The History of Formula One

Contents:

1. History of Motor Racing Before the 1950s
2. History of Motorsports After 1950: The Birth of Formula One
3. The Technical Advances and Stages
4. Drivers
5. Constructors
6. DownForce
7. 1982 – The Turbo Era
8. 1983: 12 victories for Turbo versus 3 for Cosworth
9. Turbo: A Revolution Then A Startling Finale
10. Renault – The First To Introduce Turbo
11. The Fifties
12. The Sixties – The Lotus and Chapman Era
13. The Seventies – Lotus Era Continues
14. 1973: Stewart – A World Champion For The Third Time
15. 1974 – McLaren Garbs its First Victory Fittipaldi
16. 1975- Ferrari Leading With Lauda
17. 1976 – Hunt Wins Over Lauda With A Difference Of One Point
18. 1977 – Lauda and Ferrari World Champions
19. 1978 – Chapman Revolutionizes Formula One
20. 1979: Ferrari Annoucnes Scheckter as World Champion

History of Motor Racing Before the 1950s

The world has taken on a different shape with the birth of Formula One more than 50 years ago. Races were exclusive either to the world’s elite or top notch car manufactures such as Alfa Romeo and Ferrari. The races were scattered around the year with no calendar or championship structure.

The world of professional motorsports had two separate lives, one before the 1950’s and one right after it.

The F1 Grand Prix championship took on a more organized role in 1950. It scheduled a calendar of motorsports bringing together most of the developed nations to host a race. It was an expensive hobby that translated into a championship held in several countries over a calendar year where teams would fight for the title. Each race was a glittery event on its own.

However, the world of motor racing kicked off as early as 1885 when the invention of the first successful petrol-driven car was announced by the Motor-Wagen of Karl Benz. The first motor car race was held in 1887 from Paris to Versailles at a top speed of 21 km. The aim was simply to finish. But in the events that followed, the idea of speed came into play in respect to the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris which took place in June 1895. The race was a distance of 1,178km and this was often taken as the first proper motor race, even though there has been a claim that a race took place in the United States in 1878, from Green Bay to Madison, Wisconsin which was won by an Oshkosk steamer.

In July 1898 the first international race was organized to run from Paris-Belgium-Amsterdam-Paris. This was the first race that had categories. The organizers set two categories based on the weight of the cars; one category was for cars above 400 kg while the other was for the lighter ones.

In 1900 Gordon Bennett Jr. financed an international event, the inaugural ‘Gordon Bennett Trophy Race’ to be held in France and organized by the l’Automobile Club de France (ACF). Each country’s national motoring association was allowed to register three cars entirely built in their country; the winner’s national association would be responsible for hosting and organizing the following year’s event. The Gordon Bennett races were marred by many competitor and spectator deaths leading the French government to ban motor racing many times. However, these bans were quickly overturned as the French motor industrialists exercised there growing influence on the government.

In 1905, the ACF withdrew their substantial support of the event, frustrated at being limited to a maximum of three entries. Without the ACF the Gordon Bennett trophy races were discontinued in 1906. In 1906 however the ACF organized a new event – the ACF Grand Prix to be held at Le Mans. Purpose built pits, spectator grandstands and barricades were used for the first time even though the race was still held on closed public roads. The ACF provided marshals to help the police with crowd control.

By this time the cars were no longer ‘on the road’ production cars. The cars were now stripped of all non-essential parts to decrease the weight and increase the speed. Special features to enhance the cars’ speed were designed – this is when motor racing began to develop as a serious sport.

The world of Grand Prix was born. Soon many races were being staged in Europe. A world governing body called the Association Internationale des Automobiles Reconnus was formed; in 1946 this became the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
Closed-circuit racing developed quickly in the United States while road racing burgeoned in Europe.

In 1909 the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built. It was an oval circuit of 4.023 km (2.5 mi) and the first Indianapolis 500 mile race was held in 1911. By 1914 many of the great car engineering and manufacturing firms were established.

Between the world wars the sport boomed in Europe and America. Numerous circuits were built, and better and faster cars were developed. After World War II the growth and popularity of the sport increased, and many more races were introduced. During the same period, car manufactures were racing to produce the “best car” that can win. The most memorable car was the Bugatti Type 35 that won around 200 races.

In 1933, the Le Mans 24 hour race was held while in 1937 the Mille Miglia race of Italy was geared. Most of the car drivers were top of the line including English aristocrats such as Sir Geoffrey Berkins and Lord Hugh. Other European drivers joined in such as French Louis Chiron, Germans Rudolf Caracciola and Herman Lang. However the best driver of all time during that period was Italian Tazio Nuvolari.

Car manufactures went through a string of experiments as they tried to produce a winning car. In 1921, three liter cars were introduced and then decreased to two liters the following year. Rules in races were amended throughout the years. In 1925, the technical co-driver was banned due to safety scares while in 1926, cars that had 1/2 to one liter were allowed to race. In another two years ‘open formula’ was born where the rules didn’t control the size of the engine.

In 1947, a logical change to the regulations allowed 1500cc supercharged cars and 4.5 liters normalcy aspirated cars to compete. The international formula becomes ‘International Racing Formula no.1′. The name would later change to Formula One. The supercharged cars were the dominating category notably with Alfettas, Maserati and 4CLTs.

Formula 2 began shortly after the world war two in 1947. It aimed to give those drivers and teams not involved in grand prix racing the chance to close the gap to the top of international motorsport.

History of Motorsports After 1950: The Birth of Formula One

The birth of the glamorous world of Formula One started when the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) kicked off the series in 1950.

Since then the world has been a different place. The early years of F1 witnessed revolutionary changes in racing technology, in an era in which drivers competed for sport, not money, and routinely perished in sometimes horrific crashes. The names from these days — Ascari, Fangio and Moss, to list a few — live on today as Grand Prix legends.

On April 10th 1950, Argentinean Juan Manuel Fangio, in a Maserati, won the Pau Grand Prix, the first contest to be labeled as an “International Formula One” race. A month later Silverstone hosted the British Grand Prix at a former military airport and it became the first sanctioned championship race for Formula One Grand Prix cars. The F1 World Championship was born.

The winner at Silverstone was the first F1 champion, Giuseppe “Nino” Farina who drove an Alfa Roméo 158. He also captured the Belgium, Swiss and Italian races along with non-championship wins at Bari and Donnington.

It was a revolutionary year that spearheaded a new wave of motorsports and was a turning point for this industry. The Grand Prix started with the driver’s cup and in 1958 a constructor’s cup was established as a reward for the team accumulating the most points each season.

As races passed, the championship’s regulations were altered in order to reduce speed, ensure safety, cope with technology advancement and decrease costs.

The driver’s cup received the centre of attention as it dealt with the human factor. However the constructor’s cup was in constant battle between Ferrari and other teams that were eager to grab the title.

