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The start of the Formula 1 era
The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) introduced Formula 1 as an official race category in 1946. What set this new category apart was that the cars had room for only one driver and, partly for this reason, a whole new category had to be defined. The sport was initially named Formula A, but the A was quickly superseded by One.

This change became official in 1950 when the very first Formula One World Championship was held. At the time, Formula 1 was little more than a set of rules, primarily based on engine capacity. The championship was run over six European races plus one race in Indianapolis. The inaugural race of the very first Formula 1 season was won by Nino Farina in his legendary Alfetta 158s.

Safety a high priority
For a long time the emphasis was on the development of the cars; only later did the focus shift to safety issues. Formula 1 finally learned its lesson when it hit rock bottom in 1994: in the first weekend of May, Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna both lost their lives at the Imola circuit. Both drivers spun off the track at almost exactly the same spot. The Formula 1 world turned upside-down. Karl Wendlinger’s crash at Monaco only a week later, which left him in a coma, served to deepen the crisis. These darkest days in the history of the sport served to open the eyes of the FIA. From then on, safety was given the highest priority.

World’s most expensive sport
In the sixty years since its inauguration, Formula 1 has evolved to become one of the most expensive sports in the world. F1 ‘Supremo’ Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of Formula One Management, was there at the birth of this bizarre development. Arranging matters so that he was in charge of television rights, it was he who made the decision that 47% of the profits from TV revenues should go to the teams, 30% to the FIA  and roughly a quarter to his own company FOPA –  and a tidy sum for the business it turned out to be. The glamour of Formula 1 with its sexy cars has some 55 million fans glued to the tube every year. Consider the mind-boggling sums involved in sponsorship deals and the insanity is complete.

Insanity or not, Formula 1 is popular. The shriek of tyres on warm asphalt makes many a young man’s heart beat faster. Nobody really knows the secret behind the success of Formula 1, but maybe it has something to do with the dream of flooring that pedal yourself and reaching speeds of 360 kmh, or perhaps it’s the thought of being acclaimed by a bevy of pit lane babes? Whatever the secret is, Formula 1 is business – our business.