FORMULA ONE: THE INSPIRATION BEHIND IT ALL.

FAST CARS, DANGEROUSLY SKILLED DRIVERS AND SUPERNATURAL SPEED. KNOWN TO BE THE MOST FAMOUS MOTORSPORT OF ALL TIME, FORMULA ONE HAS CERTAINLY COME A LONG WAY FROM ITS EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX ORIGINS BACK IN THE EARLY 1920S AND 1930S.

THE NAME FORMULA ONE COMES FROM THE SET OF RULES THE PARTICIPATING DRIVERS AND CARS MUST FOLLOW AND IS THE HIGHEST CLASS OF SINGLE-SEATER RACING SANCTIONED BY THE FIA.
THE MODERN FORMULA ONE AS WE KNOW IT TODAY BEGAN BACK IN 1946 WITH THE FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE L'AUTOMOBILE'S STANDARDIZATION OF RULES. SINCE MAKING ITS MARK IN 1950, WITH THE FIRST-EVER FORMULA ONE EVENT TAKING PLACE ON 13 MAY 1950 AT SILVERSTONE, UNITED KINGDOM, THE FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP HAS BEEN ONE OF THE PREMIER FORMS OF RACING IN THE WORLD.
IN THE EARLY 1970S BERNIE ECCLESTONE TURNED THE MOTORSPORT INTO A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS BY REARRANGING THE MANAGEMENT OF FORMULA ONE'S COMMERCIAL RIGHTS. HE BOUGHT THE BRABHAM TEAM IN 1971 AND BY DOING SO HE GAINED A SEAT ON THE FORMULA ONE CONSTRUCTORS' ASSOCIATION (FOCA) AND IN 1978 HE BECAME PRESIDENT.

IN A FORMULA ONE RACE THERE ARE TWENTY DRIVERS AND CURRENTLY TEN DIFFERENT TEAMS, THE MOST FAMOUS OF THEM ALL BEING FERRARI, MERCEDES, MCLAREN, ALFA-ROMEO, RENAULT AND REDBULL RACING IN THE MODERN-DAY ERA OF THIS PREMIER MOTORSPORT.
A FORMULA ONE RACE USUALLY TAKES PLACE OVER A COURSE OF THREE DAYS, TYPICALLY FROM A FRIDAY TO SUNDAY WITH A SERIES OF PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING SESSIONS BEFORE THE BIG RACE ON A SUNDAY.
FOR EACH ROUND OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP, EACH TEAM NAMES TWO DRIVERS TO RACE. THEY COMPETE INDIVIDUALLY IN THE DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP, THEIR POINTS THEN GET COMBINED AND GO TOWARDS THE TEAM'S TALLY IN THE CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP. THE DRIVER AND TEAM WITH THE MOST POINTS AT THE END OF THE SEASON ARE CROWNED THE CHAMPIONS.

OVER THE LAST DECADES, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE BEST DRIVERS COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER IN THE SPORT.
THE FIRST-EVER FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP WAS WON BY NINO FARINO IN 1950, HIS CROWN, HOWEVER, GOT TAKEN BY JUAN MANUEL FANGIO IN 1951 WITH THE ALFA-ROMEO 159.
ONE OF THE MOST LEGENDARY DRIVERS OF ALL TIME IS BRAZILIAN RACER, AYRTON SENNA. SENNA WON THREE FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR MCLAREN IN 1988, 1990 AND 1991. AT ONLY 34 YEARS OF AGE, HE WAS KILLED IN AN ACCIDENT LEADING THE 1994 SAN MARINO GP FOR WILLIAMS.
ANOTHER WELL KNOWN FORMULA ONE LEGEND IS MICHAEL SCHUMACHER. KNOWN TO BE THE MOST DOMINANT DRIVER EVER, SCHUMACHER HAD 91 WINS AND NO LESS THAN 7 F1 CHAMPIONSHIPS.

CONSIDERED TO BE THE BEST DRIVER OF HIS GENERATION AND WIDELY REGARDED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST DRIVERS IN HISTORY, BRITISH RACER LEWIS HAMILTON IS A FIVE-TIME FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPION. HE IS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BRITISH DRIVER IN THE HISTORY OF F1 AND HAS MORE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES AND VICTORIES THAN ANY OTHER BRITISH DRIVER IN FORMULA ONE, EVER.

WHEN IT COMES TO THE CARS OF THIS PREMIER SPORT, NO FORMULA ONE CAR IS CONSTRUCTED THE SAME. EVERYTHING FROM CHASSIS TO ALL THINGS RELATED TO AERODYNAMICS IS DIFFERENT FROM ONE TEAM TO ANOTHER AS ALL THE CARS ARE BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP.
AN F1 CAR IS A SINGLE-SEATER OPEN COCKPIT OPEN-WHEEL RACING MACHINE WITH SUBSTANTIAL REAR AND FRONT WINGS. THE ENGINE IS POSITIONED BEHIND THE DRIVER. THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF THE CAR CAN BE OUTSOURCED, BUT THE RULES AND REGULATIONS CLEARLY STATE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE RACE CARS MUST BE DONE BY THE TEAM THEMSELVES.

