The United
Kingdom is recognized throughout the world as being the leading country in
terms of motorsport engineering, with the likes of leading German F1 Team
Mercedes having two bases in the UK; F1 Team and also AMG Powertrains. Leading
Italian F1 Teams Alfa Romeo and Ferrari are also based in the UK, as well as
French F1 team Renault.
Competitive
racing in the UK can be traced back to the 19th Century, with the first
competitive event taking place in 1867, over an 8-mile distance, and was
between two steam-powered carriages converted from steam locomotives; what is
clear from this first event is that right from the early days of motorsport,
engineering ingenuity played a key role.
Over the next 25 – 30 years there are
various records of events run between two points by automobile owners, with the
first London to Brighton run taking place in 1896; and although these early
events were more reliability-based, the aim was to arrive at the destination
first.
As these early events were between two
points it was difficult to schedule things like Pit Stops so invariably
competitors would have a ‘riding mechanic’ who was responsible for fixing the
car if broke down, changing wheels, hand pumping oil and fuel – early cars did
not have fuel and oil pumps.
The advent of organized circuit racing removed the need for a riding mechanic, as the mechanics could now be based in one location (in the Pits) as the cars would come to circulate the track and come past the same point time after time. In turn, this meant that the cars did not need space for a ‘Riding Mechanic’ meaning the cockpit size could be reduced and led to the advent of the ‘Single Seater’ race car.
In the early days of motor-racing, the
procedures were based on horse racing traditions, partly in an attempt to
attract a ready-made audience to this new and curious sport. Cars assembled in
the ‘paddock’, were ‘shod’ with tyres, weighed by the ‘Clerk of the Scales’ for
handicapping, and drivers were even instructed to identify themselves by
wearing colored silks in the manner of jockeys.
The Brooklands Circuit was the first
purpose-built race circuit in the world and claims to be the first venue to run
an organized motor race in 1907. At this stage, motor racing was still a novelty
and there were no established rules to follow.
In 1907 the average speed of cars was
65mph; but this was to be short-lived as engineering innovations started to
push the development of technology and ultimately increase the speed of cars. By
1913 cars were lapping the circuit at over 100 mph. The advent of World War I
in 1914, saw all racing stop at the circuit.
The circuit reopened in1920 and continued
to organize race meetings until 1939, including the Junior Car Club’s famous
200 Miles Race, which first began in 1921. It also saw the return of pre-war
driver, Malcolm Campbell, who returned to the motorsport scene from Army
service as a Captain. There was also a rapid increase in speeds due to
experimenting and innovation in car design, and one of these was the introduction
of aero-engine cars. A great exponent of this was Count Louis Zborowski, a race
driver and automotive engineer who introduced a series of monstrous cars in the
early/mid-1920’S, including the legendary Chitty Bang Bangs with aero engines
ranging in size from 18,000cc to 23,000cc. These cars took the average speeds
above the 140mph, with John Cobb setting the all-time lap record for Brooklands
recorded at 143mph.
In August 1926 the RAC organized the
first-ever British Grand Prix, constructing sand chicanes along with the Finishing
Straight. A second British Grand Prix was held at Brooklands in 1927.
The popularity of Brooklands grew
throughout the 1930s, but the last event was held on 7th August 1939 with the
outbreak of World War II, when the circuit was requisitioned by the Government
and devoted to the production of aircraft. The circuit was never to reopen as
there was significant damage caused by both bombing and modifications made to
support aircraft production.
In 1931, another purpose-built race circuit
was opened; Donington Park was opened. The first few years were mainly club
level events. In 1935 the circuit hosted its first Grand Prix which attracted
three continental entries; Giuseppe Farina and Gino Revere in Maserati’s and
Raymond Sommer in an Alfa Romeo. Home-entered cars included the ERA of Prince
'Bira' of Siam, and the also the Alfa Romeo of the eventual winner - Richard
Shuttleworth.
In 1934, the legendary Silver Arrows;
Mercedes and Auto Unions from Germany were unveiled to the world, and they
instantly dominated the world of motor racing. The levels of innovation,
engineering innovation and attention to detail was immense, with the cars
producing over 500bhp (the Auto Union has also had a mid-mounted engine). It
also saw a big change in the approach to motorsport; up to this point racing
had been undertaken by wealthy individuals with small teams of amateur
mechanics. The Silver Arrows teams turned up with the cars being transported in
official Team Transporters and they were supported by large teams of mechanics
and engineers; and this was the start of changes in the sport that was going to
take it away from the amateur/gentleman level into the more structured and
organized teams that we see today.
The Silver Arrows dominated motor racing
between 1934 – 1939 and this period saw what is arguably the most reflective,
and interesting period in motor racing history, that was to lead the way for a more innovative, structured and organized approach to motorsport with a more
scientific approach to building race cars. The dominance of the Silver Arrows was only
broken by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
After World War II, Britain had many
automobile manufacturers and each of these had Research and Development
(R&D) departments whose engineers regularly relied on their motorsport
departments to test new ideas on track at weekends before applying these
developments to cars. As these many firms began to expand and merge, and the UK
found it had a superb resource of R&D based engineers who loved competition
and motorsport.
Also, airfields that had been developed for
WWII and were no longer in use, were ideal for converting into race circuits;
Silverstone, Thruxton, and Snetterton. 1950 saw the start of the F1 Drivers
Championship as we know it today. And in 1958 the first award that recognizes
the manufacturers is introduced – the International Cup for Constructors; and
this became the Formula One Constructors Championship in 1980.
The early ’50s saw Grand Prix cars maintaining
the same conventional/traditional layout front engine and rear-wheel drive;
somewhat surprising considering the Auto Union had adopted a rear-engine layout
back in 1934. It was not until 1957 when John Cooper launched his rear engine
F1 car and it starting winning, that the benefits of rear-engine cars was fully
realized. By 1960 all Grand Prix cars had rear engines, and that is the layout
that they still use today.
