be the greatest driver in history who has never won a title. Already Mike Hawk was champion in 1958, of Ferrari.

1960s

If in the 1950s the British did not do so well in Formula 1, the 1960s became known as the was british of the category. This decade saw the emergence of great names in English motorsport, such as Graham Hill, Jim Clark, John Surtess and Jackie Stewart. Together they won six titles between 1961 and 1970. In that decade, a great Formula 1 team was also created, the Lotus, in addition to Brabham.

In 1967, four of the 12 races of the season were already played outside Europe. Grand Prix races were played in South Africa, Canada, Mexico and the United States. The following year, an engine manufacturer outside Europe won the championship for the first time, the American Ford, which equipped the Lotus cars.

Jim Clark's Lotus at the 1967 US GP [2]

Ford brought to F1 the V8 engines, a configuration of combustion engine in which eight cylinders are arranged on two benches of four cylinders. Between 1968 and 1982, Ford won 12 of 15 championships.

Another innovation of this decade was the cockpit setup (seat where the riders sit) so that the riders are leaning more. Before, they sat in a 90° position. In this decade, the first cars with rear wing, which brought a great evolution in the part aerodynamics.

See too: How Race Cars Work

1970s

The 1970s were quite busy in Formula 1, with car innovations, memorable duels and drivers that made history. Starting with the last, in this decade the prominent names were Gilles Villeneuve, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, Alan Jones, Mario Andretti and the first Brazilian F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi.

Fittipaldi raced in Formula 1 between 1970 and 1980, winning the 1972 championships for Lotus and 1974 for McLaren. In 1975, in a decision considered bold, he left the best F1 team at the time to found with his brother the Copersucar Fittipaldi. The first and only Brazilian team in Formula 1 was not very successful and closed its doors in 1982.

Austrian driver Niki Lauda was the highlight of the 1970s, winning the 1975 and 1977 championships for Ferrari. In 1976, he lost the championship to the English James Hunt after suffering a serious accident that nearly cost him his life. Lauda and Hunt starred in several disputes on the track, which inspired the film rush, of 2013. The Austrian also won the 1984 championship and worked for the Jaguar teams in the 2000s and Mercedes in the 2010s.

Niki Lauda drives his Ferrari at the 1976 German GP. [3]

Regarding innovations, the Renault brought, in 1977, the turbo engines, which remained in the category until 1988. The teams also invested more in aerodynamics, aimed at developing the ground effect (the air “pushes” the car down, making it more “stuck” to the ground, which increases speed). Both the turbo engine and the ground effect were banned from the category in the 1980s, mainly after fatal accidents, such as the Canadian Gilles Villeneuve, in 1982.

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1980s

The 1980s is the biggest success in Brazil in Formula 1, with five titles: 1981, 1983 and 1987, with Nelson Piquet, and 1988 and 1990, with Ayrton Senna. Piquet won his first two titles with Brabham, and the last with Willams. His main rivals were Keke Rosberg, Carlos Reutemann, Alan Jones, Rene Arnoux, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell, in addition to Senna.

The greatest champions of the decade were Nelson Piquet and Frenchman Alain Prost, who also won three World Cups: 1985, 1986 and 1989. Piquet was a strong opponent of Prost, but the Frenchman's main rival was another Brazilian: Ayrton Senna. The rivalry between Senna and Prost is considered the biggest in Formula 1 history.

Prost and Senna duel for first position in the 1989 Imola GP. [4]

Senna arrived at McLaren in 1988 to be a teammate of Prost, who was already two-time F1 champion. The Brazilian idol had distinguished himself in smaller teams and saw in McLaren a great chance to beat Prost. In the two years they both drove for her, each won once: Senna, in 1988, and Prost, in 1989. In 1990, the French driver went to Ferrari and could not rival Senna, who won the championship.

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1990s

The 1990s were marked by the electronics development in race cars. THE Willams innovated with active suspension (controlled by electronic means) and debunked the supremacy of McLaren that had lasted some years. Senna was champion in 1991, but, over the next two years, he couldn't keep up with Willams, who won in 1992, with Englishman Nigel Mansell, and in 1993, with Alain Prost.

Prost's retirement after the 1993 championship opened the doors of Willams to Senna in 1994. Unfortunately, the Brazilian suffered a serious accident in the third race of the championship, in Imola, and died at the age of 34. This year, the champion was the German Michael Schumacher, by Benetton.

Schumacher competed in all Formula 1 titles between 1994 and 2006. In the 1990s, it won in 1994 and 1995, by Benetton, and in 2000, by Ferrari. In the remaining years, he lost to the Willams of Damon Hill, in 1996, and Jacques Villeneuve, in 1997, and to McLaren of the Finn. Mika Hakkinen, in 1998 and 1999.

McLaren from Hakkinen at the 1999 Canadian GP [5]

2000's

The 2000s began with the Ferrari supremacy, with Michael Schumacher winning the championships from 2001 to 2004, being the only seven-time world champion. Between 2000 and 2005, he was a teammate of the Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, F1 racing record holder (326). In 2006, Schumacher was the partner of another Brazilian, Felipe Massa. At the end of that same year, the seven-times champion announced his retirement, but would return in 2010 to run until 2012.

