What is Formula 1?
Sports, Tourism, and Recreation
Spring 2010
The Definition:
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1, and
officially referred to as the FIA Formula One World
Championship is the highest class of auto racing
sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de
l'Automobile (FIA). The "formula” in the name
refers to a set of rules to which all participants and
cars must comply.
How did F1 Begin?
• Car racing began by using public roads from town to town. Races
were very long compared to modern standards. Regarded as the first
motor race, the 1,200 km road race from Paris to Bordeaux and back
in 1895 took 48 hours. The winner of the Paris-Bordeaux race in
1899 set a blazing average speed 29.9 mph.
• Due to World War I, World War II, and the Great Depression
organized motorsports in Europe never really took hold
• The first modern F1 race took place at Silverstone, United Kingdom
in 1950. Silverstone was a World War II airfield converted into a race
track, which used the long runways as part of the track
• Italian Giuseppe Farina in a Alfa Romeo won the first world
championship in 1950
• Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio dominated the 1950’s winning 5 world
championship in a Alfa Romeo
• German driver Michael Schumacher won his 6th title in 2003 and will
come out of retirement in 2010 to race again
Silverstone, United Kingdom
Juan M. Fangio-1950’s
2010-Mercedes F1
The Return of
Michael Schumacher
F1
IRL
NASCAR
Engine
V-8
V-8
V-8
hp
700+
650
850
rpm
18,000+
10,300
9,000
liters
2.4
3.5
5.8
Weight
1,334
1,565
3,450
Engine
Ferrari, Mercedes,
Cosworth, Renault
Honda
Ford, Chevy, Dodge,
Toyota
Annual
Cost
$300-700m
For 2 cars
$3-8m per car
$10-20m per car
The F1 Race Car
•
•
•
•
•
•
Single seat
Open cockpit
Open wheel
Rear engine
Cutting Edge Technology
0 to 100 mph and back to 0 in less than 5
seconds
• 4-5g when braking or cornering
• Limited top speed of 200 mph to balance
needs of a race
$30,000 Steering Wheel can fine tune the race car during the race
The Race Weekend
• Friday- 2 separate practices
• Saturday- Practice and Knock-Out Qualifying
• Sunday- Race Day
– Standing Start
– Race Distance, less than 200 miles or 2hr limit
– 2010, no refueling of car during the race
– The top 3 finishers celebrate
– Only the top 10 finishers earn points
Connections to Indiana/USA
• Six venues in the USA have hosted F1
races-Watkins Glen, Detroit, Long Beach
CA, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Indianapolis
• The 2007 USGP brought in an estimated
$150m into the Indiana economy
• F1 Brakes are carbon not steel like your
family car. Hitco Carbon Composites of
Calf. is just 1 of 3 F1 brake suppliers
2009 F1 World Champion
Jenson Button
Great Britain
For 2010:
-12 Teams
-4 Different Engines
-24 Drivers
-12 Nationalities
-19 Races
-New Race in S.Korea
Sources
http://www.f1-grandprix.com/history1.html
http://www.fastmachines.com/f1/the-price-of
formula-1/
http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/
http://indymotorspeedway.com/v1/98vsseri.
tm