The Podium
Formula One is the very pinnacle of motor racing, an open-wheeled series that travels four continents in the course of a season, drawing global television audiences running into hundreds of millions. It attracts not only the best drivers, but also the best engineers and the best designers, with teams - often backed by major motor manufacturers - spending vast sums and employing the very latest technology to gain that all-important edge over their rivals - an edge that is often measured in just hundredths of a second.
Click here to watch a video edit of the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix.
Formula One can trace its roots back to Grand Prix racing of the pre-war era, when the likes of Mercedes, Maserati and Alfa Romeo battled it out for supremacy. Then, in 1950, the major races were brought together in the inaugural Formula One world championship. Boasting seven rounds - 16 or more is the norm today - it encompassed events in Britain, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy, as well as the famed Indianapolis 500 race in the United States. Italian Nino Farina was the first F1 champion.
The term ‘Formula’ referred to the set of regulations that governed the cars - at that time, a maximum engine size of 4.5 litres, or 1.5 litres if supercharged - while the ‘One’ indicated that the championship was the highest level of international motorsport recognised by its governing body, the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile).
Over the next two decades Formula One racing grew from what had once been little more than a pastime for rich gentlemen racers into something far more serious, and by the 1970s it was rapidly evolving into the international spectacle we know today, with professional teams funded by major commercial sponsors. The top drivers were no longer known only to enthusiasts - they were increasingly household names. Niki Lauda and James Hunt in the ‘70s, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in the ‘80s. By the turn of the century Formula One’s popularity was such that only the Olympics and the football world cup pull in greater sporting audiences - and they only happen once every four years.
Ferrari Pit Crew
So how does Formula One racing work today? The 2007 entry list comprised 11 teams - or constructors - contesting the constructors’ championship, with each team fielding two drivers, both individually contesting the drivers’ championship. The calendar comprised 17 races, staged between March and October, usually on alternate Sundays, and so close was the racing that only at the final round in Brazil was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen crowned champion. Each event is staged over a three-day weekend, with two practice sessions on the Friday, a further practice and a qualifying session - to determine the starting grid for the race - on the Saturday, and the Grand Prix itself, which usually lasts around 90 minutes, on the Sunday.
Unique to Formula One is the fact that each team must design and construct their own cars. Engines - today’s are 2.4 litre normally aspirated V8s - may be supplied by a third party, but the chassis and bodywork has to be the team’s own work. That work must comply with a very strict set of rules, meaning that to the casual observer the cars often appear incredibly similar. Look a little closer though, and you will begin to realise the lengths the engineers and designers go to in order to differentiate their machines and push the rules to the limits, hence making them just that little bit faster.
The development of a Formula One car is a never-ending process. It starts months in advance of the car hitting the track, with advanced computer-aided design, intensive wind-tunnel studies and the use of state-of-the-art simulation technologies. When the driver finally gets behind the wheel it is his job not just to drive, but also to give the team vital feedback on the car’s characteristics, both good and bad. This practice will continue throughout the season, so by the end of it the car’s performance should be significantly higher than at the start. If it’s not, then somebody is not doing their job and the team will find themselves slipping rapidly down the finishing order.
This level of complexity is just one of the elements that makes Formula One racing so fascinating for fans. It also means that only the world’s best drivers make it in - and only the very best ever win. Speed and race craft alone are not enough. A strong technical acumen and a deep understanding of the car are essential. As is a supreme level of fitness - keeping 800 horsepower in check for 58 laps of Istanbul Park, with top speeds of over 300 km/h and cornering forces regularly in excess of 4g, is one of the most physically demanding tests in any sport.
Not that the drivers go unrewarded. The best will become multi-millionaires, thanks not only to their team contracts, but also to lucrative sponsorship deals. For some that will mean a playboy lifestyle, full of luxury yachts, fast cars and gorgeous girls (glamour is never far away in Formula One). Others remain more grounded. Either way, only the most dedicated drivers will ever achieve the ultimate prize - the Formula One world championship. For the rest of us - the mere mortals - watching them chase that prize with such bravery and commitment is more than thrilling enough.