GRAND PRIX'S HISTORY

FERRARI 

Every one knows about the grand prix and the formula one grand prix but not many know the history. How the formula one racing and their first formula one driver all started?

Motor cars are either to be used to get from A to B or to race round a circuit in the highest speed possible. It can range from co-cart to seven tonne truck. Motor sports were every heart starts beating faster.

These motor competitions are controlled by the International Federation of the Automobile (FIA). They can be held on public roads, roads on private land, rough ground or even up hills. The once held on closed tracks or called circuits are the most known and glamorous ones

RACING CARS

The formula's circuit racing classes are grouped according to their engine capacity. Formula One are single seaters with a maximum capacity of 3500cc (3.5 litres) and up to 12 cylinders. The engines have a build-in computerised management system to co-ordinate all their different functions.

The car is built for the best possible aero dynamic with a low and smooth body to get the lowest air resistance. The rear wings and front spoiler are made to achieve the highest down-force possible to hold the car on the track.

LE MANS  1977

When the weather is dry and the circuit, smooth tyres are used and they are called slicks. A specially designed rubber grips the track when warm. In wet weather the tyres have tread to grip the surface more. On the solid alloy wheels are disc brakes.

Through a computer controlled active suspension system the car is kept on a level plane. The top contractors like Maclaren, Williams and Ferrari spent millions in research to make sure they are the top winners.

Vital time is won or lost at the Pit Stop. It can be the difference of winning or loosing. The moment the driver comes into the pit stop the mechanics get into action. The quicker they refuel the car or change the tyres or make a minor repair the better it is. A 10th or 100th of a second can make all the difference between winning and loosing. It may look chaotic but everybody is an expert and their work as a team is perfect. The pit stops are placed along the straight of the circuit and are all on the inside.

When a driver crashes, one of the main concerns is fire. The cars hold over 200 litre fuel. The fire Marshall is racing to the scene to cool the engine down. Ever since the Austrian driver Nicki Lauder was badly burned; driver wear fireproof suits with a hood over their heads, the eyes cut out. Looking like an Egyptian mummy.

The Formula One drivers compete in about 16 Grand Prix each year. The position on the grid, meaning starting point, is determined by the lap time in the drivers practice session. This is a very important point because the further the driver is in the front the better it is. If the driver crashed in the previous Grand Prix and it was his fault there could be a penalty and he is placed further back on the grid. Drivers can still fight their way up to the front but a bad start is not exactly helpful. Not only is he further back but also surrounded by a lot of cars which can prevent him from moving further up front.

The British Grand Prix circuit Silverstone in Northamptshire, England is practically the birthplace for the World Championship. The track or circuit is 5.2km long and has 59 rounds which are called laps.

Formula One drivers start their career as youngsters learning their motor racing skills in competing in go-kart races. Cadet karting is for 8-12 year olds and junior karting is for 12-16 year old. Formula E Superkarts can reach speeds up to 240km/h.

MARCEL RENAULT
DURING THE
PARIS - MADRID TRIAL

HISTORY OF THE GRAND PRIX

Motor racing started in France. It was first used as an advert for their cars. The first race was on 22 July 1894 and was organised by the 'Le Petit Journal, a Paris newspaper. It was held on an 80 miles stretch between Paris and Rouen. The winner was Albert de Dion but did not receive the price because the car needed a stoker and the judges did not accept this.

WINNER GEORGE BOILLETT 1912,
DIEPPE, FRANCE

In 1900 James Gordon Bennett, Jr, owner of the newspaper 'New York Herald' established a Gordon Bennett Cup hoping to drive the  improvement of cars forward. Each country entered up to three cars. They had to be built fully in their country and entered by the automobile governing body. International racing colours were worn for the first time. William Kissam Vanderbilt II launched a Vanderbilt Cup at Long Island, NY, in 1904.