Since the odd 50 years in the history of Formula One, 733 Grand Prix were held. As years passed, the championship witnessed a growing number of races due to its increasing popularity.

During the 1950’s around seven to eight races were held every season. In the 60’s they increased around nine to 12 races until it reached the golden 17 races a season. In 2004, the calendar boosted an 18 race schedule for the first time after the addition of Bahrain and China. In 2005, the calendar will be increased to 19 races with Turkey joining the exclusive club.

The Technical Advances and Stages

Many changes have been made to the technical specifications of the Formula One car over the years in order to reduce speed, ensure safety and decrease costs.

The following are the different technical stages of the championship:

1950-1951 for Formula One:

The engine was set at 1500cc with supercharging or 4500cc without supercharger. Car weight was not specified.

1952-1953:

The world championship of Formula One for drivers was organized alongside the Formula 2. The engine was set at 2000cc without supercharger or 500cc with supercharger. Car weight was not specified.

1954-1960:

The world championship focused on Formula One. The engine was specified at 750cc with supercharging and 2500cc without supercharger. Car weight was not specified.

1961-1965:

Engine capacity was set at a maximum of 1500cc and a minimum of 1300cc without supercharger. The car weight was specified at 450 kg excluding fuel.

1966-1969:

An engine of 1500cc with supercharging or 3000cc without supercharger and a minimum car weight of 500 kg excluding fuel.

1970-1971:

Car engine specification remained however car weight was amended to 530 kg.

1972:

Car engine specification remained but car weight increased to 550 kg.

1973-1980:

Car engine specification remained but car weight rose to 575 kg.

1981:

Car engine specification remained the same but car weight increased to 585 kg.

1982:

Car engine specification remained but car weight decreased to 580 kg.

1983:

Car engine specification remained but car weight dropped back to 540 kg.

1984-1985:

Car engine specification and weight remained unchanged. The fuel usage was set at 220 liters.

1986:

Car engine specification and weight remained unchanged. The fuel usage was decreased to 195 liters. Atmospheric engines were banned.

1987:

Turbo engines were set at 1500cc and turbo boost would be limited by pop-off valves set at bar four. The minimum car weight was 540kg and fuel tank capacity was 195 liters. Cars without turbo boost were allowed to take part with a set of rules including a 3500cc engine and a minimum car weight of 500kg. The cars were not restricted to a certain fuel capacity but were not allowed to refuel during the race.

1988:

A new edict came out to curb turbo usage. Turbo engines were set at 1500cc turbo boost would be limited by pop-off valves set at bar 2.5. The minimum car weight was 540kg and fuel tank capacity was 150 liters. Cars without turbo boost were allowed to take part with a set of rules including a 3500cc engine and a minimum car weight of 500kg. The cars were not restricted to a certain fuel capacity but were not allowed to refuel during the race.

1989 – 1993:

Turbos breathed their last as the engines were banned. Atmospheric engines were allowed with a 3500cc engine and a minimum car weight of 500kg. The cars were not restricted to a certain fuel capacity but were not allowed to refuel during the race.

1994:

Turbos were still banned. Cars were allowed to use atmospheric engines with a 3500cc engine and a minimum car weight of 505kg. After the Canadian Grand Prix it was increased to 520kg. The cars were not restricted to a certain fuel capacity but were not allowed to refuel during the race.

1995-1996:

Turbo engines were still banned. Cars were allowed to use atmospheric engines with a 3000cc engine and a minimum car weight of 595kg including the driver’s weight. Fuel usage was not set and cars were allowed to refuel during the race.
However the electronic aid for the driver was banned.

1997-2002:

The ban on the turbo engines continued. Cars were allowed to use atmospheric engines with a 3000cc engine and a minimum car weight of 600kg including the driver’s weight. Fuel usage was not set and cars were allowed to refuel during the race. However the electronic aid for the driver was banned.

2004:

Constructors were forced to use one engine during the three day Grand Prix that includes the practice, qualifying and the race. Any engine change or repair would constitute the driver of dropping ten places on the grid based on his qualifying result.

2005:

The engine rule was modified. Constructors will use one engine for two Grand Prixs. Any engine change or repair would constitute the driver of dropping ten places on the grid based on his qualifying result.

Drivers

It all comes down to the drivers in the world of Formula One championship. The entire event has revolved around their lifestyle, fetishes and driving style. When the championship kicked off in 1950, the cup was given to the drivers (even though the constructor’s cup was introduced in 1958). But in the end of the day, the FIA promotes the ‘human element’ as its priority.

Over the years, 27 drivers representing a range of nationalities clenched the title. The first one was Italian Giuseppe “Nino” Farina who drove an Alfa Romeo 158 and the most recent win was 2004 champion German Michael Schumacher in a Scuderia Ferrari.

Schumacher has broken all records and has grabbed a record of seven titled wins, five in a row with Ferrari. His first two wins in 1994 and 1995 were with Benetton-Ford and Benetton-Renault respectively. His record broke the previous one that was stamped by Argentinean Juan Manuel Fangio who grabbed the title five times in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957 using four different cars; the Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Maserati-Lancia and Ferrari.

The third most successful driver of all time was French Alain Prost who was dubbed as the ‘professor’. He grabbed four titles in 1985 and 1986 on a McLaren-Tag Porsche, 1989 on a McLaren-Honda and 1993 on a Williams-Renault.

Five drivers clasped the title three times. Australian Jack Brabham won the title in 1959 and 1960 on a Coopers-Climaxes and 1966 using a car that bore his name. He was the first and only driver to win a championship using a car named after him.

Scottish Jackie Stewart won the title in 1969 on a Matra-Ford and in 1971 and 1973 on a Tyrrell-Ford. Another winner was Brazilian Nelson Piquet in 1981 on a Brabham-Ford. In 1983, he was the first driver, using a Brabham-BMW, to win the title using a car built with Turbo charger. His last title was in 1987 using a Williams-Honda.

Formula One legend Brazilian Aryton Senna grabbed the title in 1988, 1990 and 1991 with the McLaren-Honda team.

Two time champion winners totaled to five drivers starting with Italian Alberto Ascari who won in 1952 and 1953 with Scuderia Ferrari.
Briton Graham Hill clasped the title in 1962 with the BRM team and 1968 with Lotus. Scottish Jim Clark won with Lotus in 1963 and 1965. The youngest driver ever to win a championship was 26 year old Emerson Fittipaldi. The Brazilian won with the Lotus-Ford team in 1972 and with McLaren-Ford in 1974.

Finnish Mika Hakkinen raced to the title with McLaren Mercedes in 1998 and 1999.

A string of one time winners inked their name as Formula One champions. A total of 14 drivers grabbed the title once in their lifetime starting with Farina in 1950 followed by the first British driver to do so Mike Hawthrn in 1958 with the Ferrari team. The first American champion was Phil Hill in 1961 with the Ferrari team.

