A history of F1 Racing Cars

History of Formula One cars and technology

One of the influences that has significantly shaped F1 racing as we know it today is technology. The cars are lighter, faster and more resilient than they have ever been in the history of motor racing. In the beginning race cars were simply modified cars and were extremely, heavy, bulky and unreliable, to say the least. The tyre technology was also in its infancy, causing many a spectacular blow-outs and crashes. Racing cars in the early years were in fact so heavy, that they ran down the low-tech rubber tyres extremely quickly. In 1908, Christian Lauteschalnger's winning Mercedes shredded 10 tyres in the French Grand Prix at Dieppe. Tyres themselves have come a long way, with driver's success even hinging on their 'tyre strategy' for a race.

In the first F1 Grand Prix race in 1950, racing cars had 4500cc engines, with no weight or other restrictions. Every year saw innovations, as cars, engines, tyres and other mechanics of the racing cars were improved. However, the biggest changes to F1 motor racing took place in the 1970s and 1980s. Wings, better known as aerofoils, were introduced as a significant technical development. This created 'downforce', pinning cars to the track and giving better traction and cornering ability. This change alone was revolutionary and changed the face of F1 racing. Cars could go faster and were less liable to spin off the track. However, the initial introduction of wings also brought hazards, because they kept falling off. In 1969 at the Spanish Grand Prix, drivers Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt who were involved in an horrific crash resulting from a lost wing on the track. This crash actually forced wings to be banned from the following Grand Prix in Monaco and the rest of the championship year. The wings were later re-engineered and reintroduced.

By the early 1980s, the science behind aerodynamics was changing in leaps and bounds and was quickly applied to F1 racing cars. This know-how added airboxes behind the driver's cockpit to increase airflow to the engine and the use of side skirts to increase traction. The shape of the standard F1 car had already changed dramatically in the previous decade, resulting in 'flatter', longer and wider cars. The next major development was for F1 engines: turbochargers. These were first introduced by Renault, together with radial tyres, which Michelin developed. These two innovations alone allowed for faster cars, especially for over-taking purposes, aided by better gripping and longer-lasting tyres. Even today, the choice of tyre is a make or break decision for the driver - the wrong tyre can easily cost a race. Turbo charged engines however, had their perils. Following many fatal crashes, including that of Canadian driver Giles Villeneuve, in 1982, the FIA banned the use of turbo engines because they were too difficult to control.

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw great innovations in computer-aided devices. Lotus first introduced the computer-controlled active suspension in 1987, which was followed by many other innovations, such as semi-automatic gearboxes, anti-lock brakes, launch control and traction control - power steering was banned in 2002 and launch control was banned in 2004 by FIA, saying that it detracted from the driver's skill. Now technology was advancing so fast and so greatly that they were questioning the driver's ability.

Safety has always been an issue in motor racing and this was no different in Formula One. F1 hit the headlines every time a driver was killed, which happened all too frequently in the 1960s. Standards for safety had not been instituted and changes gradually followed at tracks and on cars, as horrific and fatal crashes illustrated safety lapses.

The F1 oversight body, FIA, began introducing safety regulations in the late 1960s, starting with rules on rollbars, dual braking systems, seatbelts, fire protection, protective clothing, helmets and safe fuel tanks. This soon advanced to safety inspections at racing circuits and the introduction of flag signaling codes. FIA continued to address race safety, implementing organized race marshalling, mandatory five-second cockpit evacuation by drivers and fire-resistant clothing. F1 had a fatality free record for 12 years, until the horrific weekend in 1994, when both Roland Ratzenburger and legendary driver Ayrton Senna died in one race weekend at Imola. Since then, the focus of teams and FIA over the last two decades has been the quest for safety, balancing it with the quest for speed. F1 cars nowadays are faster than ever, as well as safer. However, in a sport where speed is of the essence, it is always going to be difficult to balance safety with speed.