Motor Sport

On this page, everything as far as the Non–Formula 1 heading refers to Formula 1.

For details of the world land and water speed records, see Cars and Driving in Travel.

General

Black flag means		Return to pits (disqualification or penalty)
Red flag means		Race abandoned or delayed
Yellow flag (warning only) means		Slow down and be prepared to stop (hazard)
Blue flag means		Faster car behind – give way

Formula 1 Grand Prix Championship: points for a win (prior to 2010)		10
From 2006 to 2013, the maximum engine capacity for Formula One cars (previously 3 litres) was		2.4 litres
The maximum F1 engine capacity was reduced again in 2014, to		1.6 litres
F1 Grands Prix: race distance (in kilometres)		305 km
F1 Grands Prix: maximum time allowed		2 hours
Senior official at a motor racing meeting (as in horse racing)		Clerk of the Course
The safety car for F1 has been provided since 1996 by (manufacturer)		Mercedes Benz

The three races that make up motor racing's (unofficial) 'Triple Crown' are:

Indianapolis 500

Le Mans 24 Hours

Monaco Grand Prix

Grands Prix

The first Grand Prix (Le Mans)		1906
The first British Grand Prix		1926

British Grands Prix were held at Brooklands in 1926 and 1927. The next was at Silverstone in 1948.

The first Grand Prix championship			1950
The first race in the first Grand Prix championship season	Country		Great Britain
	Circuit		Silverstone
Number of races in the 1950 season			7

The seven races in the 1950 season were the Grands Prix of (in chronological order) Britain, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy, and the Indianapolis 500, which was the third race of the season (after Monaco and before Switzerland).

Number of races (2012 season – previous maximum was 19)		20
The first race of the season, every year since 1996, except 2006 and 2010 (previously, from 1985 to 1995, the last of the season)		Australian
First race of the season in 2006 and 2010		Bahrain
Held every year since 1950		British
		Italian
The oldest Grand Prix: first held in 1906, and held every year from 1950 to 2008, except 1955; revived in 2018		French
Hosted three Grands Prix, 2011–13 – Sebastian Vettel won all three		India
Returned to the tour in 2015 after a gap of 23 years (first held in 1962, and as a championship event from 1963–70 and 1986–92)		Mexico
Held in 1950, and every year since 1955; the shortest race on the circuit (260.52 km) and the only one that's less than the stipulated 305 km		Monaco
The only African country, apart from South Africa, to host a Grand Prix (1958)		Morocco
Hosted its first Grand Prix for exactly 100 years, in 2014 (the only previous ones were in 1913 and 1914)		Russia

Points, since 2010

1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Latest additions to the circuit

First held in 1999		Malaysia
First held in 2004		Bahrain
		China
First held in 2005		Turkey
First held in 2008; the first to be held at night (starts 20:00 local time, 12:00 GMT)		Singapore
First held in 2009		Abu Dhabi
First held in 2010		(South) Korea
First held in 2011; cancelled after three years because of a tax dispute		Indian
Announced in November 2018, to be held for the first time in 2020		Vietnam
Returned to the circuit for the 2020 season, to be held for the first time since 1985		Netherlands

The Bahrain Grand Prix of 2011 was cancelled due to political unrest.

British Grand Prix

The first and second British Grands Prix (1926 and 1927) were held at		Brooklands
1928–47		No race

Grands Prix were held at Donington Park in 1935, 1937 and 1938, but they were known as the Donington Grand Prix and not the British Grand Prix.

1948–54, even years until 1960, odd years 1963–87, every year since 1987		Silverstone
Odd years 1955–61, and 1962		Aintree
Even years 1964–86		Brands Hatch

Australian Grand Prix

Location of the first Australian Grands Prix (1928–35) – off Melbourne, and named after the founder of the city		Phillip Island
Melbourne park that has hosted the Australian Grand Prix since 1996; previously used in 1953 and 1956		Albert Park
From 1985–95, the Australian Grand Prix was held around the streets of		Adelaide

The Australian Grand Prix didn't count towards the F1 world championship until 1985.

