British drivers, British teams and Formula One

Posted by Felipe Tomasi

United Kingdom has considerable results in the sport: ten F-1 teams were crowned World Champion and ten drivers were Drivers' Champion throughout the 63 years of sport.

                                                             Jim Clark, World Champion in 1963 and 1965

            The year was 1958: Mike Hawthorn was World Champion, with fellow countrymen Striling Moss, Tony Brooks and Roy Salvadori in second, third and fourth, respectively. British team Vanwall beat Ferrari in the  teams' championship (The so-called "Constructors Championship"). From this time on, Great Britain would succeed in being the nation with the most champions in Formula One history, in both Drivers and Constructors Championship.
            In the first phase of the 20^th century, Germany and Italy were among the strongest nations in motorsport, with manufacturers such as Bugatti, Ferrari, Audi and Mercedes-Benz having high technology supports and benefit from their countries. Moreover, Europe was facing difficulties due to World War II, and these manufacturers benefited with highly successful cars built before the war. France was also a potential country in motorsport, as the FIA (Féderation International du Automobilisme, French for International Automobile Federation), the association that gave birth to Formula One in 1950, was Headquartered in Paris and also due to races hosted in Lyon and Le Mans – from which the term “Grand Prix” (Great Prize, in French) was originated. The first championships (from 1950 to 1957) were dominated by Italians (Giuseppe Farina in 1950 and Alberto Ascari in 1952-1953) and Juan Manuel Fangio (1951 and 1954-1957), born in Argentina, but from Italian ancestry. The dominating vehicles were Italian – Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari – and German – Mercedes-Benz. Fangio was World Champion with all these scuderias.

            The departure of Fangio, who retired at a mature age of 47 in 1958, and the withdraw of Alfa Romeo and Maserati opened way to an enhancing British success. The first successful British constructors (term that denotes a group of people that build a car to drivers compete in) were Vanwall, from Colin Chapman (who was also founder of Team Lotus) and Cooper, with the revolutionary rear engines (Formula One cars until then had front engines). In 1958, English Mike Hawthorn from Ferrari team was champion, with Sir Stirling Moss from Vanwall as runner-up. In addition to rear engines, The Cooper team introduced new 2.5 litre Coventry-Climax engine, more powerful than previous 4.5 litres engines.

            The 60s decade was the most successful in terms of British drivers victories, which saw the triumph of Graham Hill (1962 and 1968), Jim Clark (1963 and 1965), John Surtees (1964) and Sir Jackie Stewart (1969) This decade saw the introduction of mid-engines used by British teams Lotus, Cooper and BRM, which, along with Brabham, jointly clinched six Constructor Championships from 1960-1969 – the exceptions were Italians Ferrari and French Matra. It was the period of the garagistes, enthusiasts of motorsport that brought highly advanced technologies in motorsport. The garagistes where, in its majority, British, and they were greatly influenced by aeronautical engineering. Some of the engineers and team leaders were John Cooper (from Cooper), Colin Chapman (from Lotus) and Keith Duckworth (who was responsible for successful British engines Cosworth). The Lotus team had great results from 1960 to 1973, winning six Constructor Champions, with the introduction of V8 engines, even lighter than the preceding ones.

Jackie Stewart, three times World Champion

            The 70s decade saw the arise of the two most successful British teams in terms of victories: McLaren, from Bruce McLaren, who established the team in 1966 and which would won their first championship in 1974, and Williams, from Frank Williams, which entered the sport in 1978. The aerodynamics played a crucial role, as well as the beginning of media coverage and sponsorship, whose entrance was made easy by British Brabham manager and business magnate Bernie Ecclestone, who would become president of Formula One CEO. The success of British drivers continued with Jackie Stewart, who again became champion in 1971 and 1973, and James Hunt (1976). Lotus, in 1977, was the first team to bring the “ground effect” to the sport, with wing-profiled sidepods.

Lotus (from 1978, model Lotus 78), which introduced the ground effect revolution in Formula One

McLaren (from 1988, model MP4/4), and Williams (from 1992, model FW14) which introduced traction control, active suspension, semi-automatic gearbox and ABS brakes

            The 80s and the 90s saw a dip in the appearance of British champions; on the other hand, it was the period that saw the dominance of McLaren and Williams, which won all Constructor Championships from 1980 to 1998 (the exception being 1982 and 1983, where Ferrari was World Champion, and 1995, with British-based team Benetton clinching the championship), as well as the decline of Lotus, which retired from the sport in 1994 due to financial crisis. The success of drivers such as Finnish Keke Rosberg, Austrian Niki Lauda, four-time champion French Alain Prost and Brazilians Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna contributed to a winless 80s decade for Britain. The dominance of Williams from 1992 to 1997 helped two English drivers to be crowned champion. In 1992, Nigel Mansell, driving a superior Williams, equipped with active suspension and ABS brakes, easily clinched his title, and in 1996, Damon Hill, son of Graham Hill, also became champion. The Williams team brought other numerous innovations such as semi-automatic gearbox, lighter than manual gearbox, traction control, which avoided spinning on the track, and Renault V10 powered-engines, the best at that period. McLaren introduced the carbon fibre composite in place of aluminium, which made cars lighter and faster.

            The most recent British drivers crowned World Champion were Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, for McLaren and British team Brawn GP, respectively. The beginning of 2000 saw the dominance of German Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, winning all championships from 1999 to 2004. After the German retired in 2006, Button became champion in 2009. Hamilton, who was raised by McLaren Young Driver’s Programme and was Champion in junior categories such as GP2, became champion in his second year in Formula One (2008). As of 2012, they are both racing for McLaren and still contenders for the Championship.

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton

            Up to 2011, Britain has fourteen Driver's Championship among ten drivers (Germany,  second in the standings, has nine Driver's Championship between two drivers). Besides, many British drivers got close to the conquest – like Moss, who was consecutively vice-champion from 1955-1958, and more recently, Eddie Irvine and David Coulthard in 1999 and 2001, respectively. More than 150 British drivers competed in Formula One  and more than 50 British-based racing teams competed in at least one race. No other country or nation has such numbers. Jackie Stewart is the most successful driver in terms of Drivers Championships, with three conquests (only behind Schumacher, Fangio and Prost, who won seven, five and four times, respectively).
            Ten British-based teams won more than thirty Constructor’s Championship altogether. McLaren has eight Drivers Championships and twelve Constructors Championships, and Williams has nine Drivers Championships and seven Constructors Championships, and they are placed 2nd and 3rd among the most successful scuderias, behind Ferrari - the only team that is competing since the inception of Formula One -which conquered fifteen Drivers Championships and sixteen Constructors Championships.