Brief History of Formula One Racing

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) sanctions many different types of racing, the highest level of which is known as Formula One. This type of racing began back in the 1920s. Since the very beginning, all of the cars used in Formula One races only have one seat. 1950 was the year of the initial world championship race. Since then, the sport has seen steady growth. The sport was helped tremendously when television became a standard item in many households in the 1960s. Here is a brief history of Formula One racing.

Increase in profitability

The 1970s were the decade that Formula One racing experienced a quantum leap in terms of the money it was able to generate. The mastermind behind this was Bernie Ecclestone. The commercial rights to Formula one were rearranged by Ecclestone and placed under new management. Almost instantly, the sports began to experience a huge influx of cash. Ecclestone is often seen as the man responsible for the billions of dollars in revenue that Formula One generates on an annual basis. All these years later, he remains the CEO of the Formula One Group, the organization manages the sport and has complete control over its commercial rights.

A wider fan base

Many of the largest companies in the world began to sponsor Formula One racing, making it extremely profitable. However, for over two decades following Ecclestone revolutionizing the commercial rights of the sport, it remained on the fringe of the sports world. It was never able to break into the mainstream. That all changed when Max Mosley was elected as the new head of FIA in the early 1990s. He was able to broker deals with many of the largest satellite and cable television networks in the world. This allowed literally hundreds of millions of people to be exposed to Formula One racing who were previously unable to see any races. This was a huge turning point in the popularity of the sport.

Continued growth

In the years since Mosley left FIA, Formula One has continued to grow in popularity all around the world. Many races have been added in regions that had previously never hosted any races at all. Formula One continues to seek out territories where races have received high television ratings. If they perceive there is enough interest from the local population, Formula One has shown a willingness to bring their product to these virgin territories in an effort to grow the sport.