KARL BENZ WITH TEARDROP. 1923

In 1901 was the first time the title PAU GRAND PRIX was used. In 1906 a circuit was used in Le Mans and it was the first time the Automobile Club de France organized a Grand Prix. It was a triangular circuit of 105km and six laps was raced every day. Each lap took about an hour. The idea of a racing circuit came from the fact that 1903 in race from Paris to Madrid, drivers and pedestrians were killed and the French Authority stopped it.

In the 1906 race with 32 entries and the Hungarian driver Ferenc Szisz(1873-1944) won it with a Renault car.

After that many races were held but all national. The rules differed from country to country. The cars were 10-15l engines and no more than four cylinders up to 50hp. All the cars had mechanics on boards besides the drivers and only the two were allowed to work on the cars.

Renault was the first Grand Prix to use the new Michelin development of a new wheel with detachable tyres. Most of the following races were on closed off public roads. This was also the case in Le Mans in 1906, also the Targa Flono a run of 93 miles in Sicily, the German Kaiserpreis in the Taunus mountains and the French circuit at Dieppe of only 48 miles in 1907.

There was an exception of the steeply banked oval circuit of Brooklands in England built in 1907. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909 and Indianapolis 500 Miles Race in 1911. The Autodromo Nazionale in Italy in 1922.

In 1908 the USA ran an automobile race and used the first time the title Grand Prix in Savannah. From there it spread quickly to Belgium, Spain and Britain. However, was still only loosely connected. They were still ran to various rules. In 1924 most of the club came together and formed the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR0 and they regulated the Grand Prix as well as other races.

At first they held five events, then nine in 1929 and 18 events in 1934.

In 1933 in the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time the grid, due to qualifying, was used. All the cars were painted in international auto racing colours.

The French cars were domineering with Bugati, Delage and Delahayetill1920. The Italians with Alfa Romeo and Maserati kept winning. At the same time the Germany manufactured a unique racing car with Benz aerodynamic 'teardrop' and won the Monza in 1923. Between 1935-1939 the Germans won all but three official Championship Grand Prix. By the early 1920 they done away with the mechanic and the cars became single seaters. An 8 to 16 cylinder supercharged engine had up to 600 hp on alcohol fuel.

After the WWII in 1946 were only three races of the Grand Prix held. The old AIACR was reorganized and emerged as Federation Internationale de l'Automobile or FIA for short. In 1950 they linked several Grand Prix and created the Formula One and a World Championship for drivers. The first World Championship race was held on 13 May at Silverstone in the UK.

The Italian was leading with Alfa Romeo and their first World Champion was Guiseppe Frina. Ferrari entered in the second World Championship race in Monaco and from there they competed throughout the whole World Champion till nowadays.

MCCLAREN 1991
  SENNA WON  HIS THIRD
  FINAL  WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

OTHER CIRCUIT RACERS

The most famous circuit in the USA is in Indianapolis. There are fewer restrictions and it is even allowed turbocharged for extra power. The Indianapolis 500 is a 500 km race on a short circuit and corners banked. It is every year the worlds biggest sport event with 300,000 visitors.

For sports car there are several circuit racing such as low, aerodynamic cars for high speeds. Production sedan cars in standard, enclosed saloon cars. Modified production cars race in stock cars and sedans in less then perfect condition battle to be a winner in banger races. American stock cars racing are different from the European. The cars at the Daytons 500 are standard production models containing a high speed engine.

RALLYING

There is another type of racing which are the rallies. This is driven with rally vehicles which are modified saloon car. The course is divided into section and every section or stage is timed. At the end of the rally the timing is added up and the lowest time is the winner. The route is over rough terrain and surface. The cars, usual four-wheel drive, turbocharged engines and improved brakes. A two-men team in the car, one is the navigator who directs the driver round the course. They communicate with each other through an intercom system.

A famous rally is the Paris-Dakar. It takes the rally drivers through rough terrain such as the Sahara desert which is between the two capitals of France and Senegal, West Africa. 

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