F1 history and popularity among sports betting fans

Racing has consistently ranked at the top in popularity among other sports. Mankind has always invented various races from the beginning of time until today! Racing chariots, wagons, carriages, horses, bulls, and dogs, people of all ages have loved the speed and the spectacle. The invention of the automobile narrowed the circle; there came Rally and Formula 1, from which racing remained the favourite for a long time. Here we will focus on Formula 1 because this sport has acquired the scale of the planet and has become one of the favourites. 

And, of course, at all times, there have always been people who bet on the winners of any competition. Modern F1 is no exception; moreover, this particular sport has such a huge number of fans that place their bets at online free bonus no deposit casinos all over the world. 

What is Formula 1, and how did it come about?

The FIA Formula One World Championship is the world championship of the open-wheel circuit. The Formula 1 competition consists of several stages that take place every year. whole teams, consisting of the driver himself, instructors, and designers, take part, so there are also two awards: one for the driver and the other for the car’s designers.  

It all started with ordinary car racing, which had the name “Grand Prix”. The World Championships then began in 1920, and already in 1940, it was decided to create the basic rules. This was interrupted by World War II, but immediately after its end, the rules were created, and a new wave of competitions started. The race was named Formula-A, and the competition began. Immediately after that, the name was changed to Formula 1, which remains to this day. All countries could participate in racing, except Germany (now a similar boycott would also be relevant, only the place of Germany would be taken by Russia). German racers could not participate in the competition for 10 years after the opening. In 1958, the FIA created a separate type of award for the designers of racing cars.

Up until 1980, the Formula championships were chaotic, with many countries disagreeing with the existing regulations and holding private major races that were on the scale of Formula, but after 1980 everything changed. The Agreement was adopted, and from then it was only possible to race in the Formula 1 class within the World Championship. 

The heyday of racing

In 1981, the FIA and the F1 teams signed an Agreement, and from that period, all the rights to broadcast the competitions were given to a company that was founded for this very purpose, namely Formula One Management and Promotion. It is now called Formula One Management. The company began gaining more power, and even the distribution of race revenues later fell on its shoulders. Bernie Ecclestone became the director of the company. This change brought order to the races and strengthened the technical regulations. 

Why do they call the period from 1980 to 2000 the “Golden Age of Formula One”? At this time, the era of turbocharged engines began, with power increasing every year. In 1986, the engines of qualified cars already had a capacity of 1,300 horses and more, boosting high-speed track driving. This criterion is still met today. The reason for this was to limit the fuel tank’s size to reduce the car’s speed. Generally speaking, when turbocharged engines opened up new frontiers of possibilities, restrictions piled up:

strictly regulated tank size; the pressure limit of the supercharger; a ban on turbocharged engines in 1989.

From 1990 onward, electronics were incorporated into race car design until the FIA realized that it could race around the track without drivers. Why racing then? Therefore, in 1994, almost all electronic interventions in the car’s structure were banned. 

The best teams were formed during the Golden Age, and the best, universally recognized world championship was held. Already by 1990, champion teams had emerged, setting the pace for racing and motivating the newcomers. These are McLaren, Lotus, Williams, Ferrari, and Benetton. For example, the McLaren team has won 15 consecutive Grand Prix #16.  

Formula 1 nowadays

As we know, the last decades have been characterized by rapid and indestructible growth of technology in all areas of life. The world’s leading automakers who have come into the sport have improved the design of racing cars. Now the budget for a single team began to exceed a hundred million dollars a year, which led to a significant reduction in Formula teams. 

The only ones left in the sport were those with stable financial support thanks to the name and prestige of the teams created in the “golden age”. That was when the name of Michael Schumacher of the Ferrari team was on everyone’s lips. He won the race in 2000 and by the end of 2004 had won all the world titles. His team, accordingly, won among the constructors of race cars. By the way, in the past, Schumacher was a member of the Benetton team, winning two titles for it. 

The unconditional and repeated victories of the same team forced innovations in the existing technical regulations of the races, which reduced fan interest in the competition and numerous accidents on the track. In particular, the prohibition on changing tires during a race caused many scandals as the wheels wore down so much that it became dangerous to use the car. The ban on team tactics following the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, which also caused a flurry of discontent in the early days (then Rubens Barrichello let Schumacher through to get more points for the team), was only lifted in 2011. Back in 2005, at the U.S. Grand Prix, there was a scandal related to Michelin tires, and after that, there was a new scandal related to the teams’ discontent with the distribution of funds. Subsequently, the championships were again run on a private plan, and other spare rules were agreed upon until the FIA tightened the rules and adopted new engine standards. 

In 2010, the FIA president announced his resignation in order to shift the decision on budget regulations to his successor. The reason for this was a long silent conflict between the top teams and the FIA about how much money one team needed. In order to race, the top teams used more than $300 million when the FIA president brought up a budget cap of $40 million for discussion, followed by approval. This would have given new teams the opportunity to join the championship. However, the top teams strongly opposed this change, so since 2013, the championships have been divided into two camps: the top teams and everyone else. The new technical regulations facilitated the conversion of engines into power units, which, by the way, were not cheap. This led to the Mercedes team winning every World Cup. 

Today, Formula 1 Management, under the leadership of the corporation Liberty Media, makes more and more changes and innovations. For example, the budget for the team is now $175 million a year, which will return to Formula 1 competitive spirit and the atmosphere of the competition. Changes have affected cars, and the new era dictates that we should be more environmentally friendly, so nowadays, solving the problem of toxic smoke from racing cars is on track. Will the designers be able to solve this problem? Well, we’ll see soon!

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