A history of the F1 Teams - Part 2

Many F1 teams have come and gone, some old some new, but always adding new allure to the sport. Historically, it was the Italians who dominated the F1 Championships, particularly in the early years. This includes of course the Ferrari team, which is still a mainstay in F1 today, but also teams like Alfa Romeo which was once a leader but is now no longer involved in F1 racing. Other big name teams that were once leaders in F1 and are no longer racing include Maserati, Lancia, Brabham, Bugatti and Tyrell, just to mention a few. Then there are teams like Mercedes, which back in the 1950s and 1960s was a leader in motor racing only to pull out and re-emerge for a second run in co-operation with McLaren. This is also true of Lotus racing, which was a Constructors’ Championship title winner in the 1960s and 1970s until dropping out and returning to F1 racing in 2010.

Although there are many reasons for a team to pull out of F1 racing, in many cases it is simply a matter of cost. F1 racing is an immensely expensive undertaking, not only from the technical and mechanical point of view, but also in terms of logistics since today’s races are held all over the world and drivers who command star salaries. In the heyday of F1 racing it was the tobacco company sponsorships that kept many F1 teams afloat. But the ban on tobacco sponsorship in sporting events (such as Marlboro exiting F1 racing, which had been a long-time sponsor of the Ferrari team), has forced many teams to look for other elusive sources of funding. However, as old sponsors pull out new sponsors enter the sport such as Intel (computer chips), PDVSA (oil company) and Acer (computers).

It is never a light-hearted decision for car makers or other sponsors to enter the F1 racing world. Honda, which had no car racing experience (but had ample motorcycle racing experience), took many years to decide whether to enter the F1 racing world before it finally did in 1983. Since then, many car companies have joined the F1 team line-up such as BMW, Ford and Toyota. One of their aims is to use their involvement in F1 racing to develop new technologies, know-how and experience that can then be translated into their commercial vehicles. The other aim of course, is pure marketing appeal. Over the years, there have been non-car affiliated teams, such as the clothing company Bennetton or major team sponsorships like Credit Suisse, the Swiss investment bank, sponsoring the Petronas team.

Historically and currently, the most legendary and successful F1 team is the red Ferrari team with their prancing horse emblem. They can count many legendary Grand Prix winning drivers to their team such as Alberto Ascari, Juan-Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorne, Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher. Enzo Ferrari created the Ferrari racing car in the late 1940s and won its first Grand Prix race in 1951 in Britain. Since 1950, Ferrari has won a staggering 15 Drivers’ World Championships and 16 Constructors’ Championship titles.