Using the same car (a Ferrari) in 1964 Briton John Surtees was the first driver to win the Formula One championship and the Motorcycle title. In 1967, Denny Hulme from New Zealand clenched the title with the Brabham-Repco team.
In 1970, Austrian Jochen Rindt on a Lotus was named world champion even though he died during practice in the Monza Grand Prix. At that time he has a good lead over his rivals.

Briton James Hunt clasped the title in 1976 with the McLaren-Ford team while American Mario Andretti with the Lotus-Ford team won in 1978. The first South African to win was Jody Shecker in 1979. He was the last driver before the arrival of Michael Schumacher to win with the Italian team.
In 1980, Australian Alan Jones won with Williams-Ford. The car for the first time bore a range of Arab sponsors including Saudi Airways. Finish Keke Rosberg won with the same team in 1982 while in 1992 Briton Nigel Mansell won with Williams-Renault.

Damon Hill was the first driver to inherit the title from his father two time winner Phil Hill. Damon won with Williams-Renault in 1996. The last winner was Canadian Jacques Villeneuve in 1997. He is the son of former Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve.

Constructors

The history of the constructors’ championship for Formula One has been in a constant battle whether between the teams that are vying for the title or the FIA changing the scoring system. The constructors’ cup was brought to life in 1958 eight years after the Formula One Grand Prix formation. The scoring system of the constructors followed that of the drivers. It started with the top six cars scoring points and then the top eight were included in the tally.

In 2003, the FIA buffed the regulations of the world championship’s scoring system. The winner gets 10 points, followed by 8 points for the runner-up, 6 points for the third place winner and 5 points for the fourth place holder. The fifth winner received 4 points, 3 points for the sixth place car, 2 points for the seventh position and 1 point for the final eight finisher.

The major difference between the scoring system of the constructors and the drivers is that the constructors can have two cars winning in the top eight and receive points for both cars.

During the 1950’s and 1960’s, some constructors would enter more than two cars in the Grand Prix. Ferrari, for instance, grabbed the top four sports in the 1961 Belgium Grand Prix. Ferrari today is the proud holder of 14 constructors’ world champion. It grabbed the title in 1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

The Williams team followed in with 9 titles clenched in 1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997. McLaren fiercely came in with 8 titles won in 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1992 and 1998. A team that has gone backstage in 1993 – Lotus – won 7 titles in 1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1978.

However constructors that won the title twice are Cooper in 1959 and 1960 and Brabham in 1966 and 1967. One time winners were Vanwall in 1958, BRM in 1962, Matra in 1969, Tyrrell in 1971 and Benetton in 1995.

Usually the same team would grab the driver and the constructors’ title. However, though a rarity, a different team would win the drivers and another would grab the constructors’ championship.

In 1958, Vanwall grabbed the constructors title while Ferrari driver Mike Hawthrn. In 1973, Lotus won the constructors while Scottish Jackie Stewart in a Tyyrell grabbed the drivers’ title. Briton James Hunt in a McLaren won the title in 1976 while Ferrari grabbed the constructors.

Brazilian Nelson Piquet won his first title in 1981 on a Brabham while Williams grabbed the constructors’ title. In 1982 and 1983, Ferrari strongly came back to win the title while Piquet with Brabham and Keke Rosberg with Williams won the drivers title respectively. In 1999, Ferrari again grabbed the constructors title while Finnish Mika Hakkinen for McLaren.

The Scoring System

1950-1959:

First place: 8 points

Second place: 6 points
Third place: 4 points
Fourth place: 3 points
Fifth place: 2 points

One point for the fastest lap during the Grand Prix.

Until 1957, two drivers can drive the same car in rotation but have to split the points between them.

1960:

First place: 8 points
Second place: 6 points
Third place: 4 points
Fourth place: 3 points
Fifth place: 2 points
Sixth place: 1 point

1961-1990:

First place: 9 points
Second place: 6 points
Third place: 4 points
Fourth place: 3 points
Fifth place: 2 points
Sixth place: 1 point

1991-2002:

First place: 10 points
Second place: 6 points
Third place: 4 points
Fourth place: 3 points
Fifth place: 2 points
Sixth place: 1 point

2003 – until now:

First place: 10 points
Second place: 8 points
Third place: 6 points
Fourth place: 5 points
Fifth place: 4 points
Sixth place: 3 point
Seventh place: 2 points
Eight place: 1 point

DownForce

Formula One engineers have one main concern – downforce. Since the beginning of the championship in the 1950’s, the regulations of the sporting event were modified on a regular basis in order to curb speed, reduce costs and push safety rules. Creating downforce evolved to capture the essence of building a winning Formula One car in the face of the technical challenges ahead.

With the industrial and technical growth during the 1970’s and the increase of the car engine’s performance, engineers were struggling to adapt the bodies of the cars to work with the engine. Therefore, the downforce concept was born. It started with applying downforce on the car’s body in order to stabilize its drive.

In 1978, the late Colin Chapman discovered a revolutionary technical solution and in turn was responsible for the major advances seen in the world of Formula One.

The Briton, who was also the founder of Team Lotus, created a ground effect system by conducting various studies in a wind tunnel on a moving object on the ground. The study stated that in order for the ‘object’ to be forced down on the ground, the car had to take on the shape of an inverted aircraft wing. That was achieved by molding the underside of the sidepods to allow air penetration from the front to be compressed by a venture tunnel (carburetor) and released at the rear. The changes resulted in the car pulling faster times and edging closer to the ground which also increased its speed.

The FIA in 1981 banned the two chassis Colin Chapman car. The concept of the car was that one chasse would comprise the two sidepods, the bodywork and the stiff springs. The second would be linked to the first by a system of soft springs and include the tub, engine, running gear and driver. FIA rules however stated that cars have to run with a chasse and that did not depend or use ground effect.

In 1983, all downforce regulations were scrapped and a new rule was inked that stated that the cars should have a lower flat structure.

The material used in building the cars are of modern ingredients including Titanium, Plastic and Glass Fiber. A huge chunk of the material is taken of the airplane manufacturing industry.

1982 – The Turbo Era

While Lotus was developing the ground-effect principle, Renault re-entered Formula One with the turbo RS01, driven by Jean-Pierre Jabouille. The first turbo was remarkably quick, however, it suffered from “turbo lag” under acceleration and was extremely unreliable. It would be a year before the Renault finished a Grand Prix.

Renault controlled the Formula One championship in the 1980’s due to its monstrous turbo engine that ripped out a power of 1,200hp. Renault’s brave path paved the way for other constructors to follow the footsteps of the French team.

Team owners and principals were aware that the new wave was heading towards turbo charged engines.

Finnish Keke Rosberg won the driver’s title in 1982 on a “non-turboâ€? Williams car with the engine provided by Ford Cosworth. The constructor’s title however, was clenched away from McLaren by Ferrari using its turbo built engine.

