Tuesday 31 January 2012

Formula 1: A Look Back Through The Premier Class Of Racing

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The popularity of Formula One racing has grown to a point where it's now attracting a global television audience in excess of 520 million. The race meetings are attended by thousands of people who are all keen and willing to show their support for their favorite driver or team and pay a great deal of money for the privilege.

The amazing cars that you see today can reach flat out speeds of close to 220 mph (360kmh). Running a team for a year, taking in all of the races on all of the continents visited, can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It hasn't always been this way, however, as in the early years of the 20th century when this type of racing began, there were no set classes and not a massive amount of in-depth rules. A look back through the premier class of racing.

(via Dark Roasted Blend)

2 comment(s):

Anonymous said...

"premier class of racing" It's not the words "premier class" I have issue with it's the word "racing".

Gareth said...

@Anonymous F1 used to be the most exciting form of racing. Unfortunately the rule makers turned it into a procession. It has improved recently, but it could be so much better if they stopped fiddling with little rules and sorted the big ones. And then kept it that way.

One of the biggest things they need to do is restrict aerodynamic downforce and reduce the effectiveness of the brakes. The massive aerodynamic downforce is bad for racing because it prevents close slipstreaming. The effectiveness of the current brakes mean there is little leeway for outbraking maneuvres.

And as has been proved many times excessive downforce is bad for safety. With massive downforce there is virtually no control for the driver should that downforce be lost.