You main drivers of this decade, in addition to Schumacher, were: Fernando Alonso (champion in 2005 and 2006 by Renault), Juan Pablo Montoya, David Coulthard, Kimi Raikkonen (champion in 2007 by Ferrari), Jenson Button (champion in 2009 by Brawn), Brazilians Barrichello and Massa, Lewis Hamilton (champion in 2008 by McLaren), and Sebastian Vettel (champion in 2010 by Red Bull). The last two were also successful over the next decade.

Seven-times champion Michael Schumacher at the 2005 Canadian GP [6]

The seasons between 2001 and 2010 were marked by engine development, which resulted in the highest speeds recorded in F1. In 2005, with a BMW v10 engine, Juan Pablo Montoya's Willams reached 372 km/h. The danger of high speed made the category change the v10 engines for the v8, in 2006.

The loss of power led engineers to develop solutions for the cars, resulting in several aerodynamic "appendices". This excess made it difficult to overtake by generating turbulence in the car behind. To increase overtaking, the appendages were banned and the cars started to have a “cleaner” look at the end of the decade.

Curiosity: The Honda team left F1 at the end of 2008 because of the global economic crisis and for not achieving good results. Ross Brawn, then team leader, acquired the team in a hurry and named it after him. To the surprise of Formula 1, the team, which did not even have a sponsor and debuted with an almost all white car, won the 2009 championship. THE Brawn GP innovated with one different diffuser model (Aerodynamic component that increases the speed with which the air passes under the car).

Formula 1 today

The last decade has confirmed the talent of English Lewis Hamilton, who can match Michael Schumacher in number of titles. Driving a Mercedes, Hamilton got the titles of the 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons. Mercedes also won in 2016, but with the German Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton managed to beat the winning records and pole positions (first place in the standings for the race) by Michael Schumacher and his idol, Ayrton Senna. As he still has a few years of career, the Englishman could become the greatest F1 driver of all time.

Hamilton driving his Mercedes in Silverstone, England in 2017. [7]

Before the Mercedes titles, the championships were won by the Red Bull Team (RBR) with the German driver Sebastian Vettel. In 2010, at just 23 years and 134 days, Vettel became the youngest Formula 1 champion. He also won for the next three years.

Also by Red Bull, the Dutch Max Verstappen he became the youngest driver to win a race in F1, aged 18 years and 7 months. The drivers' youth is a characteristic of the current Formula 1.

Currently, Formula 1 cars are powered by an engine — the correct term is power unit — the combustion of six cylinders (v6) 1.6 liter turbo and hybrid technology, that is, it combines combustion with kinetic energy. Current engines are able to transform the kinetic energy generated in braking and the heat of combustion in power.

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Future of Formula 1

The adoption of hybrid engines did not please the fans of the category, because emit less noise. The “roar” of the engines is one of the main attractions of Formula 1, and fans fear that the races will be “silent” in the future.

This is one of the challenges that the category must face in the coming years, as several countries in Europe will ban the sale of combustion cars from 2030. As manufacturers participate in F1 to develop new technologies for their passenger cars, it may not be interesting to invest in a category with combustion engines.

Another Formula 1 challenge is to make the most accessible category for teams with lower investments, so they also have a chance to win races, resulting in a grid more balanced. This proposal collides with the interest of large manufacturers, such as Ferrari and Mercedes.

in 2022 Formula 1 will undergo a major transformation, with new aerodynamic specifications, more efficient hybrid engines (and modified to emit more noise and less pollutants) and, possibly, the implementation of a budget ceiling. A return to the ground effect is also planned, but in a safer version than in the 1970s. These changes were planned for 2021, but were postponed due to Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Formula 1 numbers

Drivers with more titles in F1

1) Michael Schumacher - 7

2) Lewis Hamilton* - 6

3) Juan Manuel Fangio - 5

4) Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel* - 4

5) Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda, ​​Jack Brabham and Jackie Stewart - 3

Drivers with the most wins in F1

1) Michael Schumacher - 91

2) Lewis Hamilton* - 84

3) Sebastian Vettel* - 53

4) Alain Prost - 51

5) Ayrton Senna - 41

drivers with more pole positions in F1

1) Lewis Hamiltom* - 88

2) Michael Schumacher - 68

3) Ayrton Senna - 65

4) Sebastian Vettel* - 57

5) Jim Clark - 33

Drivers with the most races played in F1

1) Rubens Barrichello - 326

2) Kimi Raikkonen* - 315

3) Fernando Alonso - 314

4) Jenson Button - 309

5) Michael Schumacher - 308

*Active pilots

Teams with the most titles in F1

1) Ferrari - 15

2) McLaren - 12

3) Mercedes - 8

4) Williams - 7

5) Lotus - 5

Image credits

[1] GNU Free Document License / Wikimedia Commons

[2] Bob Sanderson's / Wikimedia Commons

[3] Lothar Spurzem / Wikimedia Commons

[4] Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

[5] Paul Lannuier / Wikimedia Commons

[6] Mark McArdle / Wikimedia Commons

[7] Jake Archibald / Wikimedia Commons

by Adriano Lesme
Journalist