Circuits

Venue for the British Grand Prix, in odd–numbered years from 1955 to 1961, and also in 1962		Aintree
Made its Grand Prix debut in 2016, hosting the European Grand Prix (in the capital city of Azerbaijan)		Baku City Circuit
Venue for the British Grand Prix, in even–numbered years 1964–86		Brands Hatch
Near Weybridge, Surrey: opened in 1907 as the world's first purpose–built motor racing circuit; also one of Britain's first airfields, becoming Britain's largest aircraft manufacturing centre by 1918; venue for the first two British Grands Prix (1926 and 1927); hosted its last race in 1939; now a museum		Brooklands
Portuguese Grand Prix, 1984–96 (also see below)		Estoril
Venue of the Japanese Grand Prix, 1966–77 (except 1970 and 1974 when it wasn't held), also 2007 and 2008		Fuji Speedway
Canadian Grand Prix, since 1978 (previously Circuit Ile Notre Dame – after the artificial island in Montreal on which it's situated); renamed in 1982 after ... )		Gilles Villeneuve
90 mph crash that ended Stirling Moss's career (1962)		Goodwood
Home of the German Grand Prix, 1970 and every year since 1977 (except 1985); Jim Clark died there in a Formula 2 race in 1967		Hockenheimring
Venue of the Italian Grand Prix 1980, and of every San Marino Grand Prix (1981–2006); Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenburger died there (in the race and in practice, respectively) in 1994		Imola
Track in Rio de Janeiro, home of the Brazilian Grand Prix since its inception in 1972, except in 1978 and 1981–9 – officially known since the 1970s as the Autodromo José Carlos Pace		Interlagos
City outside which the first–ever Grand Prix was held in 1906, on closed public roads; scene of the worst–ever motor racing accident (1955)		Le Mans
Venue for the French Grand Prix from 1991 to 2008 (after which it wasn't held for nine years – see Paul Ricard)		(Nevers) Magny–Cours
Venue of the Singapore Grand Prix, since 2008 when it became part of the Formula 1 World Championship – a.k.a. Singapore Street Circuit		Marina Bay Street Circuit
High–speed home of the Italian Grand Prix, since 1922 (with three exceptions). Ronnie Peterson suffered a fatal crash there in 1978, leading directly to the race being held at Imola in 1980 (and the San Marino GP in later years)		Monza
Home of the German Grand Prix, 1927–76 (with 2 exceptions) and 1985; scene of Niki Lauda's near–fatal crash, 1976		Nurburgring
Original name of Austria's Red Bull Ring (also formerly known as the A1–Ring)		Österreichring
Knickerbrook, Druids and Lodge corners		Oulton Park
Venue for the French Grand Prix since its revival in 2018 – also 14 years between 1971 and 1990 (inclusive), alternating with Dijon; named after the drinks magnate who financed it		Paul Ricard
City that gives its name to the Algarve circuit that has hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix since its revival in 2020		Portimão
Bedfordshire home of British drag racing		Santa Pod
Abbey Corner, Farm Curve, Village Corner, The Loop, Aintree Corner, Wellington Straight, Brooklands Corner, Luffield Corner, Woodcote Corner, National Pits Straight, Copse Corner, Maggotts Corner, Becketts Corner, Chapel Curve, Hangar Straight, Stowe Corner, The Vale (straight), Club Corner, International Pits Straight; Bridge Corner, Priory Corner (removed in 2010)		Silverstone
City that has hosted the Russian Grand Prix since its re–introduction in 2014 (after a gap of exactly 100 years) – and gives its name to the circuit on which it's held		Sochi
Venue of the Belgian Grand Prix, since 1985		Spa–Francorchamps
Venue of the Japanese Grand Prix: 1963, 1964 (the first two) and every year since 1987 (except 2007 and 2008); also hosts an annual 8 Hour Endurance Road Race for motor cycles		Suzuka
The only current Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit (as at 2020) with a figure–of–eight track
Venue of the Dutch Grand Prix (1948–85, and 2020)		Zandvoort

Drivers (etc.)