Rosberg however had only one victory in 1982 and that was during the Swiss Grand Prix. He won simply due to the scoring system and not because he won races. He also won due to another incident: the death of Ferrari’s driver, the crown prince of Formula One, Canadian Gilles Villenuve during practice at the Belgian Grand Prix. Villenuve’s teammate French Didier Pironi suffered terrible leg injuries in practice for the German GP at Hockenheim two months after that, never to race in F1 again. The accident stripped him from the title and he stopped racing at five Grand Prixs. Pironi ended up grabbing the second position in the table with a difference of five points separating him from Rosberg.

Both Ferrari and Renault faced a string of mechanical hiccups that stood in the way of developing their cars, even though Renault’s driver Frenchman Alain Prost was down by a few points from clenching the driver’s title. His teammate Rene Arnoux walked away empty handed even though he recorded best practice time and fastest lap.

Brabham team driver Nelson Piquet lost the driver’s title to Rosberg due to the late arrival of the BMW engine. However he had a victory during the Canadian

Grand Prix. During the same year, turbo charged cars had eight victories out of 16 races bearing in mind all the various problems facing the engine.

1982 was declared the turbo year. During the South African Grand Prix six teams used turbo charged cars; Ferrari, Brabham, Renault, BMW, Toleman and Alfa Romeo. Toleman and Brabham used a BMW powered engine.

1983: 12 victories for Turbo versus 3 for Cosworth

Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet, using a turbo charged car, kicked off the 1983 season with a massive victory in Brazil to continue the trend throughout the season.

The 1983 trend focused on Turbo charged cars winning races and clenching as many points as possible. The three teams that were using turbo buffed engines were Ferrari, Renault and Brabham BMW. Twelve victories were made between the three turbo charged teams versus three wins for the traditional engine of Ford Cosworth.

The three stray wins of the Cosworth engine occurred at temporary street circuits built within the city. The street circuits were famous for its narrow and repetitive curves. The wins were by Irish John Watson of the McLaren-Ford team at the Long Beach Grand Prix while Finnish Keke Rosberg with the Williams-Ford won the Monaco Grand Prix and finally Italian Michele Alboreto with the Tyrrell-Ford won the Detroit Grand Prix.

Many motorsport critics have said that the reason behind traditional engine cars winning the street circuit Grand Prixs is due to “natural circumstances�.
Turbo charged engines need more time to revive and exert force compared to traditional engines. Turbo engines starts to become faster when the engine reaches a minimum of 3,000 RPM and grows faster with the increase of the engine cycle. Drivers, for example, when passing a corner and after the reduction of speed, need more time to accelerate compared to a traditional engine. The traditional engines however exert power gradually.

Turbo charged cars clenched the rest of the victories due to its enormous strength that is born when the engine is up and running. The consumed air of a normal aspirated car increases engine fire accidents however when a turbo charged engine increases its pressure, the consumed air is cooled down and the engine roars to power.

Since the birth of the Formula One championship in 1950, the committees within the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) have been battling two different wars, each to keep one of the engines running in the sport. Some would wage for the turbo while others wanted the normal aspirated ones.
A decision was made that the liter capacity of the turbo engines should be less than half of the normal aspirated cars. However even with that restriction, turbo cars were producing about 100 to 150 more horsepower than the normal aspirated engines. In the case that both engines had the same liter capacity, then the difference would be more than 100 percent.

The 1983 season with its 15 Grand Prix witnessed a fierce competition between a number of the drivers mainly Nelson Piquet that continued to wage a war against the drivers especially French Alain Prost who drove for Renault and Ferrari’s driver Rene Arnoux. Piquet had to wait until the season finale – the South African Grand Prix – to clench the driver’s title with the third place win with a difference of two points between him and second place winner – Prost. This would be his second title. Piquet’s car however was the main huddle in his struggle to grab the title. In the 1984 season, he left Renault to join McLaren.

Ferrari however maintained its constructor’s title for the second year with 89 points, with Renault grabbing second position with a ten point difference.

Turbo: A Revolution Then A Startling Finale

The discovery of the Turbo engine in the 1980’s for the Formula One community did not receive a round of applause from most of the teams.

It was widely known that Renault, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo were the only teams that were producing their own engines supported by the financial and technical abilities of its car factories.
The rest of the teams had to depend on others to provide the engine.

During the 1983 Geneva Motor Exhibition, the visitors were astonished to find out that a new engine had been introduced into the world of Formula One. The engine named “TAGâ€? was the brainchild of a Saudi Arabian company based in the French capital of Paris. One of the owners of the company, Saudi national Mansour Ojjeh is a huge fan of motor sports especially Formula One. Ojjeh also led a Saudi consortium headed by Saudi Arabian Airlines to sponsor the Williams in the 1980’s.

Ojjeh wanted to have a role within the Formula One community. He requested from the German company – Porsche – to design a car engine that would bear his company’s name. The engine was born and during the Geneva Motor Exhibition, Ojjeh announced that the engine will be used by the McLaren team in the near future. The TAG engine was leading the path for a substitute for the Cosworth engines. The Cosworth engine was a “life saverâ€? for the smaller teams that had a miniscule budget.

The TAG engine was first used by McLaren in 1983. This led to the increase of the number of teams that used turbo charged engines to 18 cars. The number increased to 22 in 1984 after Renault joined in along with Arrows that persuaded BMW to supply the engines. Arrows driver, Nelson Piquet, during that year won the driver’s title for the second time in his career.

The turbo engine had four victories three of which were clenched by Piquet and one by Italian driver Riccardo Patrese. The same number of victories was recorded by the Renault team – the pioneers of the turbo engine.
The Renault engine was a fact of disappointment for the French people that had high hopes to win the driver’s title. However this dream started to fade, after Prost faced a driving “struggleâ€? during the Grand Prix of Holland, three rounds before the finals of the championship. The fiasco led the way for Piquet clenching the title away from Prost with a difference of two points.

Prost and Austrian Niki Lauda in the 1984 season fought for wins grabbing 12 races out of 16 – seven wins for Prost and five for Lauda. However Lauda won his third title during the 1984 season and grabbed it away from Prost with a difference of 0.5 points (72 points versus 71.5 points). However Prost

continued to fight harder and in 1985 clenchd the title with McLaren using the ever so famous TAG engine. He did the same next year.

The downfall of the TAG engine started off when the Japanese car manufacturer Honda signaled the start of its powerful engine that was used to power the Williams team. That led Piquet to clench his third title in 1987.
During the end of 1987, Honda made a starting decision to move from Williams to McLaren. In 1988, McLaren inked its “most remarkableâ€? victory grabbing 15 out of 16 races and Brazilian Aryton Senna won the driver’s title.

In 1989, the FIA decided to ban the turbo charged engines closing a chapter for one of the most strongest and wildest eras in the history of Formula One.

Renault – The First To Introduce Turbo

The French company – Renault – is dubbed to be one of the leading car manufacturers in the world. It all started in 1898 at the Renault home when Louis seduced by experimental motorized tricycles decided to jump in and attempt to create a new discovery by attaching objects together. Finally he created a car model that launched Renault.

