Formula One

Formula One (also Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been the premier form of racing since the inaugural season in 1950, although other Formula One races were regularly held until 1983. The "formula", designated in the name, refers to a set of rules, to which all participants' cars must conform. The F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix (from French, originally meaning great prizes), held throughout the world on purpose-built F1 circuits and public roads.

The results of each race are evaluated using a points system to determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers, one for constructors. The racing drivers are required to be holders of valid Super Licences, the highest class of racing licence issued by the FIA. The races are required to be held on tracks graded 1 (formerly A), the highest grade a track can receive by the FIA. Most events are held in rural locations on purpose-built tracks, but there are several events in city centres throughout the world, with the Monaco Grand Prix being the most obvious and famous example.

2014 Formula One season

The 2014 Formula One season was the 65th season of the Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The season started in Australia on 16 March and concluded in Abu Dhabi on 23 November. In the nineteen Grands Prix of the season, a total of eleven teams and twenty-four drivers competed for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' Championships. It was the first Formula One season since 1994 to see an accident with ultimately fatal consequences as Jules Bianchi succumbed to the injuries he sustained during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. He died on 17 July 2015 after spending nine months in a coma following the accident.

In 2014, the championship saw the introduction of a revised engine formula, in which the 2.4 litre V8 engine configuration—previously used between 2006 and 2013—was replaced with a new formula specifying a 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engine that incorporated an energy recovery system into its build. The 2014 calendar featured substantial revisions from the 2013 season; the Russian Grand Prix (held the first time in a century) was held at the Sochi Autodrom, and the Austrian Grand Prix was revived with the race held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. The Indian Grand Prix was put on hiatus, whilst the Korean Grand Prix was removed from the schedule entirely.

1972 Formula One season

The 1972 Formula One season was the 23rd FIA Formula One season. It featured the 23rd World Championship of Drivers, the 15th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship season commenced on 23 January and ended on 8 October after twelve races.

For 1972 Team Lotus focused again on the type 72 chassis. Imperial Tobacco continued its sponsorship of the team under its new John Player Special brand. The cars, now often referred to as 'JPS', were fielded in a new black and gold livery. Lotus took the championship by surprise in 1972 with 25-year-old Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi who became the youngest world champion at that point. Stewart came second in the championship.

This was the first year where all the races were run on circuits with safety features on them, and considerable progress had been made since 1968, the last year where all races were run on circuits with no safety features.

The British Racing Motors (BRM) team took its last victory when Jean-Pierre Beltoise won the rain-affected 1972 Monaco Grand Prix in a BRM P160.

2015 Formula One season

The 2015 Formula One season was the 66th season of the Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Twenty-two drivers representing ten teams contested nineteen Grands Prix, starting in Australia on 15 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 29 November as they competed for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships.

Lewis Hamilton was the defending Drivers' Champion after securing his second title at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His team, Mercedes, began the season as the defending Constructors' Champion, having secured its first championship title at the 2014 Russian Grand Prix.

The calendar featured two significant changes; the first being the return of the Mexican Grand Prix, held for the first time since 1992, while the German Grand Prix was ultimately scrapped after a venue could not be secured, leaving the nation without a World Championship event for the first time in fifty-five years.

2007 Formula One season

The 2007 Formula One season was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, which began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen events. The Drivers' Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the final race of the season, making Räikkönen the third Finnish driver to take the title. An appeal by McLaren regarding the legality of some cars in the final race could have altered the championship standings, but on 16 November, the appeal was reportedly rejected by the International Court of Appeal, confirming the championship results. Räikkönen entered the final race in third position in the drivers' standings, but emerged as champion after the chequered flag, a feat first accomplished by Giuseppe Farina in 1950 and later matched by Alain Prost in 1986. It has since been accomplished again, by Sebastian Vettel, in 2010.

A major talking point of the season had been an espionage controversy involving Ferrari and McLaren, which led to McLaren being excluded from the Constructors' Championship. As a result, Ferrari clinched the championship at the Belgian Grand Prix.

2008 Formula One season

The 2008 Formula One season was the 59th season of the Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) — the governing body of motorsport — as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The season was contested over eighteen rounds, which started in Australia on 16 March and ended in Brazil on 2 November. The 2008 season saw the debut of the Singapore Grand Prix, which was held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Marina Bay, Singapore and was the first Formula One race held at night. The European Grand Prix moved to a new venue at the Valencia Street Circuit, in Valencia, Spain

Lewis Hamilton won the Drivers' title by a point – by overtaking Toyota's Timo Glock on the final corner of the final lap of the final grand prix of the season to claim the required 5th-place finish – from Brazilian Felipe Massa while Massa's teammate, the 2007 world champion, Kimi Räikkönen was ranked third, with two wins. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro won the Constructors' title. In winning the title, Hamilton became the youngest driver ever to win the title (a record since supplanted by Sebastian Vettel's winning of the 2010 Drivers' title) and the first black driver to do so. He was also the first British champion since Damon Hill in 1996.