Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Formula 1

Episode Date: August 14, 2022

As soon as automobiles were created, people began racing them.  As with many sports, early were often unorganized and disjointed. After world war II, however, an effort was made to provide an organized championship series for the world’s best drivers.  Over the last 70 years, it has grown into the world’s foremost racing circuit and become a business worth billions of dollars.  Learn more about Formula 1 and how it became such big business on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Subscribe to the podcast!  https://link.chtbl.com/EverythingEverywhere?sid=ShowNotes -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Darcy Adams Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Thor Thomsen   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Search Past Episodes at fathom.fm Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EverythingEverywhere Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ Everything Everywhere is an Airwave Media podcast." or "Everything Everywhere is part of the Airwave Media podcast network Please contact [e-mail] to advertise on Everything Everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As soon as automobiles were created, people began racing them. As with many sports, early efforts were often unorganized and disjointed. After World War II, however, an effort was made to provide an organized championship series for the world's best drivers. Over the last seven years, this series has grown into the world's foremost racing circuit and has become a business worth billions of dollars. Learn more about Formula One and how it became such big business on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. The origin of Formula One, aka F1, dates back to the earliest days of Autortar. racing. While every country with cars had people who started racing them, this story starts with auto racing in France. In the early 20th century, a type of auto racing known as Grand Prix

racing developed. Some of the earliest races were sponsored by car manufacturers as a form of marketing for their vehicles. Grand Prix is just the French word for grand prize, and the term is now used generically for many different types of car races. The first races were literal road races where cars and drivers would race from one town to another. These races were more about endurance than they were about speed. In 1904, the International Association of Recognized Automobile Clubs, or AICR, as the acronym is in French, was formed. At this point, car ownership was still pretty rare, and many car owners were in clubs. The AACR, in addition to serving motorists, also created an organization for the new automotive racing scene. In 1922, the AIACR created the Commission for

International Sports, or CIS, again in French, which organized. races and set rules for Grand Prix racing. In 1925, they created the World Manufacturers' Championship, which, as the name would imply, was for manufacturers and not drivers. For the first three seasons, there were four Grand Prix's in the competition, the Indianapolis 500, the French Grand Prix, the Belgian Grand Prix, and the Italian Grand Prix. This competition only lasted for three years before most of the races pulled out, and it was gone completely by 1930. They also had a bizarre scoring system where you got more points for placing lower and the winner had the fewest points. This was eventually replaced with the European Championship, which was conducted in the 1930s

up until the outbreak of World War II. For obvious reasons, auto racing was put on hold during the war. But after the war, there was a desire to bring back Grand Prix racing. However, given the state of Grand Prix racing before the war, the desire was also there to reform it and make it better. And it really needed to be made better. First, the first, the state of Grand Prix racing before the war, the desire was also there to reforming. The desire was also there to reforming. And it was also there. First, the AICR reformed itself and changed its name to the FIA, or the International Automobile Federation. In 1947, for professional racing, they developed a series of rules for different levels of racing, which they called formulas. A formula, in this context, is referring to the set of rules that the races are conducted under and the specifications that the cars had to meet. When it was first established, the top level was known as both Formula A and Formula One, and sometimes with the one.

written as a Roman number. Likewise, the second division was known as Formula B or Formula 2, and in 1950 a Formula 3 was also created. All of the formulas involved open-wheel single-seat race cars, and that is still the case today. Generally speaking, any open-wheeled single-seat race car is known as a Formula car, even if it isn't technically under any of the formula rules. For example, the IndyCar series in the United States isn't party to any of the formula levels, but they're generally classified as formula cars. Initially, in the first few years, there were separate national circuits in each country

which adopted the Formula One Rules. The very first race run under Formula One Rules was the 1946 Turin Grand Prix, which was actually run before the rules became official in 1947. However, the FIA announced that in 1950, they would link together many of the National Grand Prix races to create a world championship. The inaugural 1950 season consisted of seven races in seven countries,

the British Grand Prix, the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500, the Swiss Grand Prix, the Belgian Grand Prix, the French Grand Prix, and the Italian Grand Prix. The season was dominated by the Italian automaker Alpha Romero, who won every race, save for the Indianapolis 500. The winning driver was the Italian Giuseppe Farina, and in a close second was his teammate, Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio. The 50s were dominated by Italian manufacturers, with Elfer Romero, Maserati, and Ferrari winning the manufacturer championship the first nine years.