HIGH-TECH AND LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS SUCH AS CARBON FIBER AND TITANIUM ALLOY ARE USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS OF THE MODERN-DAY FORMULA ONE CARS. THE ENGINE OF AN F1 CAR IS LOCATED BETWEEN THE DRIVER AND THE REAR AXLE. THE ENGINE IS PART OF THE STRUCTURAL SUPPORT FRAMEWORK AND BOLTED TO THE COCKPIT AT THE FRONT END. THE TRANSMISSION AND REAR SUSPENSION ARE LOCATED AT THE BACK END.
IN THE LATE 1990S TEAMS STARTED USING EXOTIC ALLOY MATERIALS, THE FIA, HOWEVER, BANNED THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS IN ENGINE CONSTRUCTION, WITH ONLY ALUMINUM, TITANIUM AND IRON ALLOYS BEING ALLOWED FOR PISTONS, CRANKSHAFTS, CYLINDERS, AND CONNECTING RODS. THE REASON THE FIA ENFORCED MATERIAL AND DESIGN RESTRICTIONS ON THE TEAMS WAS TO LIMIT THE POWER OF THE CARS. IN THE 2005 SEASON, EVEN WITH THE FIA'S RESTRICTIONS THE V10S WERE REPUTED TO DEVELOP 730 KW (980 HP). THESE POWER LEVELS WERE NOT SEEN EVER SINCE THE BAN ON THE TURBO-CHARGED ENGINES BACK IN 1989.
AS OF 2014, ALL FORMULA ONE CARS HAVE BEEN EQUIPPED WITH TURBOCHARGED ENGINES. IT WAS PREVIOUSLY BANNED SINCE 1988. MERCEDES DOMINATED SINCE THE EARLY SEASONS WAS DUE TO THE PLACEMENT OF THEIR TURBOCHARGER'S COMPRESSOR. IT WAS LOCATED ON THE SIDE OF THE ENGINE, WHILE THE TURBINE WAS PLACED ON THE OTHER SIDE. BOTH WERE THEN LINKED BY A SHAFT TRAVELING THROUGH THE VEE OF THE CAR'S ENGINE. THIS IS VERY BENEFICIAL AS THE AIR IS NOT TRAVELING THROUGH SO MUCH PIPEWORK AND THUS REDUCING TURBO LAG AND ALSO INCREASES THE EFFICIENCY OF THE CAR. THE AIR IS MOVING THROUGH THE COMPRESSOR AND IS MUCH COOLER AS IT IS FURTHER AWAY FROM THE HOT TURBINE.

SEMI-AUTOMATIC SEQUENTIAL GEARBOXES ARE USED IN FORMULA ONE CARS, THESE GEARBOXES ARE CONSTRUCTED FROM CARBON TITANIUM AS HEAT DISSIPATION IS AN ISSUE. THE GEARBOX IS BOLTED ONTO THE BACK OF THE ENGINE. FULL AUTOMATIC GEARBOXES ARE ILLEGAL, THE REASON FOR THIS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DRIVER SKILL IN CONTROLLING THE CAR. AUTOMATIC SYSTEMS SUCH AS LAUNCH CONTROL AND TRACTION CONTROL ARE ALSO ILLEGAL IN FORMULA ONE. GEAR CHANGES ARE PERFORMED BY USING THE PADDLES MOUNTED ON THE BACK OF THE STEERING WHEEL. ELECTRO-HYDRAULICS PERFORM THE ACTUAL GEAR CHANGE AS WELL AS THROTTLE CONTROL. CLUTCH CONTROL IS ALSO PERFORMED ELECTRO-HYDRAULICALLY, EXCEPT TO AND FROM A STANDSTILL.
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE SPENT ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT YEARLY ON AERODYNAMICS AS THIS IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN THE WORLD OF FORMULA ONE. THERE ARE TWO PRIMARY CONCERNS WHEN IT COMES TO AERODYNAMICS; THE CREATION OF DOWNFORCE AND THE MINIMIZATION OF THE DRAG THAT GETS CAUSED BY TURBULENCE WHICH SLOWS DOWN THE CAR. EVERY SINGLE DETAIL OF A FORMULA ONE CAR IS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN IT COMES TO AERODYNAMICS, THE SHAPE OF THE SUSPENSION LINKS TO EVEN THE DRIVER'S HELMET. A FORMULA ONE CAR IS CAPABLE OF DEVELOPING 6 G'S OF LATERAL CORNERING FORCE ALL DUE TO AERODYNAMIC DOWNFORCE WHICH IS TYPICALLY GREATER THAN THE WEIGHT OF THE CAR. THEORETICALLY, A FORMULA ONE CAR CAN DRIVE ON AN UPSIDE-DOWN SURFACE OF A SUITABLE STRUCTURE AT HIGH SPEEDS. THE USE OF AERODYNAMICS WAS PIONEERED IN FORMULA ONE IN THE 1968 SEASON BY LOTUS, FERRARI, AND BRABHAM.

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT THAT THE SPORT OF FORMULA ONE IS ONE OF PASSION, SKILL, CONFIDENCE AND FEARLESSNESS AND OF COURSE GENIUS MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. ONLY THE BEST OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD CAN BUILD AND RACE THESE PREMIER LEAGUE ENGINES.
FORMULA ONE WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND SOME OF SUPER VELOCE'S TIMELESS MASTERPIECES. WITHOUT A DOUBT YOU CAN SEE THE RESEMBLANCE WHEN IT COMES TO THE IMMENSE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL, THE PASSION THAT GOES INTO DESIGNING AND MANUFACTURING THESE TRULY UNIQUE COFFEE ENGINES AND THE GENIUS ENGINEERING BEHIND IT ALL. SUPER VELOCE'S ARE NOT COFFEE MACHINES; THEY ARE COFFEE ENGINES AND JUST LIKE THE PREMIER SPORT OF FORMULA ONE, USING AUTHENTIC F1 MATERIALS IN THE MANUFACTURING OF THEIR MACHINES, SUPER VELOCE IS TIMELESS AND IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN.