Origins – The First world championship was in 1950 and the decade saw domination of Alfa Romeo and Juan Manuel Fangio who won the world championship 5 times and with five different manufactures ( Maserati Ferrari Mercedes Alfa Romeo and a joint Mercedes Maserati effort)
Retro Mclaren Racer -Image: Brendon Galio
Mike Hawthorn was the first Brit to win the title, driving his Maserati to victory in an 11 race championship.
The 1960’s saw Graham Hill Jack Brabham and Sir Jackie Stewart become world champions as well as the supremely talented Jim Clarks 2 world titles and untimely death.
1970’s– Emmerson Fittipaldi and Niki Lauda dominate the 1970’s winning 2 titles each, the decade also saw James Hunt win his only World Championship. Lotus Tyrell and Ferrari and Mclaren shared the constructors title between them. In 1970 German Jochen Rindt became the first man ever to be awarded the World Championship posthumously, after crashing fatally in the practice session of the 1970 Italian Grand Prix.
Death was still a common occurrence in F1, with 10 drivers losing their lives in the 1970’s as well as four spectators who passed away after a car ploughed into the crowd in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix
1980’s–Arguably the era that had the greatest number of skilled drivers, with Nelson Piquet claiming all of his 3 world tiles and Prost and Senna winning two titles a piece. Their team Mclaren won six out of ten titles in the 80’s . Turbos which came in 1970, came into their own in the 1980’s powering Nelson Piquet to his first title in 1981.
The 1990’s was when I began to watch F1,it was characterised by the emergence of Michael Schumacher, taking his first 2 titles in 1994 and 1995 with Benetton. His Battles with Mika Hakkinen were legendary and he earned his place in many racing fans hearts with his daring driving.
1996 saw Damon Hill win his first and only drivers title just 28 years after his father did the same thing , making them the only father and son to do so. Prost, Mansell and Senna also won titles in the early 1990’s . Tragedy also occurred at Imola in 1994, Ayrton Senna passing away after crashing his Williams, he remains the last driver to be killed in Formula 1 and long may that continue.
The best moments of 2012
The last decade has seen the dominance of Michael Schumacher who won 5 consecutive World Titles from 2000 to 2004 and lately Red Bull. With Sebastian Vettel becoming the youngest ever triple World Champion. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton spearheaded a mini revival for British moter racing, scoring back to back titles in 2008 and 2009. Fernando Alonso also became world champion in 2005 and 2006. The number of races per season increased from 16 to 20 resulting in the longest campaign on record.
There you have it, a potted history of the sport in under 500 words !!
Front of the Grid was created by Freelance Journalist Chris Allen. it aims to provide cutting edge news and opinion on the latest and greats issues in Formula 1 