By far, the most accomplished driver was Fongio, who won five titles and was runner-up twice. After 1960, the Indianapolis 500 was dropped from the Formula One calendar. It was originally included as far back as 1925 because it was the premier American motorsports race. However, during the first decade of Formula One, it always stood out as an outlier. Indianapolis was on an oval track, whereas all the other races were on road courses. The rules for cars were also a little bit different than standard Formula One rules. There was eventually a return to Formula One to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but it wasn't the Indianapolis 500. During this time, there were also Formula One races that were held that were not part of the championship series.

This ended in 1983 for budget reasons, as rising costs made it too expensive for teams to race if it wasn't for the championship. The Italian manufacturer domination of Formula One ended in 1958. After that, there began an extended period of dominance of British manufacturers, a host of British auto companies won championships for the next 40 years. These four decades were dominated by the likes of Cooper, British Motor Racing, Brabham, Lotus, McLaren, Williams, Terrell, and Benetton, with only an occasional Ferrari interspersed among the British. Commonwealth drivers won every title from 1958 to 1969. including the great such as Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill.

The big change in cars in this period was a change in the location of the engine, from the front to behind the driver, but in front of the rear axle. The Cooper team did this in 1958, won the championship, and pretty soon every team had rear-mounted engines. In the 1970s, the manufacturers were still British, but the drivers became significantly more international. Great drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi from Brazil, Nicky Lauda of Austria, Alain Proste, France,

and Ayrton Senna of Brazil, all won multiple driver championships during this period. The 70s also saw Formula One turned into big business. Bernie Ecclestone was appointed as the chief executive of Formula One, and he changed the management of the sport which dramatically increased revenues, primarily by selling the television rights, and he remained the chief executive until 2017 when he retired at the age of 87. The British manufacturing dominance of F1 ended in 2000. Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes, and Reddard.

Bowl have all dominated the sport over the last two decades. This period has also seen some of the greatest drivers in the sports history, including the German driver Michael Schumer, German Sebastian Vettel, and the British driver Louis Hamilton. And Hamilton has won more races, more championships, more podium finishes, and more pole positions than any other driver in the 70-year history of Formula One. Ultimately, Formula One, like all motorsports, is a technology-driven competition. Much of the history of Formula One can be viewed through the lens of technical improvements. In theory, the reason why auto manufacturers even participate in Formula One is because the innovations they develop will trickle down to consumer automobiles. There have been several major technical innovations which have

resulted in major changes to Formula One. The first big innovation I previously mentioned was moving the engine behind the driver. This has never really caught on in commercial automobiles except in very high-end sports cars. The next big innovation was by Lotus in 1962, the monocococ chassis design. Instead of an internal metallic frame, the body panels effectually bear the stresses of the car, similar to how an airplane is designed. This dramatically reduced the weight of the cars, and this eventually moved to carbon fiber chassis for even greater weight reduction. Another innovation, which was eventually banned because it was so powerful, were ground-effect cars. From 1978 to 1982, it was legal to use ground effect cars. The ground effect is when a low

pressure region is created under the body of the car, which applies a downward force on the car allowing it to go faster. It makes the car kind of like an inverted airplane wing. It was banned in 1983, but it was actually brought back for 2022. There have been many rule changes over the years, like banning ground effect cars, which have been designed to slow cars down because they were simply getting too fast. At one point, Formula One cars had 10 and 12 cylinder engines, but today they're all limited to 1.6-Liter V6 engines. The current smaller engines can actually be turbocharged, which too was actually banned for years and only brought back recently when the engine size was reduced. I could literally spend hours talking about all the technical changes in innovations in Formula

1 over the years, and quite frankly, there are numerous small changes which occur every year. This is why the most successful teams really are a combination of the driver, the crew, and the manufacturer. It isn't at all uncommon for multiple cars from the same team to all be at or near the top together, because they're using the same technology. Likewise, when there's a major change in the technical rules, it's also common for a new manufacturer to find themselves on the top the next season. Formula One, like all motorsports, is a dangerous activity. In the 72 years since the first Formula One season, there have been four,

