The Cars
The cars featured in Formula One racing have
taken many different forms since the sports inception, but
have always been designed as open wheeled, single seat race
cars.
One of the first variants of a Formula One race car is shown in the photo above. The car shown is an Alpha Romeo 159 which won the world championship in 1951.
The basic design of the early race cars remained the same until 1958 when the engines in the cars were moved to the rear of the vehicle, behind the driver. This layout is known as mid-engine. The new mid-engine layout proved to be formidable as traction, acceleration and turning capabilities improved due to the better weight distribution.
Shown above is a Cooper T51 which was one of the first mid-engine Formula One cars.
It wasn't until the late 1960's that the next biggest change came to the sport. Aerodynamics began playing a larger role in the design of the race cars. Front and rear wings were added to the cars to increase down force and reduce drag. In the late 1970's a British car manufacturer known as Lotus introduced an experimental car design featuring the use of "ground-effects" which further increased down force and reduced drag. The new innovations meant higher achievable speeds, which eventually led to more changes to the "formula" to increase the safety and fairness of the sport.
A 1976 Ferrari Formula One car is show with front and rear wings, as well as ground effect aerodynamics.
Modern day cars feature highly advanced designs to maximize the aerodynamics and performance of the cars. The following photo shows a 2014 Ferrari Formula One car.
To see a photo of all Formula One cars from 1950 to 2013, click here.
One of the first variants of a Formula One race car is shown in the photo above. The car shown is an Alpha Romeo 159 which won the world championship in 1951.
The basic design of the early race cars remained the same until 1958 when the engines in the cars were moved to the rear of the vehicle, behind the driver. This layout is known as mid-engine. The new mid-engine layout proved to be formidable as traction, acceleration and turning capabilities improved due to the better weight distribution.
Shown above is a Cooper T51 which was one of the first mid-engine Formula One cars.
It wasn't until the late 1960's that the next biggest change came to the sport. Aerodynamics began playing a larger role in the design of the race cars. Front and rear wings were added to the cars to increase down force and reduce drag. In the late 1970's a British car manufacturer known as Lotus introduced an experimental car design featuring the use of "ground-effects" which further increased down force and reduced drag. The new innovations meant higher achievable speeds, which eventually led to more changes to the "formula" to increase the safety and fairness of the sport.
A 1976 Ferrari Formula One car is show with front and rear wings, as well as ground effect aerodynamics.
Modern day cars feature highly advanced designs to maximize the aerodynamics and performance of the cars. The following photo shows a 2014 Ferrari Formula One car.
To see a photo of all Formula One cars from 1950 to 2013, click here.