Over 107 years later, Renault is leading the way for many new discoveries. Going back to the history books, Renault actually won the first Grand Prix held in France in 1906.

The Renault team joined in 1908 but left the world of motorsports for over 70 years to return with a vision and power to win. The reentry of Renault into the world of international motorsports and especially Formula One was during the British Grand Prix on July 16, 1977. On that day French driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille roared the engine to generate a fresh sound heard for the first time at any circuit – the Turbo engine. Renault was a pioneer in the birth of Turbo.

The revolutionary engine was produced by the specialized engine tuners – Gordini – that headed the sports department in Renault. The car named “RS 01â€? was designed by engineer, Andre de Cortanze and it used a six cylinder turbo charged engine with a horsepower of 500 during a 11,000 RPM.

However the ‘revolutionary� Renault did not produce positive outcomes. The car began its glory during the American Grand Prix in 1978 when Jabouille clenched the sixth position grabbing one point for the team. During the French Grand Prix in 1979, Renault clenched its first victory with Jabouille while its second driver Rene Arnoux took third place. With that victory, the turbo era kicked off.

During the next season, the French manufacturer entered the championship with its RS20 and RS25 with high hopes to grab the constructor’s title. However the hope diminished, Renault only won three races. In 1981, the old car was exchanged for the new RE30 that was light in weight and had a strong engine that produced 540 horsepower. Jabouille was dumped and a new driver was taken on, French Alain Prost who won three Grand Prixs.

In 1982, Renault had placed high hopes on winning races – Prost and Arnoux won four Grand Prixs. In 1983, the manufacturer produced a new car the “RS40′ that was made out of Carbon. Its engine produced 650 hp during a 12,000 RPM. The car allowed Prost to win four Grand Prixs but he didn’t clench the title – Brazilian Nelson Piquet won that year making him the first driver to win a title using a turbocharged car.

Renault dismissed Prost by the end of the year and in 1984 brought on new drivers – French Patrick Tambay and Briton Derek Warwick who drove the RE50 and did not win any races. The results pushed the team principal and team engineer to resign.

By the end of 1985 and during the Australian Grand Prix, the French company withdrew from the championship but continued to power teams such as Lotus and Tyrrell. The Renault powered team went to win races during the 1985 season including two for the late Brazillian legend Aryton Senna in the Portuguese and Belgian Grand Prix.

In 1986, the turbo era was concluded with Senna grabbing the Spanish and Detroit Grand Prix. By the end of 1987, Renault withdrew from the championship as engine supplier to come back in 1989 to supply the Williams team. The agreement started off a new relationship with the Williams team using a normally aspirated car.

In 1991, the Williams team went on to win seven races including five with Briton Nigel Mansell. In 1992, the team won the driver’s title with Mansell grabbing 108 points and the constructor’s title with 164 points while McLaren won second place with 65 points. Williams-Renault had another victory by grabbing the driver’s title with prost and British driver Damon Hill clenching the third position. The team also won the constructor’s title.

However tragedy made an appearance in 1994 when Senna lost his life during the third race of the season.

Renault in 1985 powered the Benetton team and led it to win the constructor’s title and the driver’s title with German Michael Schumacher. In 1996, the Renault engine went back to Williams and it won the constructor’s title while Damon Hill won the driver’s title. In 1997, Williams-Renault won the constructor’s title and driver’s title with Jacques Villeneuve.

Renault again decided to withdraw from the championship by the end of 1997 to appear again in 2001 with the Benetton team. However no success story came out of the collaboration – the team was positioned seventh with ten points and its drivers British Jenson Button and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella were both on the bottom of the driver’s list.

Based on that poor result Renault agreed to enter the championship as a team after it bought out Benetton’s share and kicked off a new team using Italian driver Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button. The team won fourth place with 23 points. In 2003, the team was placed among the top four teams after Ferrari, Williams BMW and McLaren-Mercedes. That same year, the team won the Hungarian Grand Prix with rookie Spaniard Fernando Alonso making him the youngest driver to win a race.

In 2004, Renault challenged its competitor BAR Honda but went on to grab the third position. However Trulli won the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Fifties

Formula One was born in 1950 when Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, Talbot and Gordini came together to kick start the championship using their own cars with the engine set at 1500cc with supercharging or 4500cc without supercharger. The championship was launched with seven races called a Grand Prix in Britain, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Italy and the Indianapolis 500. The sport has grown into 17 Grands Prix in 2005.

The first season of the championship was dominated by Alfa Romeo’s driver Juan Manuel Fangio and Giuseppe Farina. The Alfa Romeo’s car was first launched back in 1937 and was named “Alfettasâ€?. It used an eight cylinder engine and was produced by Ferrari. The first ever grand prix was won by Farina on board the Alfettas.

Going back to the history books, the circuits have developed enormously throughout the years. Previously, circuits were set up on farming areas using asphalted roads. The track would be rimmed by trees and shrubs. The drivers would wear protective hats to shield the dust instead of helmets.

In 1951, Argentinean Fangio won the championship with the Alfettas. However the downfall of Alfa Romeo (after a series of victories over the past five years), was when the team lost the British Grand Prix to Ferrari driver Froilan Gonzalez.

Superchargers were dumped and Alfa Romeo exited the championship. The FIA decided in 1952 and 1953 to restrict the championship to Formula 2 cars. The races attracted 31 cars and were dominated by the Ferrari legend Alberto Ascari. The Ferrari 500 F2s used a four cylinder engine of 2 liters with a 180 horsepower. Ascari won the championship in 1952 with 36 points. Ascari – Italy’s hero – won the driver’s title for another year.

In 1954, the engine rules changed to welcome a 2500cc engine which allowed Mercedes-Benz to join-in after World War II with its famous “silver arrows� branding. Mercedes entered with new technical expertise on a number of levels combined with a totally new approach to racing. The car named “streamliner� took Fangio and Kling to grab the first and second position respectively.

Fangio won the title for Mercedes in 1954 and 1955 which also led the German manufactures to grab the constructor’s title. However Mercedes withdrew from the championship after a car accident at the 24 hours Le Mans race that witnessed 78 deaths and 94 injuries. Mercedes only reappeared 40 years later when it signed a pact with the Sauber team.

During the 1950’s Fangio ruled the Formula One scene. He had the will, strength, calmness, talent and control to win races. Also in 1965, he won his fourth title on board the Ferrari-Lancia. One of his competitors Sir Stirling Moss said “Fangio had the talent that is seen once in a lifetime. He was simply the best.â€?

In 1957, Fangio won his fifth title on board the Maserati. He ended his racing career in 1958 and gave his throne over to British talent Moss who won the Argentinean Grand Prix with his little Climax-engined Cooper bringing the likes of Ferrari and Maserati to shame.

The Sixties – The Lotus and Chapman Era

The British team Lotus developed in 1960 a rear-engined car called “Lotus 18� that British driver Sir Stirling Moss rode to two victories for the team. The first Lotus victory came at Monaco that year when Moss beat the dominant Ferrari team in his Rob Walker Lotus. The car, designed by Colin Chapman, was known for its revolutionary technical advances.

The Lotus team, because of Chapman’s ideology and vast knowledge in aeronautical engineering and streamlining , went to clench a record number of victories in Formula One based on the duration the team participated in the event. Lotus had 79 victories alone between 1960 and 1987.

The Lotus team also led four drivers to garb the title. Success on the race track was an important part of the company’s strategy and in 1963 Jim Clark drove the Lotus 25 to a remarkable seven wins in a season and won the World Championship. In 1965, Clark dominated again, six wins giving him the championship. The arrival of the Cosworth DFV in 1967 returned the team to winning ways with Graham Hill World Champion in 1968 with the Lotus 49. In 1970 Jochen Rindt was World Champion with the Lotus 72 and Emerson Fittipaldi used a revised version of the car to win Lotus another World Championship in 1972.

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman was born on 9 May, 1928 in a suburb of London. One of the first significant events of Chapman’s life happened in March 1944 when he met his future wife, Hazel Williams, at a dance. Even prior to their marriage, she was instrumental in helping Chapman make a name for himself in racing and car building, among other things putting up the initial 25 pounds sterling to get Lotus Engineering Company started in 1952.

Chapman was taken by fast machinery from an early age. He learned to fly during university, and after earning a degree in civil engineering back in 1948, he worked as a flying officer with the RAF. Aviation was to remain a lifelong passion. When he got into car building he began to compete. He was determined to achieve great things as a driver. His approach to covering the financial requirements was to build a car for himself, demonstrate its qualities on the course, and then sell his innovations and services, and later copies of the cars to other enthusiasts in post-war England.

The very first one-of he built was a modification of a 1930 Austin Seven saloon, and it was only as an afterthought that he decided to enter it in trials races. From that day, he was off on a persistent hunt for loopholes in regulations that would give him an edge over the others. Many of these were of the very small

variety, and allowed him to exercise and hone his innovative engineering approach to the maximum.

At the end of 1954 he was able to quit his day job and devote himself entirely to Lotus Engineering and Team Lotus, the newly-formed competition arm of the business. He was also able to take on paid employees, among whom were names such as Mike Costin, Keith Duckworth and Graham Hill. Lotus Engineering built both road and competition sports cars for customers, and eventually Formula 2 and, in 1958, Formula 1 cars.

Although single-seaters originally gave Lotus fits due to having to adapt the fragile chassis to very high power and weight ratios, Team Lotus continued its on-track success in sports cars as Chapman continued to develop his engineering magic.

Chapman, above all, wanted his cars to win. Their notorious frailty was no accident. Chapman was unswerving in his devotion to minimalist design philosophy. Each part had to do as many jobs as possible to squeeze out of it. Although this trade-off was not always adequate, when it did pay off it was dynamite.
Chapman’s motivation for this approach was something more deeply-seated in his personality. Basically he had extraordinary talents. What Chapman left out in material substance he replaced with cleverness.

Although his early cars were based on the space frame chassis, the chassis development that he is most famous for was the full monocoque that made its debut in the Lotus 25. The 25 was the first of Chapman’s F1 world-beaters and carried Clark to his 1963 championship. It was to be followed by, among others, the 49, the 72 and the 79.

He did not conceive all of these cars by himself. Others including Duckworth and Maurice Philippe made indispensable contributions. Chapman, in the best engineering tradition, was quick to borrow ideas from other sources including the aerospace industry.

But his finger prints were all over the design and engineering of every Lotus while he was alive. The news of Chapman’s untimely death was brought to Team Lotus while they were breaking in the 92 with its active suspension, the master’s last great technical revolution.

Chapman achieved his greatest fame in the U.S. by forcing the rear-engined concept on the technologically stagnant Indianapolis 500. Dan Gurney was the one who, after seeing the Lotus 25, persuaded Chapman that Indy would be worth a look.

The Seventies – Lotus Era Continues

The founder and owner of Team Lotus – Colin Chapman – through out his career based his designs on streamlining the cars. Chapman had a vast knowledge about the dynamics of airplanes and went ahead to implement its techniques on the cars he was producing.

The Lotus cars best known for a developed streamline was the Lotus 72 which driver Emerson Fittipaldi used to win Lotus another World Championship in 1972. The 72 broke new ground in aerodynamics. However the car that was inked down in Formula One history books was the Lotus 78 – it received a round of applause due to its streamlining effect. Lotus engineers straight away began to investigate aerodynamic ground-effect and the Lotus 79 of 1978 was extraordinarily successful with Mario Andretti winning the World Championship.

The secret behind the success of the car was the attachment of airplane wings to the side of the cars but in an inverted direction. Chapman believed that this method helps the car to “flyâ€? away from the ground. Chapman also used ‘moving skirts’ alongside the car to keep the air stationed underneath the skirts and release it from its rear which adds to the car grip on the ground. This method allowed the car to over-speed on curves.

The Lotus car that carried out the colors of the British based “John Player’s Specialâ€? that was the main sponsor of the team. The innovative car made all the teams in Formula One convert to streamlining in the next two years.

The achievements of Lotus are countless. However one of his great makings was the twin bodied car the “Lotus 88� that was banned by the FIA because of it broke the rules of engine manufacturing.

Andretti’s win was the last one in the 1970’s. The Lotus team saw its next victory in 1982 when Italian Elio de Angelis. It was also the last victory witnessed by Chapman during the same year before his untimely death due to a heart attack at the age of 54. He left his fingerprints all over the world of Formula One and was dubbed a pioneer in the motorsport industry.

Chapman had a signature of his own when his team won and that was throwing his hat high up in the air when his car went over the finish line.

His cars however were not always up to standards as it faced a series of mechanical failures. A number of drivers were killed aboard the Lotus car. The first one was Alan Stacey followed by Ricardo Rodriguez and then Jim Clark in 1968. In 1970, Jochen Rindt died during the qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix and he still won the driver’s title after his untimely death.
The last person who died on a Lotus was Swiss driver Ronnie Peterson during the Monza Grand Prix.

1973: Stewart – A World Champion For The Third Time

The battle between the two teams that were controlling the Formula One championship in 1973 – Tyrrell and JPS Lotus – was ended when Tyrrell driver Jackie Stewart grabbed the driver’s title for the third time.

Stewart was able to clench 71 points while Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi came in second with 55 points for the Lotus team. Stewart’s teammate Ronnie Peterson came in third with 52 points. The first Grand Prix win for Stewart in 1973 was at the South African Grand Prix and then followed by the Belgian Grand Prix the same year. His third win was at the Monaco Grand Prix followed by the Holland Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix winning the championship with five victories. He grabbed the title previously in 1969 and 1971.

With that win in hand – Stewart bided Formula One a grand farewell.

The Lotus team preserved its constructor’s title with 92 points through its driver line-up Emerson and Peterson. The Tyrrell team clenched the second position with 82 points and McLaren took the third position with 58 points.

The Holland Grand Prix witnessed a tragedy when Roger Williamson had a catastrophic wreck at Zandvort when he crashed and died needlessly as the marshals failed to control what started as a minor fire. He and David Purley were running their similar March 731Gs in close company when the left front tire on Roger’s car exploded on their eighth lap at the section of the track where Piers Courage had crashed three years earlier.

Purley immediately stopped his car and abandoned his own race in a selfless act of heroism. Marshals with fire extinguishers merely watched as Purley fought a lone battle to right the upturned March. He could hear Williamson inside it. Roger pleaded with him to get him out. Time and again Purley tried to lift the car, but each time he failed. David tried to fight it after grabbing an extinguisher from one marshal, but by then the fire had too strong a hold.
As the marshals still remained immobile, appalled spectators began to try and help, unable to believe what they were seeing. Only then were marshals with police dogs spurred into action, to keep them back. Finally, in the most callous act of cowardice ever seen in motor racing, they moved at last and tried to drag the desolate Purley away. He shrugged them off angrily.
Roger was uninjured in the cockpit, but they left him to die of asphyxiation. When they finally arrived, the fire trucks were far, far too late.

The 1973 World Championship was also marred by the death of Stewart’s friend and protégé Francois Cevert at the qualifying of the US Grand Prix.

1974 – McLaren Garbs its First Victory Fittipaldi

The winter of 1973-1974 brought the shocking news that Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi will move from the Lotus team to the McLaren with the support of Texaco and Marlboro. The second driver was Denny Hulme from New Zealand. McLaren also entered a third car bearing the colors of Yardley with Mike Hailwood as its driver.

In return Jacky Ickx left Ferrari to join Ronnie Peterson at the Lotus Team. Tyrrell soon found themselves in the search of two new drivers with the Fittipaldi and Ickx leaving. Jody Scheckter was ‘borrowed’ from McLaren and rookie Frenchman Patrick Depailler was taken on. However McLaren’s driver Peter Revson left to join the new team Shadow with young Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jarier.

The Graham team revamped its structure and changed its car body from Shadow to Lola while the Kesketh team built their own car driven by James Hunt. BRM team grabbed French investors on board and Jean-Pierre Beltoise became the first French driver on the team. Two other drivers followed later on.

Ferrari also changed its drivers and used a new car. Swiss Clay Regazzoni left the BRM to join Ferrari and took along with him Austrian Nike Lauda. The new Ferrari car portrayed potential from the very beginning but Dennis Hulme won the opening race at the Argentinean Grand Prix.

The Brazilian race saw a fierce competition between Peterson and Fittipladi the Swiss won while the Brazilian clenched second place. Argentinean Carlos Reutemann won the South African Grand Prix making it the first victory for the Brabham team in four years. Lauda won the Spanish Grand Prix on board his Ferrari and Fittipladi won his second race at the Belgian Grand Prix. Petterson grabbed the Monaco Grand Prix.

Two weeks later duo Sheckter and Depailler had a perfect stint for the Tyrrell team in the Swedish Grand Prix.

At the US Grand Prix Austrian Helmuth Koinigg is killed at Watkins Glen aboard the Surtees car. Peter Revson is also killed during testing.

1975- Ferrari Leading With Lauda

The winter of 1975 witnessed a minor change among the leading teams.

The season kick started with Graham Hill not qualifying to race for the Monaco Grand Prix. That came as a shock since it was his favorite circuit. The news made him rethink his retirement and by the end of the day Hill decided to pack his bag and bid farewell the life of a driver.

In total he took part in 176 Grands Prix and 17 seasons. Hill was genuinely passionate about his driving and excelled in other fields other than Formula One. He is the only driver to have won the F1 world championship, the Indianapolis 500 with Lola 1966 and the Le Mans 24 Hours with Matra in 1972. He was also the man with the most wins in Monaco Grand Prix which he took five times. He also captured the driver’s title twice, in 1962 and 1968.

On the other side, Niki Lauda clenched his first title by grabbing 64.5 points versus his competitor Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi who had 45 points. Ferrari also clenched the constructor’s title with 72.5 points versus the Brabham team who had 54 points and McLaren who had 53 points. It was Ferrari’s first victory since 1964.

The Ferrari launched a new car the 312T that was beautifully mastered by Lauda. The duo – Lauda-Ferrari- had a string of victories on the tracks. They clenched five wins at the Monaco, Belgian, Swedish, French and the US Grand Prix. His teammate Regazzoni won the Monza Grand Prix.

The Marlboro-McLaren team won three races; the Argentinean, Spanish and the British Grand Prix. German Jochen Mass, Fittapaldi’s teammate, won his only Grand Prix at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Spanish race however led to a tragedy. The race was stopped before half distance after Rolf Stommelen’s major accident which killed five spectators. Another tragedy occurred when Penske driver Mark Donahue died during the practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Drivers objected to the safety regulations surrounding the race and called for stricter rules.

The 1975 season ended with yet another tragedy when Graham Hill and young driver Tony Perez, car engineer Andy Samalman and other mechanics were killed during an airplane crash.

1976 – Hunt Wins Over Lauda With A Difference Of One Point

Niki Lauda continued his string of victories during 1976. He won the Brazilian Grand Prix followed by the South African, Belgian, Monaco and British Grand Prix. He clearly stated that he wanted to grab his second title, however when a horrific crash during the second lap of the German Grand Prix had his car explode, that goal was not realized. The car caught on fire and he suffered first degree burns.

Niki recovered in five weeks but the scars were still obvious around his face. The accident made Lauda miss the Austrian and Holland Grand Prix. He went back and raced during the Italian Grand Prix.

Before the accident, no driver or team could stop the Ferrari drive to success. But during the Spanish Grand Prix, Briton James Hunt on board his Mclaren-Ford inched the Italian team towards the title. Lauda was denied the win during the Spanish race due to technical faults. But he went on to grab the win at the British Grand Prix.

Lauda’s departure from the scene after the accident, ensured Hunt his position and left the competition door wide open until the last race at the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda was somewhat terrified over his life and withdrew from the race due to the situation of the track and the weather. At the end of the race, Hunt took the third position which led him to win the driver’s title with a difference of one point versus Lauda. Hunt had 69 points and Lauda 68 points.

Hunt won the Spanish, French, German, Holland, Canadian and US Grand Prix. Even though Lauda lost the title, Ferrari still grabbed the constructor’s title.

Mario Andretti made a come back with the Lotus team and won the Japanese Grand Prix while John Watson made his first victory for the Penske team. That year also witnessed the come back of Alfa Romeo to power the Brabham team.