42 Formula One-related deaths of drivers, the most famous of which was Ayrton Sienna, three-time world champion, who died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. One question which often comes up is, which is faster or better, Formula One, IndyCar or NASCAR. And the truth is, it's kind of a silly question. Each series has rules regarding what sort of car an engine is allowed,

so the cars are restricted to those rules. NASCAR vehicles are heavier and don't have open wheels, for example. Indy cars do not allow for as many changes to cars throughout a season, whereas F1 allows for more changes. Formula 1 is pretty much all street races or road courses. NASCAR is mostly oval tracks, but there are also a few road courses, and a street race is actually planned for 2020. IndyCar is a mix of road courses and ovals. Racing on an oval track means setting up a car totally different than you would for a road course. F1 races have more braking and acceleration than track racing does, but F1 races have more braking and acceleration than track racing does,

but F1 cars almost never have to operate on steeply bank curve like NASCAR do. They're just different things. F1 and Indy cars are closest together, but there are still major differences between them. One of the most interesting areas right now is the newly formed Formula E. This is racing for formula-style electric cars. It's interesting just because this is probably the one area of automotive technology which is evolving the fastest. It is the only single-seat open-wheeled racing to have a world-champing. championship right now, outside of Formula One. I actually got to attend a Formula E race once in Saudi Arabia, and it was a really different experience. For starters, you don't need ear protection, as the cars

hardly make any noise. Also, there are a whole host of rules that you'll never see in internal combustion engine cars, like the ability for fans to vote and provide power boosts. Many manufacturers are showing greater interest in Formula E now, just because that's where they see the automotive of market going. I had the pleasure of getting VIP access to the Grand Prix of Europe in Valencia, Spain several years ago. I had access to the paddock area and was able to talk to the cruise and see the cars up close. The amazing thing about seeing how a Formula One team works up close wasn't the cars or the technology. It was the logistics. Formula One is now truly a global competition with races having taken place on six continents. In 2022 example, there were four consecutive races

which took place on different continents. The Monaco Grand Prix was followed by the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which was followed by the Canadian Grand Prix, which was followed by the British Grand Prix. Hundreds of people, from the driver to mechanics to publicists to cooks, have to travel with trailers full of gear in temporary offices. Within hours of the conclusion of a race, everything has to be packed up and shipped to the next destination in time to start time trials.

That is just one of the reasons why having a Formula One team is so experienced. expensive. Red Bull posted their Formula One financials for 2018, and the numbers were staggering. Their total costs were $181.1 million, with revenues of $183.6 million. That left them with a net profit after taxes of only $1.8 million. They would have literally made a better return on their investment if they'd just park the money in a checking account. And that's from one of the better F-1 teams that actually earned significant prize money. Some teams, will barely break even or even lose money. And just as a humble brag, I actually got to ride in a real Formula One car when I attended

the European Grand Prix. They had an actual race-used Formula One car outfitted with a special chassis that had a passenger seats between each set of wheels. I had to wear the full fire suit and helmet, just like a race car driver, and they're actually images of me wearing this online. We hit a top speed of 180 miles per hour on the straightaway, but these cars really aren't about top speeds, you can achieve those same speeds in street legal cars like a high-end BMW or Mercedes. What makes Formula One cars unique are their ability to accelerate. It was almost like getting launched from a cannon. The future of Formula One is anyone's guess. Many high-ranking racing personalities predict that Formula One may just have to merge with Formula E at some point in the future.

The FIA signed a 25-year license with Formula E that expires in 2039. As the performance of Formula E cars gets better and better, and manufacturer interest shifts more to electric vehicles, despite the protests of diehard F1 fans, it's something that could happen within the next 20 years. A big step before that may be running Formula One and Formula E events on the same weekend on the same track. Regardless of what the future of Formula One looks like,

its 72-year history, and the races it holds around the globe have made it the most popular and profitable motorsports series in the world today. Everything Everywhere Daily is an Airwave Media podcast. The executive producer is Darcy Adams. The associate producers are Thor Thompson and Peter Bennett. Today's review comes from listener, Oh No Thank You, over at Apple Podcasts in the United States. They write, Addicting.

Love the show, Gary. I listen to it every day in Arkansas. Impossible to pick a favorite. The one that comes to mind is the history of coal. Wish you continued success. Well, thank you. Oh, no, thank you. Nice to see some Razorbacks in the audience.

If you enjoyed the Cole episode, you might like. like some of the other episodes I did on energy, and I still have several more energy-themed episodes that are on the way. Remember, if you leave a review or send me a boostogram, you two can have it read on the show.