Youngest ever Grand Prix winner, 2003, and the first Spanish driver to win a Grand Prix; youngest ever F1 world champion, 2005 (breaking Emerson Fittipaldi's record); won again in 2006		Fernando Alonso
US world F1 champion, 1978 (family moved from Italy in 1955 when he was 15)		Mario Andretti
F1 world champion 1952 and 1953: the second of only two Italian champions (to 2008, after Farina)		Alberto Ascari
French driver: died in July 2015, aged 25, as a result of injuries sustained during the Japanese Grand Prix in October 2014; the first F1 driver to be killed as a result of a racing accident since Ayrton Senna in 1994		Jules Bianchi
Won the F1 World Championship in a car designed by himself (1966; previously won in a Cooper, 1959 and 1960)		Jack Brabham
British driver, won the Hungarian GP 2006 – his first win in 113 attempts		Jenson Button
Last person to hold speed records on both land and water (both set in 1964)		Donald Campbell
First British driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (not counting Dario Resta, 1916 winner, who was born in Italy but raised in Britain from age 2); first non–US winner since 1920 (he and Graham Hill were the only non–US winners between 1920 and 1989 when Emerson Fittipaldi won)		Jim Clark
Scottish driver, won 13 Grands Prix between 1995 and 2003; went on to become a commentator on BBC television, and subsequently on Channel 4		David Coulthard
"Team Principal" of McLaren, from 1980		Ron Dennis
Argentinian driver, most F1 world titles before Schumacher (5: 1951, 1954–7); the oldest champion (45)		Juan Manuel Fangio
Winner of the first F1 drivers' championship (1950)		Giuseppe 'Nino' Farina
Set a world land speed record of 91.37 mph on 12 Jan 1904		Henry Ford
First British driver to win the Formula 1 World Championship (1958)		Mike Hawthorn
Promoted to Williams's race team following Nigel Mansell's departure in 1992; runner–up to Schumacher in the F1 drivers' championship in 1994 (by a single point) and 1995; champion in 1996		Damon Hill
First father and son to win the F1 world championship (second? ...)		Graham & Damon Hill
Only driver to win the 'triple crown'		Graham Hill
US world F1 champion, 1961		Phil Hill
Olympian and knight, finished 17th in the 2016 Le Mans 24 hour race		Chris Hoy
The first Polish driver to compete in Formula 1 (2006); won the Canadian Grand Prix 2008; seriously injured while competing in a rally for fun, February 2011		Robert Kubica
The only woman ever to win an F1 championship point – finished 6th in Spanish GP of 1975		Lella Lombardi
Second person (after Henry Cooper) to win BBC TV Sports Personality of the Year twice; robbed of the 1986 F1 world championship when a burst tyre forced him out of the Australian GP; missed his first two races for McLaren (1995) because he couldn't fit into the cockpit; first to win the F1 drivers' championship and Indycar in consecutive years (and thus to hold both titles simultaneously)		Nigel Mansell
New Zealand driver, a protégé of Jack Brabham; founder of one of the most successful F1 marques; killed in 1970, aged 32, while testing one of his own cars at Goodwood		Bruce McLaren
Won 16 Grands Prix; finished as runner–up in the World Championship in four consecutive years, 1955–8 (three times to Fangio, and to Hawthorn in 1958); came third in the following three years (1959–61); but never won it. Knighted in 2000; died in 2020, aged 90		Stirling Moss
Swedish driver, finished as runner–up in the 1978 F1 drivers' championship despite suffering a fatal accident in the first lap of the Italian GP with two more races still to go		Ronnie Peterson
The only French driver to win the F1 championship; retired 1993 after winning 51 grands prix (then a record) and 4 championships		Alain Prost
Pipped Lewis Hamilton to the 2007 F1 drivers' championship (Hamilton's first season); won Grands Prix in 2003 and 2018 (and various years in between); nicknamed (the) Iceman, because of his ice–cool attitude on the track and his frosty relationship with other drivers and the media		Kimi Räikkönen raikkonen
Died during practice for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix – the race in which Ayrton Senna died		Roland Ratzenberger
Australian driver, born 1989: replaced his compatriot Mark Weber at Red Bull in 2014; finished 3rd in the drivers' championship in both 2014 and 2016		Daniel Ricciardo
Awarded the F1 World Championship posthumously in 1970, after being killed in practice at Monza		Jochen Rindt
Second father and son to win the F1 world championship (first? ...)		Keke & Nico Rosberg
First Finn to win the F1 world drivers' championship (1982)		Keke Rosberg
F1 world champion, 2016 (34 years after his father): interrupted Lewis Hamilton's run of six wins in seven years		Nico Rosberg
First British driver to win a grand prix (1923)		Sir Henry Seagrave
Replaced Alain Prost in Williams's F1 team, 1993; died in 1994, after his car left the rack and hit a concrete wall while leading the San Marino GP; voted the greatest F1 driver ever, in a BBC poll in 2012		Ayrton Senna
Record 7 F1 world championships, 1994–2004; beat Prost's record number of Grand Prix wins (51), ending on 91 – this record beaten by Hamilton		Michael Schumacher
The only person to win world championships on two wheels (motor cycling) and four (Formula 1)		John Surtees
Won a record 27 Grands Prix, 1968–73		Jackie Stewart
Youngest ever grand prix winner (Italy, 2008, aged 21); youngest ever Formula 1 World Champion (2010); also won it in the next three years, so becoming the youngest double, triple and quadruple champion, and one of only four 4–time winners		Sebastian Vettel
Canadian drivers: father (Gilles) died 1982 in practice for the Belgian GP; son (Jacques) was F1 world champion 1997		Villeneuve