1977 – Lauda and Ferrari World Champions

After three successful seasons, Jody Checker left the Tyrrell team to join a new team – the Walter Wolf Racing while Ronnie Peterson took over his place.
James Hunt and Johan Mass stayed on with McLaren to drive the newly built M26 replacing the M23. By the end of the 1976 season, Carlos Reedman left the Braham team to join the Ferrari team and John Watson took over his place at Braham leaving Penske behind.

Colin Chapman, the master behind the Lotus team, designed a new car “the wing car� which reminded old Formula One hands of the sweet thrill that came with the revolutionary cars like the Lotus 25, 49 and 72. The wing car was called that because of the inverted wing shape of the inner pods. However the mechanical problems persisted after mid-season and cost the driver Mario Andretti the title. He already however won four Grand Prixs; the long beach Grand Prix, Spanish Grand Prix, French Grand Prix and Italian Grand Prix.

Scheckter however scored the maiden win the team Wolf Racing during the Argentinean Grand Prix and he went on the podium another two times when he grabbed the 100th win for the Ford Cosworth engine in Monaco and his final win in Canada.

Two tragic accidents happened that year. Young Welsh driver Tom Pryce was killed instantly in a collision with a marshal, crossing the track to assist with a retired car. The marshal also died. A few weeks later, Carlos Pace who drove for Braham was killed during a plane crash.

Nike Lauda was not the fastest driver on the track, but he did grab the necessary points for the title. Lauda scored a total of 72 points while Scheckter had 55 points and Andretti 47 points. Ferrari also won the constructor’s title after clenching 95 points while Lotus had 62 points and McLaren scored 60 points.

Lauda and Ferrari did end up with a double victory – the driver and constructors title. However the relationship endured a shaky stage. Lauda announced during the Austrian Grand Prix that he would leave the team to join the Brabham-Alfa Romeo team. Canadian Gilles Villeneuve filled his spot.

1978- Chapman Revolutionizes Formula One

With the Lotus 79 under his control, Mario Andretti was able to control the 1978 championship and with the support of his teammate, Ronnie Peterson, they were able to win several Grands Prix. Andretti won five legs, the Argentinean, Belgian, Spanish, French and German Grand Prix. Peterson won the Austrian Grand Prix which was the final round of the 1978 season.

A rebuffed team joined the line-up “Arrows� under the guidance of its first driver Ricardo Patrese. However Patrese was blamed for a horrific accident that occurred during the Monza Grand Prix and the other drivers stopped him from taking part in the US Grand Prix.

Reutemann won the Brazilian Grand Prix with the Ferrari team while Lauda came second. In Brazil, Reutemann won first place and Fittipaldi came in second. The Kyalami circuit witnessed a fierce competition between Peterson and Patrick Depailler. At the end of the race, Peterson grabbed the win.

At the Long Beach race, Gilles led the race until he crashed into Clay Regazzoni which in turn allowed Reutemann to win. Depailler won the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time in his life while in the Belgian Grand Prix Andretti drove for the first time the Lotus 79. He grabbed the win and his teammate Peterson grabbed second position on board the Lotus 78.

All of that ended before it began when Ronnie Peterson died as the result of an accident at Monza in 1978, the music had stopped, more than a man died that day – Formula 1 had lost its innocence. However Jean-Pierre Jarier took over and was star at the next two races but withdrew from both events which allowed Reutemann to win the Watkins Glen Grand Prix while Giles won the Canadian Grand Prix.

Andretti in the end clenched the drivers’ title with 64 points and Peterson grabbed 51 points while Reutemann had 48 points. Lotus won the constructor’s title with 86 points and Ferrari followed with 58 points and Brabham with 53 points.

1979: Ferrari Annoucnes Scheckter as World Champion

It was not a surprise for Lotus 79 to take the pole position in the Argentinean Grand Prix, the first championship round in 1979. However, it was a surprise when Ferrari improved its standing and started to pile up victories. With South African driver Jody Scheckter, Ferrari obtained the world title in F1.

Ferrari’s premier driver Carlos Reutemann joined the Lotus team, which was preparing its new car, the Lotus 80. Many people had high expectations for the car, but their longing for successes were few and far between. So, at the beginning of the season, the drivers finished the races within the parameters of the old cars, which were not the fastest on the circuit. The Lotus 80 emerged with driver Reutemann, and reached third place during the Spanish Grand Prix. Subsequently, the team had no wins until 1982.

The Williams team started taking its first steps with a new car, FW7, which was not ready at the beginning of the season – their two drivers were Alan Jones and his colleague Clay Regazzoni. Ferrari was late in introducing its new car 312 T4, which did not demonstrate top performance in terms of keeping to the tarmac, but it was very fast and handled well.

Jody Scheckter left his former team, Wolf, and rejoined Gilles Villeneuve in the Ferrari team. After a break of 18 months, Renault returned with its car, the RS10, which was designed to be driven by Rene Arnoux. The Talbot-Lago team started their season properly, and their driver, Jacques Lafitte, won both the Argentinean and the Brazilian Grand Prix. Ferrari’s new car was introduced to the track for the fist time in the South African Grand Prix on the Kyalami circuit, Villeneuve and Scheckter getting first and second places respectively, achieving the first set of dual top podium positions in the new car, and doing it again in Long Beach during the United States Grand Prix. Scheckter put in another win for the championship at the Monaco Grand Prix. James Hunt decided to retire, leaving the Wolf team to contract the Finnish Keke Rosburg to replace him.

In France, the dream of Renault became reality when Jean-Pierre Jabouille was a winner in the Grand Point Noir circuit during the French Grand Prix. This was the first victory for a turbo car and the prized French pair. Simultaneously, Regazzoni had a tremendous victory at the British Silverstone circuit, for his team, Williams-Ford. This was added to by his Australian colleague, Jones who brought home three consecutive victories in the German, Austrian and Dutch Grand Prix.

Scheckter was able to retain his winning streak, gaining more points when he won Italy’s race on the Le Mans circuit, securing the International Title for him two rounds before the end of the championship. In Montreal, during the Canadian Grand Prix the Brabham team abandoned their car, the BT48 which was replaced with their new car, the BT49. The new car was not liked by Niki Lauda, who quit the team and the races until 1982. The battle for second place between Gilles Villeneuve of Ferrari, and Alan Jones of Williams was fierce. The former made his fourth win that season on the Watkins Glen wet circuit and came ahead of the Williams driver, Jones, in Ferrari’s second car, which showed high flexibility and clocked in at extremely high speeds. This let Villeneuve come in as runner up in the final order of drivers with 47 points, ahead of Jones, with 40 points, while Scheckter in first place had 51 points. The best four results at each mid season are taken into consideration.

While Scheckter won the driver’s title, Ferrari won the Manufacturer’s Title at 113 points, with a huge lead on the runner up, Williams, with 75 points. Third place returned to the French Talbot-Lego team, with 61 points. During the season, driver Patrick Depailler sustained excellence, while exercising his interest in gliders (Delta Planes).