Other Formula One people

Suffolk–born owner of the Brabham racing team (1972–87), who became Chief Executive of Formula One Group, and de facto 'boss' of F1, from the mid–1970s, until 2017 when it was taken over by Liberty Media		Bernie Ecclestone
Irish–born US media executive – former President, Vice Chairman and COO of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp; Vice Chairman of 20th Century Fox: replaced Bernie Ecclestone as Chief Executive of Formula One Group in 2017 when it was taken over by Liberty Media		Chase Carey
President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of world motor sport – from 2009 (French former rally driver)		Jean Todt

Formula One World Champions

... in reverse order of their most recent wins:

	2	2021, 2022		Max Verstappen
	7	2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020		Lewis Hamilton
	1	2016		Nico Rosberg
	4	2010, 2011, 2012, 2013		Sebastian Vettel
	1	2009		Jenson Button
	1	2007		Kimi Räikkönen raikkonen
	2	2005, 2006		Fernando Alonso
	7	1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004		Michael Schumacher
	2	1998, 1999		Mika Häkkinen kakkinen
	1	1997		Jacques Villeneuve
	1	1996		Damon Hill
	4	1985, 1988, 1989, 1993		Alain Prost
	1	1992		Nigel Mansell
	3	1988, 1990, 1991		Ayrton Senna
	3	1981, 1983, 1987		Nelson Piquet
	3	1975, 1977, 1984		Nikki Lauda
	1	1982		Keke Rosberg
	1	1980		Alan Jones
	1	1979		Jody Scheckter
	1	1978		Mario Andretti
	1	1976		James Hunt
	2	1972, 1974		Emerson Fittipaldi
	3	1969, 1971, 1973		Jackie Stewart
	1	1970		Jochen Rindt
	2	1962, 1968		Graham Hill
	1	1967		Denny Hulme
	3	1959, 1960, 1968		Jack Brabham
	2	1963, 1965		Jim Clark
	1	1964		John Surtees
	1	1961		Phil Hill
	1	1958		Mike Hawthorn
	5	1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957		Juan Manuel Fangio
	2	1952, 1953		Alberto Ascari
	1	1950		Giuseppe Farina

British Formula One world champions

... with the years hidden, so you can test yourself that way:

Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari		1958
Graham Hill	BRM, Lotus		1962, 1968
John Surtees	Ferrari		1964
Jim Clark	Lotus		1965
Jackie Stewart	Matra, Tyrrell x 2		1969, 1971, 1973
James Hunt	McLaren		1976
Nigel Mansell	Williams		1992
Damon Hill	Williams		1996
Lewis Hamilton	McLaren, Mercedes x 6		2008, 2014–15, 2017–20
Jenson Button	Brawn		2009

Youngest Ever Formula One world champions

2010	23 years, 134 days	Germany		Sebastian Vettel
2008	23 years, 300 days	UK		Lewis Hamilton
2005	24 years, 59 days	Spain		Fernando Alonso
1972	25 years, 303 days	Brazil		Emerson Fittipaldi

Teams (cars)

Jenson Button

2000		Williams
2001		Benetton
2002		Renault
2003–5		BAR
2006–8		Honda
2009		Brawn
2010–17		McLaren

Fangio, Farina and Fagioli was the famous 1950 team of		Alfa Romeo
Michael Schumacher won his first two F1 titles (1994, 1995) driving for		Benetton
Replaced Honda in the 2009 F1 season – founded by, and named after, Honda's former team manager		Brawn GP
Jackie Stewart won his first Grand Prix (Monaco, 1996) in a		BRM
Nikki Lauda's first two F1 titles (1975, 1977)		Ferrari
John Surtees won the Italian Grand Prix of 1967 in a		Honda
Entered F1 in 1991, based at the Silverstone; sold to Midland in 2005, Spyker Cars in 2006; sold again in 2007 and renamed Force India; entered administration in 2018, and was replaced by a new team named Racing Point Force India; rebranded in 2021 as Aston Martin		Jordan
Michael Schumacher's first grand prix (Belgium, 1991): drove for
Racing marque founded by Colin Chapman, 1948; the one with which Jim Clark was most closely associated		Lotus
Nikki Lauda's third F1 title (1984)		McLaren
Lewis Hamilton's first team in F1 (2007–12) – including his first title (2008)
Founded in the 1970s and named after its Swiss founder; owned by BMW from 2005 to 2010; then bought back by its founder, who sold it in 2016 to a Swiss investment firm; changed its name to Alfa Romeo Racing in 2019, for sponsorship reasons		Sauber
Anglo–Austrian team, founded in 2005: Sebastian Vettel's team from 2010 to 2014 (including his four consecutive championship wins, 2010–13)		Red Bull
Max Verstappen's team, from 2016 to date – including his two world championships in 2021 and 2022
Managed by British former racing driver Christian Horner since its formation in 2005
Constructor of the 6–wheeled car in which Jody Schekter won the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix		Tyrrell
British winner of the first F1 constructors' championship, 1958		Vanwall
Ayrton Senna's team at the time of his death (1994)		Williams
Italian word for "fans", widely used for followers of Ferrari		Tifosi

Tyres

The FIA announced in 2005 that from the 2008 season, there would be only one tyre supplier in Formula 1.

Sole tyre supplier to Formula 1, 2008–10; also in 1999, 2000 and 2007, but not by FIA ruling (Japanese company)		Bridgestone
Sole tyre supplier to Formula 1, since 2011 (Italian company)		Pirelli

Slick tyres were introduced in 1970 by Goodyear. They were disallowed from 1999 to 2008 (inclusive).

Non–Formula 1

First British World Rally Championship winner, and the youngest ever (1995); died in a helicopter crash, in controversial circumstances, in 2007 – aged 39		Colin McRae
First English World Rally Championship winner (2001)		Richard Burns
Make of car in which both of the above won the World Rally Championship		Subaru

Length of a drag racing strip

440 yards (¼ mile)

British driver: won the 1955 Le Mans 24–Hour race, after being implicated in the accident that resulted in the deaths of the French driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators		Mike Hawthorn
Motor racing's richest event: first held in 1911, when it was won by Ray Haroun in a time of 6 hours and 42 minutes; the track is known as The Brickyard; held on Memorial Day (the last Monday in May); winner has received the Borg–Warner trophy (named after a leading US car parts supplier) since 1936		Indianapolis 500
French driver: won the World Rally Championship a record nine consecutive times, 2004–12		Sébastien Loeb
Endurance race from Brescia to Rome and back, over a figure–of–8 course, 1927–57 (with a break during WWII) – Stirling Moss set a record time in 1955 that still stands		Mille Miglia
British driver, had both legs amputated after a high–speed crash in an F4 race in 2017 (aged 17); returned to racing in F3, less than a year later; won the Helen Rollason award at BBC SPOTY 2018		Billy Monger
First held in 1911, when it was won by Henri Rougier		Monte Carlo Rally
Younger sister of a famous British Formula 1 driver: European Ladies' Rally Champion five times, 1958–65		Pat Moss
Nigel Mansell's Indycar team		Newman Haas
French driver: won the World Rally Championship eight times between 2013 and 2021 (inclusive – following on from his compatriot Sébastien Loeb)		Sébastien Ogier
Number of laps in the Indianapolis 500		200
British (US–based) driver, won the Indy 500 and the IndyCar championship in 2005 (2nd in 2004; tied for 1st place in 2006)		Dan Wheldon

Motor Cycling

Speedway: number of laps in a race – also the number of riders in a race		4
MotoGP replaced 500cc class in world championships		2002
Maximum displacement in MotoGP (2002–6)		990cc
Maximum displacement in MotoGP (since 2007)		800cc
Italian rider: won the 500cc World Championship seven times, 1966–72		Giacomo Agostini
New Zealand rider: won four individual world speedway championships, 1957–66		Barry Briggs
Born Liverpool, 1934; raced for Manchester's Belle Vue Aces from 1952 until his death in 1963; world speedway champion in 1955 and 1962; died following a racing accident in Edinburgh in 1963; the hospitality suite at the UK's National Speedway Stadium (at Belle Vue, Manchester) is named in his honour, and a memorial race meeting has been held at Belle Vue annually since 1967		Peter Craven
British World Superbike Champion, 1995		Carl Fogarty
Won the Isle of Man TT fourteen times		Mike Hailwood
Legendary daredevil motorcyclist, born Butte, Montana in 1938. Most famous stunt was a televised attempt to jump Snake River Canyon, Idaho, in 1974. Broke 433 bones in his career; listed in the Guinness book as having "most bones broken in a lifetime." Died in 2007 aged 69		Evel Knievel
New Zealand speedway legend – six times world champion, 1968–79		Ivan Mauger
US road racer, three times 500cc world champion, career ended by a crash at the Italian GP in 1993		Wayne Rainey
Northern Irish rider: World Superbike Champion a record five times (and in consecutive years), 2015–19		Jonathan Rea
Italian rider, dominated the 500cc MotoGP class in the 2000s, with 7 titles; nicknamed The Doctor		Valentino Rossi
First rider to be World Motorcycle Champion at 250cc and 500cc in the same year (1985)		Freddie Spencer
English World Superbike champion, 2004 and 2007		James Toseland

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23